So now you may be asking what is the difference between green tea and the black tea you are used to drinking. Both teas come from the same plant; the difference is the way the different teas are processed. The green tea is not fermented (发酵) before it has been dried. Because of the shorter processing time the green tea has a lighter flavor than the black tea. Green tea is good for you because the processing keeps all the beneficial elements left in the tea. Green tea doesn’t taste anything like the tea you usually drink. Most green tea drinkers do not add milk or sugar, but you can ff you like. Green tea has been described as having a light, fresh, green flavor. Some of the various green teas have just a little sweetness taste to them. Others are a little more astringent(涩味的). There are several different varieties of green tea each with its own flavor; however they all seem to have one flavor quality in common. To try really good green tea you will want to look in a gourmet(美食家) tea store rather than a grocery store. The grocery store doesn’t have the selection you will find in a gourmet tea store. You will find a good selection of green teas in your local Asian food store. Some of the types you will want to look for are: Sencha, Gunpowder, or Dragon Well. Green tea is brewed just like yon would brew the tea you normally drink, except you will not want the water to boil. You will want to brew you tea when the water is on the verge of boiling. Green tea is a more delicate tea so you want to the water to be a little cooler. Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee : there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six-eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee. |