Let's Talk Tea

Our society is saturated with coffee. We have coffee houses, coffee drive-throughs, and even coffee décor has now become popular. In the past decade or so it has really come into its own. But this article is not about the ever popular coffee, but its counter part, tea. Tea is also enjoying a popularity that it hasn't seen in year. There are all sorts of designer teas popping up all over. Tea has been in the news lately for all its health benefits. Different cultures all over the world have enjoyed tea for its healthy attributes for years, but it has also been enjoyed for centuries for the pure enjoyment of drinking this beverage we call tea.

Tea myths of origin are a rich part of history. Tea was said to be discovered by a Chinese Emperor named Shennong, in 2737 B.C. He believed that the most sanitary drinking water was boiled. One day a leaf fell into his boiling water. He found the beverage to be flavorful, aromatic and to have restorative properties. Since then Tea has found its way around the world, and is enjoyed around the globe.

Tea is defined as a beverage made by steeping the leaves, buds or twigs of the Tea Bush, Camellia sinensis. There is also herbal tea which refers to an infusion of fruits or herbs, for example Chamomile tea, made with Chamaemelum nobile. For this article we are going to look at just the tea of Camellia sinensis and not herbal teas. Herbal teas are a subject of their own.

Teas are broken down into four main categories, black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea. They are differentiated by the processes they undergo before they make it to your tea cup. White tea is made from young leaves. The leaves are shielded from the sun and produce no chlorophyll. Though not widely known it is gaining in popularity. Green tea is made by minimally oxidized the tea leaves by apply heat for a short amount of time. Black teas are allowed to completely oxidize which can take several weeks. This is the tea that commonly found around the world. Oolong tea is a medium between green and black tea. They are semi-oxidized.