Tea Time

It's made from the tips of green tea leaves - the most tender parts of the leaves. Green tea is less oxidized or aged than black tea (often referred to as "fermentation," even though there is no alcohol involved), and in general is better for you. White is the best of all.

It has the least caffeinated punch, but that's because it is usually less concentrated than black and green teas, not because the leaves are really any different. But because the payoff is less caffeinated, you can drink white tea late at night. The result, I've found, is that it keeps you mentally sharp, without getting in the way of your going to sleep when you're ready.

Preparation is crucial. First, the fresher the leaves the better. This is true for all teas, but stale white tea will destroy most of its taste and health-giving properties. Second - or, actually, this is still part of the first point - you'll want to use leaves, the fresher the better, not tea bags.

Next, you want your water not to be brought to the boil, but only to steaming - this gets the best results from the leaves. Let the tea steep for 7-8 minutes. Let the tea cool for at least a minute or two in the cup for the best taste.

It's said that white tea can be brewed more than once from the same leaves. I find that the second cup is usually not as good as the first. Bur try the second brew - you may have a better result.

White teas come in many varieties - my favorite is Mutan, organic if possible. I'll save discussion of the different varieties of white tea for another post. You can't go wrong with any of them. They also taste great, and have the same excellent anti-oxidizing qualities, which I'll also tell you more about a little later.

I'll also put up some links to some of my favorite tea places - my wife and I have searched far and wide for good teas. (The worst, believe it or not, was in London - which otherwise has marvelous teas.)

In the meantime, you might also enjoy the free 3-minute audio podcast about white tea I recorded last week - you can find it at white tea - Episode 4 in the Ask Lev series.

A brief post about a black tea, unlike any other, which my wife and I have in the past few months taken to drinking. It almost tastes like some kind of coffee or wine, and it has a smooth, deep, earthy flavor. I drink all black teas with milk - organic, as well as the tea - and milk goes very well with Pu-Ehr, unlike most black ties from China. Honey also complements the flavor nicely, and I'd say it has less caffeine than other black teas, but more than greens and whites. This is not based on chemical analysis, but on how close to going to sleep at night I can drink the tea, and still easily fall asleep. I usually have one cup late in the afternoon or early in the evening - in contrast to other black teas which I drink during the day and rarely after 6pm, and green or white teas, which I usually drink after 6pm. It takes boiling water, like all black teas. Pu-Ehr is said to go back to Ancient China. It is certainly a delicious,calming, clarifying tea for the 21st century.