Shortly after moving to China, I was introduced to Chinese tea culture and soon after that, I found my elixir of life – green tea. The first time I discovered the plethora of green tea health benefits was when I began to replace my daily doses of coffee with green tea.

As a student, my priority at that time was to be up and on time for early classes. Unfortunately, the habit of drinking coffee on an empty stomach often caused pain to my sensitive stomach. I decided to replace my morning coffee routine with tea. Surprisingly, I never felt pain in my stomach again. Furthermore, my concentration during classes improved significantly.

Later on, I replaced my after-lunch coffee with tea as well. Then all of a sudden it got easier to lose weight, which is a major problem one faces when exposed to the deliciousness of Chinese cuisine in all its varieties.

The fact that green tea comes in many different varieties has made me a tea addict for life. Unlike many other addictions though, I’ve found that I’ve become a healthier person as a result.

In this post, I’d like to share what I’ve learned about drinking green tea through years of tasting it in many of its varieties, as well as the green tea health benefits and wellness.

The Difference Between Green Tea and Black Tea

Green tea is extracted from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant.

The difference between green tea and black tea lies in the duration of the oxidation, or the fermentation process, which begins right after the tea leaves are picked.

Black tea has a longer oxidation process, hence the tea color is darker. As a result, black tea can be preserved longer compared to green tea, which loses its fragrancy after a while.

With green tea on the other hand, the oxidation process stops earlier. By means of pan-frying or oven roasting, green tea retains the natural substances present in fresh leaves.

Green Tea Health Benefits: Why is Green Tea the Best Kind of Tea?

The scientific community believes that drinking green tea is very healthy due to the fact that it’s rich in antioxidants. It contains more tea polyphenols, catechins, chlorophyll, caffeine, amino acids, vitamins, and other nutrients that are beneficial to our health.

The Origins of Green Tea

Green Tea is believed to have originated in China. According to legend, Emperor Shennong discovered the benefits of green tea. One day while on a trip to a distant region, he sat under a Camellia tree to rest.  When he opened his bottle filled with hot water, suddenly a dry tea leaf fell into it and infused its flavor into the hot water. As the water changed its color and begin to smell fragrant, he became curious and decided to taste it. To his amazement, he found the drink refreshing.

Since then, green tea became a staple in every Chinese household and quickly made its way to Japan and other Asian countries.

The plethora of benefits associated with drinking green tea has paved the way for green tea into Western culture. When served without sugar, green tea is believed to help improve our immunity system, increase mental alertness, ward off serious diseases such as cancer, diabetes, dementia; slow down the aging process and even help weight loss.

Related Reads:

8 Best Green Teas for People Who Don’t Like Green Tea

How to Make and Consume Green Tea

The best way to make green tea is to steep it in hot water, instead of boiling water. After the water has boiled it’s better to wait a few minutes before adding the tea leaves. Water that is too hot often brings out a bitter flavor in the tea.

When buying tea in China, certain shops may give you the chance to take part in a tea ceremony. When performing a tea ceremony, the store owner uses a special tea set that comes with very small tea cups. This way guests have the chance to taste many varieties of tea before making a buying decision.

Green tea doesn’t really expire, but it does lose fragrance after about a year. For most of the tea varieties, the first batch (which usually comes around April) is the freshest, therefore more expensive than the latter ones. That’s why the more seasoned tea drinkers prefer to store tea in the fridge, so they can preserve the fragrant taste.

Green Tea Health Benefits

There are a lot of claims about the health benefits of drinking green tea, and while there have been some studies on the matter, there isn’t enough scientific evidence currently available to support or refute all of them.  Let’s take a look at some of them that have some supporting evidence:

Inflammation Reduction

Green Teas contain catechins and other bioactive compounds that show some evidence of being able to help reduce inflammation, aid in weight loss, and help prevent certain brain and heart diseases.   It should be noted that to get the most benefit out of catechins, selecting a high-quality green tea is essential.  Furthermore, steeping the tea in boiling water can actually break down some of these compounds, so it is best to steep tea in water somewhere between 75 and 90 degrees Celsius.

Fat Burning

There is some evidence to suggest that consuming green tea helps to burn fat.  However, many studies conflict with one another. Regardless, it can be said that green tea is a healthy substitute for sugary beverages and alcohol.  Swapping these out for green tea takes thousands of empty calories out of your diet, and gives the added benefit of caffeine which is a natural thermogenic (calorie burning) substance.

Diabetes Prevention

On a related note, cutting out all that excess sugar will also help reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.  There is some further evidence that green tea may even improve your body’s sensitivity to insulin, thereby making it more effective.

Brain Benefits

Though in the early stages of research, there is a gathering list of evidence to suggest that the natural antioxidant polyphenols present in green tea disrupt the brain aging process and may even help in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.  Given that scientists are still searching for the root causes of both of these conditions it’s safe to say that green tea alone can’t prevent them, but it can help and we’ll take every edge we can get.

Focus and Relaxation

 While we’re on the brain, there are two chemicals present in green tea that promote mental acuity.  These are the well known and loved caffeine, and an amino acid called L-theanine.  Both of these chemicals have an effect on neurotransmitters, the chemicals your nervous system uses to pass messages between nerve cells. 

Caffeine prevents your system from picking up too much adenosine and making room for other neurotransmitters like dopamine that boost concentration.  L-theanine is a more interesting compound.  It can actually access your brain directly through the blood and increase your body’s production of another neurotransmitter called GABA which is part of the body’s natural way to deal with anxiety. 

