You may expect the term to be self-explanatory: green tea is a tea that is green. However, that does not adequately address it.

All real teas, as opposed to tisanes, which are herbal and floral infusions, are produced from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, a magnolia-related evergreen tree. On tea plantations, the plant is maintained as a shrub, regularly cut to a height of approximately 3 feet to stimulate new growth and facilitate harvesting. In the wild, the plant may reach a height of 30 feet.

Tea plants can thrive at elevations ranging from sea level to 7,000 feet, but only in warm regions. However, the best teas are made from plants cultivated at higher elevations, where the leaves develop more slowly and provide a more robust taste. Depending on altitude, it may take between 2 12, and 5 years for a young tea plant to be suitable for commercial harvesting, but once it is, it can produce tea leaves for close to a century.

Tea plants generate abundant foliage, a flower like a camellia, and fruit, but only the tiniest and youngest leaves are harvested for tea: the two leaves and bud atop each new stalk. New branch development, known as a flush, may occur weekly at lower elevations but takes several weeks at higher altitudes. The top "tea pluckers" can harvest 40 pounds per day, which is sufficient to produce 10 pounds of tea, by hand.

All tea plants are of the same species, Camellia sinensis, but different local growth circumstances (altitude, temperature, soils, etc.) result in a variety of diverse leaves. However, the manner in which the leaves are processed is even more crucial in generating the distinctive qualities of the three most common forms of tea: green, black, and oolong.

Green tea is the least processed and has the highest levels of antioxidant polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is considered to be responsible for the majority of the health benefits associated with green tea. We will discuss EGCG a little later, but it is this component that gives green tea its healing and beneficial properties.

Green tea is produced by short boiling freshly picked leaves, which renders them flexible and prevents fermentation and discoloration. After being steamed, the leaves are rolled, then "fired" (dried with hot air or stir-fried in a wok) until crisp. The resultant greenish-yellow tea has the same green, somewhat astringent flavor as the fresh leaf.

Green tea has always been and continues to be the most common form of tea produced in China, where most historians and botanists think the tea plant originated. How can this be? Perhaps because green tea embodies not only the flavor, fragrance, and color of spring but also has the greatest concentration of beneficial phytonutrients and the lowest caffeine content of all teas.

The steaming of green tea leaves, which prevents the oxidation of the EGCG component, is the secret to green tea's extraordinary health benefits. Other teas are fermented, which degrades the natural EGCG and diminishes its curative benefits.

In truth, green tea has a long and illustrious history extending back thousands of years. Knowing what the Chinese have understood for millennia may be extremely intriguing.