Chinese Tea’s History
In Chinese dialects, pronunciation of “tea” is divided into two classes based on phonetic similarity. In mandarin, tea is “cha”; in Hokkien, tea”is “tay”.
“Cha’ and “tay” had different time and route of spreading out to the world.
It was from the 5th century onwards that “cha” went beyond the Chinese border. The Japanese simply use the Chinese character of “tea” for tea. In Persia, tea was “cha” and then later evolved into “chai” in Arabic, “chay” in Turkish, and “chai” in Russian. Tea was also brought to India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka where it is now called “cha”.
“Tay” started spreading later than “cha” but had reached much further. Near the end of the Ming Dynasty, British merchants set up trading posts in Xia-men and came into contact with Chinese tea. What the Xia-men people called “tay”, the British spelt it as TEA. The French called it THE and German referred to it as TEE. “Tea” then became widely accepted in the Western world.
Origination of Chinese Tea
Chinese tea has a long and gradual story of refinement. Generations of growers have perfected the manufacturing technique with many unique variations. The original idea came from Emperor Shen-nong (神農) 5 000 years ago. One of his edicts required that all drinking water be boiled for hygienic purpose. It happened that one day, while visiting a part of his kingdom, he stopped to rest. The serf began to boil water for him to drink. Accidentally, dried leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown substance was infused with the water. Having a scientific mind, the Emperor was interested in the new mixture. He drank some and found it very refreshing. So, according to legend, tea was created by Emperor Shen-nong in 2737 BC.
Before 2737 BC, Chinese tea was used as a medicine. Some of the Chinese people chewed tea leaves as a remedy for certain sickness. Later, the Chinese people made use of Chinese tea for cooking with food either as herbs or as spices., e.g. “ba-kut-teh”.
During the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC), simple processing of Chinese tea emerged. Tea leaves were pressed into ball shapes, dried and stored. When served, tea balls were crushed and mixed with onion or ginger, and then boiled in teapots. This is the turning point where Chinese tea transformed from being just a medicine but also a kind of beverage. It also began to be used to entertain guests.
Chinese Tea Today
From the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) onwards, numerous types of Chinese teas were invented and the process of boiling Chinese tea was transformed to brewing. The Art of Making Chinese Tea is being continuously perfected. The famous Kung Fu Tea is one of the key evolution of Chinese tea brewing.
Today, Chinese tea, Camellia sinensis, can be categorised into eight main types:
1. Green tea
2. Oolong tea
3. Black tea
4. Red tea
5. White tea
6. Yellow tea
7. Flower (花茶) tea
8. Compressed tea
Within these eight main categories of Chinese tea is a vast varieties of individual beverages, between 700 to 1000. Some of the variations are due to different strains of the Camilla plant. The popular Tie Guan Yin 鐵觀音 is traced back to a single plant in Anxi 安溪 in the Hokkien Province. Other teas draw some of their characteristics from local growing conditions. The largest factor in the wide variations comes from differences in processing, after the tea has been harvested. White and green teas are fried, soon after picking, to prevent oxidization – often called fermentation – caused by natural enzymes in the leaves. Oolong teas are partially oxidized. Black and red teas are fully oxidized. Other differences come from variations in the processing.
Benefits of Chinese Tea
Tea in its natural state is rich in antioxidants and delivers a myriad of micro nutrients that can assist in the prevention of many medical conditions. As you discover all the nuances of tastes in the Chinese tea, you will easily understand how Chinese tea is a world unto itself.
Scientific studies have found more than 300 chemicals in the Chinese tea, such as catechin, caffeine, flavonol, butyric acid, vitamins, minerals, pectin, saccharides and saponin. These chemicals work on the central nervous and cardiovascular systems by acting as antioxidants, muscular relaxants and diuretics. They promote gastric secretions as well as inhibit bacterial growth. These pharmacological effects have the following health benefits:
1. Improve our immune system.
2. Serve as an elixir - slow down aging.
3. Help prevent cancer.
4. Lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure.
5. Prevent arteriosclerosis.
6. Prevent tooth decay.
7. Freshen our breathe.
8. Assist food digestion.
9. Enhance our kidneys’ functions.
10. Help weight loss – help sliming.
11. Counter heat built-up in the body systems.
12. Improve blood circulation.
13. Enable natural body detoxification.
14. Prevent constipation and allow easy passing of motion.
15. Removing “evil wind” in the system.
16. Treat dysentery.
17. Counter sleepiness.
18. Prevent heat stroke.
19. Cure dizziness.
20. Get rid of headaches.
Additional Benefits
Listed above are 20 benefits from Chinese tea. However, there are new evidence that unveil further benefits of Chinese green tea. One of those claims is that Chinese green tea also has bacteria-fighting abilities which can prevent food poisoning. These bacteria-fighting abilities can also help to solve some of the skin imperfection problems. Several skin products such as deodorants and hand creams contain green tea as one of their main ingredients.
Another special benefit of the Chinese green tea lies in the fact that it contains Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG). Studies revealed that this antioxidant (EGCG) has been effective in lowering cholesterol levels, and blocking the abnormal blood clots. The latter benefit takes on added importance because abnormal blood clots, or thrombosis, is the main cause of strokes and heart attacks.
In addition, the effects of Chinese green tea and the “French Paradox” have a strong correlation. Researches were initially puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a high-fat diet, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than the Americans. Red wine was found to be the answer, because it contains Resveratrol, which is a polyphenol that restricts the negative effects of smoking and a high-fat diet. However, in 1997, a study reported that EGCG is twice as beneficial as Resveratrol. This discovery also explains the lower rate of heart disease among Chinese men.
Brewing Methods
There are many ways to prepare Chinese tea for drinking. One of the ways is to brew. There are two main methods of brewing Chinese tea:
1. Gaiwan Brewing – This is popular because of the ease of brewing tea leaves. The gaiwan tea set consists of a lid, bowl, saucer, and cups. The bowl is first rinsed with hot water. The tea leaves are then placed into the bowl. Enough should be added to cover the bottom of the bowl and more can be added later to adjust the flavor. Next the hot water should be added to the bowl to rinse the leaves and then poured out. The final step is to add hot water and serve after the tea has been infused with the water. When serving, the lid should be kept on the bowl to keep the leaves in the bowl as the tea pours out. then add more water for infusion to serve another cup of tea.
2. GongFu (Kungfu) Brewing – This method uses a teapot called the Yixing teapot. This is a small tea pot that holds 4 to 5 ounces. First, boiling hot water is made in a kettle. The teapot is rinsed with the hot water and the tea leaves are added to the teapot until the pot is 1/3 full. Hot water is then poured into the teapot to about half full and then poured out to rinse the tea leaves. Then more hot water is added and brewed for 30 seconds. After the water has been infused with the tea, it should be poured into the teacups for drinking. With further infusions, the brewing time should be extended 5 to 10 seconds. This method is mainly used for Oolong teas.
For further details on how to brew Chinese tea, you may wish to visit this link here (pictures) and here (video).