Furthermore, it increases the production of dopamine which as you recall the caffeine in the tea is helping to make room for.  The end result?  A relaxing caffeine buzz that may just help you stay focused.

Other studies are being conducted to investigate other potential benefits of green tea.  While the jury is still out on many, here are some of the studies that have suggested promising results:

• Prevention of certain cancers
• Warding off bad breath and tooth decay
• Improving cholesterol and preventing Heart Disease
• Increased Lifespan

Green Tea Health Benefits for Skin

While scientists are still debating many of the studies on the effects of drinking green tea, studies on the effects of applying green tea oils to the skin appear to be much clearer. As a topical ointment green tea extracts have proven to be effective against skin conditions such as genital warts and eczema.  They have also shown to be great for protecting the skin against sun damage and even in preventing cancers caused by sun damage. Moderate evidence suggests that Rosacea and acne can be reduced by products that contain as little as 2% green tea extract.  There is even limited evidence to suggest that these extracts may help fight against aging. 

These are just some of the benefits currently being studied.  Few of these studies have taken double‐blind, randomized approaches, or used large patient numbers.  However, the evidence so far promotes the idea that the anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-proliferative, and anti-inflammatory properties of green tea extracts have a multitude of health benefits for your skin.

Types of Green Tea and Its Varieties

As Westerners we are mainly used to consuming Ceylon, Darjeeling, and other black tea varieties along with breakfast or afternoon. Many don’t even pay attention to the variety that they’re drinking.  Chinese tea culture on the other hand offers a wide variety of tea to match every tea drinker’s taste.

Different climates, growth regions, times of harvesting and methods of processing yield different varieties of tea. 

The unique color and flavor makes some tea varieties more suitable for drinking during  hot weather, while some are best during the cold season. It is also easy to differentiate them as they all have different textures. Flat, curled, or rolled up, they are all packed with fragrance on the inside. 

When talking about Chinese tea, it is important to mention that all tea varieties are named according to the region where tea is grown.

Related Reads:

Matcha Green Tea: Health Benefits of Drinking Matcha

Matcha Smoothie Bowl: Breakfast Recipe

How to Make Kombucha Tea at Home: A Beginners’ Guide

Chinese Tea Classification

Chinese tea is classified into 6 major categories: 

Green Tea

• Longjing, Biluochun, Xinyang Maojian, Huangshan Maofeng 

Oolong Tea

• Tie GuanYin, WuYi Tea

Flower Tea

• Jasmine Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea

Black Tea: Chinese and Indian

White Tea

Pu erh Tea

I am a tea lover and from all the varieties I’ve tried, I personally think that most of the Green Tea kinds, as well as Oolong tea, taste amazing.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. As a participant in the Amazon Associate Program, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Popular Chinese Green Tea and Where to Buy

西湖龙井 Xī hú Lóngjǐng

 Longjing or “Dragon Well” Tea is the most famous among the green teas. It’s grown around the West Lake area in Hangzhou, East China. This type of tea has a flat texture, and a distinct pleasant flavor. It serves as a perfect refreshment for hot summer days. 

碧螺春 Bìluóchūn

Biluochun tea literaly means “Green Snail Spring”. It is harvested in spring and it’s named after the small snail that heralds the arrival of spring. Also, the tea leaves are thin and slightly curved, resembling a snail shape. Fruit trees are grown around the tea shrubs, so the tea leaves absorb the fruity-floral flavors surrounding it. This gives Biluochun tea a very fragrant and floral aroma.

峨眉竹叶青 Emei Zhuyeqing

Zhuyeqing Tea got its name after the mountain Emei in Sichuan Province where its grown. This particular tea is very unique due to the favorable climate and geographical location of Emei mountain. It is processed from buds only, which makes it flat and straight. The tea it produces is yellow green and has a fragrant, refreshing taste.

乌龙茶 Wu Long Cha

Oolong Tea is native to Fujian Province. The most famous of the Oolong tea is the Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy, sometimes just called Iron Buddha). Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea and the process of making it is a bit involved. It has the rich fragrance of green tea, and the mellow taste of black tea. It tastes fruity, with peach and osmanthus undertones, an amazing golden yellow color, and a fantastic aroma.

In Japan this kind of tea is famously referred to as “beauty tea”,  owed to its amazing effect on weight loss and anti-aging.

Another variation of Oolong tea is Taiwanese Oolong, which is darker in color and grows at high altitudes in the mountains. Due to the cloudy and cold climate in the mountains, the Oolong tea leaves are given a longer time to grow before its time for harvest. Hence a richness and fragrant flavor that allows for multiple infusions.

Check Oolong Tea on Amazon:

Side Effects

Though there are numerous health benefits, there are few things to be careful about when drinking green tea.

Strong infusions of green tea should not be consumed on an empty stomach as it may cause irritation.

Do not consume it late at night or just before going to bed. Though green tea helps to relax, it also excites the brain and might cause sleep deprivation.  

Do not drink green tea together with certain medications and do not consume it when you are going through medical treatment or therapy. Remember to always consult with your physician in these cases. Failure to do so might worsen your medical condition or lengthen your recovery.

Read Next:

How to Drink Green Tea for Weight Loss

Best Time to Drink Green Tea for Health & Wellness

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If you need help with choosing Chinese tea, or if you’d like to order a great quality green tea directly from China, feel free to contact me.