Left to Right
Oolong, Green, Black, herbal, Rooibos, Sencha, and White (the light and flash changed the colors a bit)
isn't is amazing how different teas look and I am even more amazed how the drying chnages the taste!!! To think that all true tea starts with the same tea plant! I want to visit a plantation sometime and see the process.
Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the tea plant,
Camellia sinensis.
After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavor that many people enjoy.
Tea likely originated in China as a medicinal drink. It was first introduced to Portuguese priests and merchants in China during the 16th century.
Drinking tea became popular in Britain during the 17th century. The British introduced it to India, in order to compete with the Chinese monopoly on the product.
Tea has been historically promoted for having a variety of positive health benefits. Recent studies suggest that green tea may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer, promote oral health, reduce blood pressure, help with weight control, improve antibacterial and antivirasic activity, provide protection from solar ultraviolet light, increase bone mineral density, and have "anti-fibrotic properties, and neuroprotective power." Additional research is needed to "fully understand its contributions to human health, and advise its regular consumption in Western diets."
Tea catechins have known anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities, help to regulate food intake, and have an affinity for cannabinoid receptors, which may suppress pain and nausea, and provide calming effects.
Tea contains L-theanine, an amino acid whose consumption is strongly associated with a calm but alert and focused, relatively productive (alpha wave dominant), mental state in humans. This mental state is also common to meditative practice.
The phrase "herbal tea" usually refers to infusions of fruit or herbs made without the tea plant, such as rosehip tea, chamomile tea, or rooibos tea. Alternative phrases for this are tisane or herbal infusion, both bearing an implied contrast with "tea" as it is construed here.
HOW MANY TEAS ARE THERE????
Teas can generally be divided into categories based on how they are processed. There
are at least six different types of tea:
white, yellow, green, oolong (or
wulong),
black (called
red tea in China), and post-fermented tea (or
black tea for the Chinese) of which the most commonly found on the market are white, green, oolong, and black. Some varieties, such as traditional oolong tea and
Pu-erh tea, a post-fermented tea, can be used medicinally.
After picking, the leaves of
Camellia sinensis soon begin to wilt and oxidise, unless they are immediately dried. The leaves turn progressively darker as their chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. This enzymatic oxidation process, known as fermentation in the tea industry, is caused by the plant's intracellular enzymes and causes the tea to darken. In tea processing, the darkening is stopped at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. In the production of black teas, the halting of oxidisation by heating is carried out simultaneously with drying.
All true teas fomr from the Camellia Sinensis- to determine if they will be white, yellow, black, green, oolong, or pur-erh it depends completely on the drying process!
Tea Harvest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea
