Green Tea: Taking a Walk on the Wild Side

Yes, it has fabulous health benefits, and yes, it's a crisp, clean, delicate beverage, but who ever suspected that green tea had a wild side? Consider this: you are traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Tea-light Zone!

Jasmine Balls: A bundle of tea leaves are hand-tied together. The inner leaves are cut short and the outer leaves are left long. The leaves are rolled into a tight ball, and the ball is steamed and dried with jasmine. As the tea ball infuses in hot water, the leaves unfurl and the opened ball looks like a chrysanthemum. The chrysanthemum evokes tranquility and health.

Jasmine Golden Flower and Queen Victoria Flower: As with the Jasmine Balls, a small bundle of green tea leaves is hand-tied together. But rather than being rolled into a ball, the leaves are very carefully flattened into a wheel shape. The Jasmine Golden is steamed and dried with jasmine; the Queen Victoria is dried with chrysanthemum. The Queen Victoria is typically designed to produce a delightful triple flower during infusion.

Dragon Pearls: Somewhat like Jasmine Balls, a Dragon Pearl is made from the top two leaves and a bud at the tip of a new growth branch. The leaves and bud are then hand-rolled into small pearls which gently unfurl and reform their original state during infusion. The presentation is wonderfully evocative of a tea bush high in the mists of an estate.

Gunpowder: Gunpowder tea is another rolled green but generally uses a larger leaf. The tea gets its name from the resemblance of the tightly rolled leaves to the gunpowder used in British ships' cannons. The whole leaves unfurl as they steep.

Green Tea Brick: Green tea is compressed into flat shapes with designs imprinted on the surface. The drinker grates or cuts off as much tea as needed for the pot size. Because the tea is compressed, it retains its quality for several years if stored properly.

Green Tea Medallions: Similar to the tea brick, a medallion looks more like a checker. Various characters are pressed into either side of the medallion to signify long life, health, prosperity, and other positive traits. A medallion usually makes up to 18 cups of tea.

Kukicha: Not letting anything go to waste, kukicha is actually green tea stems and few, if any, leaves at all. Kukicha, a twig tea, has an fresh and vigorous green tea flavor.