What’s Right About White
Andrea Graham - Maya Tea Company

During the Song dynasty in China, the ‘poet-Emperor’ Huizong declared that Bai-cha or white tea was the most superior of all teas. Centuries later, the western world has begun to take notice of the sweet, delicate, and healthy beverage that is white tea. With names like Silver Needles, White Peony, Golden Moon, and White Cloud it’s impossible not to be curious about this mysterious and romantic tea.

Like all real tea, the white variety comes from the plant Camilla Sinensis. It is, however, harvested and processed in a very special way. Harvested briefly in early spring, only young leaves and buds covered with fine white down are chosen for white tea. It is the least processed of all teas. After being picked, the leaves are very lightly processed with sunlight and low temperatures to stop the oxidation process. The result is a tea that is closest to the original leaf.

Big White, Narcissus, and Vegetable White are the three main types of plants that are harvested for white tea. The quality of the tea is dependent on the plant, which leaves were plucked, and the conditions under which the plant was harvested. The highest quality white teas are Silver Needles and White Peony. Silver Needles tea is made up of tender young buds carefully harvested from the Big White or Narcissus bush. White peony comes from the same bush, but includes a bud and two to three leaves. White tea bushes are indigenous to the high mountains of the Fujian province, but are now being grown in a variety of regions. Many tea connoisseurs maintain that only the tea coming from the proper region in Fujian Province is truly white tea. With the variety of white tea plants and processing comes diversity in flavor, but as a rule, white teas are mild, smooth and silky. They are the most gentle of all teas with a pale, yellow liquor. They are often lightly sweet and have a subtle floral aroma.

White tea is rare and delicious, and like its predecessors it has been found to be good for us. Perhaps, it is the best of the bunch. Recent research shows that white tea has less caffeine than other teas as well as the highest concentration of antioxidants. While new to most of us in the western world, the Chinese have been enjoying this wonderful tea for centuries. They consider white teas to be cooling, detoxifying, and refreshing, which is perfect for our dry desert climate.

Only Tea Plantation in America Reopens

We get many questions about where tea is grown and if there is any tea grown here in the USA. We have tried to grow some tea seeds here in Tucson but the climate is a bit too dry and the sun way too strong to really do this effectively. Other friends of ours have tried and successfully grown some tea bushes as house plants here in the States. But there is one plantation here that has successfully grown and manufactured tea.

The Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island about 20 miles southwest of Charleston reopened in January 2006 and opened for tours in May. The plantation was closed in 2003 after being purchased by the Bigelow Tea Corporation. The administrators at Bigelow couldn’t bear to see the only plantation in America plowed under, so they renovated and reopened not only for tea production, but also for tours. The plantation, production facility, and a gift shop are now officially open to visitors. American Classic Tea, the signature tea of the plantation and a favorite in the South, is growing again in the fields of the Charleston Tea Plantation.

This is a great opportunity for people curious to experience tea growing, who may not otherwise be able to travel to Asia, to visit the tea gardens there. It also helps put into perspective the massive global undertaking of millions of people to supply a simple leaf for billions of people to enjoy. Remarkable indeed.

For more information see: www.bigelowtea.com/act/

Iced is Nice
By Andrea Graham – Maya Tea Company

In 1904, the World’s Fair in St. Louis was attended by one Richard Blechynden, a tea merchant from India. He’d come to the fair to promote tea drinking. It was a hot summer day and there was no interest in his hot tea. In order to boost sales, he added ice to his tea and created a new beverage, iced tea. It was a big hit and an American tradition was born.

Unlike our counterparts on the other side of the Atlantic, the majority of the tea consumed in this country is iced at about 85%. Most homes and restaurants from coast to coast offer some sort of iced tea option. And the options are many. The Nestea plunge in the form of crystals or liquid concentrate is still available along with tea bags and loose tea especially blended for iced tea. Southerners have been drinking sweet tea on steamy summer days for generations, many restaurants now carry signature iced teas, and it is becoming more and more common to find bottled tea in convenience stores. In terms of popularity, iced tea is right up there with lemonade as refreshment on a hot summer day. In warmer climates, it is a mainstay.

Making a wonderful glass of iced tea is not difficult, but occasionally iced tea will turn out cloudy or bitter. It’s possible to avoid these problems by following a few guidelines. The first thing to consider is water. Tap water rarely makes good iced tea as it contains too many chemicals. Purified water on the other hand is too pure. The answer is filtered water. Water in hand, the next requirement is the tea. A good glass of iced tea requires a ratio of twice the tea to water. So, for a 16 ounce glass, use the amount of tea for a 16 ounce serving, but use 8 ounces of water to make a strong brew. After steeping for the suggested time, pour the 8 ounces of strong tea into a 16 ounce glass full of ice. Continue to add ice until the glass is topped off. In lieu of ice, you can also add cold water and refrigerate. This same formula of filtered water, twice the tea, and then ice will make any amount of iced tea needed.

