Wednesday's Oolong -- Chamraj Vintage Oolong

Chamraj Vintage Oolong

Beguiling character with toasty muscatel notes reminiscent of the Darjeeling region of India, though this tea hails from the blue mountains of India -- Nilgiri. It has hints of fruit with a lively astrigency. The leaves open to reveal a sweet and subtle flowery aroma. Chamraj is well-known for being a tea garden that is a model of social responsibility to its workers and families. It was established in 1922, and is a pioneer in bio-dynamic agriculture. The best Nilgiri can offer. 185° 1-2 level teaspoon tea per 8 ounces water; steep for 3-5 minutes. Multiple infusions encouraged. Biodynamic, organic, fair trade, single estate.

What the heck is biodynamic?
In the early 1920s, a group of practicing farmers, concerned with the decline in the health of soils, plants and animals, sought the advice of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, who had spent all his life researching and investigating the subtle forces within nature. And biodynamic farming was invented.

Biodynamic farming is a holistic and regenerative farming system that is focused on soil health, the integration of plants and animals, and biodiversity. It seeks to create a farm system that is minimally dependant on imported materials, and instead meets its needs from the living dynamics of the farm itself. It is the biodiversity of the farm, organized so that the waste of one part of the farm becomes the energy for another, that results in an increase in the farm’s capacity for self-renewal and ultimately makes the farm sustainable.

This requires that, as much as possible, a farm be regenerative rather than degenerative. Materials that are imported onto the modern day organic farm are carefully considered. Often they can be tracked back to a natural resource provided by the earth. Examples include petroleum to move materials around, ancient mineral deposits, by-products of unsustainable agriculture-related industry, and the life of the seas and waterways. An important social value of biodynamic farming is that it does not depend on the mining of the earth’s natural resource base but instead emphasizes contributing to it.

Wednesday's we'll describe our oolongs -- Jade oolong

Let me try to describe a tea a day ... this will take me more than a year! We will make Wednesdays oolong days ... so let's start with one of my favorites! Jade Oolong!

A simply lovely organic Jade Oolong from Taiwan almost green in appearance with large, hand-rolled leaves. Once infused these leaves unfurl to release the magically delicate notes, exquisite flavor and enchanting fragrance. Sheer luxury in a cup. Sure to be a favorite. Multiple infusions strongly encouraged. (I can get up to 8 or more back-to-back cups of delicious tea from a single tea ... which makes it less expensive than the rest! ) A great tea to meals wth grilled seafood, smoked ham or curry dishes. An excellent accompaniment to fruit compote, crêpes, or desserts with black currants or dark chocolate.

Oolongs may help with fat metabolism, blood circulation, blood sugar regulation, may heighten alertness when studying and Japanese studies indicate oolong teas may be helpful fighting free radicals, therefore preventing cancer. Those who drink oolong tea on a regular basis also have far fewer skin problems.

Oolong

Oolong tea is a variety of tea that falls somewhere between a black tea and a green tea. Anyone who has enjoyed tea at a Chinese restaurant has likely had oolong tea. It’s a natural choice for Chinese restaurants as it is the perfect complement to most meals and is reputed to cut through the grease of a meal. It is commonly called Wulong. Some Chinese translations of Wulong equate to ``black dragon’’ while others translate to ``blue mist’’. The black dragon translation is far more popular, but have you ever seen a black dragon without blue mist? It originates from Mount Wu Yi, or Wuyi Shan in the Fujian province, which is on the sea coast of China just across from Taiwan, another fabulous oolong producing country.
At another time I will explain better what makes an oolong an oolong. For today, I want to discuss the health benefits of oolong as they pertain to weight loss. Oolong has rapidly gained in popularity for weight loss attempts since an alleged endorsement by Oprah In recent years there has been a flurry of new businesses marketing oolong as an ancient Chinese weight loss solution, many of them based on these endorsements. It doesn’t matter if Oprah or Rachael endorsed oolong tea, there is science to support these claims. Studies done in China, Japan and the US all clearly indicate that people consistently consuming oolong lost weight through increased fat oxidation and further see blood sugar levels significantly reduced after a meal. My personal experience has been oolong helps me lose inches, while Pu Erh helps me lose pounds. That’s a perfect combo for me. It’s something different for everyone.
Be warned that the companies getting rich selling wulong slimming tea and the like are selling tea bags of oolong dust, the lowest grade of this tea. This is essentially what you can get at a take-out Chinese restaurant. They are selling typically a one-month supply (60 servings) for about $35 plus shipping. Many of these companies lock you into a auto-ship plan as well. Here is an informative website about oolong without trying to sell you something. In fact, the opening page examines the business practices of the most popular "oolong for fitness" sites.
http://www.wulongtea.org/index.php
A one-month supply (I recommend three cups a day) of nine ounces for ninety servings of organic loose leaf Wuyi Oolong from SensibiliTeas would cost (as of this posting) $25.88 and there is no auto-ship plan. Nine Dragons Oolong, a rolled oolong from the Wuyi region, is also organic and is exactly like what you would get in a Chinese restaurant would cost the same. If you would prefer flavors, all the flavored oolongs at SensibiliTeas are based on a Wuyi oolong. Citron Oolong ($4.50/oz) and Grapefruit Oolong ($3.00/oz) are the most popular.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's quote is in memory of my older brother,
whom I will greatly miss

Bob Burgess 01/12/1953-01/02/2009

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

---Robert Frost / The Road Not Taken