Tea anyone? It will help improve your health

The English people are famous for their tea drinking habits, cherishing the experience with deep appreciation for the aroma and flavor released from freshly and properly brewed tea leaves or other (fruity and herbal) infusions.

"Actually the experience of enjoying tea can be likened with wine or coffee, as tea lovers take pleasure in the subtleties of their (tea and infusions), which can only be obtained by proper brewing," said the director of tea-importing company PT Surya Bali Persada, Anton Wirjono, during the launch of the Afternoon Tea service at The Dharmawangsa, South Jakarta.

The hotel offers 22 different kinds of organic teas and infusions for its Afternoon Tea service, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day for a price of Rp 95,000++. Guests can enjoy a pot of organic tea with a selection of afternoon tea sandwiches, freshly baked scones with cream and preserves, assorted pastries, chocolates and cookies, as well as freshly prepared traditional Indonesian sweets and savories.

And even though Indonesians are not known as big tea drinkers like the English, many locals do enjoy a spot of tea throughout the day.

"Indonesians drink tea in the morning, in the afternoon and during meals," Anton said.

The history of tea can be traced back to 5,000 years ago when Chinese emperor Shen Nong became interested in the drinking water prepared by his servant, into which some leaves from a nearby bush had accidentally fallen while the water was being brought to a boil. He found the water refreshing and thus was born tea.

The drink's popularity spread fast but it was not until the 1600s that tea spread to Europe and the American colonies, with the important developments in the American tea industry occurring in the 1900s with the creation of iced tea and the concept of the tea bag.

Even though Indonesians drink only a few types of tea, Anton said, there are over 100 different kinds of tea and infusions known throughout the world. In general, tea can be differentiated into: * Black tea:

A fully fermented tea and the world's most frequently consumed tea. Its beneficial effects include invigorating and calming of the body. Black tea includes, among others, English tea, Earl Grey and Black Darjeeling tea. * Green tea:

This is an unfermented black tea, which gives a green or golden color to the infusion. But unlike black tea, green tea still contains all its minerals, vitamins and trace elements. Its tannin is said to be unique from that found in other plants, and its contents are believed to help protect the body against cancer cells, stabilize blood pressure, prevent atherosclerosis, lower cholesterol and prevent halitosis. Proper preparation can ensure optimal release of its health properties. Green teas include, among others, green tea gunpowder, green tea sencha, green tea jasmine and green tea strawberry. * Oolong tea:

This type of tea consists of partially fermented tea leaves. Its color and taste is weaker that black tea but stronger than green tea. * Flavored tea:

Contains no true tea leaves and can be differentiated into:

-- Herbal teas: A a mixture of flowers, fruits, herbs and spices. Many traditional societies rely on the beneficial effects of herbal tea to maintain their health (many people believe that when consumed regularly these teas can strengthen the system and stave off illness), and these teas remain an important part of traditional medicine. Peppermint tea, chamomile tea, lime flower tea, anti-flu tea and slimming tea are among herbal teas.

-- Fruit teas: Use mostly slices of dried fruit and are year- long refreshing drinks (hot or chilled). Good quality fruit teas contain valuable properties like vitamin C and natural fruit acids. These teas help refresh, energize and invigorate the body, and the vitamin C helps the body adapt to climatic changes. Fruit teas include wild cherry (rosehip, slices of apple, hibiscus and cherries), orange fruit tea (rosehip, orange and slices of apple) and exotic fruit tea (rosehip, hibiscus and slices of apple, mango and pineapple).

Apart from the above mentioned types of teas, The Dharmawangsa also offers a selection of teas that are in harmony with the rhythms of the moon and nature. These particular types of tea have their roots in the belief that the moon's movements are perceptible everywhere on the earth to all living creatures -- animals, humans and plants.

This selection includes New Moon (a stimulating and refreshing mixture since the energy of the new moon sometimes has a restraining and subduing effect on humans, leading to fatigue); Waxing Moon (with developing and strengthening properties as this particular lunar period encourages adding to, developing and strengthening the body); Full Moon (calming and balancing since it is believed that the full moon makes people restless and energetic); and the Waning Moon (its power helps promote the detoxification process of the human body, so the mixture is concocted to support this process and strengthen the organs that are involved in inner purification.)

To obtain the beneficial health properties of tea, Anton said it was advisable to choose organically grown teas so as to ensure that their natural properties remained untainted by harmful chemicals used to protect the plants during cultivation.

"I personally believe that organic teas are more favorable as they are grown without the use of pesticides that can contaminate the plants and leaves, and are later transferred to the infusion," Anton said.

To enhance the pleasant flavor and aroma of tea, experts advise it is better to use loose tea rather than tea bags.

"(B)efore being wrapped in tea bags, the leaves are crushed and during this process some of the delicate taste or aroma may be lost," Anton said.

And when brewing loose tea, a tea plunger can better extract the tea or infusions' goodness into the serving cups. "A tea plunger uses pressure to force out the flavor and delicate scents of the leaves, and at the same time it also acts as a strainer."

Proper storing of tea leaves is important to maintain the pleasant aroma and flavor, and to protect them against the main enemy of tea leaves, humidity. It is advisable to keep loose tea in a clean, airtight container. When properly stored, tea leaves can keep for two or three years, Anton said.

How to properly brew tea:

* Use clean and dry tea pot or tea plunger and individual serving cups (impurities or other aromas will affect the flavor and/or the aroma of the brewing.)

* Use freshly boiled water and let it rest for about one minute to achieve the ideal temperature of 90 degrees Celsius. A higher temperature will affect the brewing while a lower one will not achieve the optimum flavor and aroma.

* Let the tea brew for around five minutes for black tea and seven minutes or longer for herbal and fruity infusions. If you use a tea plunger, you can see when the infusion has released its color.

* Sugar can be added to most varieties of teas expect green tea, while milk or lemon zest (never both) can be added only to enhance the taste of black tea.

* Enjoy the tea while it is still hot.

The benefits of different teas and infusions:

* Black tea: invigorating and calming.

* Green tea: helps protect the body against cancer, cell damage and disease, and stabilizes blood pressure.

* Peppermint tea: disinfectant, antispasmodic, eases congestion and abdominal pains.

* Camomile tea: disinfectant, promotes sleep, eases menstrual pain and headaches.

* Lime flower tea: decreases temperature during fever.

* Slimming tea: reduces hunger pangs and stimulates metabolism.

* Anti-flu tea: strengthens immune system, relieves sore throat and coughing, antispasmodic.

* New moon tea: stimulates and refreshes.

* Waxing moon tea: strengthens the body.

* Full moon tea: calms and balances.

* Waning moon tea: detoxifies and purges.

-- Maria Endah Hulupi