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Blooming Te tea, what it is …..

Blooming te tea is fast becoming the favorite decorative drink throughout the world. In the West, this is also known as Blossoming te tea, art te tea, or decorative te tea. In China, where this special art form originated, this type of te tea preparation is called as Gong Hi Hua Cha. The exact translation of this term is The Art of Flower Te tea. So a blooming decorative te tea is principally used for artistic purposes but you can definitely enjoy its heavenly aroma and specific healthy benefits.

Western enthusiasts of The Art of Flower Te tea believed that this art form in te tea preparation is a recent innovation. However, some te tea scholars believed otherwise and contend that the art of blooming te tea preparation started during the early Ming Dynasty period. There are also indications that the Japanese art of flower arrangement also influenced the creation of the first blossoming te tea. Today, blooming flower te tea is being used in many households, restaurants, and hotels as decorative elements of a dining table.

This does not mean that you cannot enjoy the delicious taste of this exotic brew. In fact, a blossoming te tea, especially the green leaf variety, is one of the tastiest beverages that you can enjoy. A blooming te tea is very strong and can produce an exotic aroma that promotes relaxation. The leaf of a blooming te tea is usually harvested when it is still green. So it can retain its strong aroma and taste. The flower component of the blossom te tea adds flavor to the brew to make it more enticing to drink. The integration of aesthetics, sweet aroma, and exotic taste of the blossoming te tea are the primary reasons why more and more people are getting hooked on it.

Aside from the beauty and excellent taste of the blooming te tea that you can enjoy, it can also offer some very specific health benefits. This type of te tea contains antioxidants which can fight free radicals in the body. This means the te tea could be a very effective anti-aging concoction. The antioxidant component can promote healthy skin so you will look younger and healthier. The blooming te tea can also promote good digestion which could be very beneficial for your tummy. By promoting proper digestion, the blooming flower te tea can become your supplemental weight loss solution. Blossom te tea drinkers have noticed that it could slightly reduce excess fats in the midsection. Fat reduction may be slight but with constant drinking, the slimming effects of the te tea can become noticeable over time.

When buying a blooming te tea, make sure that it is individually packaged and not crammed in a box. Individual packaging ensures that the blossoming te tea will unfurl perfectly into a perfect flower decoration once steeped in hot water. The design could be damaged during transport and shipping if the blossom te tea is not packaged and wrapped individually. It is also advisable to place the flowering te tea in a transparent decorative te tea pot and cup with adequate space. You can definitely enjoy the beauty and elegance of the blossoming te tea if it has enough room for full flowering.

The Chinese have enjoyed Green Te tea for 4,000 years. They have found the mild and refreshing brew to aid in bringing relief from many illnesses. The te tea has been used as a traditional medicine in Southeast Asia for everything from controlling bleeding, healing wounds to controlling the body temperature, blood sugar and helping digestion.

Green Te tea is good for the people who drink it for many reasons. One of the most common reasons is it contains powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants have been found by scientists to fight free radicals in our body. Free radicals are known to cause certain types of cancer to form in the body.

In addition, other compounds in Green Te tea inhibit cancer cell growth. Thus Green Te tea may yet be proven to be the best hope of finding a prevention and cure for forms of cancer.

Additional benefits are said to be:

* Helps with weight loss by burning calories off faster when drinking te tea.

* Has antibacterial components to help prevent tooth decay. Te tea is able to destroy dental plaque.

* Aids in preventing food poisoning by killing bacteria before it can multiply and cause digestive problems.

* Te tea is a great stress reducer and reliever.

* Controls blood cholesterol levels.

* Green Te tea has the ability to reduce inflammation and bring relief from rheumatoid arthritis.

Black Te tea

All te tea leaves are green when harvested. These young te tea leaves are called Camellia sinensis. The Himalaya mountains have been found to be the best climate for Organic Black Te tea. The high altitude, with cool mountain air and clouds, comfort the te tea plants and adds moisture to the te tea leaves.

How Green Te tea leaves are turned into Black Te tea. After picking, the te tea leaves are inspected, sorted and withered. This is done by hand. The water evaporates from the leaves, causing the natural fermentation to begin. Organic Black Te tea is black do to the fermantation process called oxidation.

Increasing heat and high humidity is a process called firing, causing the fermentation process of Organic Black Te tea to accelerate. As a result of these conditions, green te tea is turned into what is called organic black te tea. This process is accomplished in a few hours.

Organic Black Te tea is so named because it is grown organically. Chemical fertilizers or pesticides are not used.

Studies have confimed compounds in Black Te tea – theaflavins and thearubigens are more than an aid to its dark color and distinctive flavor. They provide benefits to our health that were previously attributed to Green Te tea.

