tea · china · japan · korea
Green tea
緑茶 / 녹차
A leaf that fights oxidation by definition — pan-fired in China, steamed in Japan, sun-dried in Korea, and somewhere in those three steps, three traditions diverged.
Pan-fired in China, steamed in Japan — the same leaf, two different cuisines.
Origin
All true tea — black, green, white, oolong, pu’er — comes from the same plant: Camellia sinensis. What separates them is processing. Green tea is the form that aborts oxidation as fast as possible: the leaves are picked, withered briefly, and then heated to deactivate the polyphenol oxidase enzymes within hours of plucking. The heat method is the cuisine.
China invented green tea around the 8th century, refining wood-fired pan-firing — chao qing — in iron woks. Japan adopted tea from Tang China around the 9th century but, by the 16th century, switched almost entirely to steaming — jōzō — which preserves a different aromatic profile. Korea took both methods in different periods and added sun-drying as a third path.
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Sensory profile
Catechins are the dominant polyphenols — astringent, slightly bitter, the source of the pucker. EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) is the main one. L-theanine, the amino acid that gives green tea its smooth back-palate sweetness, balances against catechin astringency.
The processing method shifts the profile dramatically:
- Chinese pan-fired greens (Long Jing, Bi Luo Chun): toasted, vegetal, almost chestnut.
- Japanese steamed greens (Sencha, Gyokuro): umami, marine, grass-fresh.
- Korean sun-dried (Jeongcheon): rounded, mild, between the two.
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In the cup
Water temperature is the variable that punishes mistakes. Boiling water on a delicate green tea (Gyokuro at 100°C) extracts so much catechin so fast the result is undrinkable. Correct: 60–70°C for premium Japanese green, 75–80°C for most Chinese green, 80–85°C for Korean. Steep 1–2 minutes for the first infusion.
Each tea takes 3–4 infusions before the leaves give up. Multiple infusions are the point of green tea, not a thrift exercise.
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How to handle
Buy in small quantities (50–100g) and store airtight, away from light and heat. Green tea oxidizes within months even sealed; a tin opened and forgotten loses its aromatic top notes within weeks. Premium Japanese greens benefit from refrigeration before opening.
References
- Hohenegger, Beatrice. Liquid Jade (St. Martin’s, 2006) — global tea history.
- Heiss, Mary Lou and Robert. The Story of Tea (Ten Speed, 2007) — processing methods detailed.
- Saito, Yoichi. The Book of Japanese Tea (Kodansha, 2018) — Japanese steamed tea tradition.