Ask Mr. Tea

When talking to people about tea I sometimes find that my expectations of what people should already know sets the bar too high.  A classic example is how I'm always surprised when somebody doesn't know that green tea and black tea come from the same plant.  Now, now, don't worry if this is you, because I've just discovered an interesting fact of history.

The first European to figure out that black tea and green tea were the same plant was Robert Fortune in the mid-19th Century during his covert travels within mainland China.  This was only after some 200 years of  Europe trading in tea! 

So don't be ashamed, if you have any questions about tea, please ask!  The editors at Saigon Naturally did just this.  I have a column in their Fall issue called "Ask Mr. Tea".

Here are the questions I answered:

Which Tea is the healthiest?
If only I had a tealeaf for every time a customer has asked me that.  Many people will be quick to answer ‘green tea’ but that isn’t always true.  Tea has a category of polyphenols called catechins, which have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, lower cholesterol, promote weight loss, and even strengthen your teeth.  The oxidation of green tea, which produces black and oolong teas, lowers the level of catechins.  However, which tea do you like?  If you prefer the taste of black tea to green tea then you will naturally be more inclined to drink tea more often if it’s black and get more of the health benefits than if you were to only occasionally drink green tea because you felt that you should.  Drink what you want!

Which Tea has the most caffeine?
Popular belief has for a long time held that black tea has the most caffeine, but this isn’t true.  Caffeine content depends mostly on growing factors.  For example, the first harvest of the season will have more caffeine than the second or third.  What will affect the caffeine in your cup is how long you infuse your tea and how hot the water is.  Hotter water infused for a longer time will lead to more caffeine.  That is why black tea will sometimes have more caffeine because it is traditionally steeped with hotter water for a longer time than most other teas, but if you drink a fresh, young green tea then you still might get more caffeine. 

Should I only drink Organic Tea?
This is a rather touchy subject.  The truth is that many high quality tea plantations don’t use pesticides or harmful fertilizers because it negatively impacts the flavour of the tea and reduces the price at market.  However, they will never receive an organic rating because they can’t afford to get their farms certified.  In China, the laws for Organic certification are even stricter because farmers are not even allowed to trim their tea trees to waist height for easy harvesting.  Instead of looking exclusively for the Organic logo, why not let your taste be the judge?




Do you have any of your own questions? I've answered some of the most common questions here or you can email me and ask your own. Don't forget to read the rest of Saigon Naturally's Fall issue for some more great articles.