Natural form

Whole dried green tea leaves showing their characteristic flat, needle-like or twisted shape and color.

Shows the reader exactly what to look for when buying or identifying green tea leaves.

Beverages

Green Tea

Fresh, grassy tea for a lighter, delicate cup

Light and grassy, green tea brews a gentle, refreshing cup best steeped below boiling so it doesn't turn bitter. Keep the leaves airtight, away from light and odors.

Green tea is unoxidized tea leaf, quickly heated after picking to lock in its fresh, grassy, vegetal character — gentler and more delicate than black tea, with notes of grass, seaweed, toasted rice, or sweet hay depending on the variety and origin (Japanese sencha and genmaicha, Chinese gunpowder and dragon well). Its subtle astringency and clean herbal flavor make it a graceful cooking liquid: it poaches fish and fruit delicately, infuses rice and broths, scents custards and ice cream, and brings a clean, slightly bitter freshness to dressings and marinades. It demands a gentle hand — over-steeping turns it harshly bitter.

Measured in: g
Storage: Airtight

Find it in

Beverages

Types & varieties

Sencha

Grassy, fresh — everyday Japanese green

Genmaicha

With toasted rice — nutty, savory

Gunpowder/dragon well

Chinese styles, mellow to bold

Gyokuro

Shaded, sweet, intense

White Tea

The least processed tea, made from young buds and leaves, brewing pale and delicately sweet with low astringency. Steeped gently below boiling; used for light infusions and poaching liquids.

How to use in cooking

Brew green tea gently (cooler water, short steep) so it stays sweet, not bitter, then use it to poach white fish or fruit, cook rice (Japanese chazuke pours tea over rice), or scent a light broth. Infuse it into cream for green-tea ice cream and custards, or whisk it into salad dressings for a clean herbal edge. Genmaicha (with toasted rice) adds a popcorn-like nuttiness that's lovely in savory dishes.

How to choose

Use fresh, good-quality leaf — green tea fades quickly. Japanese sencha is grassy and fresh; gyokuro is sweet and intense; genmaicha is toasty and nutty; Chinese dragon well is mellow. Brew below boiling (70–80°C) and steep briefly to avoid bitterness. Match the tea's character to the dish.

Common uses

Poach white fish or fruit gentlyPour over rice for chazukeInfuse cream for green-tea ice creamScent a light broth or dashiWhisk into a clean salad dressingCook fragrant tea riceMake a green-tea jelly or panna cotta