Green Tea

Chunmee, gunpowder & sencha — pan-fired and steamed

Green tea is the same plant as black tea and differs entirely in processing: the leaf is heat-treated soon after plucking to deactivate the enzymes that would otherwise oxidise it, so the leaf stays green and the cup keeps its vegetal, grassy character. How that heat is applied splits the trade. Chinese and Vietnamese greens are predominantly pan-fired, which gives a toastier, nuttier profile — chunmee, the eyebrow-shaped leaf graded by numbers such as 9371 and 41022, and gunpowder, rolled into tight pellets and graded 3505 and similar. Japanese-style and some Chinese production is steamed instead, which keeps a fresher, more marine and vividly green character, as in sencha. Contracts specify grade number, leaf appearance, liquor colour, moisture at 6.5% maximum and — importantly for green tea — pesticide residue compliance for the destination, which is scrutinised more heavily here than for black tea.

Buy pan-fired Chinese or Vietnamese green for volume: teabag blends, the base for jasmine and flavoured greens, Moroccan-style mint tea where gunpowder is the traditional and expected leaf, and RTD manufacture. Buy steamed styles where a fresher, greener cup is the selling point, typically loose-leaf retail and speciality. Two practical cautions worth heeding. Green tea is more perishable than black — it fades and yellows with air, light and warmth — so packaging, turnover and storage matter more, and old green tea is obvious in the cup. And residue compliance is the most common cause of rejection at EU and Japanese borders, so contract to the destination's MRL list explicitly rather than to a generic standard. CBIL brokers green tea against grade, leaf and liquor assessment, moisture and full residue testing, on FOB Chinese and Vietnamese ports, CFR and CIF terms.