Photo courtesy of dragonflysky

Find out what are the effects of caffeine?

Caffeine in tea is the main reason that makes the drinkers feel refreshed and energized. Most the popular drinks in America like coffee, Coca Cola, Pepsi all contain certain amount of caffeine.
Since tea is the 2nd most consumed drink in the world, about 50% of the population consumes certain amount of caffeine from tea. Caffeine in tea are released into the blood stream slower than coffee. This creates long-lasting refreshing feelings.

Tea leaves contain ~ 4% caffeine; the amount fluctuates depending on the kind of tea. The caffeine molecules can be easily dissolved in water. Brewing methods such as the boiling temperature and the brewing time have important effects on the amount of caffeine dissolve in the water. The hotter the water and the longer the brewing time, the more caffeine are released.

Also the bigger the size of the dried tea leaves are, the smaller the surface area, the lesser the amount of caffeine. The brain is the most sensitive organ to caffeine. Generally, when caffeine molecules first reach the body, they will travel in the blood stream and are absorbed into the brain through the brain membrane. Caffeine plays a role in reduce the blood flow to the brain.

When a person intakes caffeine regularly, the body and the brain begin to get used it. When consumption of caffeine stops, the blood flow and blood pressure into the brain will increase dramatically, causing light headaches and nausea. The extent of the effects depends on how addicted the body is to caffeine.

Different kinds of tea are processed differently, thus each contains different amount of caffeine. The more the tea is processed, the more caffeine it will have.

Black tea contains the most amount of caffeine (~ 80 mg). Then comes Oolong tea with ~ 30 mg. Green tea takes the final place with ~ 17 mg. Compared to coffee which has ~ 100mg of caffeine, tea only contains less than half that amount.

Instant tea has ~ 50 mg while iced tea contains about ~ 40mg.The main effects of caffeine usually include mental clarity and feeling energized. Caffeine not only contributes to the well-being of the mind but also might help initiates weigh loss.

How?…Caffeine is noted to have some effects on the kidneys. As you may know, the kidneys are responsible for the filtering of waste and water absorption by controlling the concentration of urine. This kind of effects causes the person to breath faster and deeper. These effects are kind of similar to those resulted from exercising.

Besides the effect of enhancing the mental alertness (and may be weigh loss), caffeine doesn’t have much of nutritional value. Moreover, the overdose of caffeine may cause some serious problems.
The major consequence of caffeine-overdose is the loss of sleep. If consumption of caffeine continues, this may lead to chronic insomnia. If left untreated, this may cause serious damage to the brain and the immune system. With people with heart diseases, the increase in breathing rate and blood flow may cause some problems. As a caution, you should consult with your doctor if tea is good for you.

Some people are hesitant with the amount of caffeine in tea may have a choice of decaffeinated tea. The caffeine is removed or significantly reduced by chemical solvents to prevent any effect resulted from caffeine. Caffeine is always been a concern for some tea drinkers. Thus here are some tips on tea decaffeinating at home to reduce the caffeine content of tea leaves.

Tea decaffeinating tips to reduce your tea at home without affecting the flavor of your favorite tea
Caffeine molecules are easily dissolved in water. As mentioned above, more caffeine molecules leave the tea leaves at higher temperature. The content of tea dissolves slower than caffeine molecule, thus there is a time lapse between the dissolve of caffeine and tea content.

When boiled water first adds over tea leaves, more than 80% of caffeine will be dissolve in the first 40 seconds. During this time, not much tea content is dissolve. Thus, we can use this time lapse for tea decaffeinating.

1) First you add the tea leaves into the tea pot. Boil a pot of water. Then you add the boiled water into the teapot. Make sure to submerge every tea leaf in the pot. Set the timer for about 40 seconds.

2) Quickly pour the tea into a strainer to remove the water. Return the tea to the pot. Add boiled water for the second time. Let it brew to appropriate time. Black tea brews in shorter time than green and oolong tea.

