Chai tea for Two Reasons—Double Benefits

One of the remarkable qualities about many herbs is the fact that they can do more for your body than merely treat symptoms. In many cases, they can treat the symptoms and an underlying weakness.

If you get hay fever, for instance, and take elderberry Chai tea to relieve your stuffiness and congestion, you are deriving other benefits too. While elderberry relieves the symptoms of allergies and hay fever, it also treats an underlying weakness—elderberry strengthens your respiratory tract by helping to remove imbedded phlegm and mucous from the lungs, and it reduces inflammation. A stronger respiratory system is your best defense against allergic reactions in the future.

Many herbs have properties that strengthen particular organs or body systems, and when you use them, you may notice that you derive unexpected benefits as well. Milk thistle contains silymarin, a flavonoid that helps to rejuvenate your liver, one of the primary organs for detoxifying your system. When you take milk thistle Chai tea to tone your liver, skin problems can improve, depression can lift, headaches can be less frequent, and you might notice that you have more energy. These problems are often associated with a weak liver, and they can abate as you strengthen the organ that was weak.

When you take herbs asChai tea, you get the benefits of the herbs and some delightful drinks too. They add pleasure to your daily menu, and they add a whole new dimension to healing.

Where Do You Start?

ONE TEA A DAY IS BETTER THAN NONE

Start very simply, and seek out one herbal Chai tea that might be useful for your current needs, such as papaya Chai tea, if you suffer from acid indigestion and routine digestive distress.

More than one hundred herbs are highlighted in this book, with a brief description of each herb, its folklore, its uses in history, its properties and values. You’ll probably be surprised to see how many vitamins and minerals you can receive from one cup of herbal Chai tea. Along with each herb’s profile, you’ll also find ideas for special teas.

TWO TEAS A DAY ARE BETTER THAN ONE

If you find two herbal Chai tea to help you, that alone would make your discovery of herbs worthwhile. Over time, as you learn to trust the gentle relief and healing benefits that herbal Chai tea bring, you’ll find more teas to help you resolve everyday disorders as they

surface.

Then you might want to try a few herbal Chai tea that have deeper, disease prevention properties. Astragalus is a splendid Chai tea to try if your immunity has been weakened by too many rounds of antibiotics, recent surgery, or if you suffer from exhaustion and feel totally depleted of strength. Oatstraw is a full-body tonic and a natural antibiotic. Slippery elm is especially good for intestinal stress, including colitis, and it helps to heal inflamed conditions throughout the body.

Then one day you might notice that you feel calmer and more energetic than you used to feel; you don’t seem to get colds as easily as you used to; and when you face those everyday ills, you have some reliable methods for dealing with them.

That day, you’ll realize that you’ve made a breakthrough. You might look at the boxes of Chai tea or collection of dried herbs on your shelf and pause in amazement. Plain and simple drinks. Plain and simple healing.

That’s the beauty of herbal Chai tea!

Harmony and the Way of Tea

While it is intriguing to explore the history, culture, and some of the
philosophy  of  the Tao,  however  briefly,  thousands  of  books  haven’t
ever grasped it, and the best we can do is apply it to the Leaf we adore.
In relation to my personal understandings and interpretations of the
Tao—which we all should form individually as we walk the Way—as
well as  in  its relationship  to  tea,  I think that it’s important for me
to stress repeatedly that the “Tao” doesn’t really have anything to do
with any kind of “ism,” as in “Taoism.” To me drinking tea with Tao
is relevant to all spiritual practices, though as you’ll soon see, it has
shared  an  especially  close  bond  with  the  teachings  of  the  Far  East.
And even for those who practice nothing specific, the quietness and
harmony in tea is there regardless of what insights are derived from it.
A very famous ancient Taoist poem says there are three-thousand six-
hundred gates to the Way, and who are we to say that any method is
not the “Mysterious and Shadowy Portal” that leads to the Ultimate?
I have briefly highlighted some of the background of the Tao as it
has been captured by ancient Chinese sages only because that is the
home of tea. Like most mystics, I believe the experience of Truth and its
expression through time to be beyond words; and with poems, songs,
scriptures, art, and beauty to be found in every time and place man has
sought to understand the meaning of life and our role in it. And yet, it
would seem that tea, the goddess of all herbs, would be more at home
if we plant her in the garden she was born in and allow her to grow
amongst the words and thoughts to be found in her native soil.
Of  far  greater  importance,  however,  than  any  study  of  history,
philosophy, or sages and their views, is the Way that we steep our own 21 THE TAO OF  TEA
tea in Tao. We have more pressing questions, in other words: How do
we pour so much truth over our leaves? How do we also come to find
the joy and beauty of Nature in a cup? Wherein lays the Tao of Cha?
Chuang  Tzu  and  Lao  Tzu,  when  asked  about  the  Tao,  often
suggested that it was a part of all things, found in the dust and bricks
of the World as much as the trees and forests of the pristine mountains.
Since the Ultimate Truth was as much in the low as the lofty, it followed
that quotidian life itself was an expression of that eternal stream, and
that mindfulness of the ordinary moment was in fact contemplation of
the entire thread of life. In celebration or suffering, we weren’t to allow
our ownmost truths to pass by unnoticed, but rather to find a Way of
drinking from a harmony with Existence, as it flows past and through
us in each and every steeping life pours.
The Way has always been about harmony, through the streaming
moments of life to the stream of Tao itself: and the Way of Tea is no
different. Through tea, we learn to listen to the unfolding moment,
adapting and flowing in harmony with it, for we quickly realize that
the best cups are prepared in such an unaffected way. We learn that
even the flavor of tea is as much dependent upon the skill of the one
brewing as the quality of the leaf. And beyond skill, we find insight in
the very pronounced differences the mind has on the tea liquor.
The best tea sets are in harmony with each other; the best tea is
made when the water, tea, and one brewing are in harmony; and the
best sessions are created when the host and guests are all in harmony
with the environment, tea, water, and teaware. Harmony, more than
anything else, is how we steep the Tao, brew the Truth, and pour it
for others. It also teaches us how to live, so that through tea we find
a guide to lead us through our lives. The tea, rain, and sun, the water
and all the teaware have a principle and current guiding them towards
the  perfect  cup,  and  only  when  the  person  becomes  but  another
natural aspect of this creation will the cup of tea that has “Li” be made
and drunk, putting the drinker further in tune with the grain of the
Tao.  The master is a natural part of the tea ceremony in the same way
the rain or sun are all natural parts that go into the growth of a tree
over time. rather than manipulating the leaves, water and utensils, he 22 CHAPTEr 1
becomes a part of a single river of experience leading from the Tao to
the cloud, the rain to the tree, the leaf to the liquor, which is drunk
towards a return to the Tao.
The hardest part of Cha Tao to describe, or achieve, is the Tao,
not the Cha, which is why this chapter precedes the others. Anyone
can learn about the history, farming, production, and preparation of
tea. And many such experts will laugh at the idea that tea can be such
a deep and central part of living a spiritual life, which to me means
nothing more than living from the stillness and love at the center of
our  beings. To  them  tea  is  just  a  commodity,  a  hobby,  or  pastime.
Perhaps some will laugh at seeking such depth in so shallow a cup.
As such the Tao is Tao. Lao Tzu often said that if one utters a noise
that even approximates the true Tao, more worldly-minded people will
laugh at it, and hence the histrionics and outwardly foolish behavior of
