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Green Tea Plants - The Facts
Green tea plants or trees are also known as cammellia sinensis. They are an evergreen shrub that if grown in the wild will grow to a height of 15-30 feet. When are green tea plants harvested?Japanese green tea is usually harvested around three times during the year. The first flush usually occurs in late April to early May. This tea is the best quality and usually the most expensive. The second picking from June to July. And the third harvest in late July to early August.
How are green tea plants harvested?When green tea trees are harvested, it is usually only the leaves found in the top part of the shoots which are plucked. It is only the bud and the youngest leaf which are plucked for high grade tea. And then for the lesser grade green tea, the bud and the top two leaves are picked. For average quality tea, older leaves and some of the twig may also be harvested.Even today high grade tea is still harvested by skilled pickers, who can distinguish the best quality leaves. Average quality leaves are plucked by machines. 
How are green tea plants' leaves processed?The way green tea trees are processed distinguishes them from black and oolong tea. The processing method of green tea, also means that it retains maximum healthful benefits compared to black and oolong tea.When green tea leaves have been plucked they are immediately steamed, this prevents the healthful enzyme called polyphenols (of which catechins are a sub-group) from oxidising. This method of processing is different from black and oolong tea, where the leaves are left to wither in the sun for a day. It is during this process that the catechins are converted into thearubigens and theaflavins. Once the green tea has been steamed, it is rolled, twisted and dried.
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