Colorful

     On Saturday I attended a tea party, of sorts.  The Tubby Olive, a varietal olive oil and balsamic vinegar shop in Doylestown, was hosting an event highlighting one of their retail items, a line of teas.  The folks from the other side of the river in New Jersey who are the proprietors of "Tea For All" were there to answer questions and to offer samples.

     It was a colorful experience for me.  And again I was humbled by what little I really knew about the world's most consumed beverage.  For me, tea was something my mother brewed for me and served with unbuttered toast when I was sick.  And it was always orange pekoe.  Little did I know that it had nothing to do with the color or flavor of oranges.  In reality it was named after the Dutch House of Orange who where the primary exporters of black tea from China, where all tea leaves were originally grown and harvested.

     What we commonly term black tea in western cultures is not the same as Chinese black tea, however.  The Chinese call our black tea red tea due to the color of the leaf which is oxidized and naturally aged for several years.  Chinese black tea, or pu'erh from Yunnan Province, is referred to as fermented darkened tea and starts out as green tea.

     Green tea which has been gaining in popularity due to its purported health benefits in reducing the risk of heart disease and certain cancers undergoes minimal oxidation.  It is also thought to provide thermogenesis.  It stimulates fat oxidation and boosts the metabolic rate, encouraging weight loss.

     White tea is also lightly oxidized. The leaves and buds are allowed to wither in natural sun light before being lightly processed to prevent further oxidation.  The word "white" doesn't refer to the color of the tea but to the fine silver-white hairs on unopened buds of the tea plant which gives the plant a whitish appearance.  The tea is actually pale yellow in color.

     So next time you sip a cup of tea, ask yourself, "what is my favorite color?"