Green Tea: History, Character and What to Look For
Updated: May 2026
Green tea has one of the longest histories of any drink in the world. Consumed across China and Japan for thousands of years, it moved into European kitchens gradually over the past few centuries and has become one of the most widely drunk teas globally. That longevity is not accidental. Green tea has a distinctive flavour, a well-documented place in culinary and cultural tradition, and a character that sets it clearly apart from black tea, herbal infusions and coffee.
This post covers what green tea actually is, how it differs from other teas, what makes quality vary so much between products, and how matcha fits into the wider picture.
What green tea actually is
Green tea comes from the same plant as black and white tea — Camellia sinensis — but is processed differently. Where black tea is fully oxidised after picking, green tea leaves are quickly heated after harvest, either by steaming (the Japanese method) or pan-firing (more common in China). That step halts oxidation and preserves the leaf's green colour, lighter flavour and delicate character.
Unlike most herbal teas, green tea does contain caffeine — though typically less than black tea or coffee. The exact amount depends on the variety, growing method and brewing time, but most green teas sit comfortably between the two extremes. Matcha is an exception: because you are consuming the whole leaf in powdered form rather than an infusion, it tends to have a higher caffeine content than steeped green tea.
A brief history
The earliest records of green tea consumption date back to ancient China, where it was used ceremonially and as a daily drink for centuries before spreading to Japan and eventually the rest of the world. In Japan, green tea became central to cultural life — the formal tea ceremony, or chado, developed around powdered matcha as a practice of mindfulness, hospitality and aesthetic refinement that is still observed today.
In the UK, tea drinking has been mainstream since the seventeenth century, though black tea dominated until relatively recently. Green tea's growth in Western markets over the past few decades reflects a broader shift toward lighter, less processed drinks and a growing interest in the traditions behind what we consume.
Green tea varieties worth knowing
Green tea covers a wide range of styles, and the differences in flavour between them can be considerable.
Sencha is the most widely consumed green tea in Japan — bright, grassy and clean, with a slightly vegetal note that some people find immediately appealing and others need time to appreciate. Gyokuro is shade-grown and has a deeper, more complex sweetness. Gunpowder is a Chinese style with tightly rolled leaves that unfurl during steeping, giving a slightly smoky, rounded cup.
Matcha is in a category of its own. Rather than steeping leaves in water, you whisk powdered tencha leaf directly into the liquid, consuming the whole leaf. The result is a richer, more intense flavour with a distinctive umami depth and a vivid green colour that no steeped tea can match. For more on matcha specifically, our posts on the Shimizu Tani garden matcha and how to make and enjoy matcha cover the detail.
What affects quality in green tea
Green tea is more sensitive to growing conditions, handling and storage than most teas. The same variety grown in different regions, harvested at different times of year, or stored in poor conditions can taste dramatically different.
First flush teas — picked in early spring — are generally considered the finest, with the most delicate flavour and the brightest colour. Later harvests tend to be coarser and less nuanced. Shade-grown teas like gyokuro and matcha develop differently from those grown in full sun, accumulating more chlorophyll and theanine under cover.
Organic certification matters here too. Green tea is a lightly processed product — the leaf goes from field to cup with minimal transformation — which makes growing standards and handling practices directly relevant to what ends up in the cup. Our Soil Association certified organic matcha is sourced from a single garden in Kyoto with a cultivation history dating back to the seventeenth century.
How to brew green tea well
The most common mistake with green tea is brewing it too hot. Unlike black tea, green tea brewed with boiling water can taste harsh, bitter and astringent. Most green teas do best with water at around 70 to 80 degrees Celsius — water that has boiled and been left to cool for a couple of minutes, or drawn from a temperature-controlled kettle.
Steeping time matters equally. Two to three minutes is usually enough for most steeped green teas. Longer than that and the bitterness can dominate. Good-quality green teas can often be steeped two or three times, with each subsequent infusion giving a slightly different flavour character.
Matcha is prepared differently — whisked rather than steeped. Our guide to making matcha covers the process in detail, including water temperature, whisking technique and the difference between ceremonial and culinary grades.
Green tea in everyday life
Green tea fits most naturally into the middle of the day — lighter than coffee, more characterful than water, and interesting enough to hold attention without the heaviness of a black tea with milk. It is also a natural choice for anyone reducing caffeine without eliminating it entirely, or looking for something with a little more complexity than a standard herbal infusion.
Our organic matcha green tea from the Shimizu Tani garden in Kyoto is our primary green tea offering — ceremonial grade, single origin, and produced to the same organic standards as everything else we make and source. If you are new to green tea and want to explore the wider range of herbal and botanical infusions we offer, our guide to choosing everyday teas is a useful starting point.