What is Green Tea?
Unoxidized and heated early to lock in freshness - 45 varieties.
Green tea is the most consumed tea in East Asia, prized for its delicate vegetal flavors and high antioxidant content. The leaves are quickly heated after picking to halt oxidation, preserving their natural green color and grassy, umami-rich character. From Japan's steamed Sencha to China's pan-fired Dragon Well, green teas offer an extraordinary range of flavors within a single category.
How green tea is made
Steps: Pluck → Wither → Kill-green → Roll & Shape → Dry
The kill-green step (sha qing) deactivates oxidising enzymes immediately after harvest. This single decision locks in the leaf's green color and fresh character - separating green tea from every other category.
45 Green Tea Varieties
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Sencha
Japan's most popular everyday green tea, steamed to preserve its vibrant color and fresh vegetal flavor.
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Matcha
Stone-ground shade-grown tea powder used in Japanese tea ceremony. Rich in L-theanine and antioxidants.
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Dragon Well
China's most famous green tea, pan-fired in a wok to create its signature flat leaf shape and nutty aroma.
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Gyokuro
Japan's most prized green tea, shade-grown for 20+ days to intensify amino acids and reduce bitterness.
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Gunpowder
Tightly rolled into small pellets that unfurl when brewed. The base for Moroccan mint tea.
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Jasmine Pearl
Hand-rolled green tea pearls scented with fresh jasmine blossoms over multiple nights.
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Biluochun
A rare spring tea with tiny spiral-shaped leaves, grown among fruit orchards that impart subtle sweetness.
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Bancha
A humble everyday Japanese tea made from later harvests, lower in caffeine with a gentle, approachable flavor.
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Hojicha
Roasted Japanese green tea with a warm, toasty character. Low in caffeine, perfect for evenings.
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Genmaicha
Green tea blended with roasted brown rice, creating a comforting, popcorn-like aroma.
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Longjing
A prestigious West Lake Dragon Well with jade-colored leaves and a smooth, lingering sweetness.
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Mao Feng
Huangshan Mao Feng, a famous tea from the Yellow Mountains with delicate, downy leaves.
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Taiping Houkui
One of China's largest-leaf green teas, hand-pressed flat with a distinctive orchid aroma and sweet taste.
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Anji Bai Cha
A rare albino cultivar green tea with exceptionally high amino acid content and a naturally sweet, mellow flavor.
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Kabusecha
A semi-shaded Japanese green tea bridging the gap between sencha and gyokuro, with enhanced sweetness.
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Kukicha
Japanese twig tea made from stems and stalks, offering a uniquely nutty, creamy flavor with very low caffeine.
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Lu An Gua Pian
The only Chinese green tea made exclusively from single leaves without buds, with a unique seed-like shape.
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Shincha
The prized first-harvest Japanese green tea of spring, celebrated for its exceptional freshness and vivid flavor.
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Enshi Yulu
One of the only Chinese green teas still steamed - a living relic of Tang Dynasty processing with Japanese-like umami character.
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Chun Mee
The 'Precious Eyebrow' - one of the most widely exported Chinese green teas and the base for many North African blends.
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Xinyang Mao Jian
One of China's Ten Famous Teas from Henan Province, with fine downy tips and a clean, nutty sweetness.
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Mengding Ganlu
Sweet Dew of Mengding Mountain - from possibly the oldest cultivated tea origin in the world, over 2,000 years ago.
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Tamaryokucha
Japan's rare pan-fired (kamairi) green tea - the only Japanese green tea not steamed, showing Chinese processing influence.
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Vietnamese Lotus Green
Green tea scented with fresh lotus blossoms over multiple days - a centuries-old Hanoi tradition of exquisite fragrance.
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Korean Sejak
A refined Korean spring green tea - 'sparrow's tongue' leaves from Korea's 1,200-year tea tradition.
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Fukamushi Sencha
Deep-steamed sencha - steamed 2–3x longer than regular sencha for a richer, more intense, vibrant green cup.
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Gyokuro Karigane
Premium twig tea from gyokuro offcuts - shade-grown umami intensity in a lighter, sweeter format.
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Tencha
Matcha's parent leaf brewed whole - shade-grown and de-stemmed but unground, revealing a unique delicate umami.
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Konacha
Fine tea particles from sencha and gyokuro production - the bold, fast-brewing tea served at sushi restaurants.
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Aracha
Unfinished 'crude tea' - the raw, unsorted product before refining. A farmer's tea prized by purists for its bold character.
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Kashmiri Kahwa
Kashmir's traditional spiced green tea with saffron, almonds, cinnamon, and cardamom - a Himalayan treasure.
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Sanxia Bi Luo Chun
Taiwan’s take on the Chinese classic - hand-rolled in Sanxia township with a uniquely sweet, less grassy character than its Chinese cousin.
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Sejak
A prized Korean green tea hand-picked in late April - 'sparrow's tongue' leaves produce a smooth, nutty sweetness with gentle vegetal depth.
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Moroccan Mint
The iconic North African blend of Chinese gunpowder green tea, fresh spearmint, and sugar - ceremonially poured from height to create a frothy cup.
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Shan Tea
Wild-grown tea from ancient trees in Myanmar's Shan highlands - minimally processed with a distinctive honey-forest character and soft body.
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Azores Green
Europe's oldest commercial tea - grown on volcanic soil in the Azores archipelago since 1883, producing a uniquely mineral, Atlantic-influenced green tea.
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Laos Ancient Tree
Wild-harvested tea from centuries-old trees in northern Laos - genetically related to Yunnan's ancient tea forests, with a distinctively smooth, honeyed character.
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Duyun Mao Jian
One of China's Ten Famous Teas - the 'Fishhook Tea' from Guizhou's misty highlands with a distinctive chestnut-umami sweetness.
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Zhuyeqing
Bamboo Leaf Green - Sichuan's most famous green tea with flat, sword-shaped leaves and an elegant, bamboo-like freshness.
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Kamairicha
Japan's rarest green tea style - pan-fired like Chinese greens instead of steamed, producing a uniquely clean, nutty character found almost exclusively in northern Kyushu.
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Yame Gyokuro
The crown jewel of Japanese tea - Yame in Fukuoka produces Japan's most awarded gyokuro, with unrivaled umami depth from traditional shelf-shading (tana).
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Sayama Kaori
A fragrant cultivar from Saitama's Sayama region - one of Japan's northernmost tea areas, known for its distinctive fire-finishing technique (Sayama-bi).
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Asatsuyu
The 'natural gyokuro' - Asatsuyu cultivar produces extraordinary umami without shade-growing. Thick, sweet, and intensely savory from Kagoshima's volcanic soils.
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Benifuuki
A Japanese cultivar originally bred for black tea, now prized as green tea for its high methylated catechin content - studied for anti-allergy benefits.
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Sunrouge
A vivid purple-red Japanese tea cultivar bred for its extraordinary anthocyanin content - brews a striking pink-red liquor with berry-like tartness.
Frequently asked about green tea
- What is green tea?
- Green tea is made from Camellia sinensis leaves that are heated soon after picking to halt oxidation, locking in their fresh, green character. It is the most-consumed tea in East Asia and ranges from grassy, steamed Japanese styles to nutty, pan-fired Chinese ones.
- Is green tea high in caffeine?
- Green tea is moderate in caffeine, usually around 20 to 45mg per cup, which is less than black tea or coffee. Shade-grown Japanese teas like matcha and gyokuro are higher, while everyday sencha and most Chinese greens are lower.
- What are the health benefits of green tea?
- Green tea is rich in catechins, especially EGCG, plus the calming amino acid L-theanine. Regular drinking pairs antioxidant intake with steady, jitter-free alertness, though it is best seen as a healthy habit rather than a cure.
- How do you brew green tea without bitterness?
- Use water below boiling, around 70 to 80°C, and steep 1 to 2 minutes. Water that is too hot or steeped too long pulls out bitter catechins; cooler water keeps green tea sweet and smooth.
- What are the most popular green teas?
- Matcha, sencha, gyokuro, and dragon well (longjing) are among the best known, alongside gunpowder, jasmine pearls, and biluochun.