enlightened men like Chuang Tzu.
Using the metaphor of tea brewed or “spoken” as wisdom, the idea
is that one speaks/brews plainly from the heart, and those with eyes
and wisdom to see and hear will be drawn to such a “tea session” to
have a cup, while those without the ears to hear will favor other, less
pithy and silent tables—perhaps the more boisterous tea tables in the
cluttered, social teahouse. I would go a step further and say that even
the worldly-minded tea drinker experiences harmony now and again,
and leave them to find such encounters no matter what they think
about discussions of “Tao.” Tea can and does become “Tao” for many
tea drinkers today, whether they call it that or not, just as it has for
millennia. And though that aspect of tea, as a living Tao, is extremely
difficult to even approximate in words, I think there is inspiration to be
found in the attempt, breadth in the cup it may inspire, and fellowship
in common understanding of the peace and quiet of tea.
Cha Tao can be realized in the everyday life of any person. When
guests  come,  a  cup  of  tea  is  offered  and  conversation  flows  more
smoothly. The culture of tea then becomes an interchange between
friends and is often transmitted in this way. Later, one finds a kind of
rich simplicity and abundant stillness through the ritual of drinking
fine tea daily. The profundity found just beyond the silence that tea 23 THE TAO OF  TEA
inspires is deep, giving rise to joy and reflection, contemplation and
meditation.  Without  such  introversion  a  life  is  incomplete.  As  we
discussed earlier, so many of the problems in the modern world are
directly related to an ignorance of the dialogue between Nature and
Man that can only arise when all external stimuli are removed and
tranquility  is  sought.  A  healthy  life  with  serenity,  equanimity,  and
wisdom is not a figment of ancient stories, nor just the aged beauty of
those hoary scroll paintings. Even in this day one can live in harmony
with the Tao.
The Way of Tea is not some somber religious ceremony held in
dimly-lit halls by a bunch of solemn tea weirdoes chanting between
sips. There is no cult of tea. The “teaists” I know find in tea a Way of
sharing their inner peace with each other, of relaxing the ego, allowing
us to be free and open with one another. Drinking tea with Tao is about
letting go of all our “stuff” and just being ourselves as we really are, in
our true nature. And that “original nature” is the Tao, is harmony with
Nature itself, and does help us find that dialogue of “Man/Nature” so
missing in the modern world.
Whether  our  nature  at  that  moment  is  celebratory,  jovial  and
humorous, pensive, or even meditative and transcendent—no matter
what expression we find in our calm center, it will be the right one,
will be our “true face,” and whichever aspect we show, in harmony
with the Tao, tea will be right there with us. I have had wonderfully
celebratory  and  social  expressions  of  tea,  filled  with  memorable
laughter and kinship that won’t ever be forgotten, and also deep and
silent sessions with teas that took me into myself, expanding my mind
and consciousness.
Despite  all  these  words  about  the Tao  and  tea,  most  of  what  I
know about Cha Tao is ineffable. I couldn’t tell you if I tried. I could
however share a cup of tea with you in silence, and then maybe you
would understand. Maybe you wouldn’t. I think the understanding
that myself and others have with the Leaf is born from many factors:
sensitivity, connection to the sensations of the body, a quiet disposition,
a  reverence  for  things  aesthetic  and  natural,  maybe  even  a  love  of
the simple, ordinary joys of life (or perhaps even a certain breed of 24 CHAPTEr 1
insanity). Whatever it is, there is nothing like the smile that curves a
face when tea whispers to a person for the first time. And its language
isn’t of the spoken word. It can’t be written here. One has to listen to
it, feel it course through the body and soul. Then the stillness and
completion, the transcendence of time and self as one is lost in the
present moment—all the life-changing stuff I’ve been talking about—
the Tao comes rushing through one. I fall short... There are no words,
however poetic, to capture the sensation of being with tea.
Still, I think I can try to capture a sense of what led me to these
understandings, and the relationship I have with tea every day. This
book won’t, and cannot, be a substitute for even one single cup of tea.
It can inspire you to find that cup, though. And if you already have
found the quiet, present, sensitive completion that the Way of Tea has
to offer, this book will just be a testament to that experience.
Na Po Tzu Kuei said, “Master, where did you learn this?”
“I learned it through the medium of the spirit of writing; writing learned it from
the offspring of continuous study; continuous study learned it from clarity of vision;
clarity of vision heard it from quiet agreement; quiet agreement from being used;
being used from great enjoyment; great enjoyment from deepest mystery; deepest
mystery from absorption in mystery; absorption in mystery from the ultimate.”

