Teatime Tuesday: White Tea

Teatime Tuesday: White Tea

Because caffeine tends to “disagree” with me, I stopped drinking coffee many years ago. I was eventually introduced to herbals “teas” which are actually tisanes or infusions. A couple of years ago, I discovered green and white teas which do contain caffeine but not enough to cause issues. Jasmine, a green tea, is my absolute favorite, but I also partake a white tea, a lighter, brighter flavored tea.

According to The New Tea Companion, white tea “was originally named after the tiny white or silver hairs that cover the bud {of the Camellia sinensis plant) as it develops at the top of each tea shoot.” White tea was originally only made in China from two varieties of the team plant, but with the popularity of white tea, it is now being produced in other parts of the world.

For tea aficionados, there is a difference between white teas. Some are made from only the new leaf bud

and gathered before it starts to unfurl, while other white teas are made from the new bud and one or two young open leaves. Purists will notice these white teas look significantly different from Yin Shen White Needles.

I’m still dabbling with white teas but find that almost all when brewed have a very pale, almost champagne-colored liquid. Some popular varieties in addition to Yin Shen are Bai Mudan (White Peony), Monkey Picked White Tea, and Darjeeling. The aroma is light, soft, and sweet, which author Jane Pettigrew describes as “velvety.” (I’m not sure how to interpret that!) Others have used words such as floral, grassy, honey, fruity, melon, peach, apricot, vanilla, chocolate, citrus, herby, mild, subtle, delicate and sweet. Because it is the least processed of the three teas (black, green, white), the level of antioxidants in white tea is higher than that of others.

In addition to its antioxidants, white tea is a great source of fluoride which can help protect your teeth from bacteria and sugar. Some studies have shown the compounds in white tea may protect against osteoporosis, heart disease, and insulin resistance.

What I find most beneficial is taking time to brew the tea, sitting down, and enjoying the fragrance and taste – being in the moment – which lessens my stress level. If you’ve never tried white tea, I highly recommend you give it a try!

________________________

Dutch Dawn

Will they survive the 500-mile journey to freedom?

Isak Westgard is only six missions short to be rotated stateside. Then the unthinkable happens, and he crashes in the occupied Netherlands where the chances of him making it back to England are slim to none. The beautiful and tough-as-nails resistance courier begs to differ and claims she hasn’t lost anyone yet. The problem is the longer they’re together, the less he wants to escape.

 
Annaliese Claasen has escorted her fair share of refugees and downed Allied pilots to safety - too numerous to remember. Until now. There’s something different about the Norwegian-American lieutenant, and it’s more than his good looks. Can she get him out of the country before losing her heart?

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/bMjoxV

Sources:
The New Tea Companion by Jane Pettigrew & Bruce Richardson, Benjamin Press, Kentucky, 2008
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/white-tea-benefits
https://www.teatulia.com/tea-varieties/what-is-white-tea.htm

Photo Credits:
Tea “needles:” By Iateasquirrel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Cup of White Tea: Courtesy of SakiProducts.com
Tea Plants: Pixabay/sxh41920

Teatime Tuesday: A Love Affair with Tea

Teatime Tuesday:

A Love Affair with Tea

Many years ago, my doctor told me to take caffeine out of my diet to solve some health problems. As someone who drank LOTS of coffee, I was not happy with the mandate. However, I was paying her to be the subject matter expert, so I complied.

In search of something to replace coffee, I tried cider, but it was difficult to find out of season, and it was too sugary for my taste (I took my coffee black). Someone mentioned tea, but when I investigated, I discovered that although black tea doesn’t have as much caffeine as coffee, there is enough to cause issues. Several years passed before I learned about green tea and white tea. Both contain caffeine, but research turned up the facts that the amount is small enough for me to handle and our bodies metabolize tea differently that we do coffee, so the effect is less of a “punch” or stimulant.

I’m a happily converted tea drinker and adore green and white teas. Also a bit finicky, I purchase loose

leaves to brew.

The tea plant, an evergreen, was classified by Swedish botanist Linnaeus in 1753 as Camellia sinensis which is subdivided into two main subspecies known as Camellia sinensis sinensis, the variety originally found growing in China, and Camellia sinensis assamica, the plant that is native to India’s province of Assam. The more than 10,000 different teas founded around the world are made from different varietals of Camellia sinensis. The location, altitude where grown, climate, soil, minerals, cultivation methods, etc. all determine the color, character, and flavor of each tea.

Here are the basic types of tea:

• White tea is the most delicate because it is harvested before the plant’s leaves open and minimally processed.
• Green tea is made from the leaves and buds that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process.
• Oolong tea is partially oxidized tea that has gone through a process of elaborate transformation through withering, shaking, firing, rolling, drying, and baking.
• Pu-erh tea is the only tea defined by its geography (like “real” champaign comes from the Champaign region of France). Pu-erh comes from the Yunnan province in China and has been fermented. It is often stored underground for several years.
• Yellow tea is quite rare and is processed like green tea. However, the drying process is slower to allow the leaves to take on a yellow color.
• Black tea has been quickly and heavily oxidized. This is the strongest of the teas and has the highest amount of caffeine.

Herbal teas are not teas. They are tisanes or infusions of botannicals likes fruits, flowers, barks, herbs, mints, spices, roots, berries, and seeds.

If you haven’t tried tea, you’re in for a treat. Experiment with all of them to find your favorite. Twinings, Stash, and Harney & Sons, all offer bagged tea of good quality yet not highly expensive.

___________________

A Lesson in Love

He thinks he’s too old. She thinks she’s too young. Can these teachers learn that love defies all boundaries?

Born and raised in London, Isobel Turvine knows nothing about farming, but after most of the students in her school evacuate during Operation Pied Piper, she’s left with little to do. Then her friend Margery talks her into joining the Women’s Land Army, and she finds herself working the land at a manor home in Yorkshire that’s been converted to a boys’ school. A teacher at heart, she is drawn to the lads, but the handsome yet stiff-necked headmaster wants her to stick to farming.

Left with an arm that barely works from the last “war to end all wars,” Gavin Emerson agrees to take on the job of headmaster when his school moves from London to Yorkshire, but he’s saddled with the quirky manor owner, bickering among his teachers, and a gaggle of Land Army girls who have turned the grounds into a farm. When the group’s blue-eyed, raven-haired leader nearly runs him down in a car, he admonishes her to stay in the fields, but they are thrown together at every turn. Can he trust her not to break his heart?

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3JghuYI  

Sources:
The New Tea Companion, Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson, Benjamin Press, 2008
A Social History of Tea, Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson, Benjamin Press, 2021
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea
https://www.britannica.com/topic/tea-beverage
https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/blog/steeped-in-history-tea-drinking-in-britain/
https://www.stashtea.com/blogs/education/tea-types

Photo credits:

Pouring Tea: Pixabay/Pexels

Tea Plants: Pixabay/seinfuchs

Herb Tea: Pixabay/Pexels