Green tea is the least oxidized of the six tea categories. After the leaves are picked, they are heated almost immediately — pan-roasted in China, steamed in Japan — which stops the enzymatic reactions that would otherwise turn the leaves darker and the flavour richer.
The result is a tea that stays close to the fresh leaf. Green teas taste grassy, vegetal, sometimes sweet, sometimes almost marine, depending on where they come from and how they are made. The differences between a Chinese Longjing and a Japanese Gyokuro are as great as the differences between any two wines from different countries.
This section covers what green tea is, how it is made, and the specific styles most worth knowing.