Tea

[boxerbilly]

LOL. Thank you.

Seems you are very educated with the herbs. I'm no stranger to their usage and study but I do not think as well as you. I know little of Chinese herbs.

Oh, could you recommend a good book on the foods the Chinese use for the different organs, etc. if you know one please.

[boxerbilly]

Would have been better if you wrote warehouse floor droppings. I loved that last post!!!!!

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

Boba tea ain't real tea. And apparently, it ain't real boba either sometimes.

Hospital finds milk tea boba balls in Chinese reporter's stomach actually made of something disgusting
by Danny Kichi on Fri, Oct 23, 2015



What people love most about milk tea boba, otherwise known as bubble tea, are the chewy and sweet tapioca balls sitting at the bottom of the drink. These delicious balls are usually made out of tapioca starch and brown sugar, but as one Chinese reporter recently found out, sometimes they're made out of something else.

A local reporter for Shangdong Television in Qingdao, China got a little thirsty while on the job just a while ago, so he ordered a milk tea boba from a local shop. A few hours after drinking the tea and munching on all the tapioca balls, he fell quite ill, so he went to the hospital for a check-up. After a number of tests, and with no answer as to what was causing his patient's distress, the doctor performed a CT scan and saw some undigested tapioca balls sitting at the bottom of the reporter's stomach. So the doctor extracted the balls and sent them to Qingdao University’s Chemical Experimentation Center, where scientists analyzed them to figure out what exactly these things were made of.

When the scientists reported back to the doctor that the tapioca balls were "highly adhesive," the doctor immediately relayed this information to his patient. And because he was a reporter, the man who had ingested these mysterious materials decided to do some investigating. What he found out while going undercover at the tea shop was something he had trouble digesting — literally. The tapioca balls that he so happily chewed on and swallowed a few weeks earlier were actually produced in a chemical plant and made out of the soles of leather shoes and tires. And yes, the shoes and tires were not new when they were recycled. Gross!

So if you ever go to Qingdao, you might want to make sure that the tapioca balls sitting at the bottom of your tea are actually made of something edible.

Delicious!


(Source: via)

[Mor Sao]

I drink tea. Not bubble tea, nor anything other than hot water and the tea leaves.

Drink that **** at your own risk.

Which is now a real risk.

[GeneChing]

But I couldn't resist mentioning this here.

James Bond stars drink kung fu tea in China
GBTIMES
2015/11/13









Bond stars Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux enjoyed kung fu tea in Changsha and attended the Spectre premiere in Beijing earlier this week. (Photo: Zhong Xin, Di Lu, China News Service)

Bond stars Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux were seen enjoying kung fu tea in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province on November 11.

The actors and producer Barbara Broccoli arrived to China on Tuesday to promote the latest Bond film Spectre, reported the Chinese language Red Net news.

The trio attended the recording of a popular talk show Tiantian Xiangshang (Day Day Up) during their stay in Changsha.

Craig and Seydoux were amazed and thoroughly impressed after witnessing a traditional kung fu tea ceremony, reported news site Sina Hunan.

Although one would think James Bond doesn't want tea but Mar-tea-ni, (stirred, not shaken) Craig revealed he loves the famous Chinese drink.

"I think this is a very good drink. I am very, very fond of it."

The star then joked about leaving his address to the audience so they could send some Chinese tea to him.

Seydoux, the new Bond girl, also loved the fragrant drink. The French beauty added her favourite alcoholic beverage isn’t French wine but Chinese beer.

"I like Qingdao beer," Seydoux told with a smile.

The actors also tasted Chinese Cassia wine and Seydoux loved it so much she wanted to take a bottle back home.

[PalmStriker]

I always have a gallon jug of green tea sitting by the computer, sometimes it has citrus in it or just as often, ginseng. Other than that I drink a cup or two of coffee daily. Craft Beers, occasionally. " Bonding " with green tea can only be good for the business.

[GeneChing]

I'm constantly going through tea and never remembering to post about it here. Right now I'm drinking some Organic Bai Mu Dan (Silver Peony) white tea from Red Blossom Tea Company, which I picked up a few months ago, last time I was in Chinatown. It's alright - a little too much stem and shake in the mix. It was cheap and I was saving for my Spain trip. At least it's better than Tetley.

Meanwhile, here's some cool tea news:

World's Oldest Tea Discovered In An Ancient Chinese Emperor's Tomb
January 26, 20162:14 PM ET
JEREMY CHERFAS


Loose-leaf green tea of the modern variety. Archaeologists have discovered ancient tea in the tomb of a Chinese emperor who died in 141 B.C. It's the oldest known physical evidence of tea. But scientists aren't sure if the emperor was drinking tea as we know it or using it as medicine.
iStockphoto

Tea is often referred to one of the world's oldest beverages. But just how old is it?

A Chinese document from 59 B.C. refers to a drink that might be tea, but scholars cannot be certain. Now, a new analysis proves that plant remains found in tombs 2,100 years old – about 100 years before that document – definitely are tea, the oldest physical evidence for the drink. And the buried tea was high-quality stuff, fit for an emperor.

That's no surprise, because one of the tombs, the Han Yangling Mausoleum in Xi'an in western China, was built for the Jing Emperor Liu Qi, who died in 141 B.C. The other tomb is the slightly younger Gurgyam Cemetery (maybe A.D. 200) in Ngari district, western Tibet. In both, archeologists found remains of millets, rice and a kind of spinach. They also found tiny leaf buds that bore an uncanny resemblance to the finest tea.


The 2,100-year-old tea leaves were found in the tomb of the Jing Emperor Liu Qi, who died in 141 B.C. His portrait hangs in the Han Yangling museum in Xianyang, China.
Brücke-Osteuropa/Wikimedia Commons

While those buds did look like tea, there was a chance they could be some other plant. To confirm their suspicions, the researchers compared the chemistry of the leaves with modern samples of tea. The ancient leaves contained unmistakable traces of caffeine, present in tea and also in a few other plants. The clincher was equally unmistakable traces of theanine, a chemical found only in plants of the tea family, with especially high levels in tea itself. Crystals found on the surface of the leaves also matched crystals on modern tea leaves.

Tea does not grow in the area of the tombs, so the evidence shows not only that it was present and valued enough to be buried with important people, but also that it was being imported to Xi'an at least 141 years B.C., and westwards into Tibet by the second century.

Gurgyam Cemetery also yielded woven silk cloth, metal bowls and a gold mask, further supporting the idea that luxury goods were already moving along early tracks of the Silk Road 2,000 years ago. It was Emperor Jing's son, Emperor Wu, who really promoted the development of trade along what became the Silk Road.

Dorian Fuller, professor of archaeobotany at University College, London, and a member of the research team, says he's pleased that modern science is able to provide details of ancient Chinese culture.

"The identification of the tea found in the emperor's tomb complex gives us a rare glimpse into very ancient traditions which shed light on the origins of one of the world's favorite beverages," he tells us.

Other scholars wonder whether the emperor was drinking tea as we know it, despite the apparent high-quality buds.

James Benn, professor of Buddhism and East Asian religions at McMaster University in Canada and author of the recent book Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, agrees that tea was consumed "in some form" 2,100 years ago.

"But," he adds, "I'm not convinced that this is a discovery of 'tea drinking' as it was later understood. It could have been used along with other ingredients in a medicinal soup, for example."

The remains from Gurgyam Cemetery in Tibet may support this view. They contained barley and other plants mixed with the tea. As the researchers write in the online Nature journal Scientific Reports, this offers the intriguing possibility that the plants "were consumed in a form similar to traditionally prepared butter tea, in which tea is mixed with salt, tsampa (roasted barley flour) and/or ginger in the cold mountain areas of central Asia."

No matter how it was being used, this research pushes back the verified history of tea in China and Tibet. Tradition says that tea came to Tibet as part of the Chinese princess Wencheng's dowry on her betrothal to the Tibetan Songtsen Gambo, around 640 A.D. The tea found in Gurgyam Cemetery is some 450 years older than that.

Tea Tuesdays is an occasional series exploring the science, history, culture and economics of this ancient brewed beverage.

Jeremy Cherfas is a biologist and science journalist based in Rome.

[GeneChing]

Anyone for a cuppa? Sculpture at a Chinese tea factory is dubbed 'vomiting teapot' after part of it turns bright green from algae

The sculpture is located outside a tea factory in Chongqing, China
Workers at factory say algae has turned the installation bright green
It has since been dubbed 'vomiting teapot' by Chinese internet users
By SOPHIE WILLIAMS FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 12:27 EST, 15 February 2016 | UPDATED: 13:56 EST, 15 February 2016

A decorative giant teapot in a Chinese tea factory has become famous after it was dubbed the 'vomiting teapot' by the public.

The art installation was intended to look like a floating teacup pouring a drink in tribute to China's favourite drink, the People's Daily Online reports.

It was built in 2013 by a tea factory in Chongqing, south west China's Sichuan province.


Algae: Lichen has grown on a sculpture in Chongqing, causing the water part to turn green


The sculpture is located outside of a tea factory in Chongqing, south west China's Sichuan province

The stream of water has been turning green for some time giving a murky and filthy effect.

Staff at the tea factory say that the water section of the teapot is around 10 feet long and is made from concrete.

Because of this, it is easily susceptible to algae which has turned the water section of the design bright green.

The hot climate in Chongqing has enabled lichen to grow on the sculpture.

Owners of the tea company have promised to begin maintenance on the artwork to restore it.

Other workers said that the sculpture has been repaired three times already due to the material used for the teapot.



Impressive piece of work: The artwork was built in 2013 and was supposed to look like a levitating teapot


Tea is number one: The sculpture was intended to pay homage to China's most popular drink

This came up on my newsfeed while I was reading news on my phone at lunch, and drinking tea. Spit-take worthy.

[PalmStriker]

That tea looks like it would cause hallucinations.

[GeneChing]

I wonder what kind of tea they serve at Imperial Afternoon Tea. It's China, after all, where the bar for tea is set high.

CHINA’S HIGH-END HOTELS PAY TRIBUTE TO ‘STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS’
BY JESSICA RAPP


EAST Hotel’s Domain cafe is offering “Yoda Scones” among other Star Wars themed treats as part of their Imperial Afternoon Tea. (Courtesy Photo)

Star Wars hype may have died down (if only slightly) around the globe, but it’s only been less than two weeks since the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted in China, making more than $100 million in ticket sales in the Chinese box office. In order to cash in on the hype, luxury hotels across China are channeling The Force with a host of Star Wars-themed promotions.
Fans of the film in Beijing are gearing up to honor it on January 23 at EAST Hotel’s Xian Bar for the Imperial Star Cruiser party. The celebration is part of the hotel’s month-long series of events dedicated to the film, and the hotel is one of several lifestyle brands joining in on the film’s marketing frenzy.
EAST partnered with Star Wars fan club 501st Legion and thus were allowed to use the names of the characters in their campaign—and they didn’t hold back. Along with the Xian party, which promises people in costume, EAST is offering “Imperial Afternoon Tea” at the hotel’s Domain cafe until the end of this month, featuring “R2D2 Macaroons,” “Chocolate Cherry Wookie Hair Mousse Cakes,” “Light Saber Cookies,” “Yoda Scones,” and “Ham Solo Paninis.” On a more serious note, the hotel, located in the capital’s bustling 798 Art District, is also playing host to a pop-up shop that features Star Wars-inspired art by Beijing-based artist Vincent Rondia.


Star Wars-inspired artwork by Beijing-based artist Vincent Rondia. (Courtesy Photo)

Darth Vader also popped up at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, which encouraged clients to “clear and calm their mind like a Jedi” with a massage promoted via a photoshopped Twitter ad. The hotel also channeled Star Wars in a ****tail at its M Bar called “Dark Resolution.”
“Many of our colleagues (including myself) are fans of Star Wars and we want to also celebrate it in some small way,” said Director of Communications at Mandarin Oriental HK, Edwina Kluender. “The bar was a positive way to enjoy it with our regular guests. Plus, it was also fun for us to share this small initiative with our fans around the world on social media.”
While the hotels’ efforts weren’t part of official partnerships with Disney, they could reasonably be considered to be part of what Forbes is calling the Disney’s biggest success in the country, following disappointing box office results for China’s leg of the film franchise: “In China, consumers appear to love the licensed products, moderately enjoy the movie, and are ho-hum about the digital games,” it says.
Star Wars licensed products have been prevalent in China’s high-end fashion scene, with independent designers collaborating with Disney as it sought to educate its customers who have little relationship with the movie or sci-fi in general. On the educational end, Disney’s efforts seem to be working in China if EAST Hotel Communications Manager Mina Yan’s take is any representation. “The movies are so popular in both the Chinese and expat community that we don’t need to explain any of the jokes to anyone,” she said.
China’s Star Wars culture extends even further within Beijing’s boutique hotel scene. Hotel Éclat in Beijing’s design-centric Parkview Green shopping center already boasts a deluxe, Darth Vader-themed suite, while The Opposite House in Beijing is gearing up for its annual May the Fourth party. Even after the film has left the box office, The Force is likely to continue to live on in China’s lifestyle industries.

