The tea plant stands about six feet tall.
It prefers tropical to sub-tropical climates like the climate of Southern China and Southeast Asia where tea has its ancient origins.
Green tea comes from the leaves of this plant.
At the perfect moment in the growing season, the leaves are harvested and dried in a method that depends on which type of tea is being prepared.
Black tea is a bit of a misnomer if you think that black and green tea grow on two different plants. In fact, black tea is green tea whose leaves have been allowed to oxidize almost totally.
Green tea, on the other hand, is the preparation that occurs when the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant are dried either outdoors (in sunlight or shade) or indoors in special conditions that insure proper ventilation and even maintenance of temperature.
The length of processing time changes depending on the variety of tea being cultivated. 
When the leaves have been fully dried and oxidized in accordance with the demands of the type of tea being prepared, the leaves are then processed.
This processing can take the form of shredding, grinding, firing or, in the case of Matcha, actually pulverizing the tea leaves into green tea powder.
The Power of Green Tea
Due to its minimal processing, green tea retains a high level of the naturally occurring phenols and antioxidants present in tea leaves.
Phenols are compounds found in plants.
Green tea gets a lot of positive press thanks to the presence of a group of phenols that occur in high concentrations in tea leaves. These phenols, called flavonoids, support the healthy functioning of the body in a number of different ways.
Research is as yet inconclusive about the majority of potential health benefits brought on by drinking green tea.
Some of the possible benefits include anti-aging, decrease of stress, improved brain functioning and the absorption of free radicals in the blood which can lead to reduced risk of cancer.
The beauty of green tea is that you can test it out on yourself without fear of unforeseen ill health effects.
Tea has been consumed in copious quantities for thousands of years by human beings, and the reports of green tea’s health benefits have been coming in since the earliest writings on green tea were first recorded.
If you’d like to learn more about the health benefits of drinking green tea, then maybe it’s time for you to run a little experiment on yourself–up your daily consumption of green tea for a few months and keep close tabs on how you feel!
Types of Green Tea Preparations
The most famous style of tea consumption comes when you steep the prepared green tea leaves in hot water and drink the resulting liquid. However, there are increasingly experimental methods of green tea consumption being devised by clever chefs and intrepid culinary explorers. Here are some interesting options you can investigate further:
