Wednesday, November 23, 2011

How to Select Tea

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Although there is only one tea plant, camellia sinesis, there are around 3,000 varieties of tea products. Differences in tea growing area and conditions, tea processing, and age of the plant also affect the final tea product. Considerations should be given to the following factors when you choose your favorite tea.

Region of Growth

Tea is mainly grown and produced in China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Japan and South Africa. Tea in Europe and the U.S. is mostly imported from the above-mentioned nations. Different geographic regions have different climates, soils and humidity factors. All of these factors contribute to the overall nature of the leaf. It is understandable that most regions pride themselves on the uniqueness of their products. You may prefer your products from one particular region to the other regions.

Type of Tea

Black, green and oolong are major tea categories. Black is completely fermented, green is unfermented and oolong is semi-fermented. Different categories of tea have different levels of caffeine content. Black has some caffeine (about half as much as coffee), green has one-third as much as black, and oolong has half as much as black. Decide your caffeine tolerance when you shop for your tea.

Loose Leaf or Tea Bags

Obviously loose leaf has higher quality than tea bags. Tea bags are convenient, but generally contain low quality leaves that are powdered or broken, called fanning. When you make a purchase of this beverage, a choice has to be made between quality and convenience.

How Much to Spend

Tea is a remarkably inexpensive luxury. There is a wide choice of prices. However you get what you pay for. Buying this product just because it is cheap doesn't automatically give you a deal. In a matter of fact, really rare and great tea is very expensive and sometimes hard to get.

Taste, Taste and Taste

Chew the tea leaves carefully. Good leaves have a fresh mellowness. You can also infuse some tea to see if the leaves extend smoothly and sink to the bottom slowly. Another indicator of the quality is the color of the liquor. Good liquor is emerald green or golden. It has a tint of bitterness with a lasting sweet aftertaste. The liquor brewed from stale tea is malodorous and dark brown.

Other Considerations

Time of Picking: There are a number of harvest periods in a year, referred to as flushes (spring flush, 2nd flush, and autumn flush). Each flush offers a distinct flavor. For green tea, the first flush is considered higher quality.

Method of Picking: The method of how tea is picked and processed changes the quality of the final tea product. Hand picking and processing is the least damaging and produces better quality. Machine handling could damage the leaves causing quicker oxidation and fermentation which in turn degrades the nutrient levels as well as the flavor.

I'm a big fan of tea, simply because it is the our ultimately healthy drink. I run an online tea store to offer both quality loose leaf tea and tea bags from around the world. I appreciate your visiting my store at Healthy Tea Store. For your next cup of tea, buy tea online

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