Tea drinking traditions are valued in every family. We choose tea for every taste: granulated and bagged, instant and leaf, black and green, red and yellow, mate tea, white tea, hibiscus tea and, meanwhile, we know very little about our favorite drink.
The tonic properties of tea come from caffeine, an alkaloid with a mild stimulating effect. In addition to tea, this substance is found in the leaves and fruits of other plants.
Before enjoying the brewed drink, it is important to choose the best tea according to these indicators:
The color of the brew should ideally be black for black tea, green for green tea. Any deviation is evidence of inconsistency in the quality of the tea.
Shine. Dry tea leaves of high-quality black tea should have a “spark” - a dim reflection, shimmer. If the tea is dull, this is an indicator of average or lower quality.
Uniformity of raw materials. Ideally, in good tea, all the tea leaves should be approximately the same size; their size must correspond to the standard indicated on the packaging.
Foreign inclusions can be not only pieces of wood, plywood, paper, foil, etc., but also fragments of tea branches. Of course, all this indicates low quality tea.
Twisting tea leaves. As a rule, the more tightly the tea leaves are twisted, the better the fermentation, and the better the quality of the tea itself.
Degree of dryness. High-quality tea should contain approximately 3-6% moisture.
Smell. Well-made, properly packaged and properly stored tea should smell good.
It should be noted in passing that the Russian word “tea” is consonant with the pronunciation “cha”, which, following the Mandarin pronunciation, was applied to the tea plant and its leaves in the northern provinces of China, from where tea first began to come to Russia. From the Russians, this name entered the languages of a number of other peoples of the Russian Empire and the Slavs of Central Europe.
We offer a selection of the most popular tea recipes. Such drinks not only give a person a strong boost of energy, but also have valuable medicinal qualities.
Universal recipe Brewing delicious tea consists of the following steps:
1. Boiling water. Water for tea should be soft.
2. Warming the teapot. As a vessel for brewing tea, it is better to use one that “holds” heat better and does not react (either chemically or physically) to hot tea.
3. Adding tea leaves.
4. Pour boiling water over the brew and stir.
5. Infusion.
6. Pouring into cups.
For more than 100 years, an Englishman's day has begun with a cup of English Breakfast tea, a strong blend of broken Broken tea leaves from India and Kenya. Drink it twice - with morning oatmeal or scrambled eggs with bacon. A cup of strong black invigorating tea is simply necessary to wake up. Let's drink the British favorite drink too!
Tea in English
For each cup, 1 teaspoon of tea, plus 1 teaspoon in a teapot, boiling water, milk.
Pour boiling water over the tea, let it brew for 5 minutes, then pour the infusion into another vessel, preheated. Pour milk into heated cups to fill one quarter of their volume and add tea infusion.
Tea in Russian
In the second half of the 19th century, tea became the favorite drink of the Russian nobility and merchants. They had tea not only at home, but also in parks, gardens and squares.
Tea became increasingly popular among ordinary people. In old Russia, folk festivals with samovar tea parties on the grass were widespread. The most favorite drink was tea in Russian - 8 teaspoons of tea, boiling water, milk, refined sugar, candied fruit or jam, lemon juice or cream as desired.
Pour tea into a heated kettle, pour boiling water over it, and leave to brew for 5 minutes. Everyone, if desired, pours tea leaves for themselves, adds boiling water, milk, cream, lemon juice. In Russian, it is customary to drink tea as a bite. In addition to sugar, tea is served with candied fruit or jam.
Lingonberry tea
For 1 liter of drink: dried lingonberry leaves - 7g, water - 1000g, sugar - 60.
The leaves are poured with boiling water, the drink is allowed to brew for 10 minutes, filtered, and sugar is added.
Rose hip tea
Pour 4 tablespoons of dried rose hips into 1 liter of boiling water. Leave for 10-12 minutes.
Tea with ice
Brew regular tea, add sugar to taste. Pour the cooled tea into a pitcher with ice, add lemon juice and pour into tall glasses. Place a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint in each glass and serve.
For three servings: black tea - 6 g (three teaspoons or bags), crushed ice - 3-5 cubes, sugar to taste, 1 lemon, peppermint - 2-3 sprigs.
Iced tea with spices
Pour boiling water over tea, spices and mint. After 6 minutes, strain and add sugar. Mix the cooled mixture with lemon juice and sparkling water. Serve with ice.
For three servings: black tea - 6 g (three teaspoons or bags), ginger powder - 2 g, 1 piece of cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 2-3 sprigs of mint, sugar to taste, juice of three lemons, 3-5 pieces ice.
Orange tea
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange, 50 g orange syrup, 25 g dry tea.
Place the washed lemon and orange peels in a saucepan, add orange syrup, dry tea, pour 1 liter of boiling water, let it brew for 5 minutes, strain, and serve.
Number of servings - 5. Cooking time - 7 minutes.
Tonic tea
For 1 liter of drink: dried raspberry leaves - 2g, dried St. John's wort - 2g, dried blackberry leaves - 2g, water - 1050g, sugar - 60g.
Chamomile tea
For 1 liter of boiling water: dried chamomile - 3g, dried linden flowers - 2g, dried black currant leaves - 1g, water - 1050g.
The mixture is brewed with boiling water, the drink is allowed to brew, and filtered.
Drink "Tea balm"
1 tea. a spoonful of peppermint, chamomile, lemon balm, St. John's wort, currant leaves, raspberry leaves, linden blossom, birch leaves, rose hips, blueberries, red rowan fruits (all components in dry form), 3 cups of dry tea mixture: Georgian, Azerbaijani , Krasnodar, Indian, Turkish.
Grind dry leaves, herbs, fruits thoroughly, mix, add dry tea and mix thoroughly again. The mixture should be stored in a glass or porcelain container with a tightly closed lid.
You need to brew “Tea Balm” as follows: scald a small enamel saucepan or mug with boiling water, add the prepared dry mixture at the rate of 1 teaspoon. topped spoon with 2 cups of boiling water. Pour boiling water over the dry mixture, stir, tightly close the container with a lid, put a towel on top and leave for 5 - 7 minutes. Drink the drink hot and fresh. Since leaves, fruits, and berries gradually release their beneficial substances, during tea drinking you can add boiling water to the brewed mixture.
Cooking time 5 min.
Golden root tea
Dried ones are taken in equal quantities: rhizome of Rhodiola rosea, strawberry leaves, raspberries, blackberries, black currants. The mixture of herbs should be brewed with boiling water and allowed to brew. Tea has a tonic effect
Vanilla tea
Pour black tea, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla sugar or 1/2 vanilla stick into a teapot heated with boiling water, pour boiling water over it and leave for 5 minutes, then cool.
Iced sea buckthorn tea
For 3-5 liters of water take a handful of sea buckthorn leaves and the same amount of dried mint, 0.5 cups of honey.
Pour boiling water over sea buckthorn leaves and mint herb, leave to steep for 5-6 hours, strain, add half a glass of honey. After this, cool. Serve with edible ice cubes as a pleasant refreshing and tonic drink.
Toning tea with berries
4 tbsp. mashed berries (cranberries, black currants, strawberries, raspberries) add 4 tbsp. sugar, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water or green tea.
Viburnum tea
For 1 liter of boiling water: dried blackberry leaves - 2g, dried thyme - 1g, dried hemp leaves - 1g, viburnum berries - 10g, water - 1070g, sugar - 75g.
The mixture is brewed with boiling water, the drink is allowed to brew, and filtered.
Soothing tea
borage flowers (white slumber) - 10 g, lemon balm flowers - 15 g. A handful of mixture per liter of boiling water, leave. Drink half a glass several times a day.
Ginger Indian tea- a wonderful tonic drink.
If you want to serve it as a cold drink, add ice cubes, a little more sugar, lemon juice and chopped mint leaves into it.
Bring water to a boil, add grated ginger and remove from heat. If you want to use ginger tea as a cure for colds, boil it for 10 minutes. with the lid open. If you use dry ground ginger instead of fresh, reduce the amount by half and keep the water on low heat for about 20 minutes. Add sugar or honey to the mixture and dissolve. Strain, trying to squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the ginger. Add pepper and lemon (or orange) juice. Serve hot.
Tea-lemonade
Mix tea, wine, sugar, lemon juice and honey in a mixer. Cool and serve in glasses with ice.
Ingredients for three servings: strong black tea, 1 lemon, 0.5 bottles of white wine, 5 tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of honey, 7-8 pieces of crushed ice, sparkling water if desired.
1 year ago
In our area, tea is brewed almost everywhere the same way. The water has boiled, the boiling water is poured into a ceramic or glass teapot with strong tea leaves, steeped for a couple of minutes and then poured into cups. As a rule, half of the tea leaves is poured and diluted with boiling water. That is, everyone determines the strength of the drink for themselves. But tea masters claim that tea must be brewed immediately in the required proportions, and for everyone at the same time.
To get a quality drink, you must use only the highest grade dry tea. Which one is a matter of taste. Remember that Indian teas are tart, Chinese teas are gentle, and Ceylon teas combine these two qualities.
Water is perhaps the most important component after tea quality. Back in the 16th century, Chinese experts said that you can understand the taste and aroma of tea by the quality of water.
To prepare a tea drink, you need fresh, soft water, in which few minerals are dissolved. It should not smell or contain impurities. Nowadays it is quite difficult to find such water. You can buy containers with already purified drinking water or purchase a water softener.
The ideal option is to use spring water without minerals - from mountain rivers with a rocky or sandy bottom, or from flowing glacial lakes. Of course, such a source is not easy to find. But you can always find an alternative.
If you use tap water for tea, leave it for at least 10 hours to completely remove the smell of chlorine. Scale is formed during boiling due to the transition of salts into insoluble compounds. Such water is called softened. Tea is brewed only with softened water.
The kettle also plays an important role. The material from which it is made can affect the taste of the drink. An enamel or tin-plated kettle is best. You can also use an electric kettle or samovar.
You will also need a teapot for water. The best materials for him are porcelain or earthenware. They heat up quickly and evenly. It is more convenient to fill a kettle of the correct geometric shape with water.
To brew tea, the water must be brought to the “white key” state. This is a short-term condition and it is quite difficult to determine it in time. For this purpose teapots with a whistle were invented. When the whistle just starts, this is the “white key”.
Did you know that a filled kettle should be covered with a napkin to help it warm up better? Linen fabric is best suited - it allows water vapor to pass through well and retains aromatic essential oils. It is prohibited to use the familiar matryoshka dolls on a teapot for this purpose. The tea rots in them and loses its taste.
It is also better to take porcelain, earthenware or glass cups for drinking tea.
For convenience and beauty, use silver spoons and a tray. This way you don't have to offer each guest a separate cup. And it’s also much easier to clean up the dishes after drinking tea.
The types of utensils used in preparing and serving tea depend on the national traditions that developed during the formation of the culture of tea consumption. Water is of great importance for making tea: it should be bottled or soft spring water. If there is none, an installation with a filter system is required. Water should not boil over, much less boil several times, so it is not recommended to use an electric kettle. It is better to use a direct-flow espresso machine or a kettle that is heated on an electric stove or single-serve vodka.
To brew tea in the Chinese style (China is the founder of the tea drinking culture), ceramic teapots of various shapes are used (Fig. 3.35, a, b, V). The spout of the teapot is placed high and should hold a drop so that the drink does not spill onto the tablecloth, but flows in a thin stream. There may be an internal strainer at the base of the spout. If you don’t have one, use a tea strainer (chalyuy) made of bamboo. The lid of the teapot has a deep inner edge and a special tongue that keeps the lid from falling when pouring tea. In addition, there is a hole in it that prevents the tea from suffocating.
Rice. 3.35.
It is better to brew Chinese green, white, yellow teas and oolong teas in ceramic teapots * 33, and black Chinese teas in porcelain teapots.
* 33: (Teapots made from Yixing clay (China, Yixin city) are considered the best, as they better preserve the taste, aroma and temperature of tea.)
