Fresh ripe tea ready to be picked

Tea has a robust past and a promising future and it is summed up very well in a quote by Dr. Ralph W. Moss, PhD when he said, “However you brew it, you should consider making tea your basic beverage of choice.  Coffee offers little in the way of health benefits (and may in fact be harmful to some people).  But the wonders of tea never cease.  It is a simple, inexpensive and healthful habit, ‘that Excellent and by All Physicians approved China drink,’ as an English author of 1658 put it.  In sophisticated ways, modern science is now confirming the insights of our tea-imbibing ancestors.”

Dr. Moss is a leading author and consultant on cancer treatment.  He is an independent researcher who has been investigating and writing about promising cancer treatments since 1974.  He was formerly science writer and assistant director of public affairs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY and is considered by many to be the most knowledgeable writer in the world on alternative therapies for cancer.
Interestingly enough, Dr. Moss’s quote is very similar in context to the quote from the famous Chinese pharmacist Chen Zang from the time of the Tang Dynasty in the 8th century.  He said, “drugs are medicines for various diseases, but tea is the medicine for all diseases.”

Tea and cancer prevention have long been associated but tea is good for more than just cancer and specific teas are better for some conditions than others.  There is quite a long list of conditions mitigated by teas.
The Mayo Clinic asserts that green tea can be used for arthritis, asthma, cancer prevention, dental cavity prevention, diabetes, fertility enhancement, heart attack prevention, high cholesterol, lower triglycerides, memory enhancement, menopausal symptoms, mental performance/alertness, prostate cancer treatment, sun protection/skin damage, weight loss, and anxiety.

Not to be lost in all of the antioxidant, anticancer and general feeling of contentment from drinking tea has to be a primary function of tea which is hydration.  Tea is by all measures the second most consumed drink in the world second only to pure water.  Tea takes good water and transforms it into a super food.  Part of its magic is in the drinking of large quantities of it so that harmful substances can be removed from the body.

The UNC Carolina Population Center recommends that a healthy individual should drink at least 114 fluid ounces per day.  Of this total at least 15 ounces of it should be from tea and coffee.  Because of the health benefits of tea we know that between 4-6 cups should be drunk per day for optimum health.

According to a Symposium on Polyphenols and Health held at the University of California, Davis in 2005 there is no recommended dietary intake for flavonoids and optimum health.  Studies do suggest that consumption of 600 to 1000 mg of flavonoids per day would be optimum. According to the USDA flavonoids database black, white, green and oolong teas contain 150-190mg of flavonoids per cup.

Once again the recommendation of 4-6 cups per day which is similar to traditional Asian drinkers provides the optimal benefit for health.  It should also be noted that consumption with citrus, particularly lemon greatly enhances the absorption and increases the benefits by as much as 5 times as that tea drunk without lemon.

Some of the research reported on black tea includes a study from the Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and the Environment that showed flavonoid consumption reduced the risk of stroke.  Most of the beneficial flavonoids in the subjects diets came from black tea and men who drank more than 4 cups per day were in the lowest risk group.

At the Fourth International Scientific Symposium on Tea & Human Health much research was presented of studies about the potential benefits of tea.  Recent findings suggest that tea improves cardiovascular health, it preserves DNA from free radical damage, it promotes bone health, it stimulates the human immune system and it is a primary source of non-caloric hydration which can maintain a healthy weight.  The studies focused on digestive cancers, prostate cancer, skin cancer, oral cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer.  Bone density in older women who drank tea was greater than for women who did not drink tea.  Alzheimer’s disease effects were lessened by tea consumption and memory decline was found to be lessened because of a compound only found in tea called theanine.

High Mountain Biluochun

High Mountain Bi Luo Chun

Bi Luo Chun literally means, “Green Spring Spiral.”  It is a green tea first grown on Dongting Mountain around Lake Taihu in Jiangsu Province.  The tea looks like downy fluff and is made from the earliest springtime plucking of a single leaf attached to an unopened bud.  It takes some one hundred twenty thousand such sets to make each kilo of high grade Biluochun. The best Biluochun is made with a small leaf cultivar and is processed entirely by hand. It is skillfully pan fired over charcoal (not electric) heat. Because of the leaf’s delicacy, steeping Biluochun requires skill.  The water should be cooler than the 175 degrees Fahrenheit that is generally ideal for other green teas and should not be poured onto the leaf itself. Instead, the leaf should be added to the water that is in a cup or clear glass which affords the pleasure of observing the agony of the leaves. As the leaves unfurl they spiral to the bottom and open grudgingly which helps to account for the tea’s peculiar name, which can also be translated as Green Spring Snail or Green Spring Conchshell.

Keemun Needle

Organic Keemun Needle

This is the highest Keemun grade which is plucked and produced in the early spring, exclusively from tender buds. Keemun Needle has a shiny and pointed needle look, an exquisite bouquet with rich aroma and sweet flavor.   Keemuns are China black teas from Qimen, a county in Anhui province. Since its introduction in 1876/77, Keemuns are considered the best black tea China produces, referred to as ‘King of Red Tea’ or the “Burgundy” of China teas, because of its superb bouquet. Keemuns have thick, full liquors with a rich aroma and sweet flavor.  Keemuns are mainly made from Keemun Zhuye cultivar and available in various grades and shapes from ordinary to the extra-ordinary like Keemun Needle, Keemun Hao Ya, Keemun Mao Feng and Keemun Sechema, to name a few. The first keemun was produced in 1875 by a failed civil servant, Yu Qianchen, after he traveled to Fujian province to learn the secrets of black tea production.

Silver Needle

Silver Needle Bai Hao Yin Zhen

Baihao Yinzhen white tea literally means, “White Tip Silver Needle.”  It is a Fujian province specialty and consists exclusively of unopened leaf buds covered with down. It has some characteristics of a green tea, but it is lighter-tasting with a unique sweet flavor. If more leaf is used, the liquor becomes a light amber yellow color with a richer flavor. The very best Silver Needle is picked between March 15 and April 10 when it is not raining.  Only undamaged and unopened buds are used for the higher grades. This tea was first exported as White Pekoe Silver Needle and was first produced in 1885 with the Fuding Da Bai cultivar.

Mitchel Noble from PeLi Teas was so gracious to provide these elegant descriptions and pictures of some of China’s most Famous Teas.