ng>Chinese Tea
The birthplace of tea, China produces 18% of the world’s tea . Two favorite types are:
Oolong tea – It is said that oolong tea first began to be produced at Mt. Wu Yi Shan in Fujian Province at the end of the Ming Dynasty about 400 years ago. Green tea – is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis, that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East. There are many other varieties from both India and China and other country’s which include green teas, white teas and aromatics. Oolong Tea
Oolongs are traditionally fired into hot woks and cooked very quickly. After that is done, the leaves may be further fermented, and then fired again. Ultimately we have crisp, dry leaves.
Oolong tea is often scented with jasmine flowers. Jasmine flowers are picked, and the tea leaves are steamed in order to hold scent well. (Often, green tea leaves are used for this process, but the process of scenting partially oxidizes the leaves, causing them to be considered oolong.) Jasmine flowers bloom at night; they are picked early in the day and mixed in with the tea at night, when they open and release their scent. The scent is infused into the leaves, and the process is repeated over a couple of nights. So.Now that we\’ve gotten that cleared up, let\’s take a look at the infamous Oolong tea Diet. The pitch, if you\’re going on any of several sketchy sites online, is that here is a rare tea imported directly from a special mountain in China that will make you lose so many pounds in so many days. It\’ll burn fat and trim your waistline. Only this tea will do, so act now!
On a sidenote, my personal theory for why the term \”wu long\” is used instead of the more standardized \”oolong\” is to increase the exotic aura and prolong the sense of rareness. Adagio and most other companies have an \”oolong\” section, but they don\’t have one labeled \”wu long.\” The tea isn\’t rare. I can tell you that for a fact, and I can prove it to you by taking a walk a few hundred feet away and picking up as much of it as I can carry.
Making the Perfect, Proper, Cup of Chinese Tea
Everyone has an opinion on how to make a ‘proper’ cup of tea. The first ingredient must be leaf tea. Not tea bags and certainly not powder. Only black tea is ‘real’ tea in Britain.
Fill a kettle with fresh water and bring to the boil. Warm the teapot with a little of the boiled water, swirl it around the pot and discard. Place 1 tsp of fresh, leaf tea per person plus one for the pot. Top up the teapot with the boiling water (do not allow the water to go off-the-boil or it will not be hot enough to brew the tea). Leave to infuse for 3 – 4 minutes, no longer or it will develop a ‘stewed’ flavor. Pour the tea through a tea-strainer directly into clean – preferably – china teacups.
Oolong does not have a blanket method of preparation as black teas do, as there are darker and lighter oolongs. For lighter teas, like the Jasmine #12, you\’ll want to use a teaspoon of tea steeped in 180 degree water for about five minutes. Darker oolongs, like the Wuyi, get steeped in boiling (212 degree) water, for closer to seven. Remember that all of Adagio\’s tins feature temperature and time guidelines on their fronts, so you\’ll be able to tell easily! While all teas can hold multiple infusions, oolong teas are particularly good for this–many people say that oolongs don\’t mature into their full flavor until the second or even third infusion, so experiment!
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19Jun
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10Jun
As connoisseur of teas, whether real or herbal, a sample of the all natural, organic oolong tea was a refreshing change. A trip to the local coffee house gave me the opportunity to try this Asian delight. The taste was smooth with a small bitter aftertaste that can be remedied by a small splash of crème or milk. The color was a dark yellow or orange and the aroma smelled of an herbal garden in the noon day sun. It was a relaxing cup of tea without the usual overtones of fruit or spice as with some of the Celestial brews that come from Colorado. It was hearty but not with overshadowing added flavors.
Grown in China using traditional, organic methods, the Oolong Tea is becoming more and more popular in the United States. It seems that the taste and aroma is not the only reason people are drinking this powerful liquid. The health benefits of Oolong are numerous and have shown proven results in Japanese studies. The tea is a mixture of black (fermented) tea and green (non-fermented) tea. The two teas are blended together to make a wonderful combination of taste and health benefits. The green tea is shown to reduce oxidants thus reducing the risk for cancer. Cardiovascular disease is also shown in reduction with intake of the green elixir. Research has shown that consumption of Oolong tea in quantities of 4 cups a day is even seen as a control for body weight and obesity. As with any herbal product, the results are different with each individual and should not be used as a sole dietary plan. Exercise and sensible eating should also be used as part of the daily routine.
Health benefits of this Chinese tea
Oolong tea leaves contains catechins, catechins give tea it\’s bitter taste, 10 – 50% of the catechins in oolong tea is EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) which has especially high anti-oxident properites. ECGC removes oxidised free radicals from our body thus preventing damage to our cells and DNA. The anti-oxidant properties of EGCG are believed to be 100 more times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more effective than vitamin E.
Green tea contains flavonoids. Flavonoids are plant pigments, the brightly coloured chemical constituents found in most fresh fruits & vegetables. Flavonoids are essential for processing vitamin C, know to help maintain a healthy immune system. A deficiency can result in a tendency to bruise easily. Flavonoids are also needed to maintain capillary walls.
