The Secrets of Chinese Tea By Ming Hua He

One of the fun things we do on our tours to New York Chinatown is visit a tea house for an authentic Chinese tea ceremony using a traditional Chinese miniature tea set.

Tea has been the favorite drink of the Chinese since well before the year 350 A.D., when, so the story goes, a man named Shien Non Shei got thirsty while climbing a mountain, squeezed the juice from a leaf and tasted the bitter liquid.

Shortly thereafter, tea was brewed with various fruits and spices and served as a stomach remedy and to calm the nerves.

Did you know tea can lower blood pressure, replenish vitamins, protect teeth, prevent diarrhea and cancer, and eliminate bad breath? Chinese Health Tea introduces more than 700 kinds of health tea for treatment or prevention of diseases.

When the Chinese started using it as barter currency with other tribes, its popularity soared, and by 780 A.D. a formal tea ceremony using dozens of different pieces of equipment had evolved. Tea became the drink of choice for the rich and scholarly, who visited ornate tea rooms and drank from finely detailed ceramic cups.

Time passed and the popularity of tea spread to poor and rich alike, from China to Japan and across Europe. Aside from water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world today.

The tea ceremony we attend in Chinatown utilizes many pieces of equipment, including a teapot, tea boat, pitcher, teacups, waste water container, saucers, tray, other utensils and, of course, tea (loose, not in the bag).

A detailed list describing 50 famous Chinese teas, their health benefits and where to get them, as well as chapters on the chemistry of tea, Chinese and Japanese tea customs, and how to make a "nice" cup of tea, make All the Tea in China both a handsome book and a refreshing way to improve your health. Lavishly illustrated, it explores the historical lore of tea in China, Japan and the West and the health and aesthetic virtues of the beverage.

What kind of tea do they use? You may be surprised to know that black, green, Pouchong and Oolong tea all come from the same tea plant, known as Camellia Sinesis. The different flavors and colorations result from steps in the fermentation process.

Green tea is non-fermented, while Pouchong and Oolong are semi-fermented and black tea is fully fermented. Another kind of tea, called Pu-Erh, is fermented twice.