Tea – Green Tea (Back To The Basics)

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Cooking receipe to make Tea – Green Tea (Back To The Basics) under category Teas 2. You may find some video clips related to this receipe below.

Green Tea (Back To The Basics)

Tea is first steamed for less than one minute in large vats. This is to kill the enzymes that cause oxidation.

Next it is kneaded by hand, stacked in small piles, and dried for about ten hours, during which time it is constantly turned.

The tea is then rolled according to the desired grade.

Finally, the tea is sorted.

Principle Chinese provinces producing green tea are Anhwei, Chekiang and Kiangsi and to a smaller extent, Fukien, Kwangtung and Hunan. China greens grow from June to December – the early teas are generally the best BUT many very expensive greens are plucked in November and December.

GUNPOWDERS

Gunpowders are known by their districts: e.g., Tienkai Gunpowders, Moyune Gunpowders, Hunan Gunpowders, Fukien Gunpowders, etc.

Gunpowder is made from young to medium leaf and is subdivided into Extra First Pinhead, Pinhead, Pea leaf, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Common. The smaller the balls, the more expensive the tea. The Chinese name for Gunpowder is Siaou Chu (Small Leaf) because it opens into a full leaf during infusion.

Gunpowder tea is so-called because it is rolled into small balls, reminding someone of old-time gunpowder. Is all gunpowder hand rolled? It depends on the gunpowder. The higher quality grades are hand rolled. Other, lower end gunpowders are machine rolled. However, a caveat: where labor is cheaper than machinery, it is hand rolled. How to tell the difference? The difference in flavor is remarkable. Since hand rolled generally represents a higher quality, the flavor is much more subtle, not at all harsh; very smooth foretaste and long, long delightful aftertaste. Hand rolled has a more grayish appearance and is of a smaller (pinhead) size, since it is usually composed of only the first three leaves. The higher the quality (and price), the smaller the pinhead size. Imperial Gunpowder is the largest, often 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter. Pinhead is actually a grading and is 3/16 to as small as 1/6 inch in diameter. The larger the size, the looser the roll. The looser the roll, the larger the leaf. The larger the leaf, the lower the leaf position on the branchlet. The lower the leaf position, the older the leaf. The older the leaf, the harsher the flavor. The harsher the flavor, the less expensive the tea. The less expensive the tea, the more common the tea is.

YOUNG HYSON

Young Hyson is made from young to medium leaves in a long, twisted style. It is thinly rolled and looks very much like twisted thread. It is subdivided into Chun Mee, Foong Mee, Saw Mee and Siftings, AND sometimes into First, Second, and Third Young Hyson.

Chun Mee Young Hyson has a small, hard, twisted leaf. Foong Mee has a large long leaf of curly roll. Saw Mee has a small, twisted leaf, not hard. The Chinese name for Young Hyson is Yu Chin Ch

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