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Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans primarily due to its caffeine content.
Lapsang souchong or Zhengshan xiaozhong is a black tea consisting of Camellia sinensis leaves that may be smoke-dried over a pinewood fire. This smoking is accomplished either as a cold smoke of the raw leaves as they are processed or as a hot smoke of previously processed leaves. The intensity of the smoke aroma can be varied by locating the leaves closer or farther from the source of heat and smoke or by adjusting the duration of the process. The flavour and aroma of smoked lapsang souchong is described as containing empyreumatic notes, including wood smoke, pine resin, smoked paprika, and dried longan; it may be mixed with milk but is not bitter and usually not sweetened with sugar. The tea originates from the Wuyi Mountains region of Fujian and is considered a Wuyi tea. It is also produced in Taiwan. It has been labelled as smoked tea, smoky souchong, tarry lapsang souchong and lapsang souchong crocodile. While the tea leaf grading system adopted the term souchong to refer to a particular leaf position, lapsang souchong may be made with any leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant, though it is not unusual for the lower leaves, which are larger and less flavourful, to be used as the smoking compensates for the lower flavour profile and the higher leaves are more valuable for use in unflavoured or unblended teas. In addition to its consumption as a tea, lapsang souchong is also used in stock for soups, stews and sauces or otherwise as a spice or seasoning. Beginning in the early 21st century, an unsmoked variety of lapsang souchong was developed in the village of Tong Mu Guan in the Wuyi mountains. The unsmoked variety has become increasingly popular, particularly in the Chinese domestic market.
The Phasmatodea are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walkingsticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as Devil's darning needles, although this name is shared by both dragonflies and crane flies. They can be generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects, with phasmids in the family Phylliidae called leaf insects, leaf-bugs, walking leaves, or bug leaves. The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, referring to their resemblance to vegetation while in fact being animals. Their natural camouflage makes them difficult for predators to detect; still, many species have one of several secondary lines of defense in the form of startle displays, spines or toxic secretions. Stick insects from the genera Phryganistria, Ctenomorpha, and Phobaeticus include the world's longest insects.
White tea may refer to one of several styles of tea which generally feature young or minimally processed leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant.
Theaceae, the tea family, is a family of flowering plants comprising shrubs and trees, including the economically important tea plant, and the ornamental camellias. It can be described as having from seven to 40 genera, depending on the source and the method of circumscription used. The family Ternstroemiaceae has been included within Theaceae; however, the APG III system of 2009 places it instead in Pentaphylacaceae. Most but not all species are native to China and East Asia.
Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves, leaf buds, and stems can be used to produce tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree.
Nilgiri tea is a drink made by infusing leaves of Camellia sinensis that is grown and processed in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, India. The leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white and oolong teas. It is generally described as being a brisk, fragrant and full-bodied tea. The region produces both rolled and crush, tear, curl tea and it is predominantly used for blending. Nilgiri tea is also used for making iced tea and instant tea.
Angelica sinensis, commonly known as dong quai or female ginseng, is a herb belonging to the family Apiaceae, indigenous to China. Angelica sinensis grows in cool high altitude mountains in East Asia. The yellowish brown root of the plant is harvested in the fall and is a well-known Chinese medicine which has been used for thousands of years.
Darjeeling tea is a tea made from Camellia sinensis var. sinensis that is grown and processed in Darjeeling district or Kalimpong district in West Bengal, India. Since 2004, the term Darjeeling tea has been a registered geographical indication referring to products produced on certain estates within Darjeeling and Kalimpong. The tea leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white, and oolong teas.
Tea seed oil is an edible plant oil. It is obtained from the seeds of Camellia oleifera.
Kuding is a particularly bitter-tasting Chinese infusion, which due to their similarities in appearance is derived from several plant species. The two most common plants used to make kuding are the wax tree species Ligustrum robustum and the holly species Ilex kaushue, the former being more commonly grown in Sichuan and Japan while the latter is most commonly grown and used in the rest of China. Tea produced from Ligustrum or many species of Ilex is caffeine-free, although not Ilex paraguariensis, the source of mate drank in South America.
