What a good green tea leaf. The smell of the smell of strife

Green tea has long earned popularity around the world. This is not surprising, since he has great taste and aroma, and besides this, it contains a lot useful substances: vitamin C, essential oils, tannin, caffeine and many others.

Varieties of good green tea exist great amount. In China alone, there are over a thousand different varieties. How to choose a good and healthy green tea? Which variety do you prefer?

To choose a quality and healthy tea, you should go to a specialized store or a tea shop. There they will gladly tell you and tell you in detail about this or that variety, and also, you can easily see the variety of tea that interests you.

First of all, pay attention to the presence of debris, broken leaves and cuttings. All this should not exceed 5% of total weight. If the percentage of garbage is much higher, this means that the tea is old. The color of green tea leaves depends on the variety and can vary from bright green to pistachio. However, they must be natural green. The presence of leaves of brown or dark gray shades indicates improper storage of tea.

Green tea can be twisted in different ways. There are naturally dried tea leaves (they look like grass), balls and tightly twisted spirals. The stronger the tea is twisted, the stronger the infusion will be. Loosely twisted green tea is softer, softer and more aromatic.

High-quality green tea should have a moisture content of about 3-6%, such tea retains a maximum useful properties. The quality of tea is lower, the more moisture it contains. And with a humidity exceeding 20%, it even becomes moldy, which makes it very harmful, poisonous!

Determining the moisture content of tea is quite simple, something can be found out even with an external examination. For example, if the tea is too brittle, then it is overdried. To test this, you need to take a few tea leaves and grind them with your fingers. Tea easily turned into dust - this is bad. Dried tea is old tea that has been stored for too long. Fresh tea leaves always have a bright color and a beautiful shape. If the tea is old, then its leaves are hard, dull and have a different shape. It is worth touching the tea: it should be soft and lively. Without sacrificing taste green tea can be stored for no more than two years.

Finding out if green tea is not waterlogged is also not difficult. Open the container with the tea leaf (it should be as full as possible), press the tea firmly with your finger and release it sharply. After that, take a close look at what happened. Well-dried tea, straightening out, will quickly rise and take its former volume, leaving almost no dent from your finger. And too wet tea will certainly be compressed or will straighten out very slowly.

Now let's try to distinguish real tea from fake.

As we have already found out, green tea leaves should have a natural green color, which can range from pistachio to bright green. The presence of dark or brown leaves is unacceptable, since such tea is considered a marriage.

When choosing green tea, you should pay attention to the price. Good tea cannot be too cheap. It is also important to pay attention to the packaging of tea. In no case is it allowed to come into contact with cellophane, the most the best option- Packing from parchment or foil.

You should know that high-quality green tea after brewing should have a delicate olive tint. At first it is transparent, but after standing for a while, it becomes a little cloudy.

It is known that the highest quality green tea is produced in Japan and China. And green teas grown in India and Ceylon are significantly inferior to it.

What does quality green tea look like?

Green tea grows in China and Japan - respectively, the famous firms of these countries are likely to please you with good tea.

Buy tea at specialized stores, in banks or by weight. Thus, you will be less likely to purchase low-quality raw materials. Be sure to purchase loose leaf tea. And remember that quality tea does not come cheap.

The best green tea is harvested in early April - these are young leaves and buds of a tea bush. Ready tea in this case, it has a twisted or elongated shape. In general, the shape of green tea is very diverse: it can be flat, pressed, spiral, bound, etc. The main indicator when choosing quality tea is not its shape, but the color of the dried leaf: it should be naturally green. Pay attention to the shelf life of tea: the fresher the tea leaves, the better.
When choosing tea, be sure to smell it: herbal aroma with floral or fruity notes is what you need.

What does poor quality green tea look like?

Unfortunately, bad green tea also happens. And many of our fellow citizens shamelessly confuse it with good. So, the well-known aroma and taste of hay, fish, strong bitterness or the taste of cologne, the nauseating aroma of fruits in strength - all these are signs of poor-quality green tea. Often such tea is supplied to Russia by Ceylon and India.

Any darkening on the green tea leaves is a sign of marriage.

