Ever since I began drinking tea I've always wanted to be able to make a low
astringency tea (not a tisane) with a green tint that appears as in the
photo at
http://www.o-cha.com/

Well, I'm getting closer. Tazo has Chinese varietal blend teabags they call
'China Green Tips'.

Description: "... blend of high-grow Chinese Mao feng green teas that are
cultivated in Zhejiang province and plucked in th spring. After harvesting,
th tea is quickly steamed to halt fermentation..."

I've been brewing it for 10 minutes in a covered glass cup at a starting
temp 180F (82C) and have been able to produce an infusion with an
extraordinary green hue and a flavor that I like. It's not as green as the
photo on that o-cha.com web page, but it still looks really cool; really
unusual.One might presume from appearance only that this brew would be
grassy tasting, but it isn't.

If any of you folks get a chance, please try it and leave your comments in
this thread.

Knack wrote:
> Ever since I began drinking tea I've always wanted to be able to make a low
> astringency tea (not a tisane) with a green tint that appears as in the
> photo at
> http://www.o-cha.com/
>
> Well, I'm getting closer. Tazo has Chinese varietal blend teabags they call
> 'China Green Tips'.
>
> If any of you folks get a chance, please try it and leave your comments in
> this thread.

Well, china green tips by Tazo is not what I would consider very high
quality but yes it will produce a green liquor. I am very into green
teas, and even if a box or loose tea claims it is "High-Quality" you
can pretty much bet it is not. True high quality green teas will make
your head explode when you see the prices, and the ultimate quality
ones would require mortgaging your home. Most likely what you are
seeing in that cup is Matcha (which they mention on the site) Matcha
comes in two varieties, you can read about them he
http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/matcha.htm

I prefer the younger Matcha. I also am a very big fan of Sencha, which
is slightly grassy or vegetal in nature though. Gyokuro is also a green
tea that is sometimes powdered to make matcha and it may be to your
liking. Shizuoka, Uji, Dragonwell, and others also may fit your
desires. I also would recommend trying a very high quality Jasmine
"pearl" tea as it is nice and mellow.

Sometimes the quest is the reward, good luck!

- Dominic
Drinking: Organic Tangerine White Tea.