I got about 4 ounces of this in my order from Ten Ren. I drank it years
ago, and I remember it was a strong tea... but at the time I wasn't aware it
was green, I thought it was just a black tea.

It makes an excellent cup of tea, especially for the price (3.50 for four
ounces). The flavor is stronger than other green teas I drank. One thing I
notice about the flavor is that it doesn't have the usual grassy taste I get
from some other green teas. So is it really a green tea in the sense the
leaves aren't oxidized?

The website says gunpowder is made from older leaves. Also, I have read
in one medical study that the older the leaves, usually the more catechins
are in the leaf... but old leaves from the grading perspective are
considered inferior, and are thus sold cheaper.

Gunpowder is a green tea. It is panfried to prevent oxidation. There
are two categories Imperial from older leaf and Pinhead from younger
leaf. The leaf is rolled into pellets. Another style is Hyson. The
leaf is twisted. There is the older Hyson and Younger Hyson. Chinese
green is very astringent. Grassy is a Japanese note.

Jim

"magnulus" > wrote in message >...
> I got about 4 ounces of this in my order from Ten Ren. I drank it years
> ago, and I remember it was a strong tea... but at the time I wasn't aware it
> was green, I thought it was just a black tea.
>
> It makes an excellent cup of tea, especially for the price (3.50 for four
> ounces). The flavor is stronger than other green teas I drank. One thing I
> notice about the flavor is that it doesn't have the usual grassy taste I get
> from some other green teas. So is it really a green tea in the sense the
> leaves aren't oxidized?
>
> The website says gunpowder is made from older leaves. Also, I have read
> in one medical study that the older the leaves, usually the more catechins
> are in the leaf... but old leaves from the grading perspective are
> considered inferior, and are thus sold cheaper.

Gunpowder is a green tea. It is panfried to prevent oxidation. There
are two categories Imperial from older leaf and Pinhead from younger
leaf. The leaf is rolled into pellets. Another style is Hyson. The
leaf is twisted. There is the older Hyson and Younger Hyson. Chinese
green is very astringent. Grassy is a Japanese note.

Jim

"magnulus" > wrote in message >...
> I got about 4 ounces of this in my order from Ten Ren. I drank it years
> ago, and I remember it was a strong tea... but at the time I wasn't aware it
> was green, I thought it was just a black tea.
>
> It makes an excellent cup of tea, especially for the price (3.50 for four
> ounces). The flavor is stronger than other green teas I drank. One thing I
> notice about the flavor is that it doesn't have the usual grassy taste I get
> from some other green teas. So is it really a green tea in the sense the
> leaves aren't oxidized?
>
> The website says gunpowder is made from older leaves. Also, I have read
> in one medical study that the older the leaves, usually the more catechins
> are in the leaf... but old leaves from the grading perspective are
> considered inferior, and are thus sold cheaper.

Space 10/1/04


> Gunpowder is a green tea. It is panfried to prevent oxidation. There
> are two categories Imperial from older leaf and Pinhead from younger
> leaf. The leaf is rolled into pellets. Another style is Hyson. The
> leaf is twisted. There is the older Hyson and Younger Hyson. Chinese
> green is very astringent. Grassy is a Japanese note.
>
> Jim

When it come to gunpowder tea, Jims "astringency" and "grassy" assessment
might be right on the money; but, in general, it doesn't hold water:
Perfectly non-astringent Chinese green teas and perfectly astringent
Japanese green teas are not uncommon. It's a big wide world out there.

Michael

when I think Japanese green tea I think grassy.


"Michael Plant" > wrote in message
...
> Space 10/1/04
>
>
> > Gunpowder is a green tea. It is panfried to prevent oxidation. There
> > are two categories Imperial from older leaf and Pinhead from younger
> > leaf. The leaf is rolled into pellets. Another style is Hyson. The
> > leaf is twisted. There is the older Hyson and Younger Hyson. Chinese
> > green is very astringent. Grassy is a Japanese note.
> >
> > Jim
>
> When it come to gunpowder tea, Jims "astringency" and "grassy" assessment
> might be right on the money; but, in general, it doesn't hold water:
> Perfectly non-astringent Chinese green teas and perfectly astringent
> Japanese green teas are not uncommon. It's a big wide world out there.
>
> Michael
>

Falky foo wrote:
>
> when I think Japanese green tea I think grassy.

When I think Japanese green tea, I think about that time in Kyoto my
wife and I stopped in this cute cafe along the banks of the Kamogawa
river and were served the most delicious cups of cherry blossom bancha.
What was the name of that waiter, honey? Oh, right -- Jean-Luke!

--crymad

Grassy as a descriptor can be negative or positive, I think. Good Japanese tea
can be grassy in the best sense -- think lushly aromatic, fresh grass
clippings...

Joe

Joseph Kubera wrote:
>
> Grassy as a descriptor can be negative or positive, I think. Good Japanese tea
> can be grassy in the best sense -- think lushly aromatic, fresh grass
> clippings...

Yes, and I like grassiness. My little made-up story there was just
riffing on Jim's cherry Bancha comments. The "Jean-Luke" line is from
one of those General Foods International Coffee commercials, you see.

--crymad

"Joseph Kubera" > wrote in message
...
> Grassy as a descriptor can be negative or positive, I think. Good
Japanese tea
> can be grassy in the best sense -- think lushly aromatic, fresh grass
> clippings...

Sometimes Longjing reminds me of spinach or vegetable stock, so grassy
taste I don't believe is unique to Japanese tea.

I haven't tried any sencha tea. I tried genmaicha a few times, and it's
not bad- not really grassy, but it's not 100 percent tea either.

I really preffer a bit of astringency to grassy tastes.

Lingjing tastes like sweet corn with rather nutty undertones, nothing grassy
in my stock. Now my Japanese sencha OTOH is very grassy and twiggy.


"magnulus" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Joseph Kubera" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Grassy as a descriptor can be negative or positive, I think. Good
> Japanese tea
> > can be grassy in the best sense -- think lushly aromatic, fresh grass
> > clippings...
>
> Sometimes Longjing reminds me of spinach or vegetable stock, so grassy
> taste I don't believe is unique to Japanese tea.
>
> I haven't tried any sencha tea. I tried genmaicha a few times, and it's
> not bad- not really grassy, but it's not 100 percent tea either.
>
> I really preffer a bit of astringency to grassy tastes.
>
>