"J Boehm" > wrote in message
news
> Hmmm, I have my doubts. Leave tea has a smaller surface to the air than
> chopped tea, any lavour change resulting from the exposure to air should
> be swifter with chopped leaves. I once had superb Japanese tea, coming
> direct from Japan by air-mail, vacuum sealed in an envelope. After two
> weeks this tea was ruined, bearing no resemblance to the almost
> minty aroma of the first day. I think there are more forces at work that
> distinguish China from Japan greens, wish I knew which ones.
> JB

That would actually prove Lews point, not detract from it. On that theory,
since sencha is torn/chopped/whatever (and it is in pieces compared to my
Chinese, I've noticed that too.) then the extra exposed inner surface might
matter. But one other thing that might make a difference...would it matter
that Japanese tea is steamed and Chinese is pan fried? Would the wet
treatment on the sencha break down cell walls more? Thoughts to ponder.

Melinda