Tea Bush – A Plant of Perks
What is the beverage commonly used as a means to keeping awake? It is not only a popular drink; it was also used as a form of medicine back in the olden days. That's right; it is the tea which was first discovered by Shennong (the divine farmer) some 5000 years ago according to a well-known legend. Apparently while Shennong was boiling some water, some leaves from a nearby bush fell into his water. Curious at the brown-coloured liquid that resulted; Shennong took a sip and found the brew surprisingly refreshing. Hence the tea was born.
One Bush, Many Flavours
Tea comes from a plant known as Camellia Sinensis (Chinese shrub) and contains caffeine which is mainly responsible for perking us up whenever we feel sleepy. True tea is believed to come in four types, namely black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea. Depending on the way tea leaves are processed, each different tea comes with a unique taste of its own. Camellia Sinensis is a flowering evergreen bush which is grown in about fifty countries such as India . If left on its own, the tea bush is capable of growing into a tree but to make it easier for the tea leaves to be plucked, it is usually trimmed to about waist height. However the person doing! the plucking needs to be extremely skilled as not every tea leaf is plucked. Only the top two leaves and the bud which is still not opened are picked from every branch so as to produce the best quality tea. If three or more leaves are harvested with the bud, the quality of tea will not be as good. I bet you didn't know that, right?
Tea Of Many Colours
You must be wondering how we get tea with so many flavours so let's take a look at how tea leaves are processed to develop the four main types of tea.
Black Tea: Tea leaves undergo complete oxidation which is a process where the leaf loses water and take in more oxygen from the air. This results in black and dark brown leaves which produce a strongly flavoured tea when brewed. While known to Westerners as black tea because of the tea leaves that are used to make it, the Chinese call it red tea due to the resulting red-coloured tea. Black tea also contains more caffeine than the other teas. Interesting, isn't it?
Oolong Tea: Otherwise known as Wulong tea, its tea leaves oxidize partly over two to three days. It is extremely aromatic and its taste has even been compared to fresh fruit or flowers. One such example will be the Formosa Oolong which comes from Taiwan and is said to have a nice peachy taste. Compared to the black tea, oolong tea contains less caffeine.
Green Tea: The tea leaves take a shorter time to oxidize after which they are heated very quickly, either by dry cooking in hot pans or steam. As you may have known, green tea is highly sought after in China and Japan due to its health benefits and fragrant flavour. After the black tea, green tea takes up about 21% of the world's tea production and contains a lower caffeine level than the oolong tea.
White Tea: Unlike the other types of tea that we have discussed so far, young tea leaves are used and undergo no oxidation before they are processed by hand. The white tea that is brewed from such tea leaves is not as strongly flavoured as the black tea but has a natural aroma that is appealing. Although it is expensive due to lesser amounts being produced, it is gradually gaining popularity due to an increasing demand for good quality tea.
There are a number of other varieties such as yellow tea and kukicha . These different varieties depend on the method of processing so each type of tea that results has a distinctive taste and flavour. Being one of the most popular beverages in the world since ancient history, it is no surprise that ceremonies specially dedicated to the appreciation of tea are observed with great respect in countries such as Japan .
I personally enjoy green and red tea, what about you?