What green tea should I buy?

Tea is very similar to wine, which one to go for is entirely a personal choice. Following are some guidelines for those who are starting, or have just started drinking green tea.

Always loose leaf tea

The tea used for tea bags is tea dust which ranks lowest at the tea quality scale, regardless of their brand - Lipton, Dilmah or any others. The tea ranking sequence is as such: leaf tea - broken tea - fanning – dust. One of teas’ worst enemies is oxidization, where a bitter/rough taste that the fresh high quality tea does not have is introduced. The surface of oxidization increases significantly with tea dust as the result of the broken leaf edge. This is why that the best quality tea is never grinded.

Good tea is fresh tea

This is particularly important for green tea. Good quality green teas should have very refreshing and aromatic smell and taste, regardless of their flavor. The best quality teas in China are generally consumed within 12 months after their production, even with latest packing techniques - vacuum sealing and refrigeration. On the other hand, we see teas on the market that having been on the open selves for years, dark and stale, but labeled as ‘premium authentic Chinese tea’. For a good tea drinking experience, sauce a supplier who is knowledgeable about teas and supplies high quality seasonal fresh teas that are adequately packaged.

Which green tea to start from?

Green tea is the biggest class of Chinese teas with more than three hundred recorded. Dragon Well & Bi Luo Chun are among the top three according to most of Chinese tea books. The main difference is related to the different flavor.

• Dragon Well has a unique nutty & roasted aroma.
• Bi Luo Chun tastes light to start followed by a long lasting, powerfully refreshing after taste.
• Peach Creek Green Tea, a tea that has all the quality of premium green teas, but cheaper since it is not as well known as the others.
• Jasmine green tea is green tea scented by jasmine flower pedals. If you like jasmine scent, you will appreciate this one.

For green tea beginner, Dragon Well is a good place to start.  It is gentle and mellowing. We would be very happy to include some samples of other green teas upon you request with your first order. Alternative, you could try our selection pack that has a range of green, Oolong, white and jasmine teas.

What quality grade to start from?

Start from quality (H) and adjust from there. The easiest way to describe the quality difference is it is similar to wine, with experience, the extra edge of quality will be noticed and appreciated.

To order our premium green teas, please go to: Green Tea.