Green tea: the freshest expression of the leaf

Green tea is defined by one step every other tea skips, or does differently: fixing (shāqīng), a quick blast of heat — a dry wok or a steam bath, depending on the region — that halts oxidation almost the moment the leaf is picked. That's what keeps green tea green: the enzymes that would otherwise darken the leaf and deepen its flavor are switched off early, locking in the leaf's original vegetal, grassy, sometimes marine character.

Pan-fired styles (most Chinese green teas) tend toward toasty, nutty, chestnut-like notes from the dry heat. Steamed styles (most Japanese greens) come out more vegetal and savory — that seaweed-like umami note is a real, intentional flavor, not a defect.

Because so little happens to the leaf beyond fixing and drying, green tea is the most fragile tea to store and the least improved by age. Buy it in a quantity you'll actually get through in a few months, keep it away from light and heat, and treat "harvest year" as a real freshness date, not a formality.

The single most common way people ruin a good green tea is water that's too hot for too long. Green tea's delicate compounds turn bitter and astringent fast above about 80°C (175°F), especially in the first 30 seconds of a steep. Cooler water — let a boiling kettle sit for a minute or two before pouring — and a short first steep will show you a completely different, much better tea than the same leaves brewed like a black tea.