To brew oolong and green teas, special teapots with lattice glasses into which the tea is poured can be used. With their help, a strong infusion is obtained. Stainless steel teapots with a double bottom are also used to help maintain the temperature of the drink for a long time.
When using glass teapots, guests can observe the changes occurring in the tea during brewing (Fig. 3.38, d). To maintain the temperature of the water in the kettle, special glass heaters (jiujin la) are used, inside of which a candle flame shines (Fig. 3.35, e).
In addition to the teapot, they also use a French press - a narrow and tall glass vessel with a piston-filter. After the tea is brewed in it, the piston is lowered down so that the tea leaves are at the bottom and the drink is on top.
Some expensive types of tea can be brewed several times, so they also use top-up teapots (they are larger than a teapot). In addition, they are used in democratic tea establishments when serving tea in pairs (in brewing and refilling teapots). Tea establishments of the third group also use samovars. To prepare tea in the Chinese style, they use a special tea board or tea table (Shepherds) (Fig. 3.36), which is a low table with a tray and holes in the tabletop, necessary to allow water or tea to be poured out. It is made of metal, ceramics, marble, wood. These tables come in various shapes. Recently, electric tea tables have appeared that are connected to the sewer.
Sometimes a chachuan (tea boat) is placed on the shepherd - a container in which a teapot is placed and hot water is poured over it so that the tea in the nik does not cool down.
After brewing, the tea is poured into a bowl in the form of a jug: chahai (“tea sea”) or gundao bei (“cup of justice”) so that the taste and strength of the tea are the same in all cups (Fig. 3.37). In addition, the tea, having cooled a little, is enriched with oxygen.
Rice. 3.36. Tea board (Shepherds) Rice. 3.37. Chalice of Justice (Chahai)
To introduce tea to guests, use a tea bowl or box (chahe) (Fig. 3.38), from which it is poured into a teapot.
To brew tea, they also use a gaiwan - a dish consisting of three items: a lid on top, a saucer on the bottom, a bowl in the middle, which symbolize the sky that covers the earth, a person who creates a drink from water donated by the sky, and tea leaves grown on earth (Fig. 3.39). There is a small gap between the cup and the lid of the gaiwan, so it can be used both as a teapot (teapot) and as a cup (to drink tea from it). You can pour into cups and drink from the gaiwan without removing the lid.
Rice. 3.38.
Rice. 3.39.
To serve tea, cups (chabei), tea sets with bowls (with and without saucers) (Fig. 3.40) and tea pairs are used. They are made from porcelain, ceramics, and glass.
Rice. 3.40.
The tea pair (Fig. 3.41) consists of two cups: pinmingbei - a low cup for taste, symbolizing the feminine essence, and wenxiangbei - a high cup for aroma, which symbolizes the masculine essence. The drink is poured into a tall cup and covered with a low cup. The cups stand on a special stand (chatoye) (Fig. 3.42).
Rice. 3.41. Rice. 3.42.
To prepare tea, they also use a tea tool - chaju (Fig. 3.43, a), which includes a ladle (chachi), a needle (chazan), tongs (Jiajia), and a bone (yanghubi). Using a ladle, tea is transferred from a teapot (chaeguan) * 34 into a tea box chahe) * 35 (Fig. 3.43, b). Using a small spoon, the tea with chakhae is transferred to a teapot (chacha).
* 34: (Chaeguan is a teapot in which tea is stored. It should be airtight to keep out odors, preferably not transparent, made of porcelain or scorched clay.)
* 35: (chahe is a special container for “getting to know” tea (each guest carefully examines the tea leaf placed in the chahe). Chahe is made in the shape of a cup, elongated along one axis, with a hole for pouring tea.)
Rice. 3.43.
The needle is used when the spout of a teapot becomes clogged (Fig. 3.44, a), which does not have an internal mesh (or it has large holes). Tongs are designed to take hot cups or remove used tea leaves (Fig. 3.44, b).
With the help of a bone, they ensure the cleanliness of the teapot, cups and other utensils, emphasizing attention and care for the tea utensils (Fig. 3.44, c). When preparing tea, they also use chaxianpo - a funnel made of wood or bamboo to pour tea into the teapot so that it does not spill past the teapot.
