 | Green and black tea on one tableThe same plant, two cups: a little air on the leaf changes the colour, the body and the wait. Green and black tea, side by sideGreen and black tea on one tray shows the craft, not a flavour trick. Both come from Camellia sinensis. What changes is the air the leaf meets after the harvest, and with it the colour in the cup and the time on the kettle. Leaf oxidationLeaf oxidation is short in a green: the leaf is heated early and stays vegetal, sweet if the water does not boil. In a black the leaf darkens further, the cup turns amber and it takes boiling water for three to five minutes. That is not a scale of quality. It is a choice of hour. Browse the green teas and the black teas. The Earl Grey green is floral and light in the morning. The vanilla black fits better when the day cools. The measure is the same, about 2.5 g for 200 ml. If you hesitate, taste both without milk and without sugar in the first cup. The note on water and time keeps you from scalding the green. Keep each pouch closed, away from the hob, so tomorrow's comparison stays fair. |