05.12.09
Five things I didn’t know—but now love—about tea
posted by Alexandra Hoover | 11 comments
Hackneyed adages like tea being an “acquired taste” fail to do the drink justice. There is a ton to enjoy and learn about tea; it has its own unique qualities and even a vocabulary and a long history to support its legacy.
1. While visiting Pasadena’s new Bird Pick Tea & Herb, I learned that tea is not simply one of nature’s phenomena. As legend has it, Emperor Shennong was sitting under a tree one day and a tea leaf blew into his cup of hot water, starting a trend that continues today.
2. Teapots used for the Gongfu ceremony are made from a material called Yixing clay, which keeps tea vessels heated in a natural way. Gongfu involves brewing tea with the utmost meticulousness, patience, and skill.
3. Although some people may be afraid to try tea composed of flower leaves, chrysanthemum can be used as a detoxifier and is not harmful. I suggest doing a little initial reading before brewing your own, but you may want to give it a try to soothe your ailments.
4. In China, the best tea is grown at high elevations. In India, tea grown at lower elevations is considered higher quality. The geographical distinctions confound me!
5. Whole leaves are preferable to tea bags because “tea dust” is often placed in bags. The best tea is made from the bud and first two leaves of a shoot; tea dust is the mashed-up remains.
Perhaps if I had not already been in love with tea, I would not have been as interested in learning about these properties and facts. For some people, learning about such qualities generates a new interest in this fascinating and delicious elixir of life.
May 12th, 2009 at 11:05 am
How right you are Alexandra. I’ve been on my tea journey for over a decade and continue to learn new aspects of tea on a regular basis. Each new book I read brings new information. I’ve met people who have been involved with tea for a lifetime and still report this phenomenon. This ancient brew holds lots of wisdom for those who seek its treasures.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
How interesting Alexandra! I must try whole leaves someday and stop with my easy bags! Linda K
May 12th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
At the front of our store, we have a display of a tea bag opened up and the dust laid beside it, next to our loose leaf, both English Breakfast and a little card that reads: “They’re both English Breakfast..which do you think tastes better?” It gets the point across quickly and visually and people are amazed when they compare the loose leaf to what they’ve been drinking for years but even more surprised when they taste loose leaf brewed to peak flavor. What a ‘life-changing’ experience this can be. It was for me!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Love your creative idea Diane. It easily and dramatically gets the point across…….Well done!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I’m linking this and another article of dear T Ching’s today at our CA_tea twitter, plus one
from World Tea News re: the political use of tea. The resources & education are wonderful tools to share!
May 12th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Namaste Diane
May 12th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Alexandra:
I do not believe point 4 is correct. High-quality Darjeelings, for example, are typically highgrown, on mountains typically higher than 5000 feet in elevation. True, there are good-quality Assams, for example, that are grown at lower elevations, but the finest teas everywhere seem to be grown up in the mountains.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
great interesting tea factoids - loose leaf is so tasty with so many varieties - try out a Libre tea glass for a tea moment anywhere, any time…just like emporer shennong
May 13th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
In China they prefer to drink GREEN TEA and OOLONG, and THE BEST GREEN TEA and OOLONG QUALITY must grow at high elevations . and the aroma’s of the tea is not too strong but elegant. The tea leaves more thick and strong , if we use clay teapot, we can have 10 ups or more steeping.
May 14th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Alex, this is a great and fascinating article on tea. I hope that there is more tea adventure to come. Please show us the world of tea!
May 23rd, 2009 at 1:50 am
#1 Is just a myth. Shennong was not an historical figure.
#2 There are many different clays used in teapots made especially for Gongfu tea. There is no such thing as a Gongfu tea ‘ceremony.’ Yixing clays are historically considered superior.
#3 Chrysanthemum is toxic when mixed with Pu’er, be careful!
#4 See Steve Knoerr’s comment above
#5 You can make high quality tea dust out of high quality tea leaves. Whole leaf tea is preferable to dust or CTC not because of quality, but because when the leaves are broken up, it causes the brew to be very bitter, no matter what kind of tea it is. Also, whole leaves can be put into tea bags, but sometimes this can leave the leaf unable to unfurl and affect brewing.