1. Introduction of Tea Cha, Tea, The, Chai. Whatever the name, it is the second popular drink in the world, just next to water. We spent thousands years on the mysterious leaf, and until recent decades we started to explore the enormous power of tea. The scientists already proved the wisdom of our ancients: tea is not only a drink, it is a healthy drink. The Plant :- Literally there are hundreds styles of teas in the world. White tea, green tea, oolong, black tea, all come from the plant Camellia sinensis, processed in different oxidization and methods. Camellia sinensis is a Far East native evergreen favors tropical to subtropical climate, moisture, and high altitude. The name "sinensis" means Chines in Latin. Some order names for tea plant include "Thea Bohea", "Thea sinensis" and "Thea viridis". Basically there are 2 major varieties supplying the tea products, a smaller one, and a larger one. The smaller variety is "Chinese variety"(sometimes called C. sinensis var. sinensis). It has small leaves and multiple stems. Most of Chinese and Taiwanese fine teas are derive from Chinese variety. It can grow up to 3 meters, but are maintained as short bushes for easier harvest. The flowers are yellow-white, 2.5–4 cm in diameter, with 7 to 8 petals. Some wild tea trees found in Yunnan (China) can grow as 15 feet high, and can survive for centuries. Recent found oldest tea trees in Yunnan (China) are probably 1700 years old. The larger variety is "Assamese Variety" (sometimes called C. sinensis var. assamica or C. assamica), native to north-east India, Myanmar, Vietnam, and South China. It is a single stemmed tree with large leaves. It reaches a height of 6-30 meters, but is kept trimmed short for easy harvesting. Its life span is shorter then the Chinese variety. All Assam teas and most Ceylon teas are from this plant. The Assam plant produces malty, earthy drinks, unlike the generally flowery yield of the China plant. It is commonly used for producing black tea. There's a third variety called "Cambodian Variety" (sometimes called C. sinensis var. parvifolia). Its leaves size between the Assam and Chinese varieties. 1 The seeds of Camellia sinensis and Camellia oleifera can be pressed to yield tea oil. Tea oil is for cooking purpose, adds sweetish flavor in cooking. The leftovers of the pressed seeds are made into hair cleaner, body cleaner, and even detergents for dishes. This tea detergent is extremely smooth to skin and hair. This "tea oil" is different to "tea tree oil" (or ti tree oil), which is an essential oil made of different plant and used in aromatherapy. Tea Styles :- Tea leaf is dried, oxidized or fermented, baked, fried or roasted in different levels, thus makes black tea, green tea, white tea, etc. There are several systems to distinguish tea styles: 1. International markets has made 3 different tea types according to its fermentation or oxidization level: *Green Tea (non-oxidized) *Oolong Tea (partial oxidized) *Black Tea (fully oxidized). 2. Traditional Chinese system distinguishes tea styles from detailed oxidization level (minimum oxidized to fully oxidized): *Green Tea *White Tea *Oolong Tea *Yellow Tea *Red Tea (known as Black Tea, fully oxidized) *Black Tea (known as post fermented tea, such as Pu-er). 3. Distinguish tea from its wilting level, we'll have "non-wilted" and "wilted" styles. *Non-wilted: Green Tea *Wilted: all other styles of teas including white, oolong, yellow, red (black tea), black (post- fermented tea). 2 4. All tea contains caffeine because it is a natural element contains in tea leaves. The caffeine level is actually increased by the oxidization levels. Decaf teas are made through some chemical process. All tea has less caffeine than coke dark chocolate, and coffee. 5. Herb tea is not made of tea leaf but herbs, so is is actually herb infusion. Tea countries :- Current science and historical records indicated that China is the origin of tea. Tea has been used as an herb medicine in Chinese history for thousand years. Tea art, Tea Ceremony (Cha Dao) is deeply related to Chinese culture. China remains as a major tea exporting country now. Taiwan is also one important tea country. There are some wild tea trees found in Taiwan, but most mother plants were immigrated from China, some from India (Assam black tea). Benefits from the weather and geographic environments, Taiwan has been producing top quality teas for centuries and successfully cultivated some new varieties. Taiwanese tea is also known as "Formosa Tea", the famous "Formosa Baihao Oolong" is considered as one of the best oolong tea in the world. India is the main country grown Assamese variety tea tree, and one major country supplying black tea industry. Along with India, Sri Lanka also produces gourmet black tea. Japan is famous for green tea. It also inherits Tea Ceremony (Cha Dao) from China. About 1200 years ago, Buddhist monks Saicho and Kukai brought tea trees from China to Japan, and started cultivating tea locally. As a large tea consuming country with comparing smaller cultivation, Japanese native green tea is high quality and also pricey in international markets. 3 2. History of Tea Tea is nearly 5,000 years old and was discovered, as legend has it, in 2737 B.C. by a Chinese Emperor when some tealeaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water. In the 1600s, tea became popular throughout Europe and the American colonies. Since colonial days, tea has played a role in American culture and customs. Today American schoolchildren learn about the famous Boston Tea Party protesting the British tea tax -- one of the acts leading to the Revolutionary War. During this century, two major American contributions to the tea industry occurred. In 1904, iced tea was created at the World's Fair in St. Louis, and in 1908, Thomas Sullivan of New York developed the concept of tea in a bag. Tea breaks down into three basic types: Black, Green, and Oolong. In the U.S., over 90 percent of the tea consumed is black tea, which has been fully oxidized or fermented and yields a hearty-flavored, amber brew. Some of the popular black teas include English breakfast (good breakfast choice since its hearty flavor mixes well with milk), Darjeeling (a blend of Himalayan teas with a flowery bouquet suited for lunch) and Orange Pekoe (a blend of Ceylon teas that is the most widely used of the tea blends). Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It has a more delicate taste and is light green/golden in color. Green tea, a staple in the Orient, is gaining popularity in the U.S. due in, part to recent, scientific studies linking green tea drinking with reduced cancer risk. Oolong tea, popular in China, is partly oxidized and is a cross between black and green tea in color and taste. While flavored teas evolve from these three basic teas, herbal teas contain no true tealeaves. Herbal and "medicinal" teas are created from the flowers, berries, peels, seeds, leaves, and roots of many different plants. STORY OF TEA: Began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, the ShenNong, an early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist, and patron of the arts. His far-sighted edicts required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. Therefore, according to legend, tea was created. (This myth maintains such a practical narrative, that many mythologists believe it may relate closely to the actual events, now lost in ancient history.) 4 CHINA: Tea consumption spread throughout the Chinese culture reaching into every aspect of the society. In 800 A.D., Lu Yu wrote the first definitive book on tea, the Ch'a Ching. This amazing man was orphaned as a child and raised by scholarly Buddhist monks in one of China's finest monasteries. However, as a young man, he rebelled against the discipline of priestly training, which had made him a skilled observer. His fame as a performer increased with each year, but he felt his life lacked meaning. Finally, in mid-life, he retired for five years into seclusion. Drawing from his vast memory of observed events and places, he codified the various methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China. The vast definitive nature of his work, projected him into near sainthood within his own lifetime. Patronized by the Emperor himself, his work clearly showed the Zen Buddhist philosophy to which he was exposed as a child. It was this form of tea service that Zen Buddhist missionaries would later introduce to imperial Japan. JAPAN: The returning Buddhist priest brought the first tea seeds to Japan. Yeisei, who had seen the value of tea in China in enhancing religious mediation. As a result, he is known as the "Father of Tea" in Japan. Because of this early association, tea in Japan has always been associated with Zen Buddhism. Tea received almost instant imperial sponsorship and spread rapidly from the royal court and monasteries to the other sections of Japanese society. JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY: Tea was elevated to an art form resulting in the creation of the Japanese Tea Ceremony ("Cha-no-yu" or "the hot water for tea").