Find Your Favorite Flavor of Green Tea

Green tea has become a popular buzzword, not only in alternative medicine communities, but also with mainstream American media sources like Fox News. With so many of us hearing about and using the herbal remedy, alternative medicine guru, Dr. Andrew Weil has provided an extensive explanation of green tea variations to inform and educate us on the details behind the buzz.

Green tea is produced from the leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant. It contains a polyphenol that works in the body as a powerful antioxidant that has proven health benefits like fighting against cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Matcha is considered the ultimate variation in the world of Japanese green tea because of the skill that goes into cultivating it and its bold and rich flavor. The intense taste often calls for it to be served with complementing sweet foods. In contrast, konacha delivers a clean taste to clear the palatte and is commonly served with sushi.

Gyokuro is one of the most expensive Japanese green teas due to the intense labor involved in producing it. The name means “jade dew” and was so named because of the leaves’ dark green shade.

Other varieties of green tea that Dr. Weil describes in detail include sencha, bancha, kabusecha and hojicha.

Just like wine, becoming a green tea connoisseur can take time and is an acquired taste. It is essential to find a flavor that fits your palatte because the powerful punch of green tea can protect your body from free radicals, hypertension and bacterial infections.