loose leaf green teas

Sencha Overture

Japan's most widely consumed tea and the reference point for what Japanese green tea tastes like. Adagio's Sencha Overture is steamed in the traditional Japanese style — clean, fresh, with a natural sweetness and a gentle umami depth that distinguishes quality Sencha from the flat, bitter versions that give green tea its undeserved reputation for difficulty. The right everyday green tea for anyone moving from green tea bags to whole-leaf brewing.

Dragonwell (Longjing)

China's most celebrated green tea — Long Jing (龍井), or Dragonwell — from the hills above West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Pan-fired in a flat-leaf style that produces the characteristic chestnut and fresh grass notes of authentic Long Jing, Dragonwell is the green tea that most clearly illustrates the difference between Chinese and Japanese green tea processing. Clean, slightly nutty, naturally sweet, and with a finish that develops pleasantly in the mouth long after the cup is empty. The gateway to Chinese green tea for anyone who primarily knows Japanese styles.

Jasmine Phoenix Pearls

Hand-rolled green tea pearls naturally scented with jasmine flowers using the traditional multi-cycle method — the most visually and aromatically impressive green tea in the collection. The long, dark pearls unfurl during steeping as jasmine blossoms float to the surface; the fragrance fills the room from the moment hot water touches the leaves. Naturally scented, not artificially flavoured — the jasmine character persists across four or five steepings rather than disappearing after the first cup.

Gyokuro

Japan's most prized green tea — shade-grown for 20–30 days before harvest to develop the highest concentration of L-theanine and the deepest umami character available in any green tea. The shade-growing process suppresses catechin development whilst increasing amino acid production, resulting in a naturally sweet, intensely savoury cup with almost no bitterness. Gyokuro requires the most precise brewing of any green tea: 60°C water, 90 seconds, a small quantity of leaves. Done correctly, it produces a cup unlike anything else in the tea world.

Gunpowder

Tightly rolled into small pellets that expand during steeping, Gunpowder takes its name from its resemblance to black powder. A Chinese green tea with a bolder, slightly smoky character than most green teas — the pellet rolling and the higher firing temperature produce a more assertive cup with good body and a clean, slightly brisk finish. The most forgiving green tea to brew in terms of temperature — its bolder character tolerates minor over-temperature better than more delicate styles.

Flavoured Green Teas

Adagio's flavoured green tea collection applies a whole-leaf Chinese green tea base to fruit and botanical flavour profiles that make the category immediately accessible to anyone who hasn't yet tried pure green tea:

• Apricot Green — honeyed apricot sweetness on a clean green tea base. The most popular flavoured green tea in the collection and one of the strongest cold brew performers in the entire range.
• Citrus Mint Green — bright citrus and cooling peppermint over green tea. An invigorating cup that works equally well hot and iced.

Chinese green teas

(Dragonwell, Gunpowder, Jasmine Phoenix Pearls) — pan-fired processing produces a nutty, slightly toasty, sometimes sweet character with lower vegetal intensity than Japanese greens. Generally more accessible to drinkers new to green tea. Brewed at 74–80°C.

Japanese green teas

(Sencha Overture, Gyokuro, Genmaicha) — steaming produces a cleaner, greener, more umami-forward character with the fresh vegetal quality that defines Japanese cuisine pairing. More sensitive to temperature — always below boiling. Brew at 60–65°C depending on the specific tea.

Not sure which direction to start?

Dragonwell for Chinese; Sencha Overture for Japanese. Both are reliable everyday green teas that demonstrate their respective tradition's character clearly without requiring the precision that more demanding teas like Gyokuro need.

EGCG and antioxidants

— Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most studied catechin in green tea and the compound most associated with its health properties. Green tea retains higher EGCG concentrations than any more-oxidised tea category because the pan-firing or steaming halts oxidation before EGCG degrades. Whole-leaf green tea extracts more EGCG per gram than fannings-based tea bags of equivalent weight.

L-theanine and calm focus

— L-theanine is an amino acid found almost exclusively in tea (and some mushrooms) that modulates the effect of caffeine in the brain. The combination of green tea's moderate caffeine (25–45mg per 250ml) and its L-theanine produces a state of calm, focused alertness distinct from the jittery stimulation of coffee or energy drinks. This combination is increasingly studied for cognitive performance applications.

Cardiovascular associations

— multiple large-scale epidemiological studies, primarily from Japan, have found associations between regular green tea consumption and reduced cardiovascular risk. The strongest associations are with daily consumption of 3–5 cups rather than occasional use.

Metabolic effects

— green tea catechins have been studied for associations with fat oxidation and metabolic rate in multiple clinical trials. The effects are modest and not a substitute for other metabolic health practices — but they are reproducible in the research literature in a way that many other supplement-category health claims are not.

Blood sugar regulation

— several trials have found associations between green tea consumption and improved insulin sensitivity and blood glucose management, making it one of the more credible functional wellness beverages for this specific benefit.

Water temperature

— the single most important variable in green tea brewing, and the reason most people who think they dislike green tea have simply never had it brewed correctly. Never use boiling water. Chinese greens (Dragonwell, Gunpowder, Jasmine Phoenix Pearls): 74–80°C. Japanese greens (Sencha Overture, Genmaicha): 60–65°C. Gyokuro: 60°C or slightly below. Boiling water produces bitterness; the right temperature produces the natural sweetness the tea actually contains.

Leaf quantity

— one teaspoon (2–3g) per 250ml. Green tea is less forgiving of excess leaf than black tea — a flat teaspoon rather than a heaped one is the better starting point, especially for Gyokuro and Sencha Overture where the leaf is dense and extracts quickly.

Steep time

— 1–2 minutes for Japanese greens; 2–3 minutes for Chinese greens. Gyokuro: 60–90 seconds at most. Green tea extracts quickly at the correct temperature — unlike black tea, longer steeping does not simply mean stronger, it means bitter. Set a timer.

Multiple infusions

— green tea re-steeps particularly well. Most whole-leaf green teas yield two or three excellent infusions from the same leaves, with character shifting across steepings: the first emphasises sweetness and freshness, the second deepens the vegetal or toasty notes depending on the variety.

Plain

— green tea is almost always drunk without milk. The natural sweetness, umami depth, and fresh character that whole-leaf green tea produces are best appreciated as they are. A small amount of raw honey complements Chinese greens if you want to add something.

Loose leaf green tea makes an outstanding gift for anyone who has only ever encountered green tea in bag form — the difference in flavour, freshness, and character is immediately apparent. A selection covering Sencha Overture (Japanese everyday), Dragonwell (Chinese everyday), and Jasmine Phoenix Pearls (ceremonial and visually spectacular) gives the recipient three genuinely distinct expressions of the category without requiring any prior green tea knowledge to appreciate.

For the most visually striking single-tea gift, Jasmine Phoenix Pearls delivers genuine spectacle alongside exceptional flavour — the long, dark hand-rolled pearls unfurl in the cup as jasmine blossoms float to the surface, an experience unlike anything a tea bag can produce. Available as a sample, 85g pouch, or 454g pouch. The sample pouch is the right starting size for a first introduction to whole-leaf green tea.