Green Tea

These types of teas are produced by bypassing the fermentation step. The oxidizing enzymes are killed/denatured by steam blasting the freshly plucked leaf in perforated trays or by roasting it in hot iron pan. The steaming is carried out for less than a minute. The leaf is then subjected to further heating and rolling until it turns dark green. The leaves are finally dried to moisture content of 3 to 4 percent. As the fermentation is arrested by the inactivation of poly phenol oxidase, the polyphenols are not oxidized and the leaves remain green. The beverage gives a weak flavor than black tea due to the absence of theaflavins and thearubigins.