A Natural, Pure Leaf
Written by Winnie Yu
 There are many ways to drink tea, some
will say. Indeed, through history and cultures, many forms of tea preparation
and blending had developed. For example, the Tibetans enjoyed tea with
yak butter. The Chinese envoy that brought tea to Tibet some almost
two thousand years ago prepared their tea with salt and green onions.
Tea with ground peanuts, sesame, and other spices were popular with
the Hakka clan who migrated around China and Taiwan. The Japanese have
their famous Gen
Mai Cha, green tea with pop rice.
Recently, Indian Chai with their blends of cardamom and other spices
have gained enormous popularity in the U.S. The Western tea tradition
has been to blend lots of teas from different origins together for 'consistency',
but blending alternative items into tea was nothing new.
Blending had two goals, either to complement
or to supplement. When the West first received their shipments of tea
from China in the 1600s, it was frequently chests of black teas that
probably weren't high grade in the first place, not to mention having
lived through over a 6 month ocean journey, crammed into a ship with
livestock and other pungent spices like curry. The tea was probably
stale, smelling like other substances, and have lost their natural aroma.
So blending and scenting was initiated to 'freshen' the tea, to
add back fruity and floral aromas that once occurred naturally in the
tea. Recently, even more blends appeared, such as Japanese Sencha
blended with vanilla and roobois, mint Pu-Er, chocolate bits with Pu-er,
pineapple Oolong, all sorts of raspberry, strawberry flavorings and sweeteners added to green tea...the permutations are endless.
But there is enormous complexity existing
in natural, pure, whole leaf teas without additives. It was analysed
that hundreds of aromas exist in a whole tea leaf, enabling such naturally
occurring fragrances to emerge: gardenia, lilac, jasmine, magnolia,
stone fruits, ripe apples, citrus, bamboo, tobacco...and many others. The flavor of tea can be appreciated in layers. Each infusion delivers
a variation and additional notes to peel back and appreciate, for you
to to 'hui wei', a term in Chinese meaning 'to infinitely enjoy,
over and over again'. Good, whole leaf teas, are perfect just in themselves.
Most recently, it was reported that
adding vitamin C or citric acid to tea boosts the immune system. I am
not a scientist, though consuming vitamin C in general is probably a
good idea. Tea already contain multitudes of vitamins from A-Z. But
those of us who love tea do not drink it so we can live forever, although
tea was originally called 'the drink of longevity' by the ancient
Chinese. We drink tea so we can live well, aided by the simple pleasures
that tea affords. Adding vitamin C, citric acid, pineapples, raspberry
perfume, or anything topical does not necessarily enhance my experience,
often masking the true flavors.
Fresh green Maojian should have a slight ringing bitter edge, Baochong Oolong should smell referentially like gardenias,
the pitch black Pu-Er may smell like wet soil, and the Wuyi Big Red Robe Oolong can hint at cooked butterscotch. Today,
with the availability of farm direct, freshly harvested leaves, or direct
access to aged fermented teas, we can afford to appreciate them in their
natural forms. There are progressions in the enjoyment of tea just as
in wine, but unlike wine, learning the art of steeping is important
to bringing out different flavours. For example, by using a higher
temperature water with my Tai
Ping Hou Kui green tea, I will
taste the more fiery sunshine notes, but with a lower temperature water,
a sweet vegetalness emerges. The journey of tea is not just in
learning about its origins, agriculture, and myriad terroirs, but of
learning the different steeping methods and use of accouterments that
elicit the best characteristics that tea can afford. This way,
I can discover the indescribable tastes that may have no reference to
anything in our normal experiences, that introduces a realm that is
not artificially achievable, that no scientist, chemist, or blender
can replicate or imitate. I want to enjoy a pure, natural leaf in my
cup!
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