White Teas ....Sublte Powerhouse

White tea originated in a small area in the Fujian province of China, once considered for only the wealthy and privileged, this mild delicate tea is now enjoyed all over the world.
This rare tea is hand harvested from medium-leaf tea bush varietals once a year for a few weeks in early spring when the temperature is consistently cool and dry, producing silvery-white sprouts and leaves. The unique withering process and the absence of firing or rolling, makes white tea the least processed of all teas.
It is well documented that white teas are low in caffeine, contain high concentrations of antioxidants, and the amino acid, L-theanine, that help reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, improve artery function, reduce stress and have detoxifying benefits.

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I started wondering about the history behind the ever popular Irish Breakfast Tea.  Where did the flavor profile come from and why is it so popular in Ireland?


The history of tea in Ireland is almost as old as the history of tea in England.  It was initially introduced by the Anglo-Irish aristocracy as an import from India to the upper class in the nineteenth century and later spread to the rural and lower class.     

As the popularity of tea grew, the Irish initially relied entirely on U.K. importers for their tea supply, which became a problem during World War II, when Ireland chose not to ally itself with the United Kingdom. Consequently, the government of Ireland set up Tea Importers (Éire), Ltd., a conglomeration of companies that imported tea directly from the producing countries.

Irish tea consumption continued to increase in the postwar years. In 1973 Ireland had to disband Tea Importers because it violated antimonopoly statutes of the EU, so the business was taken up by the subsidiary companies that had made up the organization. As the Irish imported their own tea direct from the source they were able to experiment with the teas and blends.  Irish Breakfast blends were usually a blend of Assam, Darjeeling and Ceylon teas, but what they found is that the Irish tended to like their tea stronger than the English blends they were once consuming. They also began gravitating towards East African suppliers, who provided leaves that were aromatic.  The Irish blend evolved into a strong, rich, aromatic and malty cup of tea. 

Soon the whole nation was hooked on Irish tea or as they pronounce it..."tay"(from the French pronunciation) and enjoying a cuppa tea with sugar and generous amounts of milk.  The Irish have a saying that a good cup of tea should be “strong enough for a mouse to trot on.”

Well there you have it.   Lets all brew a cup and toast our Irish friends for this special treat.  

         The Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)

  

Properly speaking, tea is the beverage brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant or varietals of such. Its wide variety of incarnations, such as green, black, oolong, and white teas, are created by different processing methods, but all derive ultimately from the same plant. The flavor of tea depends not only upon how the tea was processed, but also in what part of the world the plant grew, the time of year the leaves were harvested, what the weather was like that season, the soil conditions, altitude etc..

Green tea originated in China where it was enjoyed for centuries before being introduced to the outside world through trade. Today, green tea is produced in various countries utilizing their own methods creating vast differences in taste and aroma.There are many factors that influence green tea’s flavor and character such as varietal harvested, the season in which it was harvested, the soil, elevation, weather conditions and the method of heat used to stop the oxidation process shortly after being harvested. There are literally hundreds of different types of green teas that are classified by the manufacturing style. While discovering green tea, one will note the variety of different shapes ranging from flat, balled, curly or twisted.
Green tea is high in antioxidants, especially epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, which has therapeutic properties for many disorders including cancer. Studies show drinking green tea regularly can reduce your chances of heart disease and certain types of cancer, improve artery function, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.