02.20.08
good news travels fast!
posted by Regena Rafelson | 3 comments
In a recent post by T Ching president Sandy Bushberg, he mentions the confusion between oxidation, processing, and fermentation as it pertains to our favorite leaf. Wouldn’t you know that just a few hours after reading that post, I would find a long article, titled “What’s in a Leaf” that nicely summarizes a lot of the medical benefits of our favorite brew? The article asserts that “the less tea is processed, the better it is for you,” making very clear the health distinctions between white, green, black.
Published just last week in an area that is both culturally and geographically unique, the article does a lot to promote the drinking of tea among Americans who work in the trades. While some purists would balk at the suggestion to start with flavored or herbal infusions, take a moment to reflect on what we want more people to do. Drink tea. And, if they get to drinking real tea after first trying Roastaroma Spice (Celestial Seasonings) in, er, bags . . . it is a victory that they come back to try the real thing, no?
The first tea experience, like first love, will forever color and nuance future encounters. Bravo to “The Daily Mining Gazette” for giving tea “a go.”
[photo credit: main post image Nathanael.Archer at www.flickr.com;
February 20th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I’m always happy to read more about the health benefits of tea. I came upon an article written in the Dental News on-line- a British publication. They reported that white tea prevents cavities. So be sure to pass the information on to your favorite dentist………or might he/she not really want to know that? I understand filling cavities is the bread and butter of general dentistry.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
This is a great, well-written little synopsis of tea–thanks for the link.
I’d also really encourage everyone to check out the link at the end of the article to the Tea Council of the United States (www.teausa.org). In particular, check out the “Take the Tea Test” in the menu on the left side of the page–it’s fun, and there are some very interesting facts (for instance, do you think you know what the top 3 tea producing countries in the world are? I was surprised!). Meanwhile, many of the right answers I got were entirely due towhat I have learned on Tching.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Nice little webstie test but I would like to disagree with the question dealing with oxidation vs. fermentation. The way that question is worded they ask which word describes the process of making some varieties of tea Oxidation, Fermentation, BOTH or neither. Their answer is Oxidation but if you are a drinker of puehr, then you know that fermentation is involved in that process AFTER it is either oxidized (in the case of ripe tea) or less oxidzed and in more of a “green” state when it is sold as raw. I know that this may be a bit “nit picky” but when doing these little quizzes that only have ONE answer, those of us who read more into the question than the person making the quiz intended have a little with that. Oh well, it’s not all THAT important is it as long as you enjoy the tea that you drink.
Having said that, I did enjoy to little quiz and I did fairly well, especially since this evening Alton Brown on his Food Network program “Good Eats” did a show devoted enitrely to LOOSE LEAF TEA, mostly of the black variety as in his estimation that’s what most Americans are accustomed to but green and oolong were mentioned. It was a VERY good program and I recommend it if you can find it repeating.
Cheers,
Fr. Patrick