On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 17:56:58 -0500, Lewis Perin wrote:

> It's autumn, and thoughts turn to decay. Specifically, I've been thinking
> about how delicate green teas are. Seems to me that, as a first
> approximation, Chinese greens are a whole lot less delicate than Japanese
> greens in the sense of how rapidly they become dull or bitter once the
> airtight package has been opened.
>
> I've been thinking about why this might be, and the answer seems so
> obvious that ... how could it be right? Chinese greens are usually
> whole-leaf teas, and senchas are almost always chopped. Could that be all
> there is to it?

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

In article >,
Lewis Perin > wrote:

> I've been thinking about why this might be, and the answer seems so
> obvious that ... how could it be right? Chinese greens are usually
> whole-leaf teas, and senchas are almost always chopped. Could that be
> all there is to it?

my impression was that most senchas are not chopped, but rather
twisted. i can't recall ever seeing a sencha (or any japanese tea for
that matter) that has been what i would call chopped, or ctc.....p*

"J Boehm" > wrote in message
et...

> 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

A matter of some delicacy
 

Lewis 12/2/04

> It's autumn, and thoughts turn to decay. Specifically, I've been
> thinking about how delicate green teas are. Seems to me that, as a
> first approximation, Chinese greens are a whole lot less delicate than
> Japanese greens in the sense of how rapidly they become dull or bitter
> once the airtight package has been opened.
>
> I've been thinking about why this might be, and the answer seems so
> obvious that ... how could it be right? Chinese greens are usually
> whole-leaf teas, and senchas are almost always chopped. Could that be
> all there is to it?

Lew,

Crunch up some Chinese green leaf, repack it, then wait and see. I actually
think there might be more to it than that. But, my "thinking" is *not* based
in science, as I'm sure you're by now aware.

Michael

Lewis 12/2/04

> It's autumn, and thoughts turn to decay. Specifically, I've been
> thinking about how delicate green teas are. Seems to me that, as a
> first approximation, Chinese greens are a whole lot less delicate than
> Japanese greens in the sense of how rapidly they become dull or bitter
> once the airtight package has been opened.
>
> I've been thinking about why this might be, and the answer seems so
> obvious that ... how could it be right? Chinese greens are usually
> whole-leaf teas, and senchas are almost always chopped. Could that be
> all there is to it?

Lew,

Crunch up some Chinese green leaf, repack it, then wait and see. I actually
think there might be more to it than that. But, my "thinking" is *not* based
in science, as I'm sure you're by now aware.

Michael

Michael Plant > writes:

> Lewis 12/2/04
>
> > It's autumn, and thoughts turn to decay. Specifically, I've been
> > thinking about how delicate green teas are. Seems to me that, as a
> > first approximation, Chinese greens are a whole lot less delicate than
> > Japanese greens in the sense of how rapidly they become dull or bitter
> > once the airtight package has been opened.
> >
> > I've been thinking about why this might be, and the answer seems so
> > obvious that ... how could it be right? Chinese greens are usually
> > whole-leaf teas, and senchas are almost always chopped. Could that be
> > all there is to it?
>
> Lew,
>
> Crunch up some Chinese green leaf, repack it, then wait and see.

Hmm, you're asking me to ruin my tea for science.

> I actually think there might be more to it than that. But, my
> "thinking" is *not* based in science, as I'm sure you're by now
> aware.

Hundreds of years from now, science will have caught up to you.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Michael Plant > writes:

> Lewis 12/2/04
>
> > It's autumn, and thoughts turn to decay. Specifically, I've been
> > thinking about how delicate green teas are. Seems to me that, as a
> > first approximation, Chinese greens are a whole lot less delicate than
> > Japanese greens in the sense of how rapidly they become dull or bitter
> > once the airtight package has been opened.
> >
> > I've been thinking about why this might be, and the answer seems so
> > obvious that ... how could it be right? Chinese greens are usually
> > whole-leaf teas, and senchas are almost always chopped. Could that be
> > all there is to it?
>
> Lew,
>
> Crunch up some Chinese green leaf, repack it, then wait and see.

Hmm, you're asking me to ruin my tea for science.

> I actually think there might be more to it than that. But, my
> "thinking" is *not* based in science, as I'm sure you're by now
> aware.

Hundreds of years from now, science will have caught up to you.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

"Melinda" > wrote in message
...
>
> ...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.

Interestingly enough, the Culinary Teas blurb on its Sencha says it's
pan-fired:

http://www.culinaryteas.com/Green_Teas/Sencha_Tea.html.


--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Melinda" > wrote in message
...
>
> ...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.

Interestingly enough, the Culinary Teas blurb on its Sencha says it's
pan-fired:

http://www.culinaryteas.com/Green_Teas/Sencha_Tea.html.


--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.