If you want clear tea without any solid, you can put the tea leaves into a tea ball and let it brews. This method of tea decaffeinating can significantly reduce almost 4/5 of the caffeine content in your tea while still keeping the essence of your favorite teas.

Tea products are dried leaves but they are easily destroyed by air, light, and humidity. It’s tempted to store your tea in the kitchen. Don’t. Dried tea leaves can easily absorb strong fragrance from surrounding air like pepper. Place the tea where there is no other strong smells such as pepper and chili.Tea can also absorb fragrance from other teas. It’s best to store 2 different teas separately and far away from one another.

Photo courtesy of gadl

It can also absorb sweat from hands. Therefore, you should try not to use your hands to handle the tea. A clean and dry spoon is a better idea. Remember; don’t leave the spoon in the container. This can change the chemical structure of tea and alter its taste.

The tea should be kept out of the light in dark tin or aluminum container to prevent exposure to air and light. Glass and plastic containers are not recommended. Several great tea containers are tin-lined box, aluminum, or opaque ceramic pots.

The dried leaves are sensitive to humidity. Tea can become rotten and turns yellow if it absorbs too much water. The container should be place in a room-temperature, cool and dry places to avoid humidity.

Specific tips for storing tea

Some people thought refrigerator as a cool place to store the tea. Not so. Often we have other foods in the refrigerator, the tea can just absorb whatever foods around it – significantly change its fragrance.

Another reason not to store tea in the refrigerator is the constant changes in temperature.
The container gets hot when you take it out and cold when you put it back in. This can cause the tea rot pretty fast.The tea should only be filled 3/4 of the containers to prevent the dried tea from being crushed.

To avoid too much exposure to air via the opening and closing of the container, you should estimate the quantity of tea you will drink and place the tea in the smaller container for frequent use. If the tea is kept in proper containers and environment, it can be keep up to 15 months or more without changing its taste.

The tea can stay fresh for 15 months only when you take every little caution in storing tea. But we are humans, not machine. We are bound to make mistake.

Storing tips for specific tea

* Green tea is not oxidized during processing; it should be used within 4-6 months

* Oolong and black tea are oxidized during processing; they should be used within 1 year.
When you want to clean the tea container, don’t use soap. The fragrance of soap can adhere to the containers for a long time, thus change the fragrance of the tea.

It’s best not to use water but to wipe the inside of the container with clean dry paper tower or cloth.
Last but not least, close the lit of tea tightly or wrap the container carefully before putting it back.
You can take every caution and follow every tip for storing tea. But if you forget to close the lit, all of the effort in keeping the tea fresh so far will be wasted…

Photo courtesy of Kanko

*****************************

Licorice tea recipe…

Licorice tea can both be healthy and refreshing. This tea can help relieve some of the agony if you are suffering from sore throat.

What you need…

* Dried licorice root
* Green tea (dried leaves or tea bags)
* Water
* Sugar
* A sieve

How to make this tea…

1) Wash the licorice root. Cut it into thin slices. Heat up the water until boil. Add the licorice root into the pot. Reduce the fire and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
2) Add the green tea leaves or powder tea into the pot. Let it brew for 4-5 minutes. Strain the tea through the sieve to remove any solid. Serve the tea with sugar to taste.

************************************************
Lotus nut tea recipe

What you need…

* Lotus nuts
* Any tea (prefer green tea)
* Water
* A sieve

How to make this herbal tea recipe…

1) Pour water into a saucepan and heat to boiling. Reduce the fire. Add the lotus nut into the sauce pan. Add some sugar.
2) Add the green tea leaves or tea in bags into the saucepan. Let it brew for another 2 minutes. Pour the tea into the sieve and serve.

Mung bean tea recipe

What you need…

* Mung bean powder
* Any tea (prefer green tea)
* Water
* Sugar
* A sieve (if use tea leaves instead of tea in the bags)

What to do…

1) Heat up the water in the pot. Add 1-1.5 teaspoon of mung bean powder into the pot. Reduce the fire. Add tea leaves or tea in bags and let it brew for another 2 minutes.
2) Pour the tea into the tea pot using the sieve to remove any tea leaf left. Serve it with sugar to taste.