Rice. 3.44.
A Chinese style tea set includes: a mat, a clay or porcelain teapot with a capacity of 0.2-1 liters, porcelain or ceramic bowls covered with glaze, possibly with small saucers or gaiwan; a teapot, a container with boiling water (thermos, heated kettle), a special jug (chahai) into which tea is poured from the kettle before pouring it into cups or bowls.
The Japanese-style tea set includes a Japanese porcelain teapot for brewing with a straight handle similar to a crank, porcelain bowls, a metal Tets Bing slightly flattened teapot for boiling water with a straight handle, teapot * 36.
* 36: (Tetsubin style teapots are made of iron by casting; the inner surface is covered with enamel, the outer surface is painted or engraved. They should not be placed on an open fire, hit, or washed with caustic detergents.)
To serve tea in European countries, the following types of dishes are used: cups and saucers, rosettes for honey, jam, jam; a set that includes a teapot with a cup and saucer for one person, tea sets.
In elite establishments, requirements for ergonomics, ease of storage and dishwashing are in the background. Particular attention is paid to the exclusivity of the dishes. It is made from porcelain, including bone porcelain, which contains 50% clay and 50% bone dust. Such dishes are durable, light, very thin and expensive. Along with the utensils described above, porcelain and silver spoons, tongs, etc. are also used. The most common color of elite utensils is the color of stewed milk. Along with this, tea utensils of purple, brown and other colors are used, and over time, the fashion for the color scheme may change.
When setting the table, a combination of teaware made from various materials - porcelain, silver, stainless steel - looks festive.
The Moroccan-style tea set includes a tall metal teapot; instead of cups, there are cone-shaped thick-walled glass cups on low legs, which are placed on a small metal tray. A sugar bowl with lumps of sugar and a teapot with green tea and mint are also placed on the tray.
When serving mate * 37 - a drink made from the leaves of the broad-leaved holly, which grows in Latin America, they use a calabash, into which a bombilla with mate is inserted and boiling water is poured over it. Bombilla is a straight or curved tube with a thickening in the upper part and is similar in shape to a spoon with a strainer in the lower part (Fig. 3.45). Calabash has a capacity of 200-500 ml to 1 liter, it is made from a small gourd or wood, bamboo, ceramics, brass, bronze, silver, etc. The calabash is covered with carvings, set in leather, sometimes it has a stem and becomes like a glass. The bombilla is most often made of metal, although it can be made of other materials. They put tea on her.
* 37: (Mate belongs to the “non-tea teas.”)
Rice. 3.45.
Tea utensils should be thoroughly washed both inside and out. Store separately from dishes with spices and other products with strong odors. Teapots for brewing tea should not be washed using chemicals, preferably soda. It is necessary to wash and clean constantly, preventing the formation of plaque on the inner wall.
When using pumpkin calabash, before use, pour boiling water over it and leave for 2-3 days, then rinse, thus getting rid of foreign odors and closing the pores in the walls of the dish. This operation is repeated if the calabash has not been used for a long time. Each time after use it must be washed and dried. For drying, use a tool with a metal cylinder at the end. The cylinder is heated over a fire, and then the inner surface of the calabash is burned with it, after pouring 1-2 tablespoons of cane sugar into it. The bombilla tube is disassembled, the filter is unscrewed and cleaned.
Tea should be stored in hermetically sealed containers, preferably opaque (so that the tea does not interact with light and air). To do this, use porcelain and glass bottles with a ground-in stopper or a metal cap that screws on. It is not recommended to store tea in metal and plastic containers. Pure tea should be stored separately from flavored tea.
An establishment that specializes in introducing the culture of tea consumption into life needs from 1.7 to 2.5 sets of dishes per seat (it should also be taken into account which teaware breaks more often: first of all, these are cups and teapots).
Although most tea drinkers prefer black tea, For the mushroom itself, green is more pleasant. It grows better in green tea, and brown spots do not appear on it, and the mushroom lives in such tea much longer.
