Drinking green tea fosters good manners
Tea is a great unifying source bringing together families and communities.
Westerners are likely to think of India and China when talking about tea from Asia, and also Japan for its rich tradition of green tea. But it is believed that China is a home of the tea plant that is synonymous with this refreshing beverage.
There are many tea varieties, factories, and styles of packaging and too few registered trademarks with domestic and international brands. In this business-age no brand name means you lose market, let alone reputation or consumer loyalty.
History says that high interest in traditional tea was revived around the 1960s, and since then, tea drinkers, especially after the 1980s, have grown explosively.
It’s not difficult to join one of many hobby groups who cherish tea and want to learn the history and etiquettes associated with the traditional beverage.
The revival of tea culture in the 1980s was closely connected to the release of many medical reports proving medicinal effects of drinking tea in addition to a campaign to restore old traditions at the time.
Beneath the superficially prosperous tea industry there lurks a nagging insecurity over its dearth of brand names.
Chinese say one thing, Japanese say other, Korean say this and Nepalese say herbal tea gives these benefits, however no matter what all tea in general give at least some benefits.
Tea comes in different varieties. However, World Tea Culture Association has classified tea into six categories according to its degree of polyphenol oxidation. They are: green, yellow, black, blue, white and red.
Another method classifies tea according to commodity forms namely: red, green, jasmine, oolong, white, pressed and instant tea.
Tea classification in overseas is simpler. In Europe there are three categories: black, oolong and green tea.
In Japan there are four categories according to the degree of fermentation: non-fermented, semi-fermented, fully fermented and post fermented.
It is also said that tea drinking is also for medicinal purposes, especially the green tea, or jasmine tea.
Buddhism has also played a supporting role in this Chinese love affair with tea. According to legend, the very first tea seedlings sprouted from the eyelashes of the monk in answer to his prayer for an aid to staying awake during long nights of meditation.
For centuries Chinese simply boiled tea leaves in a pot like soup and did not use the infusion method until the 14 century. It was during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) that tea drinking became a stylized ritual and that a state monopoly on tea production and trading came into force.
Tea drinking only became fashionable in Europe and America in the 17th -18th centuries, when trading with China began. People think of tea as a traditional English drink, which is certainly true, but how did this come about?
Tea was first drunk in China and next in India. It was expansion of trade and reduction in import tax in 1746 that gave birth to the famous British “tea at five o’ clock” tradition. Green tea, which retrains its original colour and whose leaves are heated to prevent fermentation or oil effusion in boiling water is the most popular one among others. The most famous green tea are Longjin (Dragon well), Miffing and Biluochun.
Compressed tea produced in briquettes is convenient for storage and shipping. Often referred to as “black,” it is not the same as the black tea drunk in Europe.
Aromatized tea is a mixture of tea-leaves and flowers, although tea made exclusively from flowers is no rarity. Jasmine tea is most popular in northern China, where it is believed that aromatized tea improves the digestion through helping break down fats.
In Korean and Chinese restaurants around the world, tea is served before anything else, regardless of whether or not it has been ordered. And is very often free of charge. Dinners order oily and spicy dishes without fear of gastric repercussions, as a drink of green tea ensures easy digestion.
To Chinese people, tea is like a faithful and beloved wife who commands complete loyalty. Virtually every citizen of the Celestial Kingdom has their favourite tea from which they seldom stray.
There is a Chinese saying: “It is better to live three days without salt than one day without tea.”
Tea is considered a remedy for many diseases with traditional Chinese medicine. Practitioners insist that bitter tea relieves inflammation, prevents upset stomachs, whets the appetites, and restores good spirits.
Tea is rich in Vitamin C, which combats cholesterol, arteriosclerosis and hypertension. The Vitamin B in tea helps to clean blood-vessel walls and soften capillaries, and its other Vitamins prevent formation of blood pigmentation and melanoma.
Another tea ingredient-tannin- soaks up melanin and flushes it out of the body, keeping the skin soft and health looking. Tea also contains alkaline minerals that decompose fats and help digestion, which means regular tea drinking is an effective method of weight control. Finally, the caffeine in tea stimulates the metabolism and produces insulin, which is why many diabetics drink it as a therapeutic agent.
By the 9th century tea-drinking connoisseurs had formulated 16 rules in regard to heating water, one of which was that it should be boiled over flames fueled by coal from the same areas as where the tea plant originally grew.
Well water being considered inappropriate, the best water was deemed to come from mountain springs containing melted snow and bamboo dew.
Correct tea implements were also essential to a good cup. For a long time teapots were made of metal-gold, silver, cooper, tin and alloys. But during the Tang Dynasty they were fashioned in white and grey-green porcelain. During the Ming Dynasty white porcelain painted with cobalt became fashionable. Since then the use of white cups to drink Chinese tea was on practice.
Korean tea is differentiated by that of two neighbouring countries China and Japan. Chinese tea stresses on aroma and Japanese on ceremony. Korea? Unsurprisingly with taste.
Korean tea, unlike Japanese tea which is mostly steamed, is roasted and therefore has a more savory taste.
Nevertheless, tea culture has a long way to go. Happy Tea Drinking.
