Sonja Vlaar
"Tea is the most consumed drink in the world, just after water," says Karina Chiang. Together with her brother Davy, she is the owner of "teastories", a modern-style teahouse. The first branch at Vienna's Westbahnhof opened 2015, and this year's 9 has also opened. Vienna district a location. "Tea to go" is the specialty whereby customers can choose between hot teas, shaken iced teas and iced teas. She wants to get away from the stale "grandma image" of tea: names like "Milky Way" (oolong tea with milk froth) or "Mint to be" (green tea with mint) especially attract students to the store. But also loose tea can be bought. Which beverage is the most popular? "We have 55 teas. Many think for minutes - and then order a matcha. Or Chai, "laughs Karina Chiang.
The term tea was in 17. It was originally taken from South China, from where Europe received tea by sea. Since the early 18. Century is the word tea also used for the infusion of other plants and refers not only black tea, but also herbal or fruit teas. This is true at least for German, English and Dutch, in many other languages, this summary of different drinks under a term is unknown.
Still up to date: Matcha
The cult drink Matcha is therefore still in the trend, writes the teastories owner. Unlike normal green tea here the tea leaves are not poured, but they are ground as a whole into green tea powder. Before the tea harvest, the tea leaves are shaded for some time, which affects not only the light green color, but also on the taste. Matcha tea can be found in many different qualities in the trade. The greener the color and the less bitter, the higher quality. Connoisseurs place in the trade already 50 Euro or more for 30 grams of green tea powder on the counter. And drink their Matcha pure: Almost as "espresso" among the teas. About 30 to 250 mg of caffeine are in one cup, depending on dosage and variety. Since the caffeine releases its effect only in the intestine, the effect is milder, but longer-lasting. Buddhist monks, who celebrate tea ceremonies as a ritual, knew this to meditate better and to stay awake. Proper preparation of matcha tea needs to be learned: one cup heaps a relatively heaped teaspoon of powder per cup of hot water. To do this you need a bamboo broom that uses M-shaped top-to-bottom movements to make the matcha tea foam. Chiang shows me the art of making the right matcha tea. The milk foam makes them separately.
The temperature makes the tea
A common mistake in making tea is the wrong temperature of the water. Black tea can be brewed with boiling water. When using green or white tea, just as with Matcha tea, you should only use water that has not been completely boiled or cooled down again after boiling. 70 to 80 degrees are the ideal temperature, while oolong tea may be up to 90 degrees. "That would destroy the ingredients otherwise. In addition, the tea is bitter. "The reason: Green and white tea is unlike the black tea not fermented.
One plant - many teas
White, green, blue-green (oolong) and black tea come from one and the same tea plant: Camellia sinensis. The differences come about through further processing. The leaves of the tea bush take about three years to the first harvest. Picking is done three times a year, with the first picking of the highest quality. White tea is the least processed variety. Only the buds of the tea plant are used, which are shaded and dried in the air. Green tea is exposed to heat so it does not ferment. A particularly high-quality green tea variety, for example, the variety "Dragon Phoenix Pearls": "This green tea is picked by hand and rolled and goes up like a dragon," said Chiang. Oolong tea is heated and fermented at the same time, so it is a semi-fermented type of tea.
Black tea is fully fermented. The tea leaves are well aerated after harvest and then rolled to break up the cell walls. The released essential oils and the subsequent oxidation provide the typical black tea flavor. After oxidation, the leaves are dried and sorted according to size.
"Black tea is not just black tea, there are different variants of it. It's like the wine: Depending on the growing area, temperature and season, the tea tastes very different, "says the teastories owner. The name refers mostly to the growing area. For example, Darjeeling or Assam come from India, while Ceylon tea comes from Sri Lanka. There is a new growing area in Africa, which can be found at teastories under the name "Waka Waka".
New trend: tea powder to go?
Pu-erh tea is one of China's oldest teas as green tea. After the traditional manufacturing process, the tea leaves in brick form mature for five years. Today modern manufacturing mechanisms ensure a rapid maturity, so that both variants are used. His long time as a slimming agent advertised effect, however, could not be confirmed in studies.
The Chinese manufacturer "Tasly" wants to make tea popular in Europe as a modern form of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). While one associates instant teas in this country rather than sugared with many fillers, a new tea essence under the name "Deepure" has already landed in neighboring Germany. In the finest powder form of 100 percent Pu-erh tea, this variant is easily on the go: Just dissolve in hot or cold water and the tea is ready. At least on the English-language website, the product is promoted with health-promoting effect.
How healthy is green tea?
Green tea ensures that some of the fats and cholesterol in our diet leave the intestine, thus reducing their intake.
For example, studies show that people who frequently drink green tea die less often from cardiovascular disease and live longer. Green tea may also positively affect the risk factors for high blood pressure, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. In addition, green tea, and especially Matcha tea, has particularly high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) values, ie high antioxidant potential to protect cells from free radicals.
So many reasons for having a good cup of tea. True to the motto of the label of a to-go mug by teastories: "If you can not fix it, it's a serious problem."
Small tea ABC
Green tea - comes from the same plant as black tea (Camellia sinensis) but is not (or only slightly) fermented. Bring 80 ° C hot (not cooked) water for one to three minutes, otherwise the tea will become bitter and ingredients will be destroyed.
Matcha tea - Green tea powder, in which the tea leaf is ground as a whole. Is foamed with a bamboo brush at 70 to 80 ° C. The higher the quality, the less bitter is the matcha tea.
Oolong tea - Semi-fermented and thus an intermediate between black and green tea. Optimum brewing temperature: 80 to 90 ° C. Oolong tea is good for slimming because it contains saponins that inhibit enzymes that break down fat (which is why it is excreted undigested).
Pu-erh tea - The steamed tea leaves ripened after traditional production for five years. Pu-erh tea is made from the same plant as black tea (Camellia sinensis). The health-promoting ingredients have been appreciated in ancient China.
Rooibos tea - From the South African rooibos plant. Roibusch tea tastes sweet and contains no tea. Has a relaxing effect.
black tea - Is fully fermented and can therefore be boiled with 100 ° C hot, boiling water for three to five minutes. Black tea is rich in caffeine. The name of the tea usually reveals the cultivation area (eg Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka, Assam tea from India etc.).
White tea - Processed very carefully and picked by hand. White tea should only be brewed with 70 ° C to preserve the valuable ingredients. Will not be bitter, but has a mild, sweetish taste.
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