—Chuang Tzu, as translated by Martin Palmer

Assam black tea

 

The twirling brown leaves and golden tips of the world’s greatest Assam black teas yield lovely honey and malty flavors, a little like the maltiness of a good beer. Assams are also among the most assertive and brisk of the black teas. It’s no accident: The more quickly a tea is made, the brisker its body. And everything about Assam tea is fast.

 

Assam is India’s tea basket, a hothouse region that generates astonishing quantities of tea in just six weeks. Assam teas derive from Camellia sinensis var. assamica, a large-leafed variety of tea discovered only in the 1830s by British botanist-adventurer Charles Bruce. As in Darjeeling, the British were quick to establish massive tea plantations, which today grow many different clones of the wild original. (Assam also has a very large field of natural gas, so in an awkward—though safe—arrangement, today the tea plantations alternate with gas refineries.)

 

In Assam’s subtropical conditions, the plants suffer for nothing, least of all water: Assam is one of the wettest places on the planet. The mighty Brahmaputra River cuts right down the Y-shaped northeastern region, brimming with melted Himalayan snows and the region’s rains. The weather is fairly consistent: It either pours down rain or it is sunny and steamy. In the tropical moisture, the tea bushes draw from the rich, alluvial soil to generate thick, big leaves from May through June. In the humid air, tea makers have to rush to process the tea.

 

Assam makers both wither and oxidize these leaves in less time than for just about every other good tea. In contrast with oolong leaves, which benefit from multistage withering, or Darjeelings, which require a hard withering, Assam leaves are limp and ready for rolling after just eighteen hours. As a result of this soft wither, Assams are more muted, more soothing, and a darker, richer brown color.

 

Assam makers roll and oxidize their teas quickly as well. While most use CTC machines, a few great Orthodox Assam makers apply traditional rolling to macerate the large, thick assamica leaves. First they roll the leaves in large batches in strong machines that apply plenty of pneumatic pressure. The leaf morsels that are the first to break down are considered the best and are called “fines” (see “Mangalam FTGFOP OR 815,” page 146). The remaining leaves are run through a conical sieve called a “dhool.” This sieve pulverizes the leaves much as a ricer does a potato. Some leaves are still too tough and are sent through the rolling machine and then the dhool a second and third time. The thoroughly crushed leaves then oxidize very quickly, taking on strong, brisk flavors.

 

Orthodox Assams are the finest of the region, but they are risky to make. Indians drink primarily CTC tea, most often as chai, intoxicating with spices and hot milk. But as a result, the domestic market for whole-leaf, Orthodox Assams is tiny. The best Orthodox Assams come from large industrial gardens that can afford to take a chance. Belying the usual assumptions about artisanal teas, some of Assam’s finest Orthodox teas come from enormous multinational corporations. The two Mangalams in this chapter come from Jayshree Tea & Industries, a publicly traded company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of over $50 million.

 

These companies have helped improve the quality of the region’s teas dramatically in the last fifty years. Though Assams have changed considerably, I have a nostalgic affection for them. I start my day with an Assam. Of the pure teas I trade in, Assams most resemble the dark black teas of my childhood. Only today they taste so much better.

 

What follows are four Assams, arranged in order from most honeyed to guttiest and most robust. The first, Golden Tip Assam, is a recent innovation, as the name suggests, made entirely of golden tips. The next two Mangalams represent more traditional, robust Orthodox teas. The fourth is a top-notch (though strong and uniform) CTC .

(THE PENGUIN PRESS)

Cooking with tea : the possibilities

You can also eat tea, using it in everything from stir-fry to muffins. This is really not such a far-out idea, since people were eating tea a couple of thousand years ago. It’s relatively simple to substitute concentrated tea for liquids in many baking recipes. Sweet breads and muffins seem particularly suited to this substitution.

Diana Rosen, coauthor of Cooking with Tea , suggests that if you slowly brew tea at room temperature for about twenty to thirty minutes, the resulting infusion will be free of bitterness and astringency and will be even better than quickly brewed tea in various recipes. Of course, you wouldn’t want to drink tea brewed like this, as it would be much too strong. She also suggests using spring water instead of distilled water for a superior product.

Brewed tea can also be used in marinades and basting sauces, or as flavoring for stir-fry. Just be sure to choose a flavor of tea that will enhance your meat or poultry.

Next time you are boiling eggs and want to add something a little unusual, boil the eggs in dark tea, and during the last few minutes of cooking, remove the eggs, crack the shells, and return them to the liquid to continue to cook. This results in a beautiful “marbled” look.

