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January 5, 2016

A Few Tea Facts on Teapot Tuesday

19 Comments/ 3153/ 0

It’s been awhile since I have offered up some tea facts here on It’s Just Life and since I am traveling and neglected to prepare ahead of time for Teapot Tuesday (what was I thinking?) I think today will be a fun fact day .

There are so many different kinds of teas and I honestly do not have a favorite type although I am pretty much in love with the “tea bricks” that we got while we were in China a few years ago.  The bricks that I have are called pu-erh and are fermented tea.  They are tightly compressed into brick or disc forms and in order to use the actual tea one has to chip away at the brick and loosen some of the leaves to use to brew.  I love the deep earthy taste of this type of tea and usually drink the entire pot myself if I brew a pot of this Chinese tea.

tea brickDid you know that tea was used as currency as well?  Because of its high value in many Asian countries it served as currency throughout China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Central Asia. It could be compared to the salt bricks that were often used as currency in Africa. When we were in China one of the men we spoke with about tea told us stories of families who gambled everything on buying pricey tea –the more expensive the better and it could bankrupt a family quickly if the tea acquisition did not go as planned.  Kind of makes you think the next time you buy that box of Lipton, right?

Of course there are many health benefits that result from drinking tea. Study after study continue to promote tea drinking for healthy living.  Green tea has been at the top of the list of healthy options but all tea has its benefits. The best way to determine what tea will do for you is to do a little bit of research.  There are many books available that can help in that endeavor and one that I have enjoyed reading is 20,000 Secrets of Tea: The Most Effective Ways to Benefit from Nature’s Healing Herbs by Victoria Zak.

So how about a few facts to start your day off ?

  1. Did you know that a cup of ginkgo tea is a great daily habit to keep an individual at the peak of fitness?  It is a great tea to drink to counteract the sedentary life and work that many of us have.  It also is supposed to help enhance your youthfulness.  Pour me a cup, please!
  2. Iced tea was a genius idea hit upon during the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.  Folks were sweating in the St. Louis heat and while they wanted to sample the lovely tea available on display from merchants they did not want something hot to drink.  An Englishman from Calcutta named Richard Blechynden found some tall glasses, filled them with ice and poured the brewed tea samples over top.  Immediate popularity and today almost half of the tea that people drink each year are iced teas.
  3. During the early 1900’s tea was shipped to potential customers in the US in tea tins.  Thomas Sullivan, a tea merchant in New York, saw that the price of the tins was cutting into his profit from selling the product so he decided it would be much cheaper to ship to his customers in silk bags.  These eventually morphed into filter paper and as a result tea became much more economical and almost everyone could enjoy the tasty brew.
  4. In most eastern countries such as China and Japan taking your tea plain  is still considered the best way to enjoy tea.  In Russia it is offered with a single slice of lemon.  During colonial American times teas were topped off with saffron or linden blossoms. Other items to enhance the flavor include: mint, a slice of lemon or lime, a little squeeze of orange, a stick of cinnamon, a bit of vanilla or a little bit of sweet anise.
  5. Sage tea has been used to help with problem solving. For some reason a cup of sage tea has the ability to clear the cobwebs and uncluttered the brain.

I could go on and on but I think I may need to have a cup of sage tea to get some clarity before I do.  But before I go please tell me what your favorite tea is and how you take it.  Sugar, honey, plain?  Remember all comments this month go to our Comments for a Cause, NFED.  Don’t forget that every comment counts.

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benefits of tea green tea pu-erh tea bricks tea facts teapot Tuesday
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19 Comments

Leave a comment
  1. Katy Flint
    January 05, 2016 at 09:42 am

    Wow! I have so much to learn about tea!!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 05, 2016 at 09:44 am

      Stick with me, baby, and you can learn! ?

      Reply
  2. Minnesota Prairie Roots
    January 05, 2016 at 09:54 am

    For Christmas I got some loose leaf tea in a gift exchange. My first experience with this. I thought it would taste a lot different than bagged tea, but did not find that to be so, much to my dismay.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 05, 2016 at 09:58 am

      There are so many different grades of tea and much of what is found in the grocery stores is just tea dust. I am not a tea snob by any means but I do enjoy the teas that are full leaves and not ground beyond recognition. Brewing time and temperature have a lot to do with taste as well. Sorry you were disappointed.

      Reply
  3. treadlemusic
    January 05, 2016 at 03:30 pm

    My fave—-Oolong (not sure of the spelling), but it kinda figures, since I’m mostly a coffee-drinking gal (although it’s cool enough here in TX that your post has got me wanting a cup!!!!!!).

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 06, 2016 at 07:28 am

      I love oolong as well. The deeper flavors are what I enjoy the most but I will have green tea and herbal blends as well. I am not a tea snob at all . 🙂

      Reply
      1. treadlemusic
        January 06, 2016 at 11:02 am

        Me either but a full flavored tea is most enjoyed (unless nursing a cold, etc, then a chamomile with honey is just the perfect answer!!!).

        Reply
        1. Beth Ann Chiles
          January 07, 2016 at 07:11 am

          Yes!

          Reply
  4. Marci B
    January 06, 2016 at 08:41 am

    I need to try the sage tea!!!!!!!!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 07, 2016 at 07:12 am

      It sounds good, doesn’t it? I have never tried it. Maybe if I get that herb garden going this spring we can brew some up!

      Reply
  5. pattisj
    January 06, 2016 at 10:47 pm

    Bring on the sage! LOL I’m glad I finally saw your little calendar–now I can click on the days and read the posts that don’t come to my email. Yippee!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 07, 2016 at 07:09 am

      The email thing is the one thing that we have never gotten to work out correctly. It drove me nuts for a bit but then i decided to just let it go. But yes–the calendar shows what days I post. Thanks so much for being so faithful at commenting. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Darlene
    January 08, 2016 at 06:28 am

    I think I posted my tea comment on the wrong post. Oh well. It looks like you got it anyway.

    Reply
  7. donnahup
    January 08, 2016 at 11:16 am

    I like the facts!! I never had a tea brick before.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 09, 2016 at 08:19 am

      The tea bricks are pretty wonderful in my opinion. The tea is robust and flavorful and it is fun to chip some off the block.

      Reply
  8. Rorybore
    January 08, 2016 at 11:25 am

    I love my green tea after dinner — I find it really helps with digestion. And some nights, nothing beats some chamomile with just a drop of honey before bed. During the summer, I brew my ice tea in mason jars on the back-porch in the sun. I swear the sunshine just makes it taste better.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 09, 2016 at 08:16 am

      Oh I used to do sun tea all of the time and got out of the habit. I may need to get that mason jar thing going again. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Kristy Woodson Harvey
    January 16, 2017 at 01:25 pm

    I love this post!! I am a huge tea drinker. I’m kind of obsessed–but I didn’t know all of this cool stuff about it. Thanks for sharing!

    xo Kristy

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 16, 2017 at 01:40 pm

      Thank you so much for stopping by, Kristy! I am thrilled to find a fellow tea drinker and book lover. AND author!!!

      Reply

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