Never buy cheap green tea in bags: firstly, with such processing, all the benefits of green tea are lost, and secondly, high-quality raw materials will never be given away for such an “execution”, that is, processing.

How to check the quality of green tea

Brew green tea at home correctly (fill hot water for 1-3 minutes) and evaluate the result. The drink should smell good. The color can vary from light to dark green, even with hints of yellow. But the coloring should be bright, transparent, beautiful. The taste will be pleasant, sweetish. Such tea can be easily drunk without sugar, while poor quality tea I want to sweeten it up more.

By the way, the better the green tea, the easier it foams when brewed.

So what is the best green tea?

How to choose quality tea

Firstly, if you want to try not a fake, then immediately exclude tea bags. After such processing, all useful qualities drink. Everything that is sold in filter bags is beautifully packaged waste tea production. People who know a lot about this drink will not buy it in factory-made cardboard or iron packages. It is better to buy green tea only in proven places and by weight.
Secondly, the taste directly depends on the area where the tea bushes are grown. The Chinese province called Fujian, which is located opposite Taiwan, is known for the fact that it is in it that an entire production process for the processing of expensive varieties of this plant operates. Green tea really costs a lot of money, but it is worth considering that the air there is very clean, as well as the nature is beautiful and the mountains and much more, which only speaks of an ecologically clean area.

The best tea is produced by harvesting five trees planted in the area no less than 500 years ago. These tea trees grow on the heights of the mountains and therefore, in order to collect leaves from them, it takes a lot of time and effort.

Thirdly, the product is considered to be of the highest quality if its shelf life is a little more than one month. There is one "but" - you can store it longer, but it will lose its properties. Tea that has already been brewed should not be stored for more than one day.

Therefore, all Chinese drink only fresh brewed tea, because it has not yet accumulated foreign smells and tastes, and it is very beautiful in color.

In fact, the brands of green tea in Japan and China do not differ much. The only difference is the processing method. The most common is the Chinese brand.

Leaves are the main indicator of quality. Leaves should be bright color(can be both pistachio-colored and bright green) and beautiful shape. The leaves should be soft and lively.

In the old drink, they are a little hard and different shapes dry and crumble easily. Most often dark or brown shades. It is worth paying attention to the expiration date. Real green leaves are stored for no more than 1-2 years, it is advisable to keep them in a parchment or foil package.

The four best teas by weight

Gyokuro. One of the most expensive species Japanese green tea, unusually sweet and invigorating better coffee (great content titanium and caffeine). Gyokuro is grown according to special technologies, i.e. it grows in the shade. Its leaves are usually dark emerald in color and have a special oblong shape (similar to spruce needles). The average price for 100 g reaches 800 rubles, but it's worth it.
Biluochun Emerald Spirals of Spring. It is grown in the Chinese province of Jiangsu. Due to the fact that fruits are grown next to tea plantations, the leaves of the tea bush naturally absorb the fruity aroma. After drying, it is not subjected to further processing. The leaves are strictly curved. Price from 500 rubles per 100 g.
Xinyang Maojian - grown high in the mountains. The drink, in addition to a pleasant and delicate aroma, contains a large number of vitamin C. Because of this, tea infusion It is recommended to drink in the morning, as it has a very invigorating effect. Its cost is from 340 rubles.
Yuquanili "Pearl with a milky smell". This variety is grown in China. This is a product that does not contain foreign additives, has delicate taste And pleasant aroma, and its milky-vanilla smell is achieved through a special treatment.

Among the classic varieties of Chinese tea, Mao Feng should be distinguished - it has a mild and sweetish-floral taste. It is recommended for people prone to frequent stress. A variety such as Tuocha is considered one of the most healing.

Ideal for those who regularly diet. Chun Mee is also brought to us from China. This drink is strong and tart, inexpensive and most importantly does not contain any additives.

Lovers of fruity flavors should pay attention to Lung Ching (Longjing). This variety with a delicate floral taste and smell belongs to elite varieties also called imperial.

The Best Inexpensive Varieties for Tea Bag Fans

Not everyone wants to spend a lot of money on a daily drink, so let's also consider ordinary (bagged) tea. It is now on the shelves a lot, a variety of firms and variations.

