Green tea: loose-leaf, tea bags and matcha

Loose-leaf green tea or green tea bags?

Loose-leaf tea gives you more control: you choose how much tea you use and how long it steeps. Our loose-leaf tea comes in 100 g packs, in two kinds. There are plain green teas, such as Chun Mee, Green Gunpowder and Jasmine, and flavoured blends such as Lemon & Ginger, Mint & Choco, Orange Ginger Sencha, Pineapple & Papaya, Cinnamon & Almond and Green Chai. For loose tea you need a strainer, a filter or a teapot with an infuser; see our tea equipment.

Tea bags are quicker and come in boxes of 25. From Sunleaf there is plain green tea and green tea with lemon, mint or jasmine. Tea of Life makes plain green tea, green tea with lemon and green tea with matcha and strawberry. Tea Cultures offers Finest Jasmine, Green Lemon and a Discovery Box.

Plain green teas

Chun Mee is a Chinese green tea with long, curled leaves and a smooth, slightly fruity taste. Gunpowder leaves are rolled into small pellets that open up in the water; the cup is fuller and a little smoky. Because the pellets are so compact, a teaspoon holds more tea than a teaspoon of open leaves, so start with a little less. Jasmine tea is green tea scented with jasmine blossom, and there are two versions here: Jasmine and China Jasmine. More choice in our jasmine tea category.

Matcha

Matcha is green tea ground into a fine powder. You do not steep it: you whisk it into the water, so you drink the whole leaf. That makes it stronger in flavour and in caffeine than a cup of steeped green tea. We sell matcha tea powder from Japan in 50 g, and two matcha starter kits, called Aurora and Wasabi, each with matcha tea included. See all matcha.

Blends with black or white tea

Some teas in this category are not pure green tea. Rose Garden and 1001 Nights combine green and black tea, and Peach Bloom mixes green and white tea. Kir Royal and The Secret of the Pharaoh are white teas; you will find more of those under white tea.

How to brew green tea

Green tea turns bitter with boiling water. Let the kettle cool to about 70 to 80 °C, use around a teaspoon of loose tea per cup and steep for two to three minutes. Steeping longer makes the tea more bitter, not more flavourful; for a stronger cup, use a little more tea instead. Good loose-leaf green tea can often be steeped a second time. For matcha, sift the powder into a bowl, add a little water at about 80 °C and whisk until it foams.

Green tea and caffeine

Green tea contains caffeine, usually less than a cup of coffee. How much ends up in your cup depends on the tea, the amount you use and how long it steeps. Matcha contains more, because you drink the powdered leaf itself.