Green Tea Potency

Hello all,

I'm an avid lover of Green tea and it's remarkable and well documented health affects. Lately however, I have heard numerous discussions that question the potency of American branded Green Teas. They usually go like this:

"Drinking one cup of green tea in china is like drinking 15 cups of American blends"

"People in china drink like 15 cups of Green Tea a day in certain areas, but it's not 15 individual cups, it's just the potency."

While I know that these are obviously a bit exaggerated, I am wondering if there is a scale that can be assigned to the potency of green tea, and if so, where can I obtain stronger stuff

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"Hard as Iron, Soft as thread"
-Raelz-

Well, they sound mostly like generalizations and don't make sense unless you study how teas are made -- I mean, grown, dried & shipped.

The variety of green tea, the method of preserving the leaves, the way it is packaged and the conditions of shipping can have an effect.

A person in China saying "one cup of green tea in China is like 15 cups of American blend" might say it because he/she feels the soil in China is more conducive to producing the maximum amount of healthy stuff in the tea leaves. This isn't necessarily true though.

Tea leaves grown in America (are any grown here?) might be healthier if they are grown organically, without pesticides/chemical fertilizers, so the China generalization would be false in that case (especially not knowing what tea growers in China are putting on their plants).

I have read that, green or black (fermented), the teas are much more potent when kept in leaf form rather than ground or powdered (for teabags). And that gunpowder green tea (whole leaves, rolled into balls & dried for shipping) is the most potent. But I couldn't prove either of those claims.

But gunpowder green is a mean cup of tea.

__________________
"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

My lady's mother sends green tea over periodically from Japan. It is definitely better than things I have purchased here. Not that you can't spend a little more and get the same thing here, though. Maybe it is the "placebo effect" making the tea taste so good of even making it feel more potent. You know: "This tea is straight outta China...it blows that Lipton out of the water!"

I agree about the gunpowder tea. I have been trying to stay off of coffee, (2 weeks now!), I drink green tea instead. I actually do not like the aftertaste of the coffee, so other than it being part of my routine to slam a cup 'o joe in the morning, I don't miss it too much. Green tea is so much smoother, and I find it gives me an energy boost without the jitters.

Hrm, good points. I'm not saying the leaves are grown differently etc, I mean is the tea generally less potent in dosage. Basically, when you buy a green tea, do they only include a small amount of the leaves compares with other green tea's? I'll have to try out the gunpowder tea, sounds like a more "pure" form of the tea itself, which is ultimately where my question is coming from. I'd just rather not have marketing and product manipulation ruin my experience of the tea and the effects thereof.

Regaarding the placebic affect, I think there is definately something to that. I'll have to try out the gunpowder though. Thanks!

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"Hard as Iron, Soft as thread"
-Raelz-

The deal with leaves to bags is that when you cut up the leaves and put them in bags more of the surface of the tea is exposed to air and thus oxidated. Gunpowder is good, but Dragon's Well is also very good.

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"Now when I hit you, you must pay attention"

Here's my take (as an avid loose tea drinker).

Over the counter (grocery) bagged teas are typically not very good quality. The quality control just isn't as good, you'll often see things like dust, twigs, dirt, and even bugs in inexpensive bag teas.

If you've never tried loose teas from China or Japan you really owe it to yourself to try them once.

Go to Adagio.com and get a green tea sampler with infuser, it's not too bad(cost), and I'll bet you never go back to bagged teas again.

-hz

a question here concerning re-brewing green tea:

do i have to make an extract, keep it hot and use that in brewing again, or can i just take the cold wet leaves out of the empty pot and put hot water over it again?

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Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not "Every man for himself." And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked them up.

As a non-Coffee person who made the switch over to tea if you want the best tea it needs to be loose leaf and whole leaf not ground as stated before.

I personally like www.uptontea.com they have a variety and also get as granular as ordering a specific province's tea from china.

I do notice that a lot of american teas seem to have preseervatives and some added caffene.

T-Buetel, some teas can be rebrewed mostly herbal teas(non-caffinated). I've found that once most teas are brewed once though they lose thier potency and flavor.

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"Keep the gun oiled and the temple clean"

Does Green Tea need to be made fresh everytime for maximum benefits, or can I keep it in a flask in the fridge, and have some over the next few days?

thx

You will get your most ban for your buck with it being fresh brewed. if it sits in the fridge it will be ok I just wouldn't reheat it. I would let it stay as Iced tea and drink it that way. When you reheat it you're changing it so I cannot tell you for sure if it loses anything. This is just the way I drink it.

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"Keep the gun oiled and the temple clean"

Loose, fresh tea is the best. Bagged is for when I want a couple of sips of something that tastes(?) like tea, but will pour out the rest.

I've had first-pick green tea, right off the plane from Japan. Super!

One of the best ways to make tea that I've found is sun tea.
Put leaves in a tea holder (or just toss in and strain them out later). I use a glass container. Put it in the sun on a warm/hot day. Hours later, you've got a gently brewed tea. Smooth!
On cooler days, I carefully heat water (not so hot I can't put a finger in), put the tea in and let it stand for an hour or two. Some teas take longer. taste test.

I use the above methods for refrigerated tea, which I always have cold, not reheated. Also, let tea cool to room temp. before refrigerating it. Otherwise, you get this cloudy mess.

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"....if the mind stops with the sword with which a man is going to strike you, there will be an interval, and your own action will be lost." (Takuan Soho)
"I'm so proud, I've got tears flying out off my butt" (chief108)

I could be wrong but I thought that most of the tea from China is exported anyway.
I've not used tea bags since switching to loose about a year ago.
I go for a balance of convenience, value health and taste- by using infusion balls. I can get about three cups out of one serving, with the second always being the best.
The tea that I get is Pai Mu Tan from CupOfTea. Another thing I've noticed that since switching to white tea, I can't, or don't, drink green anymore. It just doesn't taste as good to me. And white tea is supposed to be even healthier than green.

You just reminded me of something, with the second cup being best comment. I'm pretty lazy about preparing tea, outside of taking care that I don't like the water to be as hot as possible (especially with green teas).

The second cup tastes best cause the first cup should be discarded. Classical tea making indicates that tea leaves should first be briefly rinsed in hot water (first cup). That water is discarded, and the second pouring is the real serving.

I was reading up on "kung fu tea" and googled a few sites. Found a decent video on making kung fu tea (which has nothing to do with martial arts). It's a fairly complicated process to do formally, but it's true that the first brew is poured out, and used to wash the teacups. The complicated method is explained as being the best way to extract the maximum flavor out of oolong tea, while keeping the brew about the same through every cup of tea and avoiding bitterness.

The detailed instructions: http://chineseteas101.com/kungfu_1.htm

The video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...&q=kung+fu+tea

However, that procedure isn't used for green/white tea as the boiling water supposedly destroys the flavor (oolong is brewed in water as close to boiling as possible). I'll have to find out more details on the best ways to brew the different grades of green tea.

__________________
"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

Following are two methods of tea service I found online:
http://www.imperialtea.com/classroom/GongfuPrep.asp
http://www.imperialtea.com/classroom/GaiwanPrep.asp

My favorite method for iced tea is sun tea, provided it's close to 80F out there, and the sun is direct and strong for hours.

I really should start measuring water temp that I prefer for each tea.