Moreover, I myself green tea is an excellent remedy against the formation of bladder stones, kidney stones and gall bladder stones. It contains vitamins B 2, P and K, which give the skin elasticity and freshness, strengthens the hair, and has a beneficial effect on blood circulation.
Unfermented green tea and its tannins prevents the occurrence of cancerous tumors. It treats dysentery and a number of other intestinal diseases; during treatment it is used as an antibiotic, but unlike antibiotics it is absolutely harmless and actively fights microbes. Removes radiation from the body. Contains vitamin C in large quantities. When it comes to vitamin B, no plant can compete with green tea. It makes the walls of blood vessels elastic, prevents cerebral hemorrhage and heart attack, and reduces blood pressure.
Black tea
Black tea contains the highest concentration of lactic and glucuronic acids. Contains a large amount of purines that help normalize metabolism. Essential oils and phenol are components of tea that have bactericidal properties (i.e., kill bacteria).
Black tea removes cholesterol and other fatty deposits from the blood and body.
Other teas for making kombucha
To prepare kombucha infusion, you can use not only black and green tea, but also a huge number of different herbal mixtures and teas. You can use liver tea: it calms the nerves and has a beneficial effect on the stomach and intestines.
Mixtures of tea and various plants, for example, nettle with blackberry leaves, coltsfoot, plantain, white thorn, birch leaves, strawberries, and linden blossom, have a good effect on the body. For a liter of solution, take two to three teaspoons of herbal mixture per liter of water.
The good thing about each blend is that the blend, customized to personal taste, includes at least one part black or green tea to form the best nutritional solution for kombucha. As a rule, such tea should be filtered, literally an hour after brewing.
Properly brewed tea is a healing drink that relieves fatigue, invigorates the body, strengthens the spirit, will and improves vision. So says the ancient Chinese treatise on tea. Below you will find recipes for various drinks that can be prepared from tea, so that you can use them immediately after preparation, or try diluting kombucha in them, creating an assortment of different drinks and choosing the best one to your taste. You can also use doctor-recommended herbal infusions to increase the benefits of drinking kombucha.
About the benefits of tea
- Fresh tea leaves are 4 times richer in vitamin C than lemon. And the vitamin P content in tea makes it an excellent tool for strengthening the walls of blood vessels, increasing their elasticity and flexibility. In addition, tea has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, increasing the flow of oxygen to brain cells, clarifying thoughts and sharpening attention and memory.
- Hot strong tea with lemon is an excellent diaphoretic for colds. It’s even better if you add linden blossom and honey to the tea leaves.
- Chewing dry green tea is recommended for people who get motion sickness on an airplane or bus. Green tea powder helps treat burns, and its strong infusion helps treat stomach ulcers, wounds, and inflammation.
- Do not leave the tea leaves for the next day, do not reheat the old tea leaves - you will never get a tasty and healthy drink. No wonder they said in the East: “Fresh tea is like a balm, and tea left overnight is like a snake bite.”
- In reality, tea with sugar (if you do not abuse sugar) is only useful in the morning. The fact is that tea contains tonin, a substance that increases vascular tone. And sugar improves cerebral circulation - the main energy carrier in the body. Together they complement and enhance each other's beneficial properties. It has been established that it is better to dissolve sugar than to drink tea as a bite, since in a dissolved state it is better absorbed. True, it is better not to drink sweet tea at night, unless, of course, you want to cheer yourself up.
- Many people are wary of drinking chocolate with tea, believing that it can be harmful to health. However, more recently, Danish scientists discovered that tea and chocolate are an extremely successful combination, especially beneficial for those who are predisposed to cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
- Researchers note that black tea contains antioxidants, and dark chocolate contains four times more. Therefore, according to scientists, drinking tea with chocolate every day is not only pleasant, but also healthy. And most importantly, only tea naturally breaks down chocolate, which other drinks cannot do.
Recipes for various teas
Tea in English
Let's trust the experience of the British - tea with milk is much healthier and tastier than ordinary, “empty” tea. When preparing it, you must follow the following sequence: first heat the milk almost to a boil, pour it into a cup by half or two-thirds of its volume, and then add strong brewed tea into the cup. In English, it is customary to serve tea with unsweetened cookies and honey.
