Green tea has long been something unique to China and Japan. Today, green teas are spreading across the world. Sencha, Longjing, Gyokuro and Matcha are names that will soon sound just as familiar in the West as Ceylon, Darjeeling and Earl Grey. Even powdered tea, which was popular in China a thousand years ago and forms part of the Japanese tea ceremony, has begun to spread as a delicate and healthy drink in trendy cafés and restaurants.

Thanks to its flavour and freshness, green tea is an incredibly versatile beverage.

Those of us with access to all kinds of green teas from a typical tea shop can also find teas to pair with virtually any type of food. Green tea can complement most types of lighter dishes but can also stand up to stronger flavours. For example, a Longjing pairs well with a robust Chinese dish featuring Sichuan pepper. There is nothing to suggest that green teas are only suitable with Asian cuisine. A Japanese tea can enhance the flavour of fish in a sushi dish, or just as easily replace champagne with a poached sole.

Many green teas also elevate desserts to entirely new dimensions, such as Sencha with panna cotta or cream cake. Green teas are generally defined as teas that have not been oxidised and are usually heated by steaming or roasting. For simplicity, one can include all teas that are not oxidised, including white and yellow teas.

Mediocre green tea can be rather dull. But high-quality green tea is an aromatic experience on the same level as fine wines, chocolate or any other gourmet ingredient. Moreover, there are green teas of entirely different characters – from a roasted, robust Japanese Hojicha and an earthy, full-bodied Bi Luo Chun to an elegant, fruity, spring-fresh Gyokuro. The genre is surprisingly multifaceted, with such varied types as green pressed cakes of steamed pu-erh tea, green display teas in artistic shapes, or powdered varieties such as Japanese matcha.

What sets green teas apart from others is that they are not oxidised (exposed to oxygen). They therefore retain much of the natural flavour of the tea. Everything the small tea leaves have gone through has left its distinct mark: the soil it grew in and drew nourishment from, the water it absorbed, the altitude, the winds, the sun and the entire microclimate. You can clearly sense it in the aroma and the taste. The tea has not altered in flavour or character and has not lost much of the beneficial compounds and antioxidants contained in the tea plant.