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
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

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.