Tea world

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Chinese Tea Forum
The Art of Chinese Tea

• Recommendations for darker oolongs
  Can anybody give me some recommendations for darker/more oxidized oolongs to try? Most Ti Kwan Yin, Ali Shan and Dong Ding oolongs are too green for me, I like darker oolongs!
• Black Tea
  The special quality of black tea reveals itself in its beautiful, unbroken and textured leaves. Careful processing ensures that the leaves are not damaged and lends this tea its deep aroma and warm, crimson colour. Unlike green or white tea, black tea is fermented and the fermentation process is not interrupted as in blue teas. Due to being fully fermented and non-perishable black tea used to be the only variety of tea available in Europe.
  
  HEALTH BENEFITS
  During fermentation process the teas’ natural polyphenols are transformed into tannins, which not only give black tea its characteristic colour and aroma, but also make the theine soluble, which increases the tea’s stimulating effect.
  
  PREPARATION
  Quantity 5 g per 1000 ml
  Water temperature 95° C
  1st infusion 3-5 minutes
  2nd infusion 7 minutes
  Before brewing the tea, it is best to rinse the leaves and warm the teapot. Ideally, the tea should be brewed with filtered water. Black tea can be served with milk and sugar, according to taste.
  
  ORIGIN
  This black tea comes from Yingde in the Guangdong Province.
• Re: 10 good reasons to drink tea
  oh great. If this information is true, I will drink tea more frequently
• Does anyone know Tian Cha?
  Tian Cha is a new tea variety, made from the sweet leaves of the Chinese blackberry bush. In China it is considered rare treasure. The tea was developed by the GuangXi Plant Institute and declared an official TCM remedy in 1990. Inhabitants of the GuangXi region have valued the leaves from the rose bush for a long time, for tea and therapeutic purposes. Due to its unique properties, Tian Cha presents a completely new form of enjoying tea – healthy and without caffeine.
  
  HEALTH BENEFITS
  Tian Cha tastes wonderfully sweet due to its high fructose concentration. It has an antipyretic and expectorant effect, keeping the lungs moist at the same time. It contains special polyphenols, which are generally known to be beneficial to health. In addition to this, tests suggest that this tea helps to cure eczema and relieve its symptoms, especially dry skin.
  
  PREPARATION
  Quantity 2,5 g per 1000 ml
  Water temperature 95° C
  1st infusion 3 minutes
  If you allow this tea to linger in your mouth for a moment it has a particularly thirst quenching affect.
  
  ORIGIN
  This tea is from Dao Yao Shan in the An Xi Province.
• Pu Er Cha Qi Zi Bing (Sheng) - Supreme
  The raw or green Sheng Pu Er (or Pu-erh) is made from wild Mao Cha. After drying, the unfermented tea is lightly steamed and pressed into one of the traditional moulds that give it its trade names. The most common cake-shaped form is known as ‘Bing’. These characteristic hand-made ‘tea pucks’ have a diameter of 18 cm, are about 2 cm thick and weigh about 340 grams. Gradually the Pu Er ripens in this form due to the Mao Cha’s natural bacterial flora – from an initially unfermented green tea to a fully fermented dark tea. This process takes between eight and ten years. Up to thirty years can pass before Sheng Pu Er is fully aged. While Sheng Pu Er is still fresh and young, it has a pleasant earthy taste, but has a tendency to become astringent and bitter. As it grows older, it develops a milder and more balanced bouquet.
  Health benefits
  
  Pu Er has been valued for its therapeutic qualities ever since the time of the Tang Dynasty nearly 1500 years ago. Numerous studies suggest that it lowers levels of cholesterol and blood pressure. It reduces triglycerides and helps prevent heart and liver disease caused by high blood fat levels. Pu Er is also known to detoxify the liver. It helps cure indigestion and infections of the digestive system and, due to its high antioxidant content, prevents cancer. It has an energising effect, which is why it is particularly popular in autumn and winter.
  Preparation
  Quantity 5 g per 1000 ml
  Water temperature 90° C
  1st infusion The first infusion is intented to soften and clean the leaves and should be poured away
  2nd infusion 2 minutes
  3rd infusion 5 minutes
  