Fruit and berry tea
All the qualities of tea are preserved, but it becomes much tastier when finely chopped apples, lemon slices or mashed strawberries, raspberries, and wild strawberries are added to a cup of strong tea in an arbitrary proportion (each one adds to taste).
Tea with rosehip
Rosehip infusion is poured into strongly brewed tea. This tea is recommended to be taken when feeling unwell, especially in late autumn and winter, during the flu epidemic, as well as in the spring, when fatigue accumulates and a lack of vitamins appears.
Lingonberry tea
Dry lingonberry leaves - one teaspoon and two teaspoons of black tea are mixed, ground with a wooden pestle to a smooth powder. Pour this mixture into a teapot - it would be good to first pour boiling water over it, pour boiling water over it, let it brew for 8-10 minutes, covering the teapot with a napkin or towel.
"Drunk" tea
A teaspoon of dry chamomile is mixed with a teaspoon of dry tea. The mixture is poured with two glasses of boiling water, half a glass of dry white wine is added. Stir, heat and strain. The remaining grounds can be poured back into the drink and infused.
Honey tea drink
Usually add two to three teaspoons of honey per glass of kombucha. To improve tone, drink the drink before breakfast - slowly, in small sips. Mushroom with honey is especially useful for flu and colds - doctors advise drinking it at least 4 times a day.
The combination of kombucha and honey is also suitable for the prevention of vascular disorders - it cleanses the blood of fat, strengthens the walls of blood vessels and restores their elasticity.
An example of preparing a herbal-based kombucha drink
- Kombucha is washed;
- Take a teaspoon of pine needles, lemon balm, rosehip leaves and dry tea, pour boiling water (8 liters) and leave for two to three hours;
- Then filter, and pour boiling water (about a liter) into the grounds again;
- The warm infusion is poured into a glass jar with kombucha and left to ferment for three to four days;
- The finished tea drink is drunk, constantly filtering and adding a new portion of infusion to the jar.
The tea ceremony in the eyes of Europeans is an exotic ritual, beautiful tea preparation or spiritual practice. The Chinese tea ceremony has all this, but the pleasure of taste, aroma and something elusive in sensations comes to the fore. The path to the tea ceremony in its modern form was long. It all started about 3,000 years ago when the Chinese discovered the medicinal properties of the Camellia Sinensis plant and began brewing tea and adding tea leaves to their food. This method of preparation was good for coarse varieties of tea, the beneficial properties of which cannot be revealed through infusion. Along with the advent of new exquisite varieties of tea, the methods of preparing the drink also improved.
The art of making tea (gongfu cha) was spread by Buddhist monks, who were the first to discover the invigorating and medicinal properties of tea. For two thousand years, various techniques and tools have been used to prepare tea. Over time, the necessary set of utensils and tools for the tea ceremony was formed, and rules for preparing various varieties and types of tea were developed.
In the Chinese tea ceremony, only high-quality semi-fermented oolong tea is used. (Sometimes the spelling "oolong" is found, which comes from an erroneous transcription of the English word "oolong", which is actually read as "oolong".) Oolongs are a very special group of teas, called "black dragon tea" and "emperor of the tea world." The Chinese classify oolong tea as turquoise tea. (The character for "turquoise" also means youth and fresh greens.) Oolongs are made from young tea leaves and buds grown high in the mountains and collected, dried and rolled using a special technology. In simple terms, oolong tea is not strong enough to be called black tea (or red, if you follow the Chinese classification), but it is more concentrated and richer than green tea.
Naturally, tea, the production of which takes so much work, requires special attention when preparing. Oolongs are holiday teas. They are not suitable for a hasty breakfast or office tea party. The Chinese tea ceremony is the only way to reveal all the subtleties of the “black dragon”, but this method requires skill and experience, special utensils and several hours of free time. The tea ceremony is never held “for dessert”; 2-3 hours should pass after eating. To avoid distractions from the perception of tastes and aromas, several hours before the ceremony you should not eat spicy, sour or sweet foods, smoke, drink alcohol or wear perfume. However, drinking a large amount of tea on an empty stomach can cause discomfort. During the tea ceremony, the guest can be offered up to 20 cups of tea. When each subsequent brew is different from the previous one, the number of impressions received in a few hours of the ceremony will exceed the impressions from all the tea drunk before. A single participation in gongfu cha can change a person’s understanding of tea.