Tea chai with food

Different teas taste best with different kinds of food. As with wine, much depends on personal taste, but these combinations are worth trying. As a general guideline, try pairing teas with foods from the same geographic region. For example, Japanese green teas taste wonderful with many of the foods indigenous to that country. Here are some other ideas:

Japanese green teas such as sencha, bancha, and genmaicha with seafood, fish, and rice, or to balance out foods high in sodium

Oolong tea with shellfish such as lobster and shrimp

Black teas or a smoky tea such as Lapsang souchong with meat dishes

Pu-erh with meats and poultry

China black teas such as Keemun or Yunnan, or Taiwan oolongs, or Lapsang souchong with hot, spicy foods

Jasmine tea with delicately flavored cooking

BEST TIMES OF DAY
FOR SIPPING VARIOUS TEAS

Breakfast. Try any of the “breakfast” blends, including Irish breakfast and English breakfast, or black teas from Sri Lanka, India (especially from Assam or the second harvest of Darjeeling), or the Yunnan region of China. Prince of Wales and Earl Grey are also good for an early start.

Midmorning and lunch. Green teas, particularly sencha or gunpowder, are appropriate. These are actually great to sip up until midafternoon. Green tea aids digestion and is beneficial when taken with food.

Afternoon. For an afternoon tea, serve an early-harvest Darjeeling or a black tea from China, such as Keemun. For a special occasion, you might serve a special white tea such as Silver Needles or White Peony.

In the late afternoon, try an oolong from Taiwan such as tung ting jade or Iron Goddess of Mercy. Oolongs have less caffeine than black teas. Rooibos, actually a tisane rather than a true tea, makes a sweet addition to an afternoon tea. It is completely free of caffeine but does contain antioxidants, making it a great choice for any time of day and a good tisane to give to children.

Evening. Because most teas contain caffeine, don’t drink them late in the day or evening, if you are sensitive to the effects of caffeine.

Caffeine in Tea

The amount of caffeine found in any one cup of tea depends on brewing time, the amount of tea used, and whether the tea is loose or in tea bags, so it’s difficult to put a specific number on it. In general, however, black tea contains less than half as much caffeine as coffee. A six-ounce cup of black tea contains about 40 milligrams of caffeine, while a comparable amount of coffee contains between 100 and 120 milligrams. The same amount of green tea contains about 30 milligrams. In general, green and white teas contain the least amount of caffeine, then oolong.

Decaffeinated teas still contain some traces of caffeine. There are two different methods of decaffeinating: using ethyl acetate, which is an organic solvent, and using water and effervescence (carbon dioxide). Both remove caffeine, but only the latter process retains the beneficial polyphenols in the tea. It pays, then, to read labels and determine just how a particular product has been decaffeinated, before purchasing. Herbal teas made from plants other than Camellia sinensis usually contain no caffeine, although yerba maté, made from Ilex paraguariensis , is quite high in caffeine (or mateine).

Yellow chai tea

A 'proper tea' is much nicer than a 'very nearly tea,' which is one you forget about afterwards.

-A.A. Milne, Writer

 Yellow chai tea is grown and produced only in China, and not much of it is exported, making it the rarest of the major tea types covered in this book. It is processed in a way that is similar to green teas, but before the leaves are dried, they are allowed to turn yellow. Yellow chai tea is milder and sweeter than green tea chai .

Yellow chai tea should be brewed in much the same fashion as white teas. Boiling water will ruin the delicate taste of the yellow leaves, so be certain that you are using water that has boiled and cooled to about 170 degrees F. Steeping time should be between 1 and 3 minutes, with longer steeping allowed each time you reuse the Yellow chai tea leaves. As far as how much tea you should use per cup, it is really a matter of personal taste, use the information on the package as your starting point and experiment to find out what you like the best.

Typical Preparation

Temperature: 170-180°F (77°C-82°C)
Time: 1-3 Minutes
Milk/Cream: Never
Honey/Sugar: Never
Lemon: Never

Mount Meng Yellow Sprout (Meng Ding Huang Ya)

Mount Meng Yellow Sprout is a delicate, grassy-flavored tea with a nutty aftertaste. It is named after Mount Meng, where it's harvested, and it's considered an Imperial tea, which means that it has a large, loosely rolled leaf.