But judging by the above signs of quality tea, as well as customer reviews, we can distinguish the following types:

MaitredeThe "Napoleon". This is the so-called milk oolong. Sold in a can, which allows you to keep its freshness and aroma longer than in cardboard boxes. The leaves are pistachio-colored, have a twisted shape (when brewed, they bloom into almost a whole leaf). The infusion itself is pleasant to the taste, pale straw color. Produced in China.
Next on the list is Hilltop Gunpowder Green Tea. The material for such a drink is selected very carefully. Those who have been to tea plantations in China claim that these are only the top few petals from each bush. Tea is sealed tin can(With beautiful design suitable for a gift). Its leaves are rolled into balls. At tea ceremonies, they are surprised by its rich taste and amazing aroma.

Tea drinking traditions by season

Chinese people like different kinds of tea depending on the season. For example, in the spring they drink tea collected from various inflorescences of plants, but in the summer they prefer only green teas. Autumn for the Chinese is the time for drinking oolong tea, and in winter they prefer red.

According to the tradition of tea drinking, the Chinese drink the divine infusion, slowly, talking to each other, or thinking about their own. The people of China believe that in this way they will become rich. As for the dishes in which tea is brewed, teapots made of purple and red clay are considered the best.

Every brand is useful in its own way. Even if you have just started to join it, it is worth remembering - it is not the main thing in which place the tea plant has grown, it is important to brew it correctly.

Tips for preparing such a drink can be reduced to the basic rule - never brew a tea leaf with boiling water.

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Today green tea you won’t surprise anyone anymore, and a few years ago there weren’t so many amateurs. What is so useful about this wonderful product, which is so loved by the inhabitants of the East. First of all about regular use green tea should be considered by those who live in areas with unfavorable environmental conditions, as well as people suffering from various chronic diseases. For those who try green tea for the first time, it may seem that something is not right in it, because many people are used to traditional black tea. But if you know what green tea to buy and how to brew it correctly, you can not only enjoy the process of preparing and drinking, but also great benefit for good health.

In 1945, in Japan, after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scientists began to search for a cure that could neutralize, at least partially, the effects of radiation, from which tens of thousands of people died every year. And luck smiled at them. After all, it is this country and China that have traditionally been drinking green tea, not black tea, since ancient times. As it turns out, green tea is one of the the best means, removing radioactive substances, and is also well suited for the prevention of radiation and similar diseases.

Japanese scientists observed people affected by the bombing who settled in the town of Wuji. It has been a long tradition in this city to regularly daily use about 10 cups of green tea, for comparison, they are somewhat smaller than traditional Russian cups. While many Japanese with the same degree of radiation exposure were dying, the refugees from the city of Wuji were getting better and better. They began to compare the diet, ecology, lifestyle, and came to the conclusion that the only difference was that the inhabitants of Uji drank one and a half times more green tea than the average Japanese, since it was ancient tradition this town, which the refugees from Hiroshima, not without pleasure, took over from the natives.

Scientists then made a sensational discovery, it turned out that green tea very well removes strontium-90 from the body, one of the most harmful reactive isotopes, which, if it enters the body through the lungs or with food, can cause oncology. Green tea is able to remove excess of this harmful substance from the body. Ukrainian doctors and biologists who studied the consequences of the Chernobyl accident came to the same conclusions.

Scientists have found that the main benefit of green tea depends on the amount of tannins and catechins that bind harmful substances and remove them from the body. Catechin prevents cell mutation, and tannin is 20 times more effective than vitamin E, which is responsible for fat metabolism and the aging process.

Also, due to vitamin K, green tea improves blood composition, has a beneficial effect on the liver, prevents its obesity, and the work of the kidneys, adrenal glands and spleen also improves. Due to vitamins C, PP, B, copper, iodine and a number of organic acids, the thyroid gland normalizes and endocrine system. Zinc strengthens blood vessels, maintains their elasticity. Vitamin P, which has bactericidal properties, which, the higher than the variety of tea, protects against colds and generally strengthens the immune system.

