Ban Cha, Japanese Green Tea

Most Japanese teas are made from well handled new leaves and much of their elegance and style is due to the processing: steaming immediately after plucking and then air drying. Bancha and Sencha are the everyday green tea drinks of Japan. While Sen Cha is plucked in early spring and is considered to be the finer tea, the leaves used to produce Bancha are generally plucked in the fall and tend to be larger and more coarse. This however gives the tea its unique character and visual appearance. Since the leaves used to make Bancha are more coarse and contain some stalks and stems the resulting tea generally contains less caffeine and tannin than the finer grades of Japanese tea. Also the cup tends to be light and refreshing with a robust flavor and vivid yellow color. Also, leaves harvested after summer contain more catechins and antioxidants than the early spring teas. Ingredients: Artisan green tea Origin: Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan