Today's tea shelf has become quite the smorgasbord of selections these days. I admit this can be a little overwhelming if you have no idea what section you are looking at. There are pages which can brief you to education on these sections, but I wish to address something deeper. Despite which section you land in (if there are sections to the store) you will be bombarded with names and types of teas, some of which will be common, and some that will make you raise and eyebrow, and some you will even be brave enough to sniff. Some are monstrosities which should never even be uttered again in the tea kingdom. I digress...
What makes good tea? There seems to be a great divide. On the one side, there is the tried, true, traditional teas which have garnered much attention over the years from their mark and demand in history. On the other, there are the makeshift teas which typically deviate to the synthetic artificial flavorings, often including artificial sweeteners.
Let me divulge this hideous crime. What seems to have taken place is that there was once a time when something called 'Jasmine tea' was born. This involved the natural fusion of young budding tea leaves would be scented by adjacent fields of jasmine flowers releasing their beautiful scent to fields of camellia sinensis. This natural infusion later was reinforced by methods of blending so the jasmine is clearly aromatic in the tea infusion. I've had Jasmine green teas that were excellent. I've had some that were downright odd. I'd like to think that the distinction is clear. One is a artificial flavoring agent, and the other actually has the right natural extraction of the jasmine leaf to give it the true organic essence.
Why does this matter? This isn't a Pepsi vs. Cola debate. In fact, its tea vs. pop. If tea goes to the hands of huge mass producing corporate mongers, it will lose the time needed to prepare the delicate stages necessary to keep tea what it is. A leaf. Despite whether we are talking about green, herbal and yerba mate. These decisions we make in the store, deciding which one we should enjoy, should not be for novelty sake. Choosing the wrong will leave you disappointed the tea did not deliver in taste anything what it delivered in aroma. Choosing the right will force the companies which produce these teas to remove the lines which destroy what is good in tea.
I hope this makes you think twice about the shelf and which stores you attend! This will not only bring a greater healthy appetite for tea, but help you enjoy what you have purchased. By all means though - explore! The teas shelf contains a variety of now just one leaf these days. Obviously the reason the tea leaf was first used might have been for possibly medicinal and stimulant properties, but there are any other herbal tea medleys on the shelf which can assist in your health! Do your research and you'll enjoy the selection all the more!
Thanks for reading!
