Tea is beloved in Chinese culture and many people readily embrace it as a healthy drink. However, how much do we actually know about tea?
Our first thought may be to think that tea is healthy and often disregard how it can affect our bodies. For one, we always think that green tea is healthy, but it’s been proven to be dangerous for young children and is absolutely forbidden for pregnant women during the first trimester! To educate ourselves more about tea, beijingkids talked with Qiangbo Li, the co-founder of On Cha (开始喝茶), an emerging creative tea brand in Beijing. He shared with us a tea-based love story from a famous Chinese novel, seasonal tea options, and some shocking facts about tea.
A Love Story from a Dream of Red Mansions
In A Dream of Red Mansions, Miao Yu is a young, beautiful, but aloof woman, who was compelled by circumstances to become a Buddhist nun. Despite being a nun, she fell in love with the main protagonist of the story. Since it was forbidden for her to love this man, she chose to show her affection towards him by serving him tea in a precious jade cup instead of the regular porcelain cup she serves to others.
Seasonal Tea Options
People should have green tea during the summer months and go easy in winter. when drinking black tea or Oolong might be a better and more healthy option. Though there is no scientific evidence to prove this, in traditional Chinese medicine, teas like green and white teas which are lightly oxidized are considered as “cooling” beverages; while teas like red and black tea are “warming”.
Women can drink green tea occasionally, but white tea and black tea are more suitable. The reason why anyone with a weak stomach should drink more black and white tea is because the leaves are milder in flavor and have lower polyphenol content. Along with these characteristics, they will also not overstimulate your digestive system compared to green tea.
READ MORE: Tea Master to Expectant Mothers: Yes, Pregnant Women Can Drink Tea
Shocking facts about tea
- There’s no need to “rinse” the tea leaves. The first cup is actually the most nutritious if you’re drinking from a high-quality tea. The misunderstanding stems from people thinking that rinsing the tea will wash out the chemicals within it, but all that is being washed away is simply dust.
- The top three water sources for tea are from a mountain well, a river, then mineral water. The very last option is using boiled tap water.
- The original black teas were from China, then brought to England.
Enjoy your tea!
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