[herb ox]

2015 Phoenix Oolong - much different than the usual oolong that I am used to. Instead of the tight green rolled leaves, this one is thin dark leaves - looks almost like kukicha but without the stems. The taste is significantly different than a typical oolong, too - a floral sandalwood aroma... taste lacking the vegetal quality usually encountered in high grade oolongs, with more of an almost metallic roasty taste, reminiscent of Tie Guan Yin. Smooth finish. Very nice - picked this one up from Haymun Daluz at Aroma Tea Shop near Clement St. in San Francisco last year, and it's still holding up well.

[GeneChing]

Starbucks wants to start selling its own tea in China by September



Already scheduled to open up its first coffee shop in Italy, Starbucks has bold ambitions for this year that also include bringing its own branded tea line to China, as well as the UK, France and Germany.
Bloomberg Business reports that the American coffee giant will begin introducing its Teavana products to China by September. While, globally, tea sales amount to more than $100 billion and Starbucks' tea sales rose 17% to nearly $1 billion since last year, bringing Teavana to China is a risky move.



China has an ancient relationship with the beverage with legends claiming the first brew happened in 2737 B.C. Recently, archaeologists dug up the oldest evidence of its use in the tomb of a Han emperor. In the present day, China is the world's greatest consumer of tea. You can even get tea-flavored toothpaste!
Still, Starbucks already has some business acumen in China, having dealt with expired meat scandals and push-back against Western food companies.



The 45-year-old company hopes to eventually have more outlets in China than in the US. Chief operating officer, Kevin Johnson, explains his faith in Teavana here:
“It’s very complementary to our coffee business. With Teavana -- similar to what we’ve done with coffee -- we’ve established a very premium brand.”
Starbucks will face plenty of local competition in the form of home-grown drinks like bubble milk tea as well as herbal offerings from outlets like KFC, China's most popular foreign brand.
By Matthew Patel
[Image via Flickr]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Mar 24, 2016 8:20 PM

What next? Panda Express in China?

[GeneChing]

The secrets behind the perfect brew: Mesmerising photographs reveal the painstaking process of tea making in China

Pictures show farmers around China plucking, heating and drying tea leaves as the spring harvest season begins
Every step of the process is a form of art in the country where people have been drinking the brew for 3,000 years
Tea production takes place in most of the year, but the spring tea is considered the most valuable and desirable

By TRACY YOU FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 12:26 EST, 8 April 2016 | UPDATED: 13:55 EST, 8 April 2016

They say a cup of tea makes everything better, and that's never an overstatement.

The love affair between man and the aromatic beverage has lasted for more than 3,000 years. From planting, picking to brewing, every step of the tea making has grown into a form of art.

A collection of stunning pictures have emerged showing how tea leaves are harvested and processed across China, the birthplace of the popular drink.


Brew-tea-ful: Tea-harvesting season takes place in China at the end of March and beginning of April. Farmers worked in the fields of Xuan'en County, Hubei Province, on March 31


Gorgeous: The Wujiatai tea, a famous speciality of Hubei Province, has entered its harvest season in the stunning Xuan'en County


Let's get the part-tea started: Farmers took part in a tea picking contest in Anshun, Guizhou Province, south-east China on March 29


Perfect work spot: A worker picked tea leaves in Zhongcunba Village of Xuan'en County, central China's Hubei Province on April 7

The tea-harvesting season begins in China every spring, with many farmers heading out into the fields in China's rural areas to collect leaves for the perfect hot drink.

