SC - Regarding TEA

[Ron Martino Jr]

Haifuku!

>    Some friends and I were discussing this very subject just last night.
> The topic was actually about Green Tea.  One lady believed that the term
> "green tea" referred to ANY dried leaf that was used to make tea, such as
> Mint, Raspberry, and Comfrey leaves, as long as they produced a green
> colored tea.  The other lady and I believe that the term "Green Tea" refers
> specifically to the leaves of the Camelia plant which is used in making tea,
> only when processed in such a way as to produce "green" tea, otherwise, the
> same leaves (when processed differently) produce a Black Tea, which has
> different medicinal properties.  We surmised that the term "tea" came from
> China, and we have adapted it to cover several types of beverage, when in
> fact it originally perhaps referred only to the Camelia leaf tea.  Do you
> happen to have information which might confirm or deny these assumptions?
> Information would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> -Laurene

	Tea does originate in China, being called ch'a, or t'e in the South
China dialect. The Japanese call green tea ocha (the 'o' is commonly
added as an honorific to important things in Japan) and black tea
koocha. To make green instead black tea, the leaves are steamed
immediately after picking, which destroys an enzyme which would
otherwise cause the leaves to ferment and turn black. 

	According to folklore, tea originated when the buddhist 'saint' Daruma
(Bodhidharma in China) fell asleep while meditating. When he awoke, he
was so angry he cut off his eyelids to prevent it from happening again.
The first tea plant sprouted from where the eyelids fell. It was quickly
found to improve the wakefulness of the monks who drank an infusion made
from the leaves.

	Yumitori
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