The Fine Gourmet

There are three types of tea that are most familiar, and these are the Assam (India) variety, the China variety and the hybrid varieties. These three types, the India, China and hybrids are from the same species of the Camellia sinensis plant; it adopts different growth patterns to match the ecosystem in which it is growing. The hybridization between the India and China teas brought about the hybrid teas.

Camellia Sinensis Growing in Many Places

The large leafed Assam is a tree that can grow to sixty-five feet in the wild, although when it is domesticated for its leaves, its height is kept to about forty inches or so. The China variety is also known as Walden’s Camellia, and it has smaller leaves, a bushier appearance and can grow to be about ten feet tall. There is also a Cambodian Camellia sinensis. Apart from these main types, there are more than a hundred varieties of the Camellia sinensis plant, which grows all over the world now. The teas from different areas offer their own individual qualities in the resulting beverage.

Green tea has been gaining in popularity recently, as more people catch on to the healthy benefits of drinking and using green tea. There are many varieties of green tea, which come from different places in the world, and what these teas all have in common is that they are all from the Camellia sinensis tree. This Camellia sinensis tree is the same tree from which the tea leaves for the black, white and Wu-Long varieties of tea originate.

What do you do with Your Green Tea?

People use green tea in different ways, besides the traditional chewing and brewing of the tea. Green tea is prized for its micronutrients, which can significantly contribute to the better health of people who regularly drink this beverage. Ground green tea is also used as a sprinkle for desserts and other foods. Green tea is high in antioxidants and other nutrients that are very good for your body.

Tea tree oil is extracted from the Malaleuca tree, which grows in Australia. The leaves of the Australian tree were used by the natives for the treatment of a variety of skin ailments including infections, cuts and burns. Hundreds of species of the tea tree are grown, but it is mainly the Australian tea tree that is commercially used for its essential oils.

Tea Tree Oil Has a Strong Scent

Tea tree oil has a distinctive scent, which is strong, and reminiscent of eucalyptus or pine because of the heaviness of the scent. Tea tree oil is extracted from the leaves through a steam distillation process that separates the oil from the leaves and twig tips.

The popularity of tea has also brought forward the traditional tea drinking of the United Kingdom. A tea party in its truest sense is said to have lots of tea and cake. There are many stories of how a tea party originated, one of the more famous is about the Duchess of Bedford who made a habit of ordering her servants to bring her a cup of tea at approximately five o’clock. This became a fad among the elite and wealthy of London and thus started the tea party.

High Tea

People are under that impression that the original high tea meant delicate finger foods and a formal affair. Actually, high tea required heavy meals, sort of like an early supper for both the wealthy and the average people in England. It was only during the initial phase of high tea that the elite indulge in it. The rest of the country followed suit when they heard that the elite were having high tea. It is called high tea because the meal is served at the main dinner table and not in the salon or the low table.

Tea is one of the top five beverages drank around the world. It comes in four types, namely black tea, Oolong tea, green tea and white tea. Tea is supposed to have medicinal values and many people claim that it helps lose weight and clear up free radicals from our bodies. Several studies and research have supported these claims but the extent of the medicinal value is dependent on the consumption and quality of the tea.

What is White Tea?

White tea is probably one of the rarest kinds of tea available. It is so called because the tea leaves that are harvested are those that have not fully opened yet and are still covered with fine silvery, white hair. The silvery white hair turns white as the unopened leaves are dried. Not a lot of these leaves can be harvested from each plant thus making the tea very scarce and quite expensive.

There are literally hundreds of different types of teas in the world today, and one of the most fascinating and unique of all is Kombucha tea. Kombucha tea is an incredibly powerful health drink, one that is reported to be the answer to a variety of health problems.

Kombucha tea works with your body to boost its natural ability to fight off sickness and disease, and brings balance to your metabolism. It is consumed all around the world, and has been considered a “secret formula” for ages by many.

Since beginning as a simple idea of making tea a favorite drink in 1890, Sir Thomas Lipton was set on making a quality drink at a reasonable price. Today, the Lipton tea is responsible for about 10 percent of the world’s tea consumption and enjoys worldwide recognition as an industry leader in the tea market. With 10 tea plantations under it guidance, Lipton tea is made from a custom blend of different types of teas.

Experts employed by Lipton tea in the fields of growing, buying and blending and its marketing endeavors make it the only tea company that can still boats of its founder’s desire to offer tea from the tea plant to the tea pot. Plantations in Kenya and Tanzania have been working with independent plantations in working on making tea a sustainable crop to help the environment as well as the workers in the fields.

There used to be something comforting about the sudden whistle of tea pots as they began to steam on the stove. Whistling the signal that it was time to take the pot from the stove and pour a cup of hot water to make tea. Some used the tea pots to brew the tea directly, using a metal ball to hold the loose leaf tea or the tea bags in the water as it was heated on the stove. The tea would steep while the pot heated the water to a boil.

With the invention of the tea bag, many tea pots became simply vessels in which to heat water to a near boil. From there it would be poured into a cup containing a bag of ground tea leaves. The longer the bag was submerged in hot water, the stronger the tea would be. With those preferring weaker tea, a bag may be used for two, or more cups. However, the majority used one bag for each cup of tea.

Many people wish they had a weight loss secret they could use without doing the hard work to change their life for the better. If it were that easy then everyone would be the perfect size, and the perfect weight. A popular way to lose weight today is with a weight loss tea routine. Not only will adopting a weight loss tea routine aid in your battle against the bulge, but it can give you many other health benefits as well.

What is there To Worry About?

If all you hear are the benefits to using a weight loss tea to not only shed pounds, but help you stay in peak condition, then why is there a problem? It could be that many companies that are manufacturing weight loss tea are not the most scrupulous, and can add ingredients that you never expected to find in the product you purchased.

If a good cup of tea for you starts with the teabags you can buy from the grocery store, you are missing out on the true tea experience. There are some excellent teas that come in teabags, but most teas available at the supermarket are of a far less quality than you would find in loose leaf tea.

What is the Difference?

The biggest difference between loose leaf tea and tea from a bag is the size of the tea leaves. The size of the loose leaf tea is what makes a delicious cup of tea. Loose leaf tea has essential oils and chemicals that are the basis for the wonderful flavor of tea. When tea leaves are broken up, the oils may evaporate and leave you with a tea that is tasteless and dull. Typically, teabags are made with the smallest of the broken leaves which are called fannings.