by Jason Tsaddiq
Oolong tea is semi-fermented, boasts a full-bodied flavor and fragrance and can help the corpulent in a weight loss program. A Chinese study of seventy-five overweight adults showed a significant reduction in subcutaneous fat when they drank an oolong tea mixture twice daily for six weeks.[1]This tea is a favorite among many for it contains only 15% of the caffeine normally found in coffee.[2]The short fermentation allows oolong tea to avoid the grassy flavor of green tea while keeping all the nutrients. [3]Oolong tea leaves are picked on the morning of a clear day. They should be picked in units consisting of one bud and three leaves and exposed to the sun. This is the first stage. The second stage is to dry them indoors to promote fermentation. The most crucial part in the production of oolong tea is when to stop fermentation. As oolong tea is fermented to some extent, it is called semi-fermented tea. Experience is required to identify the best time to stop the fermentation, which is when the leaves are 30% red and 70% green. After this, they are rubbed repeatedly to generate good flavor, aroma, and texture. Then they are dried using charcoal. At the final stage, a tea master grades the quality according to the flavor and characteristics of each batch.[4]
Some products normally labeled “tea” are not true teas for they are not derived from the Camellia sinensis plant. However, many other plants are naturally bursting with healthy components ready to be extricated by one’s covering the appropriate plant part with hot water and waiting the appropriate time for the reaction to take place. These “non-teas” are labeled tisanes (TEE sahns). For example, red tea, also known as rooibos (ROY-bus) tea, comes from a South African red bush and contains vitamins and minerals. With less than half the tannins of black tea, this naturally caffeine-free drink comes from the "legume family and is often described as being sweet with a slight nutty aftertaste."[5]Another tea-like drink is the mate tisane which may curb the appetite and gives energy without the jitters of coffee while tasting like coffee.[6] As Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine food,” many people attempt to alleviate many detrimental health issues with food and drink, specifically “teas.” All-natural adherents claim that a tisane made with lemon balm and lemon verbena will allow the participant to relax while imbibing a drink made from parsley will encourage good kidney health, smooth joint operations, and clean breath. Thyme tisanes will usually impel the disappearance of headaches and coughs. Drinking a sage tisane will often dispel the flu-like symptoms of a bad cold.[7]
The most interesting aspect of tea is the many traditions surrounding its preparation and its delivery. Many discriminatory purveyors engender great pride in their exemplary ability to feel and smell their way to a delightful blend to please their devout customers. Usually one is hired by (or “attached to”) a tea company and is paid very well, based on his insuperable experience and skill. The average tea drinker should analyze the tea selection process of his chosen tea to discern if it is done according to his own wishes: Is the growing process sustainable? Does the tea have the enticing aroma and the taste he wants? Is the smoothness to his liking? Is the bitterness easy to avoid? Do the dry leaves have a malt smell (the desired aroma) or a musty smell (the undesirable aroma)? Is it fermented to the proper level?
However, before the tea purveyor even obtains the tea, it must have been planted, tended, deftly harvested and processed according to strict guidelines for each tea type is processed in a pre-determined manner so as to convey the flavor dictated by that type. White tea is harvested, cleaned, and dried. Green tea is steamed immediately after harvest to stop the fermentation process, safeguarding its color and fresh grassy character though it may proceed through a rolling, cutting, or grinding process. Oolong tea is semi-oxidized or fermented after being harvested. Black tea advances through the same fermentation method for much longer, allowing the leaves to turn from blue-green to dark red or black.
Many tea purists will demand the water be a certain temperature before adding it to the tea leaves. Some teach that one should raise the water temperature until almost boiling then add it to the leaves while others claim the best method is to boil the water for a few minutes, then add the leaves, while yet another group propounds the theory of bringing the water to a boil, then letting it cool for five minutes before adding it to the tea leaves. Experimentation in this process will be charming as one comes to his own conclusion concerning this step.
One should choose his equipment carefully for any sloppy decisions in this early stage of the routine will definitely affect the flavor and thus the enjoyment of the event. Tea drinkers discovered many years ago that a metal teapot will absorb the flavors of the teas previously enjoyed. For this reason, some will not use a metal teapot, yet for this same reason, some will choose a metal teapot. Each with its own benefits and detriments, many options of teapots are available for the contemporary tea drinker: glass, ceramic, metal, pottery among them. One self-professed “tea-snob” claims that the very best [tea pots] . . . are electric, not because they are electric, but because they have temperature gauges that you can program to reach just the right temperature for steeping, depending on the type of tea that you're brewing. Otherwise, it is best to heat the water (preferably filtered) over the stove, remove it from the heat just before boiling and steep. Heating the water in the microwave is okay as long as the water doesn't actually come to a boil.[8]
Various methods of heating are available – one may use a microwave to heat the water (not for the purist!), an electric teapot, a gas or electric stovetop, or an open fire. Each of the heating methods brings its own advantages and disadvantages. Whichever medium the tea drinker chooses, he must be absolutely sure that each piece of equipment is positively clean and sterile for any spoiled particulates will definitely, at least, change the flavor and at most, poison the drinker.
[1]http://www.oolongtea.org/e/health/04.html (accessed February 11, 2013).
[2]http://www.teavana.com (accessed February 1, 2013).
[3]Ukra, 18.
[4]http://www.oolongtea.org/e/welcome/06.html (accessed February 11, 2013).
[5]Ukra, 21.
[6]http://www.teavana.com (accessed February 1, 13).
[7]Perry, 25.
[8]Alison Kaster, email message to author, February 4, 2013.