Green tea, one of the most original Chinese teas

We are all familiar with the ancient Chinese tale of how the tea was discovered by the ancient Chinese emperor Shen-Nong-Shi in about 2737 BC: when he was touring the country on a hot day and taking a rest under a tree, some leaves fell from the bush above into the pot by which a servant was boiling some water for him to drink. The boiled water turned into a lingeringly refreshing brew which marked the birth of the second most consumed beverage today - TEA.

It is believed by the historians that the people at that time tried to preserve the ‘refreshing leaves’ by drying them. This is largely how green teas are still made today: by harvesting and dehydrating the leaves. However, the knowledge, techniques and skills of making green tea have been immensely refined and extended since. As a result, green tea family has flourished into hundreds of different varieties, each with its own unique characteristics.