White Tea - Considered as One of the Most Expensive Tea in China

Earlier studies have shown that green tea motivates the immune system to fight disease. Research shows White Tea extract can really demolish in vitro the organisms that cause disease. Study after study with tea extract proves that it has many healing properties. This is not an old wives tale rather it's a fact!

White tea was more helpful than green tea at inactivating bacterial viruses. Results obtained with the bacterial virus, a model system; suggest that WTE may have an anti-viral effect on human pathogenic viruses. The addition of White Tea Extract to various toothpastes enhanced the anti-microbial effect of these oral agents.

White tea is tea made from leaves of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. The leaves are harvested while very young, and the buds are still covered in very fine, white hairs. These hairs are what give white tea its name. White tea is cultivated primarily in China, mainly in the mountainous and fertile Fujian province, where white tea has a long history. The bushes on which the white tealeaves are to be grown are the ones that are best placed with respect to sunshine and rain. The finest qualities of white tea, often called "Silver Needle", consist exclusively of the buds of tealeaves. These buds are hand picked during certain days in the spring, usually between March 15th and April 10th. By that time, the buds have reached the perfect balance between youth and maturity that gives the best-tasting tea. The leaves and buds are withered over a few hours, and then air-dried. The temperature and even the air moisture are taken into consideration during the production, and the art is to get a perfect balance between solar withering and indoor withering.

We can drink tea every day and every season, hot tea in winter and ice-tea in summer. Nowadays tea is the part of life of each person. And sipping the tea makes this process ceremonial. Conversations over a cup of tea makes your mood better, clear your thoughts. In many countries tea even has its cultural events such as afternoon tea in London, tea ceremony in China or tea party almost in each country. If you like exotic way of drinking tea then prepare a cup of white tea that will help you to prepare it a good mood so that you can enjoy with your friends.

Wine Tasting - A Preference For Red Or White

For many of us wine is something of a mystery and when we are buying wine it comes down to a simple choice between red and white and what our local supermarket has available in its "special offer" bin. But wine really isn't such a mystery at all and, in this area at least, a little knowledge can get you a very long way.

The starting point is to understand the different types of wine available and here we can divide wines into five main groups.

Red Wine.

Red wine is fermented from what many people would refer to as red grapes but which are in fact more correctly named black grapes. In the case of red wine the grapes are used whole for fermentation, that is to say complete with skin and pips, and it is the skin which gives the wine its red color.

There are a wide variety of black grapes available each with its own distinctive flavor which is derived principally from the soil and climate in the region where the grapes are grown. This, together with the winemaker's art of mixing, allows us to enjoy a range of red wines from the deep blackcurrant color of the full-bodied and intensely flavored wines produced from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape to the lighter cherry and raspberry taste gained from the Pinot Noir grape.

Rosé wine.

Rosé wines are again produced from black grapes but, in this case, the juice is separated off part way through the fermentation process and at the point at which the winemaker determines that the juice contains sufficient color to give the finished wine the pink color that he is looking for.

Once again the flavor of the finished wine depends very much on the grape used for fermentation and some of the finest rosé wines are produced from the Grenache grape. Often thought of as a French grape, Grenache noir is the world's most widely planted grape and probably originates from Spain. As well as often being used to produce rosé wines, it is also commonly used as a base for many blended wines including such well known names as Chateauneuf du Pape and Cotes du Rhône.

Blush wine.

Blush wine is sometimes referred to as California's version of rosé wine and is produced in much the same way as rosé wine. In this case however the grape most often used is the Zinfandal grape which produces a slightly sweet pink wine which also shows a somewhat blue color. The Zinfandal grape originates in Croatia but has been grown widely in the US for more than 150 years now and is considered indigenous to California.

White wine.

Believe it or not white wine can be made from either white or black grapes, as the juice from either grape is colorless and it is only the skin of the black grape that gives red wine its color.

The flavors available across the range of white wines vary tremendously according to the grape used, the winemaker's art and the degree to which different juices are blended to create the finished wine.

Dry white wines often come from grapes such as Muscadet or Sauvignon Blanc while richer fruit-flavored wines are more likely to be based upon the Chardonnay grape.

Sparkling wines.

Sparkling wines, of which Champagne is clearly the best known example, are based upon a dry white wine. Here the wine is bottled and a solution of sugar and yeast is added before the bottle is sealed. The sugar and yeast solution causes a secondary fermentation and sealing the bottles at the start of this process traps the gas produced by this fermentation within the wine to give it its sparkle when the bottle is opened.