Gazing at Teas of the World - Jasmine Tea

Jasmine tea is one of the most well-known teas of the world whether you have tried it or not you probably have heard of it at some point. Jasmine tea has been around since the Song Dynasty (960-1270AD); a jasmine plant was brought to China from Persia in the third century AD. In the ancient Chinese dictionary the "Erh Ya" it is mentioned as early as 350 BC.

First Used in Medicine

It has been written about in Chinese literature going back 5000 years. It is not certain when tea became known as a beverage because it was first used as a medicine. Tea has played a very important part in Chinese culture using its national beverage as a form of currency or cash. Emperors were known to give it as a gift to their grateful subjects. Tea holds a very high worth to the Chinese people; they have a lot of respect for tea and the benefits that it bestows upon us, which come in many different forms.

Tea Drinking an Art Form

A former Buddhist priest and respected poet made drinking tea an art form when he wrote a book called "The Classic Art of Drinking Tea". This poet (Lu Yu) was very strict on his steps to preparing the perfect cup of tea. One of his instructions was to only use water from a slow-moving stream. Drinking tea fast became a popular part of Chinese culture. Chinese tea houses sprouted across the lands, many more books and poems were written on the subject of tea.

Jasmine Tea

The finest grade Jasmine tea is "Yin Hao" it's origin is from "Fuzhou" located in Fujian Province in China. Other types of Jasmine tea are "Mo Li Hua Cha" and "Dragon Phoenix Pearl". To make a fine Jasmine tea most will start with Chinese green tea, but you can also find varieties of it in Oolong or Black tea. But the most common tea used to make Jasmine tea is green tea.

Flowers in the Tea

The tea leaves are processed in April and May they are kept dry; jasmine flowers are added to the leaves in August to September when the Jasmine is in bloom. The flowers are gathered in the morning and kept cool. The flowers are placed in with the tea leaves for 4 hours so the leaves can absorb the scent of the flowers. This process is repeated anywhere from 2-7 times within the month before the tea is ready for the market.

Scenting Process

The grade of Jasmine tea depends on how often it goes through the scenting process. Low-grade tea usually only has 2 scentings. The high grade will have 7 scentings. After these steps are done it is time for the Jasmine tea to go out into the world.

Jasmine helps lower Cholesterol

Looking from the healthy side of Jasmine tea there are many benefits that come with it. Jasmine tea helps to reduce belly fat, it also helps to lower cholesterol by 89%. It helps prevent new atherosclerotic blockages by 73% which if left unaided can cause numbness, pain, and reduced mobility with extremities. It helps to combat fatty buildup in the liver. It stops cholesterol from becoming bad cholesterol with its antioxidants. It increases the elimination of cholesterol through the bile.

Green Tea Extract

To see significant changes in your health charts it is suggested you drink 5 cups per day. Well if you are like me and can't drink that much tea the good news is you don't have to. If you go to your local health food store you can purchase Green Tea Extract which you will get all the benefits that you would get from drinking tea except of course enjoying the flavour of the tea. But you can do both so no worries there, still have your cup of tea with benefits too!

Tea Ball

I got one of those tea balls to put loose tea in so you don't have loose leaves floating around in your tea. I used to just use teabags but wow does this way of preparing the tea ever make it taste wonderful. If you haven't tried this and you enjoy a good cup of tea you will love the flavour of the tea when it is prepared in this manner. Well, it's time for me to get my tea ball out and get the kettle on as it is tea time once again!

Signed: Sipping Tea