The peak time for tea-picking period falls at the end of March and the beginning of April when factories operate at full capacity.

Although tea production also takes places in summer and autumn, spring tea is always the highly desirable and pricey among Chinese drinkers, especially the so-called 'first pick' which is available on the market in April.

The Chinese people divide tea into six categories based on processing techniques: green tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea, dark tea and yellow tea.

Depending on the type of tea, the crops will then go through a variety of treatment, including steaming, withering, heating, rolling, oxidation and drying. In large part of China, all of these steps are still done by human hands, which will make sure the final products carry the best flavour.

In the set of pictures, tea farmers around China can be seen plucking fresh tea leaves in the expansive and rolling plantations.

Most of the tea plantations are situated in eastern and southern part of the country, including Xuan'en County in Hubei Province, which is famous for its green tea, and Jing'an County in Jiangxi Province where quality white tea comes from.


The pricey pluck: A farmer picked white tea at a tea garden in Jing'an County, east China's Jiangxi Province on March 28. The so-called 'first pick' in spring is considered most desirable and valuable


A fragrant task: Workers air the newly picked tea leaves in Zhongcunba Village of Xuan'en County, April 7. Xuan'en green tea is said to have been favoured by many Chinese emperors


Handle with care: Depending on the type of tea, the crops will then go through a variety of treatment. A worker heated tea leaves in a cooking pot in Xuan'en County on April 7



Fresh tea leaves will undergo a series of treatment, including steaming, withering, heating, rolling, oxidation and drying. In large part of China, all of these steps are still done by human hands

China is known as the first country in the world to cultivate and drink tea leaves. People from southern China, where the plant originated, started enjoying the brew as early as 1122BC, according to historic records.

The world's oldest tea leaves have been discovered buried with royal treasures in the tomb of Jing Emperor Liu Qi, an ancient Chinese emperor who ruled more than 2,150 years ago, in the city of Xi'an, in China's Shaanxi Province, reported People's Daily Online.

It appears Emperor Jing, who was the fourth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, enjoyed the drink so much he wanted to be buried with a large supply of tea leaves so he could drink it in the afterlife.

Unearthed in the tomb of Jing Emperor Liu Qi, the huge stash of tea buds provides some of the earliest evidence for the ancient Silk Road trade route that grew to stretch across Asia from China to Europe.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

FORGET ABOUT DIAMOND, HERE COMES THE LIQUID GOLD: A GUIDE TO THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE TEAS
Yellow Gold Tea Buds

At about £62 for 50 grams (25 cups), the leaves of this Chinese tea are painted with non-toxic 24-carat gold. They are harvested on one day a year with special golden scissors, and only from the top part of the tree.

Panda dung tea

Reportedly costing £127 a cup, this tea from China is not actually made with panda poo but grown in ground that is fertilised by the bear's excrement. Pandas only eat wild bambo, of which 30 per cent is absorbed into their body. The rest of the nutrients are in their waste, which, according to connoisseurs, makes the tea taste of bamboo.

Da Honh Pao

The half green-half black Da Honh Pao tea is similar to a heavy Darjeeling. The taste is described as rich and floral and lingers in the mouth several minutes after drinking. The £180 a pot tea is served at Royal China Club's restaurants in London.

Gyokuro

A Japanese green tea made from ungrounded leaves also known as Sencha, the leaves are shaded from the sun before they are harvest. 100g of the super-exclusive tea costs £26.

Tieguanyin

This Chinese tea costs £1,900 per kg. The Oolong tea leaf is robust and can be brewed up to seven times before it loses its flavour. The price is steep because the leaves are kneaded before being put into cloth bags so they make a pitch-perfect sound when they are poured into the cup.

Razzle dazzle: A worker removed impurities from the tea leaves in Xuan'en County on April 7. The region is famous for its green tea


People from southern China, where the plant originated, started enjoying the brew as early as 1122BC, according to historic records


Most of China's tea plantations are situated in eastern and southern part of the country. Above picture shows a tea planting garden in Liangwang Township of Rongjiang County, south-west China's Guizhou Province

I've been really enjoying Daily Mail recently.