Tea - Black or Green

Elderly Man Sipping Tea at Panxi Jiujia,
Guangzhou, China Photographic Print
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About 4500 years ago: Tea drinking began in China. Legend has it that the emperor decreed that all water was to be boiled before drinking to prevent disease. There is a legend that one day the emperor and his entourage were on a journey and when they stopped to rest, water was boiled in accordance with his law. Leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water but the emperor drank it anyway. When he discovered what a refreshing drink it was, tea drinking was born.

200 BC Around this time tea plants were grown in the Chinese emperor's palace garden although tea was drunk for medicinal reasons not as a regular occurrence.

800AD: By this time drinking tea was widespread and popular in China rather than just drunk medicinally. Lu Yu, said to have grown us as an orphan in a Buddhist monastery, wrote Ch'a Ching, the first book on tea giving information on methods of growing tea and preparing the drink. The work clearly shows the influence of Zen Buddhism on the writer and is thought to be the basis for the Japanese Tea Ceremony. This definitive work brought him recognition during his lifetime.

794-1185: Tea was taken to Japan and was enjoyed by the Japanese emperor and his courtiers. Because the tea exported to Japan did not have a flavour that became popular and diplomatic relations between the two countries were poor and eventually ceased altogether, tea drinking declined.

About 1200: A Japanese Buddhist priest returning from China took tea seeds with him. He also wrote a book about the benefits of tea drinking and introduced the Chinese tea ceremony. Tea became associated with Buddhism in Japan. by the 15th and 16th century the Japanese Tea Ceremony became an established part of Japanese life.

"Drinking a daily cup of tea will surely starve the apothecary."

Tea Trade in China Giclee Print
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From 1600: Tea arrives in Europe. Although travellers, including Marco Polo, returning from China had brought back news of tea, it wasn't until the start of the 17th century that it was imported, first into Holland. Initially it was very expensive and so fashionable amongst the wealthy but gained in popularity at all levels of society as the price fell with increased imports. Tea drinking then spead to other European countries.

1650s: Tea was introduced to American Dutch colonies and then to England and quickly became popular, first amongst the wealthy, then throughout society. It wasn't introduced to American English colonies until the late 17th century and imports were subject to high duties.

1767: The tax on tea was raised to cover the cost of the war against the French and Indians waged in the North American colonies leading to illegal imports from the Dutch. On December 16, colonists dressed as Indians threw large quantities of tea into Boston Harbour - an event now known as the Boston Tea Party and the start of the American Revolution.

1848: The export of tea plants and seeds from China was strictly forbidden to maintain its monopoly. Scottish plant hunter Robert Crown went to China and obtained almost 24,000 young tree plants and 17,000 seedlings along with eight Chinese tea growers. These were all taken to the Himalayas where tea plantations were established in the Indian provinces as Assam and SiKkim. Tea became the principal export of these provinces.

1908: Thomas Sullivan of New York invented the teabag.

Chinese Garden Scenes with Ladies Taking Tea
Chinese School Mid 19th Century Giclee Print
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The Gongfu cha tea ceremony is the one described by Lu Yu in his classic book Ch'a Ching. It is not as intricate and stylized as the Japanese Tea Ceremony but it requires skill and precision to ensure that the flavour of the tea is the best possible.

Close attention is paid to the ingredients and equipment. Of course they use the best tea and they also use spring water, bottled if they don't have their own nearby spring. Tea is mixed in a clay pot and water boiled in either a glass or clay kettle.

The ceremony should take place in a calm, peaceful place, preferably with soothing music.

Customs
These are not necessarily part of a tea ceremony but more the social etiquette associated with tea drinking.

* To show respect: a lower ranking person pours tea for the higher ranking. This could be younger people showing respect to their elders or an employee pouring it for his boss.

* Family occasions: busy families meet in teahouses to get together. This occurs especially at times of festivals.

* As part of the Chinese marriage ceremony: the bride and groom kneel in front of their parents and serve them tea as a thank you for the love and care they have received.

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The principles of the Japanese tea ceremony are harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. The list of necessary equipment is long and precise. It can also vary according to the season. In summer shallow tea bowls are used to drink tea because they allow it to cool more quickly while in winter deeper ones are used.

There are two main styles of tea ceremony although there are variations even within each style.