Radish herbal tea

What you need…

* A piece of white radish
* Salt
* Water
* Green tea
* A sieve

How to make this tea…

1) Wash the radish to clean it. Peel the radish. Chop it into small piece.
2) Heat up the water in a saucepan. Reduce the fire. Let it simmer. Add the radish into the saucepan. Sprinkle some salt over it.
3) Add the tea leaves or tea powder into the saucepan. Let it brew for 3 minutes. Pour the tea into the tea pot using the sieve and serve.

***************************************
Onion tea recipe

What you need…

* Onion
* Water
* Small piece of ginger root
* Any tea (prefer green tea)

How to make this herbal tea recipe…

1) Wash the onion and the ginger. Peel the onion. Cut the onion and the ginger into small pieces.
2) Heat up the water in the saucepan. Reduce the fire. Add the ginger and onion into the saucepan. Sprinkle some salt into the sauce pan. Add some tea leaves into the saucepan. Let it brew for 3 minutes.
3) Pour the tea into the teapot using the sieve to remove any solid. Serve the tea with some sugar to taste.
****************************************
Lychee fruit tea

What you need...
* Fresh lychee
* Rock sugar
* Water
* Green tea (use tea in tea bags)

How to make this tea?

1) Wash the lychee thoroughly. Peel it. Cut it in half. Remove the core. If you want, you can cut it into smaller pieces.
2) Heat up the water in the pot. Add some tea leaves. Let it brew for 3 minutes. Add the lychee and the sugar into the pot. Turn off the fire Let it stand for 2 minutes.
3) Pour the tea into the tea pots. If the fruit is a little big, you can pour the tea into a cup or a mug. You can enjoy the fruit while drinking or after finish drinking the tea.

Well, there are 3 major kinds of white tea:

Photo courtesy of Geekgirlunveiled

* Silver Needle tea (Chinese name = Bai Hao Yinzhen )
* White Peony (Bai Mu Dan or Pai Mu Tan)
* Snow Buds (Shou Mei)

Care to guess how the leaves look like?

…like needle, of course!

Well, Silver Needle tea is

* Best grade of white tea
* Contains only young buds collected in spring.
* Products are silvery + look like needle tips.
* Tea products are brightly colored
* Most expensive of all white tea
* Taste naturally sweet, delicate, and refreshing
* The drink has golden color
* Best when brewed at about 73 Celsius (or ~ 164 Fahrenheit)
* Drink best served in the summer

Important traits of White Peony:

* Mix of 2 white tea plants
* Buds and 2-3 upper young leaves
* Leaves smell flowery
* Processed tea leaves have ash-like color.
* Taste mild, nutty – somewhat subtle nature
* Excellent tea for beginner
* Drink best served in the evening
* Cheaper than Silver Needle Tip white tea.

Important traits of Snow Buds white tea

* Least known white tea
* looks like green tea—best known for this characteristic
* Taste somewhat like vegetables

Other minor white tea

Some other kinds of white tea are also selling on the market.
They usually take the name of the place the tea plants are grown.
2 common kinds are:
* Darjeeling White tea
* Ceylon white tea

Interesting characteristics of Darjeeling White tea:
* grown and harvested in Darjeeling, India
* Infusion yields light gold color
* Sweet smelling
* Savory yet a bit sweet taste
* Other white tea from India: Assam white tea

Interesting characteristics of Ceylon White tea:
* Grown and harvested in Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka)
* Quite expensive tea
* Brewing yields reddish gold
* Light sweetness in taste

The taste of white tea is quite different from other teas. White tea has several unique characteristics that differentiate it apart from other tea. It’s useful to have some ideas to what white tea, isn’t it? Find out which kind of white tea is suitable for you and your palate!

