Concept Tea (7) - Camellia sinensis Tea?

What is tea? There are different definitions, some broader, some more peculiar.

This is a joke for people who think tea should only be from Camellia sinensis, a species from Theaceae Family (Tea Family) and Camellia genus. This cup of drink, whether you call it tea or not, is from Camellia sinensis. The sweet little flowers are tea flowers!

I've seen producers of different tea varieties selling tea flowers, by-products of their tea trees. This one is a little more creative. The tea is green tea made with oolong cultivar, processed into curled shape, and the flowers are from the tea trees. 

I thought it was an interesting thing and was curious how it tastes. The taste is not typical for a tea. It's not something that would blow you away, but quite novel to try. The flower flavor is subtle but easily detectable. It's a mix of pollen flavor and very light honey flavor.

In southwestern China, especially Sichuan, there is a type of "tea" people drink in summer. It's not from a plant in Theaceae family. It looks somewhat like tea. It tastes quite different from most teas, but there is probably a tiny bit of similarity in flavor. These leaves contain a lot of tea polyphenols that are almost identical to those poly phenol molecules found in tea leaves.

  
And then there is the famous Ya Bao ("leaf bud") that was sold by a lot of Chinese puerh vendors a few years ago. Many of them are claimed to be leaf bud of wild tea trees. It turned out many, or most, of these "wild tea trees" are not Camellia sinensis, not the same trees people harvest tea leaves from.

Rose bud

The rose buds make excellent herbal tea. Great for autumn and winter nights due to their warming effect. Loved by women all over the world for their fragrance and beauty effects.

To brew the rose bud herbal tea, put rose buds in a mug or pot, brew with hot water for a few minutes. 2-4 rose buds for a mug, or 6-8 rose buds for a large tea pot. They can be brewed repetitively for 3 or more times to release all the flavor and nutrients.

Rose bud is one of my personal favorites. It has great warming effect on me. I love to have it hot, sometimes just rose bud alone, sometimes with goji or longan. I have it plain, while some friends of mine like to put honey or maple syrup in their rose bud tea.

roasted barley tea （mugicha, boricha, 大麥茶）

Roasted barley tea, is also called mugicha (in Japan) or boricha (in Korea). It is one of the favorite beverages of eastern Asia. In the west, it has the reputation of "oriental coffee", because its unique roast taste resembles light roast coffee in certain way. However, barley tea is entirely CAFFEINE FREE! It is made of 100% natural barley seeds. The roasted barley seeds are in dark brown color (as showed on the left of the picture). The brewed barley tea is showed on the right of the picture.

It is a great winter-night warm drink, as well as excellent summer beverage when served cold! To make hot barley tea, simply pour hot water on the roasted barley seeds (1 teaspoon per mug or 1 table spoon per pot) and wait for a few minutes. Then all barley seeds will sink to the bottom and the barley is ready! You may use a tea infuser or tea ball to hold the barley seeds but it's not a must.

Barley tea can be brewed for multiple times. I usually brew it for at least 3 times to allow it to release all its rich flavor.

If you prefer ice barley tea, simply take 1 tablespoon of the roasted barley seeds, brew them in a tea pot repetitively for 3 times, collect the tea, put it in a big jar, add ice and store it in the fridge!

Goji berries

Goji is an important medical plants in Tibet as well as the entire Asia. Its berries are very nutritious and have therapeutic effects for dehydration (excellent for winter dehydration caused by household heaters) and eye fitness (release dry eyes and overall improve vision).

To make a cup of goji herbal tea, simply pour hot water on 5-8 dried goji berries (or 15-20 berry for a big pot of goji tea for family to share). The goji berries can be brewed repetitively for a few times and at the end, you may eat the berries to get all the nutrients.

Goji herbal tea has a unique herbal flavor, goes well by goji itself, with sugar, with longan (a fruity herbal tea) or with rose buds.