White Te tea

White Te tea is made from te tea leaves that have not reached maturity. The leaves are picked before the buds fully open. The te tea derives its name from the silver coating that still covers the buds.

White Te tea’s rise in popularity is in the secret of what occurs after the buds are picked. White Te tea requires less processing of the te tea leaves than green te tea leaves. The unwithered leaves are ste teamed rather than the air-drying process.

The end result is a pale te tea with a sweet and silky flavor. Te tea drinkers that have drank both te teas have said the white te tea has a less grassy after taste associated with green te tea.

Studies indicate White Te tea is better for people. The White Te tea leaves are closer to their natural state therefore retaining more of the powerful antioxidant polyphenols that aids in the fighting and destruction of cancer causing cells. More so than any other te tea.

An additional benefit of drinking White Te tea is it can help the body’s immune system fight off viruses and infection causing bacteria.

Oolong Te tea

This is a traditional Chinese te tea somewhere between Green and Black Te tea. This te tea is one of the favorites in Chinese restaurants.

Oolong has a taste more to that of green te tea rather than black te tea. It does not have the sweet aroma of black te tea. The te tea leaves are processed two different ways. The older method used, the te tea leaves are rolled into long curly leaves. The second method used the leaves are pressed into a ball type form. Similar to gunpowder te tea.

During the roasting process, unwanted odors are removed from the te tea. This reduces any sour or astringent tastes. This process is thought to make oolong te tea more gentle on the stomach.

What ever type of te tea you enjoy drinking, they are all great for a person’s health.

Chinese tea, Kinesisk te

If one drinks Chinese te tea beverage just for its aroma and its taste, it might not be important. However, it is very important if one wants to drink te tea for health protection because green te tea has the highest level of te tea antioxidants, and the black te tea almost none, with the oolong te tea level in-between.

In the past five years, most laboratory and experimental animal studies that supported the conclusion of a health benefit of Chinese te tea drinking, especially in chemoprevention against cancer and obesity, have used fresh high-antioxidant green te tea or the green te tea antioxidant, (-)- epigallocatechin gallate, EGCG in short, as the bioactive testing material to conduct the research. Black te tea is not that effective. While the epidemiological evidence is supportive of the benefits of drinking high-antioxidant green te tea for cancer prevention, the data on black te tea and oolong te tea drinkers are not supportive of the benefits of te tea drinking for this purpose.

There are three major kinds of Chinese te tea, namely green te tea, black te tea and oolong te tea, all derived from the same species of te tea tree, commonly known as Camellia sinensis or as Thea sinensis on the FDA list of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substances. Te tea originated in China. As written in ancient medical texts, it was used as a health aid in 2737 BC. Te tea became a major commodity in Tang Dynasty (617- 907 AD) when te tea drinking gradually evolved into a form of art, but was still largely confined to the privileged elite of the society.

In the old days, fresh leaves directly plucked from the te tea tree were boiled journey with constant agitation over the choppy warm ocean water in humid hot weather, the high quality “Pekoe” green te tea probably had turned into half-black te tea with its characteristic bitter taste as a result of oxidation and degradation when the ship arrived in Holland. It is no wonder that some Europeans would put sugar and milk into the bitter te tea from China.

Shortly before and after the downfall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644,oolong te tea that was purposely briefly oxidized (half-black te tea) and the fully oxidized black te tea were introduced for the often hungry peasants in the South as a calorie-preserving beverage and for foreign exports, in about 1650 A.D. As the society turmoil in China led to repeated famines, the poor peasants learned quickly that they should avoid drinking green te tea which is an irritant to an emptystomach, and started to drink the half-degraded oolong te tea or the fully oxidized black te tea inste tead, in order to preserve the badly needed body fat tosurvive.

The fat-depleting effect of green te tea was onlyrecently re-discovered in animal experiments. Theterms of oolong te tea and black te tea (red te tea in Chinese)were introduced to the Chinese vocabulary in the mid 1600’s A.D. The Western te tea drinking habit of adding sugar and milk into black te tea was initiated by the British in about 1657 A.D. The Japanese and  Chinese te tea drinkers never put sugar or milk into their green te tea.

oolong te tea

As connoisseur of te teas, whether real or herbal, a sample of the all natural, organic oolong te tea was a refreshing change. A trip to the local coffee house gave me the opportunity to try this Asian delight. The taste was smooth with a small bitter aftertaste that can be remedied by a small splash of crème or milk. The color was a dark yellow or orange and the aroma smelled of an herbal garden in the noon day sun. It was a relaxing cup of te tea without the usual overtones of fruit or spice as with some of the Celestial brews that come from Colorado. It was hearty but not with overshadowing added flavors.