The first condition of the Chinese tea ceremony is good oolong. High quality oolongs are produced only in China. There are four types of oolongs: Southern Fujian, Northern Fujian, Guangdong (Cantonese), and Taiwanese. The most famous variety of oolong is considered to be the South Fujian Tieguanyin from Anxi County - the tea of the iron bodhisattva. Tieguanyin is usually used to introduce beginners to the tea ceremony, as its rich and long-lasting taste and gradually changing aroma are understandable to everyone. Taiwanese low-fermented oolongs are also suitable for introducing the ceremony. They have a fresh aroma, rich infusion color and sweet taste. Many mainland oolongs are so delicate that without special preparation it is difficult to experience their charm. An experienced master will help you choose the type of oolong depending on the experience and tastes of the guests.
Gongfu cha is performed only with unflavored oolongs. There is no point in holding a tea ceremony for the sake of enjoying “flavors identical to...”. The exceptions are oolongs with natural flavoring with flower petals or ginseng crumbs and milk oolong (Nai Xiang Jin Xuan), which has a natural light milky creamy aroma. However, true tea lovers recognize only pure oolong without impurities. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find tea for the tea ceremony in supermarkets. At best, you can buy good everyday tea.
Oolongs for the tea ceremony are sold in specialized stores and tea clubs. Fresh and high-quality oolong tea cannot be cheap, but price is not the only guideline when choosing tea. Many specialized stores and tea clubs offer tea tastings and give recommendations on how to prepare the variety you like. The higher the grade of tea, the more useful substances it contains, since the raw materials for such teas are grown high in the mountains, where there is no harmful influence of civilization. When preparing high-grade oolongs, manual labor of professional pickers is mainly used.
It should be borne in mind that when researching the beneficial properties of tea, scientists often do not see the difference between green tea and oolong and do not take into account the method of its preparation. High-quality oolong tea prepared during the tea ceremony contains many vitamins, organic acids, minerals, proteins and other beneficial substances. After gong fu cha, many people feel lightness and a surge of strength, which can be explained in any way: the mystical properties of tea or cleansing the blood of toxins.
In the tea ceremony, water is second in importance after tea. Chinese masters used (and continue to use) water from mountain springs. In central Russia there are also many springs with tasty water, but in order to use spring water for making tea you need absolute confidence in the purity of the source. Water from wells is not held in high esteem by Chinese gongfu cha masters, but in modern conditions well water can be better than tap water. Many water purification filters make it lifeless, which is also not good for the tea ceremony. Tea clubs usually use soft bottled water.
A real master is able to prepare oolong even on the go, but in order for guests to enjoy not only the taste and aroma of tea, but also a demonstration of the tea action with precisely calculated movements of the master’s hands, gongfu cha requires special utensils: a vessel for storing tea, a tea board with a tray for collecting water, an alcohol lamp or burner, a kettle for heating water, a vessel for getting to know tea leaves, a teapot, a strainer, a vessel for pouring tea, tea pairs (bowl + tall cup), tools (spoon, needle, tongs, funnel and brush), towel.
During the Chinese tea ceremony, the guest is only required to inhale the aroma and enjoy the taste. The master will be happy to answer your questions, share emotions and support thoughts born of tea. The Japanese tea ceremony is much more complicated, as it requires a special mood and concentration not only from the master, but also from all the guests. During the Japanese ceremony, tea is ground into a fine powder, which is whipped into foam. The Japanese tea ceremony is an aesthetic of primitive simplicity, but many more tools are used to prepare tea in Japanese than in the Chinese tradition. The purpose of the Japanese tea ceremony is concentration, purification and the pursuit of inner harmony.
Olga Borodina
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