Oolong tea is rich in polyphenols, which have activities consistent with blood pressure–lowering potential. Green tea also contains Gamma Amino Butyric Acid which is thought to lower blood pressure. A study done on a human population in China suggested that habitual tea drinking was related to reduced instances of hypertension (high blood pressure). Another and significant cause of hypertension is angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE), ACE is an enzyme secreted by the kidneys; oolong tea is a natural ACE inhibitor.
The history of the Chinese tea
The history of tea is as long and storied as the history of China itself. One legend states that early emperor Shen Nong required all drinking water be boiled. While traveling to a distant part of his realm, some dried leaves from a bush fell into the water his servants were boiling for him. Shen Nong, a creative scientist, was intrigued by the brown liquid. He took a drink, found himself refreshed, and thus, legend goes, created tea.
Another legend credits ruler Yan Di, who tasted many herbs looking for medicinal cures. An herb he ingested poisoned him, but a drop of water from a tea tree dripped into his mouth and saved him. Tea has long been used as an herbal medicine.
Tea found its way into every stratum of Chinese society. During the Zhou Dynasty, it was a religious offering. Later, the Chinese ate fresh tea leaves as a vegetable. And during the Tang Dynasty, tea shops became popular. Around 765 A.D. the first definitive book on tea, the Ch’a Ching, was written. In it, Lu Yu codified the methods of tea cultivation and preparation. Having been raised by Buddhist monks, Lu Yu’s work was clearly influenced by Zen philosophy and teachings. Missionaries would later introduce this form of tea service to imperial Japan, shaping the creation of the Japanese tea ceremony.
Over several centuries, through exploration and trade, tea eventually spread throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. With it, a distinct culture within each region arose. From British afternoon tea to Russian tea houses, tea infused itself into local customs as it infuses itself into water. Today, tea continues to be the beverage consumed by the largest number of people worldwide.
The varieties of Chinese tea are extensive with many different types grown during each Chinese dynasties in China.
Tea dates back to the West Zhou Period in ancient China, when the Chinese used tea as offerings. Since then, tea leaves were eaten as vegetables, used as medicine, and finally, in the Han dynasty, people boiled the leaves in water, and this new drink became a major commodity. There are almost an infinite number of different kinds of tea, but the three most basic categories are green tea (non-oxidised), oolong tea (semi-oxidised) and black tea (fully oxidised). These teas are usually all made from the same type of plant, the “Camellia Sinensis”, although some teas are flavored with other plants and flowers.
Tea is made through a very long and delicate procedure where young tea leaves are picked, steamed or pan fried, then dried and sifted, and finally distributed to wherever they need to go. The flavor of tea varies depending on how it is prepared.
Many people drink tea because of its health advantages. Tea promotes digestion, is rich in vitamins, and brings a feeling of relaxation when you drink it. Tea is consumed more than any other drink besides water worldwide. -
08Apr
o we need more information on Chinese tea?
The American public is confused with the half-trueinformation published in the lay media. One of the latest articles titled “Steeped in Confusion” on green tea published in the Wall Street Journal (Monday, January 26, 2004, in the Personal Health section) by Jennifer Saranow illustrates the confusion the readers of these articles are facing. For example, the anticancer effects of green tea observed in the laboratories are not always reproducible among the human green tea drinkers. Few editors, authors or scientists attempted to address this discrepancy.
Chinese Tea was introduced to the American public through the British tea traders and the Chinese restaurants, which are usually operated by Chinese-Americans whose ancestors came from the villages of the southern province of Guangdong, Taiwan and Hong Kong where most residents still shun green tea as a beverage. These descendants of farm laborers from Southern China only rink oolong tea, as commonly served in the Chinese restaurants.
As a result, the American Chinese tea drinkers have not been exposed to genuine green tea. All writings on green tea published in the US lay journals are based on second-hand information at the best. The TeaForHealth™ mission is to disseminate reliable evidence-based scientific information to the consumers who are interested in drinking green tea as a conventional food for health protection. It is a global green tea movement for knowledge dissemination initiated by a medical doctor with a cross-cultural background and more than 40 years of experience in medical practice in this country.
What kind of tea the Americans are drinking now?
The British brought black tea and the Chinese restaurants brought oolong tea to America. Some ofthe oolong teas are sold in special tea stores under the name of oolong green tea, or half-green tea. None in water to prepare tea drinks, primarily for “detoxification” and in religious or funeral ceremonies. Freshly plucked tea leaves were still used at least on special occasions among the intellect elite in the 1500’s AD, as depicted in the poem written on a classic Ming dynasty Chinese painting titled “Drinking Tea” now on display in the Palace Museum, Beijing.
As tea became a commodity for trading, it was necessary to preserve the quality of the fresh tea leaves by a brief heating and drying process for transportation and for storage. Tea leaves must undergo an initial heat treatment for quality preservation. Now, we know its purpose was to inactivate the polyphenol oxidase in tea leaves to stop the oxidation process in order to preserve the antioxidant tea catechins. The tea leaves which were not processed immediately would turn brown, just like a sliced apple undergoing discoloration when exposed to the air.
The brown tea leaves were treated with high temperature heating and pressed into cakes and bricks as salvage products, which were considered of low grade teas and were mostly sold to the minority Chinese living in the North or to foreign traders. Historically, “tea” always referred to green tea in the Middle Kingdom.