Grown in China using traditional, organic methods, the Oolong Te tea is becoming more and more popular in the United States. It seems that the taste and aroma is not the only reason people are drinking this powerful liquid. The health benefits of Oolong are numerous and have shown proven results in Japanese studies. The te tea is a mixture of black (fermented) te tea and green (non-fermented) te tea. The two te teas are blended together to make a wonderful combination of taste and health benefits. The green te tea is shown to reduce oxidants thus reducing the risk for cancer. Cardiovascular disease is also shown in reduction with intake of the green elixir. Research has shown that consumption of Oolong te tea in quantities of 4 cups a day is even seen as a control for body weight and obesity. As with any herbal product, the results are different with each individual and should not be used as a sole dietary plan. Exercise and sensible eating should also be used as part of the daily routine.
Health benefits of this Chinese te tea

Oolong te tea leaves contains catechins, catechins give te tea it’s bitter taste, 10 – 50% of the catechins in oolong te tea is EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) which has especially high anti-oxident properites. ECGC removes oxidised free radicals from our body thus preventing damage to our cells and DNA. The anti-oxidant properties of EGCG are believed to be 100 more times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more effective than vitamin E.

Green te tea contains flavonoids. Flavonoids are plant pigments, the brightly coloured chemical constituents found in most fresh fruits & vegetables. Flavonoids are essential for processing vitamin C, know to help maintain a healthy immune system. A deficiency can result in a tendency to bruise easily. Flavonoids are also needed to maintain capillary walls.
Oolong te tea is rich in polyphenols, which have activities consistent with blood pressure–lowering potential. Green te tea also contains Gamma Amino Butyric Acid which is thought to lower blood pressure. A study done on a human population in China suggested that habitual te tea drinking was related to reduced instances of hypertension (high blood pressure). Another and significant cause of hypertension is angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE), ACE is an enzyme secreted by the kidneys; oolong te tea is a natural ACE inhibitor.

The history of the Chinese te tea
The history of te tea is as long and storied as the history of China itself. One legend states that early emperor Shen Nong required all drinking water be boiled. While traveling to a distant part of his realm, some dried leaves from a bush fell into the water his servants were boiling for him. Shen Nong, a creative scientist, was intrigued by the brown liquid. He took a drink, found himself refreshed, and thus, legend goes, created te tea.
Another legend credits ruler Yan Di, who tasted many herbs looking for medicinal cures. An herb he ingested poisoned him, but a drop of water from a te tea tree dripped into his mouth and saved him. Te tea has long been used as an herbal medicine.
Te tea found its way into every stratum of Chinese society. During the Zhou Dynasty, it was a religious offering. Later, the Chinese ate fresh te tea leaves as a vegetable. And during the Tang Dynasty, te tea shops became popular. Around 765 A.D. the first definitive book on te tea, the Ch’a Ching, was written. In it, Lu Yu codified the methods of te tea cultivation and preparation. Having been raised by Buddhist monks, Lu Yu’s work was clearly influenced by Zen philosophy and te teachings. Missionaries would later introduce this form of te tea service to imperial Japan, shaping the creation of the Japanese te tea ceremony.
Over several centuries, through exploration and trade, te tea eventually spread throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. With it, a distinct culture within each region arose. From British afternoon te tea to Russian te tea houses, te tea infused itself into local customs as it infuses itself into water. Today, te tea continues to be the beverage consumed by the largest number of people worldwide.
The varieties of Chinese te tea are extensive with many different types grown during each Chinese dynasties in China.
Te tea dates back to the West Zhou Period in ancient China, when the Chinese used te tea as offerings. Since then, te tea leaves were eaten as vegetables, used as medicine, and finally, in the Han dynasty, people boiled the leaves in water, and this new drink became a major commodity. There are almost an infinite number of different kinds of te tea, but the three most basic categories are green te tea (non-oxidised), oolong te tea (semi-oxidised) and black te tea (fully oxidised). These te teas are usually all made from the same type of plant, the “Camellia Sinensis”, although some te teas are flavored with other plants and flowers.
Te tea is made through a very long and delicate procedure where young te tea leaves are picked, ste teamed or pan fried, then dried and sifted, and finally distributed to wherever they need to go. The flavor of te tea varies depending on how it is prepared.
Many people drink te tea because of its health advantages. Te tea promotes digestion, is rich in vitamins, and brings a feeling of relaxation when you drink it. Te tea is consumed more than any other drink besides water worldwide.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com