Puer, Tie Guan Yin, Da Hong Pao – the most invigorating teas

Since November 2010, tea sellers have been observing a strange interest from young people in certain tea varieties. Shu Pu'er, Tie Guan Yin and Da Hong Pao are selling out. These three famous Chinese tea varieties were mentioned in a song written by two popular hip-hop artists. The song conveys the idea of the harm of alcohol and drugs and the benefits of tea. After the release of the album, hip-hop fans literally bought up the tea varieties mentioned in the lyrics in stores. High-quality product placement, aimed not at a specific brand, but at a whole group of products, generated massive and unconditional unique demand.

Naturally, such interest did not arise out of nowhere. The taste of Tie Guan Yin and Da Hong Pao is really very bright and unusual. They often begin acquaintance with the tea culture of China, and the effect of drinking excellent quality tea is really very powerful. In this situation, the obvious denial of drugs by respected people in the world of hip-hop culture, the opposition of tea to alcohol and other psychostimulants is pleasing. And these are not unfounded statements.

High-quality fresh tea contains about 700 different substances, some of which affect the brain. First of all, this property is possessed by theine, which is similar in its properties to caffeine, but acts more gently and does not accumulate in the body. Theine affects the brain centers associated with higher mental activity: it increases the coordination and speed of work of various functional areas of the brain, causes a feeling of vivacity, lightness, and a decrease in fatigue. Professor I.P. Pavlov proved that under the influence of theine, excitation processes prevail over inhibition processes. Cardiac activity is activated, blood vessels expand, which allows more oxygen to reach the brain cells. All this leads to increased sensitivity and an abundance of mental associations. We can say that tea intoxicates with sobriety, helping to achieve a previously unknown clarity of consciousness, which an unaccustomed person can confuse with euphoria.

While an overdose of caffeine contained in coffee can exhaust the nervous system and increase blood pressure, tea caffeine together with theine affects a person differently. Daily drinking of tea brewed in the classical Chinese tradition allows you to get a stable effect of clearing the mind instead of short-term insights and a long-term effect of clouding from traditional stimulants. Tea acts quite gently, and its effect is extended over time. A person who acquires the habit of drinking good tea during the day ultimately gets much more than alcohol and drugs can give: sharpness of thought and clarity of their presentation, laconicism and capacity of speech, an abundance of ideas and an understanding of ways to implement them, the absence of extremes in intentions and behavior - the so-called middle way taught by Chinese sages.

So what kind of tea has attracted the attention of young people? Why is it being bought up in large quantities, despite the high price? The answer is simple – these are the three most invigorating and vibrant varieties of Chinese tea, understandable to Europeans who want to get the fastest and most noticeable effect from the first cup.

Puer is the oldest type of tea. It is collected, as many centuries ago, from wild tea trees in the southwestern province of Yunnan, bordering Laos and Vietnam. The leaves of Yunnan tea trees have a huge supply of useful substances that are preserved and modified by a special process called fermentation. Puer is the only tea that is kept for a long time in special conditions so that it matures, acquires new useful compounds, better taste and aromatic properties. Biochemists claim that there are about 1,500 aromatic compounds in the world, of which more than 300 are contained in puer. In addition, this tea is rich in antioxidants, amino acids, sugars, vitamins, pigments, polyphenols. Puer is characterized by a large amount of gallic acid, used in traditional Chinese medicine as an antitumor and antiparasitic agent. European scientists have discovered that gallic acid prevents the formation of malignant hepatoma and blocks the synthesis of cholesterol. Gallic acid protects the liver and heart, inhibits the development of the hepatitis B virus. Polyphenols and their oxidation products help cleanse blood vessels and capillaries even in advanced cases or in the body of an elderly person. This means that with regular consumption of pu-erh, memory improves, the risk of strokes decreases, overall tone increases and weather sensitivity decreases. The complex of vitamins and microelements contained in post-fermented tea helps to delay many diseases in old age, and in youth it strengthens the body, makes it resilient and strong, and prevents the development of age-related diseases. Simply put, a 20-year-old young man who drinks pu-erh every day will look much younger by the age of 30 than his peer who drank alcohol and abused drugs. Needless to say, young girls who have understood the useful essence of tea early have every chance to look like thirty-year-olds at 50, and instead of excess weight and health problems have beautiful skin and a feeling of youth. In addition, pu-erh contains a lot of fluoride (300 times more than other types of tea), and this amount is enough to drink a couple of cups of pu-erh a day without having problems with tooth decay. As for the taste and aroma of this tea, good pu-erh does not smell like fish or earth, it has a dark rich infusion, a pleasant taste that is very different from any tea, and the aroma of an “attic smelling of antiquities”. In the smell of pu-erh, you can catch nutty and woody tones, a heavy scent of tropical flowers. It is often called a man's tea, and it really invigorates extremely well. You can buy pu-erh in our online store of Chinese tea.

