绿茶

Green tea is defined by a single principle: the immediate halting of oxidation after the leaf is picked. This step is called 杀青 (shāqīng, literally "killing the green") — a reference to the fact that heat is applied to the fresh leaf before any enzymatic browning can occur. The process preserves the leaf's chlorophyll (keeping it green), its catechins and antioxidants (keeping it astringent and health-active), and its volatile aromatic compounds (keeping its flavor fresh and vegetal). Every decision in green tea processing flows from this principle.

There are two main methods of killing the green. 炒青 (chǎoqīng, "stir-frying the green") uses a dry wok or rotating drum at high heat — the leaves are tossed continuously to prevent burning, losing moisture rapidly in the process. This is the dominant method in China and produces the grassy, slightly toasty character of teas like Longjing and Biluochun. 蒸青 (zhēngqīng, "steaming the green") uses steam — a gentler, more uniform heat that produces a more purely vegetal, seaweed-like note; it was the dominant method through the Tang and Song dynasties and remains important in Japan (where it underlies the character of sencha and gyokuro).

After fixing, the leaf is shaped. Green teas come in dozens of pressed, rolled, twisted, and flat-dried forms: the flat, sword-like leaves of Longjing; the tight, snail-coiled pellets of Biluochun; the long, needle-straight leaves of Xinyang Maojian; the loose, crinkled leaves of Huangshan Maofeng. The shape affects how the leaf unfurls during brewing, controlling the rate of extraction and the visual spectacle in a glass.

Green tea is the most temperature-sensitive of the six categories. Because the fixing process preserves the leaf's reactive compounds without the buffering that oxidation provides, boiling water causes immediate over-extraction — releasing harsh tannins and breaking down the delicate aromatics that distinguish a fine green tea. The standard recommendation is 70–80°C for most green teas; delicate early-harvest teas (明前 míngqián grades) brew best at 70°C or below.

The vessel is as important as the temperature. A glass (玻璃杯 bōlí bēi) is the traditional choice for fine greens — the visual spectacle of the leaves unfurling is considered part of the experience, and glass neither absorbs nor imparts flavor. A lidded bowl (盖碗 gàiwǎn) with the lid resting ajar also works well. Avoid Yixing clay teapots for green tea: the clay absorbs flavor oils and retains heat too aggressively.

Steep time is brief — 1 to 2 minutes for a first infusion. Green teas generally yield two to three steeps of quality; the first is the brightest and freshest, the second often the sweetest and most rounded as the leaf opens fully. Do not let it sit: remove the leaves or drink immediately after steeping to prevent the brew turning bitter.

Green tea is not only the oldest surviving tea category but was, for most of Chinese history, the only one that mattered. The Tang dynasty form of tea — as documented by Lù Yǔ in the 《茶经》 — was pressed green tea cake (团茶 tuán chá), which was broken off, roasted to revive it, ground into powder, and boiled in water with salt. The Song dynasty refined this into the whisked powdered tea practice (点茶 diǎnchá), which was transmitted to Japan and became the basis of the Japanese tea ceremony (茶道 sadō, same characters as chádào) and matcha. The tea being whisked in Song and Japanese tea ceremonies is, in its fundamental character, a green tea — unoxidized leaf, immediately fixed.

The shift to loose-leaf steeping in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) did not displace green tea — it simply changed its form. The Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang's famous 1391 edict abolishing tribute tea in pressed-cake form and mandating loose-leaf tea was largely a practical labor reform, but its cultural effect was to make the individual leaf legible as an object of beauty and the glass or bowl the appropriate vessel for admiring it. This is the moment when the visual aesthetics of watching green tea leaves unfurl became a distinct pleasure.