Useful Information About Tea

Tea is drunk in more countries than any other beverage. It is one of the most popular drinks today. Little wonder it is known as "the cup that cheers."
The only difference between them is the way they are made. The main types of tea available today are black, white, green, and oolong. China is a major producer of green tea. Other countries that produce tea are Kenya, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

India is one of the leading tea producers offering 720 million kilograms each year. The yearly worldwide production of dried tea leaves is over 2.6 billion kilograms.
Though mechanical pluckers are sometimes used, hand plucking is said to be a better option. Approximately 18 kilograms of tea leaves can be harvested a day to produce about 4.5 kilograms of manufactured tea. or a growth of new shoots with many leaves and a bud, which are picked by hand. Grown on hill slopes on tea estates, its botanical name is "Camellia sinensis." In about four to five years the tea tree produces a ?flush?

The tea tree is an evergreen plant with small, white, sweet-smelling flowers.
Tea is graded according to the size of the leaves, which has nothing to do with the quality of the tea. In order of size, they are orange pekoe, pekoe, and pekoe souchong. The smaller or broken leaves are used in tea bags. Each tea company has tea tasters who select only specific teas.
1773 was the year of the famous Boston Tea Party. By 1657, it was being sold in English coffee houses. In the 1600s, it was imported into Europe from China by the Dutch.

In Japan, tea drinking was elevated to a full-fledged ceremony by 600 A.D. It finds its mention in Chinese around 350 A.D. It was supposed to have been discovered by Emperor Shennong of China in about 2737 B.C. Tea has a colorful history.
Today tea is a popular beverage all over the world. The country importing the most tea is the UK, importing a total of about 180 million kilograms per year. It has been calculated that the British drink 3.2 kilograms of tea per person every year. Australians and New Zealanders are also great tea drinkers and each person would, on an average, be drinking about 1.4 kilograms of tea annually. Special varieties of tea are also gaining ground; the market is expanding and offering a greater choice to the consumer. It really is the cup that warms a lot of hearts all over the globe!
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Introducing White Tea

White tea has only about 200 years of history and is the youngest among major tea types such as Green, Oolong and Black tea. Even though tea has been enjoyed for about 5000 years since its serendipitous discovery by Chinese Emperor and "Divine Healer" Shen-Nung in 2737 B.C, White tea did not come to existence until at much later time.
For her kindness and courage, people honored her with the name of Mother Taimu and named the mountain Taimu Mountain. While taking refuge up in a cave in the mountain, Lan Gu found a special tea tree to help cure them. According to a legend, White tea tree varietal was discovered by a girl named Lan Gu from Fuding county of Fujian Province in China where the beautiful Taimu Mountain is located.
This legend parallels the same divine healing spirit of tea discovery by Shen-Nung, only more than 2000 years later.
According to the history, White tea was first produced in Fuding in 1796 and later spread to two other counties (Zhenhe and Jianyang) in Fujian.
There are three different cultivars of White tea tree - Big White, Narcissus White and Vegetable White with the Big White as the finest and most popular. There are also three different types of White tea based on different ways of plucking - Silver Needle (only one bud is plucked), White Peony (one bud together with one leave down) and Longevity Eyebrow (one bud with two to three leaves down). Silver Needle is also known as its original Chinese name "Bai Hao Yin zhen" and is the most precious and exotic.
Due to the minimal processing, White tea preserves most natural compounds and potentially has the most health benefits. White tea is also called a lightly fermented tea positioning itself between the unfermented Green and semi-fermented Oolong tea. White tea brews to a pale yellow color and has a slightly sweet flavor.