Tie Guanyin, whose homeland is considered to be Anxi, is a completely different tea, belonging to the oolong category. According to legend, one peasant dreamed of the goddess Guanyin and, for his devotion to her, showed him in a dream the way to a tea bush in the mountains. In the morning, the peasant found a bush, moved it to his place and grew a tree from it, which produced wonderful tea leaves. The new variety of tea was named in honor of the goddess, Tie Guanyin. Today, it is considered the best tea in China and is used in the classic Chinese ceremony of Gongfu Cha. Tie Guanyin is very fragrant, has a sweet floral aroma with honey notes and a balanced sweet taste with a long, full aftertaste. Tie Guanyin is also valued for a whole range of useful properties. A person who has tried Tie Guanyin dramatically changes his opinion of Chinese tea for the better. The only downside of this tea is its price. The fact is that quite often in Russian stores instead of the best tea in China they sell its "younger brother" Zhong Cha, which looks like the famous tea and has nothing in common when brewed - neither in taste, nor in the color of the infusion, nor in the effect on the mind. Prices for Tie Guan Yin start from $ 30 per 100 grams, while Zhong Cha can cost $ 3. Unfortunately, the only way to distinguish a fake is to prepare the tea. Often after a long ceremony of drinking real Tie Guan Yin, participants in the tea party notice an unusual lightness and inexplicable joy. The number of brewings for the best varieties of this tea can reach 25, and each subsequent brewing gives a more tart and dark infusion. It is customary to drink such tea in pleasant company, when there are 2-3 free hours. This is not an everyday, but rather a festive tea, similar to expensive wine.

Da Hong Pao Effect - Fact or Fiction

Da Hong Pao tea literally means "Big Red Robe", which is associated with a beautiful legend about specially trained monkeys that collect tea in the hard-to-reach mountainous areas of the city of Wuyi Shan. To distinguish tame monkeys from pests, they put on red robes. According to another legend, the red robes were presented by the emperor to four tea bushes in gratitude for curing his mother of an unknown disease. One way or another, Da Hong Pao is one of the best teas in China. A special unique growing area in the north of Fujian Province, in the Wuyi Mountains, verified collection time and careful sorting with gentle processing allow you to get tea with excellent taste, aroma and healing properties. Good quality tea costs from $ 30 per 100 grams, has a dark green color with brown and bluish, almost purple tones, with a bright aroma. Like other good tea, Da Hong Pao is brewed many times, and each new brew is not like the previous one. The first brews are distinguished by a slight astringency and a reddish color of the infusion, becoming sweeter later, with a fruity aroma, acquiring orange shades. Da Hong Pao has a soft relaxing effect, which is often compared to intoxication. The effect of da hong pao is that the first cups of tea clear the mind, vision becomes clear, its detailing and the ability to distinguish the subtlest shades of color increase. Da Hong Pao relieves fatigue and creates a special mood. This is due to the healing effect of tea, which effectively saturates the brain with oxygen, and with frequent use effectively cleanses blood vessels and capillaries. In a word, da hong pao effect has a huge effect on the whole body. It is especially good to buy Da Hong Pao and drink it in the evening, in a pleasant company.

The irrepressible desire to change consciousness by any means too often leads to the use of substances that poison the mind and body, but an adult in every sense of the word increasingly chooses tea. The path of tea leads to a clear consciousness, allows you to reach the heights of thought, helps to preserve the youth of the body and soul. The example of our eastern neighbors once again proves that hasty decisions are not the most effective. The thousand-year history of tea consumption is experiencing a real Renaissance in China in the 21st century, helping to achieve success in all areas of life. Drink tea and be healthy!