Brewing a fine pot of tea takes practice and patience. Brewing teas is nothing short of an art. First and foremost, study your tea. In this way, you will come to know each and every tea you own. What is the benefit of this? Well, the biggest one, as far as I personally am concerned, is personality.
The Key to Health is a Good Routine
One of the most important parts of a healthy lifestyle is a proper routine. A set of actions and habits that form your daily routine will enable you to manage and maintain your health and also give you the structure around which you expand and further your goals and dreams.
The Great China Tea Run
During the clipper age, basically from 1840 to about 1870, the Great China Tea Run was one of the most anticipated and talked about events of the year. Great fortunes were wagered on the winner and the quality of the tea it would deliver. Back then, just like today, there was much debate about the medicinal qualities of tea.
Close-Up on Yak Butter Tea
The tea used for yak butter tea most probably comes from the mountains just west of Yunnan and Sichuan. What I have seen is a dark, formidable leaf with an intense flavor bordering on bitterness and smoke. Every Tibetan I have ever met, drinks it continuously and urges onto everyone whom he might meet.
The Horse and Tea Trade Route
As the name makes clear, tea and horses were the major commodities traded along this route from the Tang to the late Qing Dynasties, from around 600 AD to the 20th century. Trade and travel definitely took place along this route for several thousands of years before the Tang, as archaeological sites in Tibet and in the city of Chengdu demonstrate, but for us, this period is the most significant.
Tea Potions: Heal Yourself with Tea
The good thing about tea – especially a hearty green tea – is that it provides a healthy and stable base for different potions that help to ease different ills. The best tea to use as a base for tonics is definitely a mid grade green, like a Maofeng. I will write here about some healthy green blends that are popular in China.
Tea As Medicine
Tea is medicine for the new age, just as it was medicine for the ancient humans of ages long past. In the last 50 years, we moved away from that type of medicine – the lifestyle elixir. Scientifically speaking, green tea and white tea are medically the most beneficial
Close-Up on Brick Tea (Tuo Cha)
When it comes to tea, only recently has the common man gained access to fresh greens and whites, aromatic oolongs and delicate yellows. For centuries, the best teas went to the rich and powerful and the common man drank what he could, when he could. So what did he drink? He drank brick tea.
Bitter Tea: Bittersweet Medicine
I must say I was very proud of the little Kuding leaf and glad that my friends could appreciate it as much as I do. Kuding tea (bitter tea) is grown all over China, in two distinct varieties. The Sichuan variety, which I know very well, is called Qing Shan Lui Shui (Jade Mountain Green Water) and the Hainan variety is just straight Kuding (bitter nail).
The Breadth and Depth of Oolong Teas
As with all good teas, oolongs are a work of art and truly good varieties require a master craftsman at every stage: cultivation, picking, fermenting/oxidizing, and the final stage, which is roasting. Each stage has its own special secrets and techniques, thus we have a diverse range of oolongs.