Real Green Tea

[Eat2Grow]

I was given this new green tea called Numi.  I say it's "real" green tea because they don't crush up the leaves losing all the benefits.  They hand roll the leaves and put them in the bag.  When the hot water hits them, they unroll and release all that good stuff.

Opinions?

[candidizzle]

ive had that before in a cafe in europe and it was amazing.

youll love it

[benchthis]

I was given this new green tea called Numi.  I say it's "real" green tea because they don't crush up the leaves losing all the benefits.  They hand roll the leaves and put them in the bag.  When the hot water hits them, they unroll and release all that good stuff.

Opinions?

where did u buy it ??

[Eat2Grow]

I didn't.  My fiance's boss gave her some to give to me.  He said he got it at Von's.  Or Safeway for the N. Californians.

The taste is very suttle as well,,not bitter like the other Lipton/Celestial Seasonings crap.

[Tapeworm]

The effect of the leaves being rolled rather than crushed sounds like something only a true connoisseur would be concerned with.  Most of us probably wouldn't know the difference in a taste test, and the nutritional qualities would be more or less the same.

The bitterness of the tea you don't like probably has more to do with the crop of tea being cheap and crappy than with the leaves being crushed.

[Eat2Grow]

So, you are telling me that letting an orange dry out and crush it up and eat the dust is as good as eating a whole orange?

You lose some of the integrity when you crush up the green tea leaves....

[evandatp]

The effect of the leaves being rolled rather than crushed sounds like something only a true connoisseur would be concerned with.  Most of us probably wouldn't know the difference in a taste test, and the nutritional qualities would be more or less the same.

The bitterness of the tea you don't like probably has more to do with the crop of tea being cheap and crappy than with the leaves being crushed.

Not exactly.

When the tea is chopped fine for tea bags it's for convenience. It brews faster but also means a shit load more of the tannins leach out & make a much nastier tasting brew.

If you're in China town find a cheap packet in one of stores there, no need to get gouged at a tea 'boutique' .

Use Donkey Kong's method: steep a teaspoon of leaves in 2-3 cups of water overnight in the fridge. If you don't like that taste try again adding some chopped mint.

[Tapeworm]

So, you are telling me that letting an orange dry out and crush it up and eat the dust is as good as eating a whole orange?

You lose some of the integrity when you crush up the green tea leaves....

Your analogy would be better applied to brewing tea with a dried leaf vs a freshly picked leaf, and even then it seems like a poor parallel since oranges aren't steeped in hot water to create an infusion. 

When the tea is chopped fine for tea bags it's for convenience. It brews faster but also means a shit load more of the tannins leach out & make a much nastier tasting brew.

Increasing the surface area would reduce the brewing time, but I don't see how it would release a greater percentage of tannins than would be released by a slower brew.  I was under the impression that green tea shouldn't be brewed in water that is too hot, since that will make for a bitter brew.  The longer brewing time required for unchopped leaves would allow the water to cool off more as the tea steeps, which might explain the reduced bitterness of a slower brewed tea if someone was using water straight off the boil.

On the other hand, you guys might be right.  I don't know much about tea.  I just find it hard to believe that a whole leaf would infuse its tea so much differently than a chopped leaf.

[Eat2Grow]

When tea leaves are prepared for bagging, they are chopped into tiny pieces. This increases oxygen exposure, resulting in tea that gets stale more quickly. The tea itself stays fresher and more flavorful if it remains in its original form. Because they are going to be cut up anyway, often leaves of lower quality are chosen for bagged tea.



Explains the taste diff.  I guess