It has also been proven that green tea is a good regulator of excess weight, due to the specific caffeine contained in it, which accelerates the processing of fats that the body does not need.

Also, green tea is useful for hypertension, it washes out salts that are dangerous for the health of patients with hypertension.

There are a few simple rules, do not take tea in bags, no matter how expensive it is, and no matter how beautiful the packaging is, unless, if you are very impatient, then in pyramids. The best green tea is fresh tea.

There are three main signs of good tea:

Freshness - tea should be harvested this year, good green tea is harvested in March-April, tea harvested in summer can no longer be called good. Fresh green tea has a subtle, natural flavor, the color should not be too dull, but not too bright.

Naturalness - high-quality green tea is first of all natural tea, without various additives, fragrances, preservatives and other chemicals. Of course, there are good teas with flavors, but only if the flavor is natural and one, and not a mixture, for example, with jasmine or soursep.

Uniformity - Tea leaves should be approximately the same size, shape and color.

The hallmarks of good tea are clean and natural taste, bright aroma, different shades in taste and aroma are different for different teas, aftertaste. Also, good green tea can be brewed several times, approximately 5-8 times.

Fresh green tea is easy to distinguish from old, fresh tea is slightly soft, dense, has its own color depending on the variety. Old tea will be dry, dull in color and crumble easily.

Fresh tea will be clear when brewed. mild taste and clean, characteristic aroma. Old tea will give a cloudy infusion, with a mild taste and aroma.

Usually, the more expensive the tea, the better, for example, tea popular in China - Long Jing in Russia is sold at $ 20 per 100 grams. It is, of course, better to take green or white tea by weight in specialized stores, though Lately These shops are not for everyone. Therefore, you can pick up something in some large supermarket or store, a department specializing in the sale of packaged tea, so it turns out much cheaper and the quality can be quite decent.

IN conventional stores, usually, nothing good, unfortunately, happens. Everything is known in comparison, and if you compare any branded tea with any even the most cheap tea by weight, you can feel the difference. Sometimes you can find original packaged green tea - for example, from the Mlesna company. In large supermarkets, sometimes, there is more or less good tea packaged in bags, with stickers. But often these are incomprehensible mixtures with incomprehensible names, it is always better to take pure tea.

Qualitative, original tea from branded. Usually, not only raw materials and processing are distinguished, but also manual assembly, assembly season, assembly weather. But branded tea is better in terms of standards, meaning you always buy the same tea. Loose tea is the same and may differ both in price and quality. In case of loose tea the standard can probably be provided only by large companies, for example, such as the Tchaikovsky network. Sometimes in supermarkets you can also find loose tea, which is probably a sign of standard and quality. For example, Okay supermarkets have a small assortment of tea and coffee by weight.

All green tea is usually divided into Chinese, Japanese and Ceylon, there are also good Taiwanese, Thai, Vietnamese, but Chinese and Japanese green tea is considered better and healthier.

Fresh brewed green tea must have light fragrance, delicate taste and cooling aftertaste.

Fresh, dry green tea should have a sweetish aroma with notes of fresh herbs and flowers. The aroma of brewed green tea should be fresh, clear, smell like fresh grass. In good green tea there is no aftertaste of astringency and bitterness, the taste should be sweetish and oily. The color of good green tea is almost transparent with a yellow-greenish tinge.

Varieties of green tea

There are several main varieties of green tea.

Long Ching or in translation - the well of the dragon. This variety is the most common.In China, about 40 different green tea bushes have been bred for this variety. There are many shades of taste of this tea and the quality is also very different. The aroma of this tea is dominated by the smell of roasted pumpkin seeds and herbaceous shades, while the taste is fresh and sweet notes. In Russia, a good Long Jing costs about $20 per 100 grams.

Mao Feng or Fleecy Peaks, is considered the most invigorating and energizing green tea.

Tai Ping Hou Kui or Monkey Leader from Tai Ping, this tea is characterized by large flat leaves and a delicate taste with a grassy undertone.

Lü Mu Dan or Green Peony, the leaves of this tea are somewhat similar to peony petals, and have a refreshing and cooling taste.

