Drinking Gunpowder and Other Teas

Tea is one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world after water. Tea plants grow well in mountainous, tropical regions. Tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis bush. To flower lovers the term Camellia may sound familiar. And indeed the tea bush has man lovely sister with name and names like flower of the autumn sun and Winter's rose, lions head, and smiling face. These flowery Camellias are not generally used as tea plants but in passing we note that the useful tea plant has beautiful relatives.

There are 4 kinds of teas. They are white, green, oolong, and black in order of which tea undergoes the most processing. White has the least processing done. Black has the most. All of the teas come from the same plant-the Camilla Sinensis. Tea is as much as 5000 years old and is thought to originate in China. Tea is a withered plant that is sometimes partially fermented before we drink it. The plant suffers, and is burned and bruised before we partake of it.

Gunpowder is a green rolled tea that some Englishmen thought looked like gunpowder. Rolling the leaves into little balls is thought to help preserve it freshness. If the leaves are exposed to air they will begin oxidize. Gunpowder is also referred to as pearl tea. This beverage is said to have a smoky flavor. In some North African countries the Gun powder variety is often mixed with mint and sugar. When hot water is poured over gunpowder tea you can watch the leaves unfurl.

Tea has been long thought to cure what ails you. Many today believe that tea may inhibit cancer causing oxidation in human cells. Tea is one of those consumables you could actually grow yourself if you were of a mind. It is a plant that you could grow and begin harvesting within three years.If you managed to grow your own plants, you would then need to use processing methods similar to what the big tea manufacturing concerns use. The main tool used is heat. Tea is either steamed or roasted or pan fried to get it to a form we are used to. Before applying heat the leaves are usually allowed to wither in the open air. Before that, depending on what kind of tea you want the tea is shaken and stirred to bruise. Some of the nutrients and anti-oxidants in the plant can be changed and damaged by processing. The plants will grow taller if you let them but you should be able to get useful harvesting done by leaving the plant between 3 and 6 feet tall.

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