JAPANESE vs. CHINESE GREEN TEA

Hi everyone, in this video, we're comparing Chinese and Japanese green teas. If you're interested in premium tea, make sure to subscribe to our channel for new videos like this one each week. Green tea is by far the most popular style of tea throughout East Asia, accounting for more than 60% of China's annual tea production and well over 90% in Japan and Korea. However, green tea is sadly underrepresented in the West. Most people's experience with this style is limited to flavorless green tea bags or subpar restaurant sencha. Because of this, green tea is often wrongly portrayed as intensely bitter and tannic, something to drink only for health but not really for its flavor. This couldn't be farther from the truth because quality green teas offer some of the sweetest, most refreshing brews in the tea world. In this video, we're going to compare Chinese green tea and Japanese green tea to understand how crafting method changes flavor. Green tea is one of the least processed styles. The leaves are simply harvested and then immediately heated to stop oxidation before it even begins. Because of this simple processing, the taste of green tea entirely depends on harvest season and roasting method. All premium green teas are made from young spring harvested leaves, which are naturally sweet and crisp in taste. Depending on how these tea leaves are heated changes how they taste. There are three main types of heating used for green tea, pan roasting, drum roasting, and steaming. The first two methods are the most popular throughout China, while Japan almost exclusively steams their green teas. Steaming preserves and enhances the vegetal green flavors of the tea, often resulting in the teas that taste rich and slightly marine. Examples of steamed green teas are Japan's sencha and matcha, which are both known for their rich umami flavors and notes of seaweed. Drum roasting is the most popular technique in China, which simply applies dry, convective heat to the leaves, preserving vegetal notes but also their sweetness for a more crisp and refreshing taste. Examples of drum roasting green tea include our spring maofeng and liu'an guapian, which are both vegetal in taste with a crisp, smooth finish. Pan roasting involves direct contact between the leaves and the hot pan, which toasts the leaves and creates a more pronounced nutty roasted flavor. Dragon well is the most popular tea style to use this method. These three types of heating provide a wide spectrum of flavor within green tea. If you're familiar with matcha, but want to try a Chinese alternative, we recommend liu'an guapian. Although this tea isn't grounded into powder, it offers a similar rich umami flavor and smooth texture. Our spring maofeng is a great alternative to sencha, with a similar mouthfeel and deep vegetal notes. Many people enjoy the roasted flavors of Japanese genmaicha and hojicha. These same nutty notes can be found in drum roasting green teas, like our pre-rained dragon well. We encourage you to explore different green tea styles and experience this spectrum of flavor for yourself. Visit redblossomtea.com to browse through our full selection. Remember to leave a like and comment below if you found this video helpful. And make sure you're subscribed to our channel so you don't miss out on future videos.