Mount Jun Silver Needle (Junshan Yinzhen)

Also named after the mountain from which it was harvested, Mount Jun Silver Needle has a very delicate taste and because of its silver appearance, it is sometimes sold as white tea.

---

Tea History: Yellow chai tea is also the name for the teas that were served during the rule of China's Imperial Court. The Imperial Court can refer to any period of dominant rule between the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BCE) and Yuan Shikai's rule in 1916.Given the high-standard of royal ritual in place during that time, delicate and bright Yellow chai tea were a perfect fit.

also read about :

•   Yellow Chai tea health FACTS

• White chai Tea

Chai tea health FACTS

CHAI TEA HEALTH FACTS

Drinking at least four cups of tea daily offers beneficial results (see below) and may help prevent any number of diseases.

All tea contains cancer-fighting antioxidants, but high-quality green and white teas have them in greater concentrations.

Tea decaffeinated by a water and carbon dioxide process retains 95 percent of its beneficial flavonoids.

Tea must be steeped for at least three to five minutes in hot water to release the greatest concentration of antioxidants.

Chai Tea blends, in which tea is mixed with various substances that do not have antioxidants, have lower concentrations of antioxidants than “pure” teas (for example, a blend that was half tea and half hibiscus flowers would only contain half the antioxidants offered by the same amount of pure tea).

DISEASE-FIGHTING PROPERTIES

Since ancient times in China, people have enjoyed the medicinal benefits of tea. It is not surprising, then, that today many people are turning to tea not only as a tasty and relaxing beverage but also as
TEA AND HEALTH

TEA HEALTH FACTS

Drinking at least four cups of tea daily offers beneficial results (see below) and may help prevent any number of diseases.

All tea contains cancer-fighting antioxidants, but high-quality green and white teas have them in greater concentrations.

Tea decaffeinated by a water and carbon dioxide process retains 95 percent of its beneficial flavonoids.

Tea must be steeped for at least three to five minutes in hot water to release the greatest concentration of antioxidants.

Tea blends, in which tea is mixed with various substances that do not have antioxidants, have lower concentrations of antioxidants than “pure” teas (for example, a blend that was half tea and half hibiscus flowers would only contain half the antioxidants offered by the same amount of pure tea).

DISEASE-FIGHTING PROPERTIES

Since ancient times in China, people have enjoyed the medicinal benefits of tea. It is not surprising, then, that today many people are turning to tea not only as a tasty and relaxing beverage but also as an aid to fighting many serious diseases. The results are promising, and there is little doubt that drinking tea provides many benefits, though many questions remain unanswered.

Research conducted by highly respected universities and institutes throughout the world has tested the effect of tea consumption on many different ailments and diseases, including cancer (particularly colon, stomach, pancreatic, bladder, esophageal, and breast cancer), rheumatoid arthritis, high cholesterol levels (tea is thought to increase the good HDL cholesterol and lower the bad LDL cholesterol), obesity, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, stroke, infection, tooth decay, Alzheimer’s disease, the effects of smoking, and impairment of the immune system.

Results have varied widely, and the FDA has refrained from endorsing the health benefits of drinking tea. But, study after study suggested that, without significant side effects, tea (particularly green tea) offers positive results.

Despite indications that drinking tea offers health benefits, it is also clear that it is not a panacea and should not be used as a substitute for fruits, vegetables, and other elements of a healthy diet. Instead, it should be used as a substitute for other beverages, such as coffee and sodas. The Wellness Letter, a University of California at Berkeley newsletter, said in a March 2000 article, “Think of it [green tea] as a back-up to a healthy diet and an adjunct to regular exercise and other good health habits—not as a miraculous potion that will keep you well by itself.”

Perhaps the greatest benefits of drinking tea are lifestyle choices, rather than the actual chemical composition of the beverage. The simple act of brewing up a cup of tea and stopping long enough to enjoy it probably offers as much benefit as polyphenols or antioxidants or any other element found in the tea plant.

( Chai tea and health : Dr laura Martin )

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