  Preparing Pu Er is an elaborate ritual and a delight for anyone who enjoys Chinese tea culture. Before steeping, hold the cake over boiling water for a moment in order to loosen the Pu Er and prevent it from crumbling, then carefully flake off one layer at a time. When serving the tea, always leave about 20 to 30 % in the pot, so that the Pu Er can continue to hold and unfold its flavour in the remaining water.
  Origin
  
  Pu Er comes from the town of the same name in the Yunnan Province, where most of the over 320 varieties grow of the tea plant. Among them is the wild ‘King of Tea Trees’ that is over 30 metres tall and nearly 1700 years old.
• Re: Dà Hóng Páo Tea
  Yes, Da Hong Pao – is a truly rare tea, whose leaves are semi-oxidised to create its characteristic taste. Originally this tea was only grown on three trees, carefully nurtured for over 800 years on the Wu Yi Mountain. It was initially reserved for the Emperor, but with time numerous generations of cuttings were cultivated. Therefore, Da Hong Pao’s glimmering reddish buds, with their rich liquor and exceptional aftertaste, are now known to a wider audience and enjoyed all over the world – by connoisseurs who admire its fine, slightly sweet, velvety character, with its twist of peach...
• YiXing teapots
  Traditional Chinese teaware covers the entire spectrum of equipment used in the production of tea. Many components are used in the Chinese traditional tea ceremony. The equipment of which that spectrum is comprised varies greatly depending on the type of tea being prepared and the cultural setting of the preparation itself.
  
  I personally recommend traditional YiXing teapots. They first appeared during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) in the YiXing region of China, located in the Jiangsu province, about 120 miles northwest of Shanghai. The Jiangsu province is the world's only source for the unique clay from which YiXing teapots are made.
  
  The porous nature of purple clay absorbs the flavor, smell, and color of the tea that is brewed in it. Over time, this teapot develop a seasoning from repeated use, making the tea brewed from a well used teapot a special treat. For this reason, most people will dedicate a single flavor of tea to this specific teapot, so that the seasoning is not disrupted by cross-brewing.
• Bai Hao Yin Zhen or Silver Needle
  Bai Hao Yin Zhen is considered to be the ultimate white tea. On only two days of the year the tea plant’s young unopened buds are perfect for harvesting, and only these are handpicked and sorted. Infinite tiny white hairs sparkle like tiny ice crystals cover the delicate leaves, giving the tea a unique silvery-white glitter. Its transparent colour and subtle, refreshing aroma have fascinated connoisseurs for generations.
  
  Health benefits
  
  This revitalising tea cools the body internally. Yin Zhen contains natural traces of fluoride and, like all white teas, significant amounts of flavonoids – antioxidants known to lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure. In addition to this, they are beneficial in curing infections and colds.
  
  Preparation
  Quantity 6–8 g per 500 ml
  Water temperature 70°–75° C
  1st infusion 4–5 minutes
  2nd infusion 7–9 minutes (depending on the quality)
  
  Please note that white tea leaves are lighter and more voluminous than other varieties, requiring a more generous quantity than other teas.
  
  Origin
  
  This rare tea grows on the Da Bai – Large White – tea trees and is produced in small quantities near the small town of Jianyang in the north of the Fujian Province. It is only here that the most precious and expensive white tea grows and ripens.
• 10 good reasons to drink tea
  There are lots of reasons why I enjoy a hot cup of tea: I love the aroma of various flavors of tea; holding onto a hot tea mug warms my hands on a cold winter morning; sipping tea in front of the fireplace is a great way to relax. And those are just the feel-good reasons. If you're not drinking tea yet, read up on these 10 ways tea does your body good.
  
  1. Tea contains antioxidants that protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution.
  
  2. Tea has less caffeine than coffee. Coffee usually has two to three times the caffeine of tea (unless you're a fan of Morning Thunder, which combines caffeine with mate, an herb that acts like caffeine in our body).
  
  3. Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Unwanted blood clots formed from cholesterol and blood platelets cause heart attack and stroke. Drinking tea may help keep your arteries smooth