All Tea are the Same?! Japanese Green Tea, Matcha, Sencha... What are the differences?

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What makes Japanese Sencha Green Tea different from English Breakfast Tea? There are so many different types of tea out there. What are the differences? Sencha, Matcha, Oolong Cha, Black Tea, Red Tea, Yellow Tea... Are they all the same?

Video Summary

What makes Japanse Sencha Green Tea different from English Breakfast Tea? There are so many different types of tea out there. What are the differences? Sencha, Matcha, Oolong Cha, Black Tea, Red Tea, Yellow Tea... Are they all the same?

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Video Transcript

Click here to view the transcript in Japanese (日本語）

ChaCha:
I’ve heard that tea is good for me, but so many different types are there. Can someone teach me the difference?

Kei:
Hi ChaCha
I'm Kei. Let me teach you the difference.

ChaCha:
Hi Mr. Kei. Thank you!
I heard Sencha, Matcha, Oolong Tea, Black Tea, Red Tea, Yellow Tea, Blue Tea, Pink Tea!!

Kei:
OK, OK. Not sure about the pink tea, but
let me explain one by one.

ChaCha:
Can you explain all of them at once?
Can you?

Kei:
Let me try.

All the tea out there is the same.

ChaCha:
Sencha, Matcha, Oolong...

Kei:
Yes, yes, yes. Not sure about the pink tea, but all come from the same species called Camellia Sinensis.

ChaCha:
Camellia Sinensis?

Kei:
Yes. Camellia sinensis is a type of tree in which the leaves are used to produce tea.

It is also called “tea plant” or “tea shrub”.

No matter if it is English tea or Chinese tea or Japanese tea, all are coming from the same plant.

ChaCha:
No Way!

English Breakfast Tea is different from Sencha Green Tea. I know that much.

Kei:
What makes the difference is what happens after the tea is harvested.

ChaCha:
No Way!

Kei:
The main difference between Black Tea and Green Tea is if the tea is oxidized or not.

ChaCha:
Oxidized?

Kei:
Oxidation is when food is exposed to the air and changes its chemistry.

When you cut an apple and leave it on a table, the apple turns brown, right?
That is apple being oxidized.

Green Tea is a type of tea that is not oxidized and Black Tea is a type of tea that is oxidized.

This oxidation is the reason black tea tastes sweeter and less bitter than green tea in general.

ChaCha:
So if I cut green tea and leave it on the table for a few hours it becomes black tea?

Kei:
Not really.

Green Tea is heated after harvesting to stop oxidation, so the tea no longer oxidizes.

Apple Pie’s apple doesn’t turn brown because it is heated and does not oxidize any more.

ChaCha:
Is Pink Tea Oxidized?

Kei:
I’m not sure about the Pink Tea...