Chinese Tea

Tea is the largest consumed drink in the world. All tea in the world originally came from China and only in the last 150 years has it been grown outside of China. Research suggests that Chinese tea was cultivated for medical purposes as far back as the 12th century B.C. and became a popular drink during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). There are numerous methods to produce different categories of tea. The most popular types of tea include:

Chinese Green Tea
The production process includes withering, pan-frying or steaming, rolling and shaping and drying.

Oolong Tea
A lightly fermented tea, the production process includes withering, rolling in a basket to bruise the leaf edges, short fermentation time and finally pan frying and drying.

Black Tea
A full fermented tea, the production process includes withering, rolling or cutting into strips, long and full fermentation, and drying.

Other categories of include Compressed or “Brick” Tea and Scented Tea. Brick tea is black tea that is compressed and hardened into certain shapes and is ideal for transport and storage. Scented tea is made by adding flowers such as magnolia and jasmine with the tea leaves during processing.

Tea can be classified according to its after-processing texture; small leaf being of the best quality and fannings and dust being of the worst quality. Chinese tea drinkers will never drink fannings or dust quality tea.

Small Leaf - Best Quality
Broken Leaf - Excellent to Good Quality
Large Leaf - Good Quality
Fannings - Poor Quality (Lipton and other Tea Bags)
Dust - Poor Quality (Lipton and other Tea Bags)

Health Benfits of Tea
In the beginning Chinese tea was consumed for its medicinal properties but gradully became a popular drink. The three main components of the tea are caffeine, polyphenols and essential oils. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and promotes good blood circulation. Studies show that polyphenols may act as an anticancer agent. Essential oils aid in digestion and help emulsify fat.