Liu An Gua Pian or pumpkin seeds, the leaves of this tea resemble in shape pumpkin seeds, tea has a rich aroma and a good tonic effect.

Bi Lo Chun or Emerald Spirals of Spring. This tea has a delicate taste, thick aroma, beautiful emerald color, tea leaves with white pile.

Sencha- Japanese green tea, quite common and inexpensive, leaves - flat needles, has a fresh, delicate taste and grassy aroma.

Gunpowder- gunpowder, the most inexpensive and everyday green tea, has rich taste, aroma and dark green color.

Oolong - turquoise tea

Oolong is externally green tea, the infusion is yellow-green. Oolongs are usually referred to as green teas, but it is rather an intermediate option between green and red tea. The taste of oolongs is denser and thicker with a floral aroma. The Chinese also use them in their tea ceremony and brew them about 10 times.

Dairy oolongs are common - they have a velvety flavor, milk, cream and are slightly sweet. They can be found by weight. and in packaged form, in ordinary stores - for example, a good Marcony milk oolong in "My Store" or Basilur milk oolong.

Flavored green tea

There are a lot of different flavored green teas, but as a rule, the tea itself is of poor quality. Flavorings are usually used to hide old and inferior teas. Although it certainly smells good. Usually the more used various additives, the less tea itself and its benefits remain. Therefore, if you take tea with flavor, it is better if it is one, and not a mixture. For example with jasmine, osmanthus, lotus, or sausep.

Popular jasmine-flavoured green teas are Jade Rings and Jade Rings.

At packed green tea

Of the well-known and not so well-known brands of green packaged tea, one can single out the Ceylon "Hyson", "Heilis", "Kvolitea", "Mater", the company "Mlesna", offers a wide range of green, black and white tea, Newby, Jaf, Basilur, Martea. From Chinese - "Camel", "Tien Shan", not bad, inexpensive Chinese tea- "Black Dragon" by Marcony. Of the inexpensive well-known brands, Greenfield, Riston and Krasnodar tea can be distinguished. By weight, the most common green tea is Tie Guan Yin (oolong), Green snail, Sencha. As a rule, green teas are pure form, and with additives, it's up to your taste. Worth paying attention to mate drink, in bulk stores it is expensive, but in large supermarkets you can find packaged at a significantly lower price. It is not necessary to buy a pumpkin for him, you can brew in the usual porcelain teapot like green tea. You can add lemon to green tea, even not very good green tea will be quite pleasant to drink with lemon. Ginger can also be added to boost immunity.

How to brew green tea

It is important not only to buy good green tea, but also to brew it correctly. Traditional Asian, Chinese way brewing is different from European. The Chinese brew green tea in a small clay teapot or use a gaiwan - a cup on a saucer with a lid, with a volume of about 80-120 ml, with water of about 80 degrees. At the same time, tea is put about 15-35 percent of the volume of the teapot. The first three brews, brew for only a couple of seconds, and immediately pour the drink into a cup, subsequent brews for about 10 seconds. Sometimes the first brew is not drunk, but drained to remove dust from the tea.

Usually, gaiwan with a volume of 100 ml is warmed up and put 3-4 grams of tea - 1 tablespoon. Brewed five times, this produces 2 full-fledged mugs of tea or 15 Chinese bowls of 15 ml each. The Chinese usually drink tea in this way 3-4 times a day. To obtain a healing effect, you need to drink green tea at least once a day, that is, 3-4 grams per five brews.

You can also brew green tea in a porcelain teapot.

It must first be warmed up, it is not necessary to cover the kettle with a lid, it is better to drink in small cups, if there are none, then it is better to pour an incomplete cup. Brew with slightly cooled boiling water - 85-90 degrees.

The taste of tea will largely depend on the quality of the water, so it is advisable to use the water as pure as possible. If brewed European way, then you need quite a bit of green tea brewing, and brew for a couple of minutes.

How to choose Chinese green tea - video

How to determine the quality of green tea after brewing

In most cases, it is not possible to determine the quality of the goods by eye. Then there is only 1 way: brew and test it taste properties, aroma. After brewing green tea High Quality always gives delicate fragrance.