Pseudopestalotiopsis theae is a plant pathogen affecting tea.
Pyralis farinalis, the meal moth, is a cosmopolitan moth of the family Pyralidae. Its larvae (caterpillars) are pests of certain stored foods, namely milled plant products.
Sang piao xiao or Sangpiaoxiao is a Pinyin transliteration referring to the oothecae, or egg case, of the praying mantis as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. A formula based on this ingredient is known as sang piao xiao san and is also known as "mantis formula" in English. The formula may also be sold as a pill.
Taiwanese tea includes four main types: oolong tea, black tea, green tea and white tea. The earliest record of tea trees found in Taiwan is from 1717 in Shui Sha Lian (水沙連), present-day Yuchi and Puli, Nantou County. Some of the teas retain the island country's former name, Formosa.
Homona coffearia, the tea tortrix or camellia tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. The species was first described by Nietner in 1861. It is widely distributed in the Oriental region.
Jacobiasca formosana, the tea jassid, is an insect species belonging to the subfamily Typhlocybinae of the family Cicadellidae. Plant hosts include Gossypium (cotton) species and, notably, Camellia sinensis. The species is distributed throughout East, Southeast, and South Asia.
Psychoactive plants are plants, or preparations thereof, that upon ingestion induce psychotropic effects. As stated in a reference work:
Psychoactive plants are plants that people ingest in the form of simple or complex preparations in order to affect the mind or alter the state of consciousness.
Camellia taliensis is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea.
Ectropis bhurmitra, the tea twig caterpillar, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1860. A widespread Asian species, it is found around Indo-Australian tropics from India, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, New Guinea to Australian Queensland and the Solomon Islands.
References
- ↑ Qin, Daozheng; Zhang, Li; Xiao, Qiang; Dietrich, Christopher; Matsumura, Masaya (2015-09-30). "Clarification of the Identity of the Tea Green Leafhopper Based on Morphological Comparison between Chinese and Japanese Specimens". PLOS ONE. 10 (9): e0139202. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139202 . ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4589377 . PMID 26422616.
- ↑ There are at least three places named Huaxiang in China; it is unclear which (if any) of these the tea was named after.
- ↑ Xiao-Li, Shang; Mao-Fa, Yang; Chang-Rong, Zhang; Lan, Cai; Ting, Qiu (2013). "Effects of temperature on the growth and development of Pyralis farinalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), one insect used for producing insect tea in China". Acta Entomologica Sinica. 56 (6): 671–679.
- ↑ Xu, Lijia; Pan, Huimin; Lei, Qifang; Xiao, Wei; Peng, Yong; Xiao, Peigen (2013). "Insect tea, a wonderful work in the Chinese tea culture". Food Research International. 53 (2): 629–635. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2013.01.005.
- ↑ Nadchatram, M. (1963). "The winged stick insect, Eurycnema versifasciata Serville (Phasmida, Phasmatidae), with special reference to its life history". Malayan Nature Journal. 17: 33–40.
- ↑ McClure, H. Elliott (1995). Stories I like to Tell. Self published. p. 174.
- ↑ Chou, Tzu-Yun; Yang, Meei-Ju; Tseng, Shih-Kung; Lee, Shoei-Sheng; Chang, Chia-Chuan (2018). "Tea silkworm droppings as an enriched source of tea flavonoids". Journal of Food and Drug Analysis. 26 (1): 41–46. doi: 10.1016/j.jfda.2016.11.011 . PMC 9332646 . PMID 29389582.
- ↑ Suo, Huayi; Sun, Peng; Wang, Cun; Peng, Deguang; Zhao, Xin (2016). "Apoptotic effects of insect tea in HepG2 human hepatoma cells". CyTA: Journal of Food. 14 (2): 169–175. doi: 10.1080/19476337.2015.1076521 .