Herewith, some information about Chinese Tea and its health benefits according to the four seasons:
Chinese Tea in Winter
If you are looking for a warming tea to shelter you from the bitter cold winter, you may want to drink a black tea or a Pu Er tea.
A good quality tea is neither astringent nor bitter. It has a body that is thick and rich. The flavors are chocolately and charcoal, with many layers of floral aroma.
These types of tea last very long as it can be infuses many times.
Which Winter Tea?
The southern provinces of Yunnan, Fujian and Guangdong are the undisputed masters of dark and roastet tea. People love to drink tea gongfu style using a Yixing tea pot.
The most famous of roasted oolong tea is probably the “Da Hong Pao“, popularly known in the West as the Wu Yi Mountain Tea or Red Robe tea. The first medallist of the Beijing Olympic 2008 was awarded the da Hong Pao harvested from the original 600-year-old tea bushes..
Chinese Tea in Spring:
After this long winter, it’s time celebrate the onset of spring with the harvesting of the green tea!
Few weeks after the Spring Festival, is the highest point of the tea season since in China, you can’t miss the anticipation of the Nation for the first spring harvest – known as the Chun Cha (春茶).
Green tea is cooling. This means it detoxify and cleanse. It contains high concentration of antioxidants, a prevention for many illnesses such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and it is great for clearing your body of excess phlegm caused by allergies.
Chinese Tea in Summer:
In summer, the need for a cooling tea becomes important. While your green tea will continue to taste great, why not also try to have a cup of fruity white tea?
The most YIN of Chinese tea, white tea is a bit like a a bowl of fresh air. Little heating is applied during the making process as the leaves as just tried in the sun. The process is very natural: instead of roasting, leaves are left to mature at outside temperature to allow chemical changes to take place.
Chinese Tea in Autumn:
As the air chills and leaves start falling in the autumn, oolong tea also known as Wu Long or Blue Tea begins to make their way to the market and to our lips. This is the time when the most fragrant Ti Guan Yin tea (铁观音) is harvested in the southern province of Fujian.
Unlike green tea, which is unoxidized, blue teas come in various levels of oxidation. The lightly oxidized clue tea such as Ti Guan Yin is like a violin, high in aroma and light in body. The heavily oxidized blue tea is like cello, heavier in aroma and rich in body. The more heavily oxidized blue tea is usually roasted such as Da Hong Pao. This process imparts “fire” to the tea, making it more warming.
During autumn, you may want something more warming than green tea, and there are many types of oolongs to choose from.
Well, I hope that this was useful information and please, do not hesitate to contact me, should you require clarification…
Until then, enjoy your cup of tea!
Fu Dao 