Ceremonial grade means first-harvest leaf with the veins and stems removed, then milled slowly on granite so the powder stays cool and keeps its colour. Because you drink the leaf itself rather than an infusion, the bowl carries the full sweetness, caffeine and umami of the tea. Whisked with water at seventy degrees it foams into a thick cup tasting of fresh cream, spinach and cane sugar. Sift it first to avoid lumps, use about two grams to seventy millilitres, and drink it before it settles.
The everyday green tea of Japan, from first-flush Shizuoka leaf. Bright and grassy with a clean, sweet finish. Hot water turns it sharp, so keep it low.
The best-known green tea in China, from the hills by West Lake. Flat jade leaves give a mellow, chestnut-sweet cup. Pan-firing keeps it toasty rather than grassy.
Shaded for three weeks before harvest to build L-theanine. Intensely umami, thick and seaweed-sweet. It needs cool water and some patience.
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