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Tea
Taboos
"Tea:
the cure for hundreds of illnesses".
Previously we have mentioned a range of
tea's nutritional and medicinal values that
benefit the human physiology. Word on its
miraculous efficacies has become widespread
too. However, the wrong way of drinking
tea and excessive consumption can result
in negative side effects as well. How do
you drink tea in a more logical and healthy
manner? Does tea have its taboos?
Excessive
tea drinking and inappropriate brewing methods
will lead to weakened kidneys, stomach discomfort
and appetite loss. In addition, it is important
to choose the tea that suits one's physical
condition. Just as tea can quench thirst,
it can also induce thirst. Occasionally,
after drinking too much tea, we still feel
thirsty; this could be caused by the excessive
consumption of unsuitable tea products.
It is true for many aspects of our daily
lives, not just tea drinking. Without proper
restraint, even excessive intake of nutrients
that normally provide healthy benefits will
result in harmful and undesirable effects;
"extreme actions can produce adverse
effects".
Tea
taboos mostly revolve around its `cold'
character. Cold erodes heat (yang), so tea
is better drunk hot. A tea drinker judges
the tea quality based on a hot drink; once
the tea cools, its nutrients would have
evaporated along with the vapour, its essence
all but gone. In Chinese tea culture, tea
is typically prepared to be drunk hot. Sometimes
tea is prepared by "brewing",
a method used mainly for oolong tea. The
tea is brewed in hot water at a temperature
of nearly 100 C. To maintain the tea's temperature,
scalding water is poured on the outer part
of the teapot; pot warming is an important
aspect of Oolong tea art. Due to its cold
character, tea must be drunk hot. Drinking
cold tea causes the spleen and stomach to
cool; those with a weak spleen and stomach
will experience abdominal distention.
With
regards to tea's healing effects, we have
mentioned that tea can help with digestion
and weight loss. That is why tea drinkers
typically drink tea after meals; it can
also reduce the lipids and sugar in blood.
Drunk on an empty stomach, especially for
those with low blood sugar, tea can lead
to tea drunkenness
(i.e. dizziness), weak legs and hunger pangs;
however, the abdomen would not feel hunger.
Therefore, when drinking tea, have some
snacks ready to allay tea drunkenness.
In
tea drinking, the timing is also quite important.
Modern nutritional studies have found that
drinking tea at mealtimes can have an impact
on the iron in our food. The magnitude of
the impact depends on the individual's diet;
it will vary depending on whether you're
a meat-eater or vegetarian. In addition,
drinking too much tea before meals will
dilute the sensitivity of the salivary and
gastric juices as well as affect digestion
and absorption capacity. All factors considered,
we can conclude that tea indeed brings about
more good than harm to our physical and
mental health; nevertheless, how we consume
it also determines if we can fully optimize
its benefits.
To
deepen our understanding of tea and health,
we continue to conduct in-depth analysis
on its uses and benefits. In addition to
the physical and mental health benefits
of tea-drinking, leftover tea leaves can
be usefully incorporated into our daily
lives as follow:
1)
After eating onions, garlic and other smelly
food, chew on dry tea leaves to get rid
of the oral odour.
Generally
speaking, in the Chinese style of tea drinking,
the beverage has gone through several stages
- picking and consuming fresh leaves, raw
tea drinking, tea boiling, tea sampling
and tea brewing. To this day, China's ethnic
minorities practice ancient tea customs
like chewing raw tea leaves. Other ways
of consuming tea include: adding salt to
tealeaves to make pickled tea cakes and
sweetmeats, mixing tealeaves with rice and
other condiments to make tea porridge, boiling
the tender shoots of tea trees and drinking
it like a beverage. Considerable data has
shown that the subject of tea drinking,
its contribution to human health, and the
aspects of healthcare cover a broad area.
The cultivation, production and consumption
of tea has gone through several thousand
years of history, a fact now confirmed by
medical research and increasingly gaining
credibility with people from all walks of
lives. One of three major non-alcoholic
beverages (tea, coffee, cocoa) that have
taken the world by storm, tea is now an
integral part of life. Further boosted by
China's economic development in the last
20 years, the development of tea and tea
art is in full swing. Within tea culture,
tea art is a very important vehicle, both
an elegant form of cultural leisure as well
as the primary platform for the display
of tealeaves and tea sets to the world.
Today,
tea drinking has become a pleasurable ritual
in everyday Chinese life. "There is
mystery in tea, there are long days in a
pot." In every corner of the earth,
in cities or villages, at dinner parties,
business negotiations, visitations and seminars,
weddings, casual gatherings and cultural
discussions, tea always adds to the joy
and pleasure; drinking tea helps to link
relationships, and alleviate worries. Drinking
tea makes our lives more colorful, healthy
and delightful. In life, to 'be able to
drink good tea is a treasure, to `know how
to drink good tea' is a blessing, and to
'enjoy good taste in life'. If you are a
tea lover, whether you are feeling blue
or happy, you can brew a pot of tea, sip
in enjoyment and bask in the soothing tea
fragrance; tea drinking affords you some
pleasurable quiet moments away from the
hustle and
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