Green tea, like all tea, comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. What makes it "green" is that the plant's leaves are picked, steamed, and dried, but not fermented. (Black teas have had their leaves fermented to various degrees).

Japanese cuisine features several different kinds of green tea:

• Gyokuro: This is the premium variety of green tea and is translated as "jewel dew." It's made from very young leaves and harvested in the spring when the plants are most tender. Make this fragrant, mellow, and expensive tea with hot, but not boiling, water. It's not unusual for tea masters to use water at a temperature of 125 degrees; hotter water spoils the delicate nuances of this tea.
• Sencha: This is the most commonly used green tea. The flavors can vary widely, from fresh and haylike to very green and grassy tasting. The color could be a pale gold or a light green. Brew this tea with water at a temperature of about 170 degrees.
• Bancha: This tea is comprised of stems as well as leaves and can look very "twiggy." You can use boiling water to brew this type.
• Hojicha: This is roasted bancha and makes a very smoky-tasting brown tea. You can use boiling water.
• Genmaicha: This tea is a mixture of bancha and roasted grains of rice.
• Matcha: Entire books have been written about matcha, the powdered vivid green tea principally used in the Japanese tea ceremony, where it is whipped into a frothy, creamy beverage. It is fairly bitter, and the tea is prepared differently than when making leaf tea. Matcha is a revered beverage that you should treat with respect when brewing.