Foodie Friday: Tea

Tea: a beverage made from pouring hot water over cured leaves of the tea plant

My thoughts have turned to tea this Friday, thanks to a recent online chat with +Amy Pabalan. Now that Daylight Savings has made the evenings darker, I’m looking forward to a cup of the steaming beverage. Tea comes from an evergreen plant, camellia sinensis. The top 1-2 inches of the plant are picked and used to brew tea. Tea can range in color from white to black, depending on how long the leaves are left to oxidize prior to drying them (the less time, the lighter the hue).

The best way to drink tea is by brewing a teapot. Whole leaves often hold more flavor than those in teabags (although I like the latter for convenience). It has been said that you should rinse the tea leaves by boiling the first batch of tea leaves, throwing out that water, and then using a fresh infusion for drinking.

teapot

Here are my top three favorite teas:

1. Dragon Well (Long Jing) tea- a complex, pan-fried green tea. It’s produced near the West Lake in Zhejiang Province, China. It’s supposed to give off a subtly sweet taste with a chestnut flavor and was granted the status of “imperial tea” during the Qing dynasty. Dragon Well is supposed to contain high level of antioxidants, helping to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels, among other benefits.

2. Gok Boh tea- a blend of pu-ehr and chrysanthemum leaves. This is favorite beverage of mine when eating dim sum. If you’re lucky, you can see an actual chrysanthemum flower floating around in your teapot. The tea is a deep amber color with a smooth flavor and is popular in Hong Kong restaurants. Gok Boh is supposed to cool internal heat and help digest oily food.

3. Jasmine (Mut Lei) tea- a scented tea that gets its aroma from jasmine blossoms. I love both the flavor and the smell of this beverage. Usually, green tea is used as a base for this drink. The jasmine flowers are picked in the late afternoons while their petals are tightly closed. When evening comes and the flowers being to open, they are added to the tea. The process takes over four hours to add the scent to the tea–and may need to be repeated. Some studies have shown that jasmine may prevent cancer, and the relaxing scent often aids in sleep.

 

Smile!
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Comments

  1. There’s nothing like a hot cup of tea to bring one back to center. I will have to look for these ones the next time I am at the Asian grocery store.

    Thanks for the mention.

  2. I had no idea that jasmine has lavender-like qualities. Thanks for all of the tips. Makes me want some dim sum for lunch.

    And what genius is that for using Amy’s Google Plus page as her link!? I hope everyone clicks it and adds her to their circles! I’ve already got her in 7…editor, writer, amazing buddy,Toastmaster, multicultural mystery maven, batman fangirl…

    • jenniferjchow says

      I’m still working on linking things to Google+. Wait, I didn’t know about the batman fangirl thing. I need to create some better circles.

  3. My personal favorite is Rooibos – such rich, warm aromas! This post absolutely made me want a cup of tea, and the weather is perfect for it. I don’t have the whole leaf variety, but it’ll still be soothing :)

  4. We got addicted to Irish Breakfast Tea during our Ireland trip, but now I’m intrigued by Dragon Well. I’ll have to see if I can find that around here.

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  1. […] hot water dispensers are amazing. If you’re a tea drinker like me, they keep the water piping hot and always on tap. For me, the amount of tea I […]

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