Chinese Tea

Chinese Tea's origins can be traced back to around 2700 B.C. It is believed to have been first discovered in the mountainous regions of China's Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in the far west of the country. Originally taken as a detoxifying medicine, tea grew to great social prominence during the Tang (620-907 AD) and Song (960-1279 AD) Dynasties.In China there are five types of tea and classified according to different methods by which it is processed. The five categories of Chinese tea are green tea, black tea, wulong tea, compressed tea and scented tea.

Black tea is known as "red tea" (hong cha) in China. Green tea consists mainly of the Longjing tea from Zhejiang Province. Compressed tea is compressed and hardened into a certain shape. It is mainly produced in the Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Wulong falls halfway between the green and the black teas, and is produced after partial fermentation. It is a specialty of the provinces on the southeast coast: Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan.The Chinese take their tea seriously.

Everyone, from workers to company bosses, drinks tea every day. Worldwide, tea is consumed more than any other drink other then water. People of all races and ages have enjoyed the infusion from the Camellia Sinensis tree as a beverage as well as for its medicinal value, especially the Chinese tea. Research has shown that tea does indeed have many beneficial effects on health; and numerous publications extolling the benefits of tea have lead to a tremendous growth in tea consumption in the U. S.