Compare taste of different kinds of white tea to other teas

Here are some important and useful traits about the smells and taste of white tea: The fragrance is not as strong as other teas. White tea’s fragrance is more subtle. After brewing, white tea is not completely transparent (a hint of other colors as well)

Beginners may feel like drinking flavored water. Light and sweet! When the tongue get used to it, you can sense a light sweetness and a bit of bitterness.

Phto courtesy of Chris Chang

There are different types and blends of tea in the market today. Each blend has different fragrance and flavor that is unique to its origin.There are low-quality blends and of course high-quality blends. Low-quality blends of tea are resulted from the cost and the availability of certain tea.

Some blenders just choose teas that are abundant to include in the blends. This ensures no interruption in the mass production of tea blends because there is very low risk to have tea shortage.
However, other blenders place the importance on the quality of the blends. This results in many popular blends of tea today.

One thing for sure is that you don’t have to follow the crowd. Create something of your own. There are many kinds of tea. Pick the ones you like! Experiment a bit…! Now, to get you start here is some popular and common blends of tea.

Green tea blends

* Dragon well
This is one of the most popular tea in China. When brewed, it gives light green color water. It has a somewhat mellow taste.

* Jasmine

This is a mixture between green and black tea. The tea is scented with jasmine blossoms to add a nice and pleasant fragrance. People can perceive the original flavor better without the addition of milk.

* Gunpowder

The tea is made from green tea. It has strong taste with a bit of fruitiness. This is sometimes called Pearl Tea. This type of tea can keep its freshness longest among green teas.

* Pi lo Chun

This is a rare green tea from China. The tea leaves are rolled into tiny needles. The tea leaves are then scented with fruity fragrance like peach or plum.

* Matcha

This is a popular powder tea in Japan. When dissolved in water, the tea appears to be bright green. This is a common tea that is used in Japanese tea ceremony.

* Formosa oolong
It’s one of the best teas today. The tea is only has in Formosa. The special soil and weather in Formosa makes this tea one of best teas in the world. People around the world try to make this tea but the quality is never parallel to Formosa oolong. The soil and weather can’t be imitated.
The dried products have dark green color. When brewed, it gives light yellow water.

* Formosa Pouchong

This is oolong tea that is scented with different flower blossoms to yield different fragrance. This tea is best served in the evening.

* Earl Grey

This is a blend of Darjeeling tea and Chinese tea scented with bergamot oil. This blend of tea has a mild and pleasant flavor. This is a nice afternoon tea.

* Keemum

This is a high-quality tea from China. It has a rich flavor. It can be served in the afternoon or in the evening.

* English Breakfast

This is a mixture of Assam and Ceylon tea. It has a strong and bold flavor even with the addition of milk. It is best served in the morning, hence the name!

* Ceylon (or sometimes known as Sri Lanka)

It is viewed as one of best teas. When brewed, it has bright yellow color. It tasted strong and full-bodied even with addition of milk. The interesting thing about this tea is that it tastes great as hot tea or iced tea.

* Assam

This is a specialty of India. When brewed, it appears to be dark red color. It has a bold flavor with or without addition of milk. The tea is best served in the morning.

* Prince of Wales
A blend of tea made from black tea Keemun. It was invented by a member of the England royal family. This becomes a very popular afternoon tea.

* Irish breakfast

This is blend between Ceylon tea and Assam tea. It has a very strong and full-bodied flavor even with addition of milk. This tea is often served in the morning.

* Spiced blends

This blend is created from black tea Ceylon. Dried lemon, orange peel, or cinnamon are often added for the extra flavor.

* Chinese restaurant style
Different Chinese restaurants offer different blends of tea. One popular blend include 1/2 Formosa Oolong tea, 1/4 green tea, and 1/4 Jasmine tea. This tea tastes very pleasant and refreshing along with Chinese cooking.

* Minted tea blends

Mint is usually a component of herbal tea. But if you want the refreshing sensation, you can also add mint into real tea. Popular tea for minted tea can be Assam or Ceylon. Mint varieties include peppermint or spearmint. Minted tea can be delicious as hot tea or iced tea.