Finding Green, not yellow, tea

From what I understand many teas labeled green are actually yellow tea and (I'm guessing) don't have as many health benefits as green tea. How can you tell before purchasing that you are getting actual green tea? Is there a good brand to get?

Thanks.

Reply to
BDB
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Not very likely, as real yellow teas are in far shorter supply than greens, on the whole.

Some brands tend to be better than others, but tea is a natural product that varies in quality from harvest to harvest, so there are no ironclad rules.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

This is incorrect. Yellow tea is an uncommon type Chinese tea; it is very similar to green tea in that it is not oxidized at all. The dry leaf has a light yellow cast. Most of the teas labeled green are actually green teas, although the infused liquor may often look yellow or green/yellow.

Latest research also indicates that health benefits of drinking tea are by no means confined to green tea - as long as its Camellia sinensis, it seems to be good for you: black, green, oolong, whatever. Here is an article reference, although it is now a few years old:

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Finally, there are gazillons of different "brands" of green tea. Here are two good online vendors that I have used:

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-------- Randy

Reply to
RJP

I'm not sure about the "not oxidized at all". There's a lot of mystery around yellow tea, but according to what I've read, it seems to be dried more slowly than green tea, allowing for a marginal amount of oxidation.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

Green tea is the most studied, though (and it has more epigallocatechin... whereas black tea has other polyphenols). And properly brewed it's lower in caffeine, and cup for cup it seems to be just as good as black tea- despite the fact it is not brewed as strongly. This means most people can drink twice as much green tea in a day with no ill effects (caffeine jitters) vs. black tea.

Reply to
magnulus

Reply to
bruce

Wrong guess. Most "green teas" can have yellowish leaves and give a rather yellow infusion. The *greenness* is not a criteria of quality, they are just different. If you prefer a vivid green liquor, get Japanese sencha, gyokuro or macha(powdered tea). Korean teas are quite green too. For Chinese ones, well, ask the seller.

Oh that...

Kuri

Reply to
cc

Hi Lewis,

From my Chinese tea "textbook"

Green tea (no oxidation)

-leaves are heated

-leaves are massaged

-leaves are dried

Yellow tea (leaves are slightly oxidized at the beginning of the process and after, they are fermented by "bacteries")

-leaves are laid on basket to dry a little

-drying

-leaves are laid on basket to dry a little (again)

-leaves are massaged

-fermentation by bacteries*

-final drying

*not the same beasties as in Puer it seems

Far me, yellow tea tastes (and looks) like oolong or green depending on sorts, the degree of oxidation seems to vary a lot. Probably the fermentation is the distinctive feature.

Kuri

Reply to
cc

"Yellow Tea" is one of the (if not "the") rarest and most expensive type of Chinese tea. A green tea that desperately wants to be sold as a yellow tea, I can imagine. A yellow tea being sold as green - out of the question. Like gold bar being sold as silver.

Alex.

Reply to
Alex Chaihorsky

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