It must also be transparent. If, after insisting, the infusion is dark, then the tea is stale. It must be remembered that good green tea can be used several times, and for the first time its aroma and taste characteristics normally should be worse than during subsequent welding.

The time during which tea is brewed should not be long. Green tea is quickly brewed only in hot water, if the same happened in the cold, then this indicates that there are nutritional supplements(colors and flavors). You can choose green tea based on its cost per 100 grams.

Tea costs about 400 rubles. As for green tea, it is most often of lower quality and contains many excipients. Thus, it can be concluded what to choose good tea impossible, only relying on his external data. It is advisable to pay attention to the price, manufacturer's name and characteristics for direct brewing.

What kind to start with if you want to become a connoisseur of tea - or just to finally find the exact tea that you can enjoy every day? Let's figure it out in this article. And first, let's remember

What kind of tea is there?

When people talk about "tea varieties", what do you think they mean?

Everyone knows that tea is a plant, a tea bush. Plants different varieties, from a botanical point of view, have different decorative or physiological characteristics. For example, two varieties of peonies or tomatoes may differ in external data, have different colors and shapes of petals, the size and taste of fruits, etc. And many still think that green and black tea are made from different plants. Actually there is one kind tea plant- camellia sinensis - and many of its varieties. The type of tea (green, black, yellow, etc.) depends on the processing tea leaf.

We will not go into botanical details. After all, for the buyer, taste, aroma, color matter. ready drink. These indicators are determined commercial grade.

Commercial grade of tea - an indicator of quality

The trade grade of tea consists of many factors. In addition to the variety of tea plant (Chinese, Assamese, Cambodian), the following are taken into account:

the place of growth of the plant itself (this is country of origin, the most famous are Chinese, Indian, Ceylon, Kenyan and other teas from Africa, Georgian, Vietnamese, Japanese and, of course, native Krasnodar, characteristics plantations),
time and conditions of collection (which leaves are collected, manually or by machine, collection season, etc.),
features of sheet processing (drying, twisting, grinding and many more special processes).

And that's not all - many varieties of tea are obtained by blending and additional aromatization(There is nothing wrong with this if the flavors are natural).

All these factors affect the final grade of tea. And as a result, we can read on the pack, for example, "Chinese green large leaf long leaf tea(… company name)". Here every word matters.

Blending is another reason for the variety of teas

Blending (and in simple terms - mixing) is carried out by tea-packing factories. Each blend gets its own unique name and sometimes becomes the "face of the firm." The composition of such a mixture may include 1-2 dozen varieties of tea leaves grown in different countries.

Which tea maker is the best?

IN Soviet time we had access to one type of tea, which many still miss ("with an elephant"). Then the country rushed to the other extreme, and only imported tea could be bought in stores. Now the choice is great, there would be money.

It is very difficult to choose the best tea producer. Mainly because the same company produces 3-5 different brands of tea in several price categories - expensive, medium, economy. And ardent adherents of Greenfield tea, in fact, choose the same manufacturer as economical lovers of the Princess Nouri brand (both are made by the Orimi Trade company). Therefore, the definition of "the best tea producer" is very conditional.

From Russian manufacturers tea note companies:

"Orimi trade", she owns the brands "Princess Noori", "Princess Kandy", (as well as Gita, Java), as well as Tess, Greenfield,
"May"- and this is not only May Tea, but also Lisma, Curtis,
Unilever- "Conversation", Brooke Bond, Lipton (the owner of the company is England, but the production is located in Russia).

Among foreign teas, the most famous "Dilmah"(provider Ceylon tea), English Twinnings, « Ahmad, Ceylon "Riston"(positions himself as " english tea premium class) « Akbar".

When selecting tea varieties for the rating, we were based on customer reviews and research results. We did not consider rare, elite and expensive varieties, sold only at auctions or in tea shops of a narrow specialization. The ranking contains popular trade grades of black and green tea, which are easy to find in stores near your home.

What a good green tea leaf. The smell of the smell of strife

What does quality green tea look like?

What does poor quality green tea look like?

Any darkening on the green tea leaves is a sign of marriage.

How to check the quality of green tea