I can’t remember just when I gave up drinking coffee.  I believe it’s been about 2 years.  I kept having the feeling of being dehydrated and I was blaming it on the coffee.  The more coffee I drank the more dry my lips became and because I hadn’t yet been introduced to Gano coffee,  I just simply replaced it with what I thought to be the best green tea for overall health benefits.  Now, I really enjoy drinking green tea, with a lovely cup of white tea thrown in every now and again. Based on the following actions and uses I’m glad that I do:

1. Acts as an antioxidant and helps to protect against cancer
2. Lowers cholesterol levels
3. Reduces the clotting tendency of the blood
4. Stimulates the immune system
5. Fights tooth decay
6. Helps regulate blood sugar and insulin levels
7. Combats mental fatigue
8. May delay the onset of athero-sclerosis
9. Good for asthma
10. Studies show promise as a weight loss aid
11. May help prevent enlarged prostate

Recently, while imbibing in my afternoon green tea happy hour it became obvious to me that I really don’t know much about the blends or the brands I’m buying or whether or not I’m drinking the best green tea.  Sometimes I’ll buy based on price, other times I’ll buy because it’s organic and sometimes I’ll buy because I want to try something different.  What I do know is that the differences between the types of tea results from the different methods of processing the leaves.

• Tea leaves are steamed, rolled and dried to make green tea.  This method preserves the content of the antioxidant compounds known as polyphenols which provide us with the health benefits of tea. 
• Black tea is brought to us from leaves undergoing a process of oxidation which reduces the polyphenols content while changing the color and taste.
• Oolong falls between green and black tea in color, flavor and the polyphenol content.
• White tea is imported from a specific region of China.  The leaves undergo the least processing so you get even better antioxidant activity than green tea.  White tea is very pale and produces a very delicate taste.

All green teas are from the species Camellia sinensis.  There can be quite a difference depending on the region where the leaves are grown and, of course, the processing methods.  90% of teas sold are Chinese teas which can be broken down into various regions, the best known being lung ching (dragon well).

There are other teas from Japan which are equally good.  There are two types of Japanese green teas, sencha or gyokuro.  The difference between the two being that sencha is grown in the full sun while gyokuro is shaded a few weeks before harvesting.  There are many different brands but the basic difference is that gyokuro makes a sweeter, darker green tea than sencha which has that somewhat grassy taste.  Gyokuro also costs over twice as much.  Gyokuro is the special hand made powdered tea that is used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

There seems to be much controversy on the issue of organic vs non-organic when it come to the best green tea.  The jury is out for me on that issue but I’ll stick with organic while I continue to research.

Have you found a tasty brand that you consider to be the best green tea? Would you recommend it? I’d like to hear from you if you have an opinion on brands, blends or the organic vs non-organic issue.

Tags: antioxidant, Best Green Tea, Gano Coffee, Polyphenols