Dress for a tea ceremony is formal, preferably a traditional kimono. It is customary for the host to wear a kimono and many of the traditional arm movements involved are based on the host wearing a kimono with long sleeves to prevent them getting dirty. The ceremony can take place indoors or outside, traditionally on tatami mats and in a formal sitting position called seiza. This involves kneeling with the lower legs on the floor and sitting on one's heels while the back is kept straight. The customary bows from the waist are performed sitting in this position.

There are many intricate customs and traditions associated with the ceremony from the way tatami mats are placed and who walks or sits on them. The host must put items of the tea ceremony's equipment in precise ways and places. Even the flower arrangements are particular to the tea ceremony and known as chabana. If the ceremony takes place indoors, the walls will display scrolls of calligraphy or an image. These change according to season, special occasion or some other variable.

Both thick and thin tea can be served although it's becoming more common to just serve thin tea. Both types of tea are made with a special bamboo whisk which is taken to the temple once a year to be ceremonially burned.

"The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose."

Just like many other places, nowadays most people in England and the rest of Britain make tea by putting a teabag in a cup then adding boiling water. When I was young, it was always made using loose tea and a teapot.

First the pot was warmed by rinsing with hot water, then spoonfuls of tea put in, usually using a caddy spoon. The way most people decided how much tea to use was "one spoonful for each person and one for the pot", then freshly boiled water was poured on to the tea - and it must be boiling, not just hot. It was left to stand or 'brew' for a few minutes, then it was poured into teacups, often using a tea strainer to catch the tea leaves. There was always a big debate about whether milk should go in before the tea or not. Then sugar was added if required. I occasionally make it this way if I'm using a special loose tea.

There are, in fact, four basic types of tea, black, green, white or oolong although most of us are only aware of the first two. They are all from the same plant Camellia sinensis.

Black teas are more oxidised and fermented than the other two types, giving it a distinctive dark colour and flavour. Traditionally this is the tea drunk in western countries.

Green teas are less oxidised and are not fermented so making them more medically useful than black tea. This is widely drunk in eastern countries although it is becoming more popular worldwide now.

White teas are uncured and not fermented. They are made from young leaves and buds, picked much earlier than for black or green teas. They contain much less caffeine too.

Oolong teas - this is somewhere between black and green teas. It is partly oxidised and undergoes some fermentation.

"If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you." Gladstone 1865

Botanical Image of Tea Plant Art Print
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Tea and Cancer
Green tea may be a powerful aid in the prevention of cancer caused by free radicals in the body (these are harmful molecules formed by normal bodily processes particularly in response to cigarette smoke, pollution, sunlight, etc and they can lead to malignant tumours).

At a conference in October 2003 held by the American Association of Cancer Research, S Yang, Ph.D., of Rutgers University, N.J said, "Laboratory studies have suggested that green tea consumption may produce many health benefits, including the prevention of cancer, but the beneficial effects in humans are not clearly known." He went on to say, "Research is now showing how this novel chemopreventive agent might work at the molecular level and in the human population."

EGCG (epigallocatchin-3-gallate) is the most abundant and active chemopreventive agent in green tea, and has been associated with reduced risk of breast, pancreatic, colon, esophageal and lung cancers in humans. However, to sustain effective levels for biological activity, people would need to drink at least seven to eight cups of tea a day, or ingest large amounts of green tea polyphenol extract. Researchers from SRI International in Menlo Park, California, have successfully synthesized several EGCG analogs that inhibit the growth of tumor cell lines in an artificial environment with potencies equal to or greater than EGCG itself.

Tea and Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center concluded that drinking black or green tea may help reduce a potentially harmful constriction of blood vessels after a high-fat meal. Their study, presented in February 2002 at the scientific session of the American College of Cardiologists in Atlanta, adds to a growing body of research that suggests antioxidant-rich foods and beverages may help to prevent heart disease.

"Consumption of a high-fat meal can produce a chemical chain reaction within blood vessels which can temporarily impair their ability to dilate or widen, a normal response to increased blood flow. However, antioxidants seem to prevent this chain reaction," says University of Maryland Medical Center cardiologist Mary Corretti, M.D., lead author of the study. "Our study found that drinking tea reduced the negative impact of a high-fat meal on blood vessel function," says Dr. Corretti, who is also an associate professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"Dilation is a marker of vascular health. A reduction in the ability of blood vessels to dilate, even temporarily, can contribute to heart disease or the risk of a heart attack," says Dr. Corretti. She adds that although the study observations are preliminary, "they suggest that how we eat our food and in what combinations may have a significant impact on our overall cardiac health."