Because of the recent popularity of tea, iced tea has benefited by emerging with better quality teas available and an abundance of flavors and scents. The many types of iced tea being brewed on hot summer days across the country are astounding. Passion fruit, Mint, Jasmine, Vanilla, and a variety of caffeine-free herbals are just a few to be had. Tea is also benefiting from a new crop of iced drinks that contain tea and are often a creative version of iced tea. Tea smoothies, juice/tea combos, bubble tea, tea frappuccinos, and even cocktails are appearing at coffee shops, juice bars, restaurants, and night clubs.

Over 100 years ago, a creative businessman added ice to a familiar drink and inadvertently created iced tea. Because of this, iced tea, in one form or another, has become one of America’s favorite drinks.

Andrea Graham – Maya Tea Company

Like many people that are told to stay away from caffeine, when I became pregnant it didn’t take me long to become excruciatingly bored with my beverage choices. I was a tea drinker and my doctor insisted on only 1 cup a day. My mainstay beverage became a once-a-day treat. Juice and caffeine-free soda were too sweet and calorie ridden, the herbals I’d tried up to that point didn’t satisfy me, and I was sick of just water. I turned to decaf tea and then learned that the chemical process used to decaffeinate many drinks was probably worse for me than the caffeine. Some time after my struggle to replace tea in my life, I found out about rooibos.

Rooibos is a delicious and healthy herbal tisane (tea) that has only recently gained popularity in the U.S., but has been widely consumed in its native South Africa for hundreds of years. A friend’s mother grew up in rural South Africa where rooibos is a mainstay beginning with the bottle. For years, she had loose leaf rooibos sent to her from her homeland, but now can find it in specialty supermarkets and from tea purveyors. It certainly has taken awhile, but Americans have found out about this versatile and unique beverage.

Rooibos which means “Red Bush” in Afrikaans was first harvested by the indigenous people of South Africa’s Western Cape about 300 years ago. The plant was harvested, bruised, fermented, and finally dried in the sun. The world’s only supply of Rooibos comes from the Cedarburg area of South Africa where it originates and where the locals swear by its healthy properties.

While a great deal of the evidence for the health benefits of rooibos are still anecdotal, researchers are beginning to uncover some truly interesting evidence to support the health conscious pursuit of rooibos. It does contain flavanoids that can be used to treat skin and circulatory disorders and recent studies indicate it may relieve insomnia, irritability, headaches, nervous tension, and hypertension. In South Africa, it has commonly been used for colic in infants and stomach cramps in adults. Research supported this usage by showing that Rooibos has anti-spasmodic agents. While not enough to meet your daily requirements, the compounds, copper, iron, potassium calcium fluoride, zinc, manganese, alpha-hydroxy, and magnesium are also components of this herbal tea.

Rooibos infuses into a red/orange color with a smooth subtle sweet nutty flavor profile that can be similar to black tea. Unlike true tea (camellia), however, rooibos is low in tannins which makes it less astringent, and so a good choice for those that prefer a smooth, mild taste. Refreshing iced and soothing hot, rooibos is delicious alone or a treat when sweetened. Because of its smooth taste, rooibos is a versatile ingredient in herbal blends. Popular blends include fruit flavored rooibos and warm spicy rooibos, including a marvelous chai. For those looking for an alternative to caffeinated or sugar laden beverages, rooibos offers a starting point for many flavorful and interesting drinks.

Jasmine, rose, lotus, orchid, and citrus blossom, romantic and beautiful flowers known for their wonderful aromas.  Because of their fragrance, these flowers are used to create scented teas.  Distinctly floral, yet subtle and delicate, scented teas are unique and delicious.  

Scented teas are created by placing fresh flowers among tea leaves during the drying process.  The tea leaves are infused with the flowers 3-6 times. The leaves absorb the essence of the flowers and the resulting tea is fragrant and exotic.  A few buds are typically left within the tea, but higher quality teas usually contain fewer buds as bitterness can result.  A good quality scented tea will have a distinct aroma when dry and will infuse up to 3 times without losing its fragrance.

Scented teas were invented in China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).  Flowers were originally added to tea to mask the taste of a lower quality product.  However, the subtle taste and lovely aroma of scented tea caught on and hundreds of years later it is popular throughout Asia and the western world.  Jasmine infused into green or white tea is the most common scented tea.  Today, these teas can range from low quality tea bags to very high quality, rare and expensive loose-leaf teas.  With the advent of essential oils, it is not always easy to find a traditional scented tea.  It is, however, worthwhile to search for a high quality, traditional scented tea.  There is nothing quite like the fragrant steam rising from a cup of tea with centuries of tradition and history behind it.