Yishan Tea Shop

Chinese tea tips

The Chinese tea tip

In the West, formal Chinese tea drinking tends to be centered around grand hotel lobbies or tea-rooms where tea is accompanied by an array of sandwiches and cakes. Sometimes in this process, the tea can become an afterthought as the towers of sweets dominate the visual scene.

In China, tea-drinking traditions are quite different. While ultimately a social activity, when drinking Chinese tea, one enjoys the fragrance, the color and varying tastes of the tea as the brew grows stronger. Similar to good wine, Chinese tea commands different vessels depending on the type of tea. Short-leaf Oolong is traditionally brewed in a clay teapot and green teas are best enjoyed in a glass pot.

Preparing Chinese tea properly is easy but you must follow a few basic guidelines. The best tea in the world can taste horrible if prepared incorrectly, and conversely a very inexpensive tea can be very satisfying if made well. All tea comes with specific steeping suggestions on the back of the bag, but some general guidelines are listed below.

There are seven factors that affect the quality of brewed tea:

The quality of the tea
The quality of the water
Correct measurement
Correct steeping temperature
Correct steeping time
Allowing the tea leaf to expand fully
Separating the leaf from the liquid at the end of the steeping process
Use the best tea that is available to you. Good tea is a bargain. A tea that costs $100.00 per pound only costs 50 cents per cup when steeped.

  The Oolong tea

One legend attributes the origin of Oolong tea to a man named Wu Liang. According to this legend, Wu was picking tea one day. As he was leaving, he spotted a river deer, killed it and took it home. Distracted by the preparation of the deer, he forgot to dry his tea. Oolong tea undergoes several stages of production to produce its taste.

The leaves are usually harvested in late spring to summer, although sometimes the leaves are harvested in winter. After harvesting, the leaves are sorted and dried.

Oolong tea has several health benefits, the main benefit being cancer prevention. Oolong tea is rich in antioxidants called polyphenols - or tannin - which help prevent cancer. Tannin is known for its ability to help DNA cells reproduce accurately, thus preventing abnormalities from forming. Other health benefits of drinking Oolong tea include reduced heart disease, better digestion and lowered cholesterol accumulation. In short, drinking oolong tea can improve a drinker's life on several levels.

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