During the process, there is light oxidation occurring. The leaves are withered and then dried. The process only consists of two steps. White tea is the least processed among all types of teas.
In 2002, a research paper by Oregon State University scholar Roderick H. Dashwood published in Foods and Food Ingredients Journal of Japan "White Tea - A New Cancer Inhibitor" provides insight into the anticancer and anti-mutagenic properties of White Tea.
They also found that the anti-viral and anti-bacterial effect of white tea might be greater than that of green tea. In 2004, at the 104th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Researchers at Pace University presented their finding that White Tea Extract (WTE) may have prophylactic applications in retarding growth of bacteria that cause Staphylococcus infections, Streptococcus infections, pneumonia and dental caries.
In addition, several companies started marketing White tea flavored "Ready to Drink" (RTD) bottled beverages. Recently, White tea has found itself used in anti-aging skin care and beauty products.
If you find the price for White tea is generally higher than that of Green and Oolong teas, you now know why. If you find the price for White tea is most exotic and rare due to the rare White tea tree varietals and short harvest time (high grade Silver Needle is only made from the youngest bugs plucked during only a couple of days of spring). White tea is most exotic and rare due to the rare White tea tree varietals and short harvest time (high grade Silver Needle is only made from the youngest bugs plucked during only a couple of days of spring).
White tea could be the tea of the future with its legendary spirit, exotic nature and wide applications of health benefits.
Jay is a tea lover and the owner of
Taimu Tea
- a premium Chinese tea store that focuses on tea knowledge, news and education in addition to providing quality fresh teas from Taimu Mountain and its surrounding areas in Fujian province of China.
http://www.taimutea.com
tea@taimutea.com

Tea and Individuality

The most famous The distinctive rich aroma and slightly larger leaves are unique to this varietal. The most famous Oolong tea Tie Guan Yin is from the special varietal only grown in Anxi county of Fujian Province. The distinctive rich aroma and slightly larger leaves are unique to this varietal. The most famous Oolong tea Tie Guan Yin is from the special varietal only grown in Anxi county of Fujian Province.

The distinctive rich aroma and slightly larger leaves are unique to this varietal. The most famous Oolong tea Tie Guan Yin is from the special varietal only grown in Anxi county of Fujian Province. The distinctive rich aroma and slightly larger leaves are unique to this varietal. The most famous Oolong tea Tie Guan Yin is from the special varietal only grown in Anxi county of Fujian Province.

The silvery hair on the young buds is unique to this varietal. The White tea comes from a special varietal called "Big White Tea Tree" originally grown in Taimu Mountain of Fujian province in China. The elevation, climate and soil are the main factors that determine the tea varietals. Even though tea is from a single plant called camellia sinensis, there are many varietals.
In addition, different processing method produces different type of tea. The most popular classification of tea is based on the level of oxidation which produces Green , White, Yellow, Oolong, Black and Pu-er tea. Within each type of tea, there are many variations too due to the variation in varietal, oxidation and processing technique.
Combining the different tea tree varietals and processing methods, there are literally hundreds of teas for us to choose and enjoy. They all come in different color, shape and form, aroma and flavor and are all healthy. The well known ones include Tie Guan Yin (aka Iron Goddess of Mercy or aka Iron Buddha), Silver Needle, White Peony, Dragon Well and Big Red Robe among others. There are a lot more teas that are as individual and as precious as the well known ones.
Due to the individuality of each tea, the steeping method, steeping time, water temperature, water and leaf ratio vary accordingly in order to get the best health benefits and enjoyment out of the brew.
This teaches us about individuality and how we should take great care of it.
As human beings, we share a lot of commonalities such as intelligence, feeling. We all have similar physical, social and spiritual needs. At the same time, each and every one of us is different in our color, culture, upbringing and ideology. Recognition and respect for individuality is fundamental for healthy human relations. This applies to relationship of all kinds such as state to state, parent to children, friends, neighbors and co-workers.
When we forget or ignore individuality, we become unforgiving, impatient, arrogant and ignorant. When we are aware of other people's individuality, we tend to be kinder, more patient and more tolerating.
Their individuality should be recognized and respected with great care. They have different temper, different interest and different need. I also learned a hard lesson that a parent should not apply the same approach and standard to all children. It is amazing that they are so different in many aspects the minute they come into the world.

As a father of two boys, I have come to know the big difference in my sons and the need for individualized care.
The same goes with individuality within a team, an organization, a community and a society.
Individuality is what makes the world so diverse, colorful and beautiful. Let's cherish, celebrate and enjoy the individuality of tea, of nature and of people.
Jay is a tea lover and the owner of
Taimu Tea
- a premium Chinese tea store that focuses on tea knowledge, news and education in addition to providing quality fresh teas from Taimu Mountain and its surrounding areas in Fujian province of China.

http://www.taimutea.com
tea@taimutea.com