All types of chinese teas explained

Probably you are familiar with the Chinese saying, “Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea are the seven necessities to begin a day.” Though tea is last on the list, we can still see how important the tea is for the Chinese. There are actually thousand of Chinese tea varieties. These are usually classified by procedure, quality, and preparation methods and so on. However, if we will consider tea in terms of quality, there are actually eight classes of Chinese tea. These include green tea, oolong, black, red, white, yellow, flower, and compressed tea. Now, let’s take a look at these classes one by one. Green Tea Green tea is said to be the most natural type of Chinese tea. It is usually picked, naturally dried and fried briefly to get rid of its grassy smell. Unlike the other types, green tea skipped fermentation process. According to some experts, green tea has the most medicinal value and the least caffeine content of all Chinese tea classes. The aroma of this type of Chinese type range from medium to high, while the flavor is usually light to medium. Today, about 50% of China’s tea is green tea. Oolong Tea This type of Chinese tea is halfway between green tea and black tea in a sense that it is half fermented. Chinese also call it “Qing Cha” and its typical leaves are green in the middle and red on the edges as a result of the process to soften tea leaves. Oolong tea leaves are basically withered and spread before undergoing a brief fermentation process. Then, it is fried, rolled and roasted. Black Tea The Chinese black tea produces full-bodied amber when brewed. Also, this type of Chinese tea undergoes withering, then left to ferment for a long while, and then roasted. The leaves of this variety become completely oxidized after processing. Red Tea As the name implies, this type of Chinese tea has red leaves and red tea color. This color is strongly highlighted during the fermentation process. It is also considered that red tea has low aroma and medium flavor and it is now divided into three subclasses: Kung Fu Red Tea, Ted Tea Bits, and Small Species Red Tea. White Tea This type of Chinese tea is sometimes considered as subclass of green tea. Perhaps it is for the fact that it is only withered and then roasted. Just like green tea, white tea escaped fermentation process. And, it has low caffeine content. Yellow Tea Apparently, yellow tea has yellow leaves and yellow tea color. According to some experts, this type of Chinese tea is an uncommon class of Chinese tea. The flavor of yellow tea is usually mild and refreshing. Flower Tea Here is a unique type of Chinese tea – the Flower tea. It actually subdivides into Flower Tea and Scented Tea. Well, the Flower Tea is just based on a simple concept that dried flowers are used, without much processing, to make tea. The Scented Tea, on the other hand, uses green tea and red tea as base and mix with scent of flowers. Generally, this class has light to medium flavor and medium to strong aroma. Compressed Tea The final type of Chinese tea is the compressed tea. This class uses black tea as base tea. It is steamed and compressed into bricks, cakes, columns, and other shapes. Also, compressed tea has all the characteristics of black tea. It can be stored for years and decades.

Bread made easy

Breadmakers are rather strange things. They’re surprisingly big kitchen appliances with only one use: they bake bread. Now, baking bread isn’t really that hard, but breadmakers claim to make it so super-easy that you can eat freshly-baked bread every day for the rest of your life. Much like those machines that make you orange juice every day from fresh oranges, however, the necessity of this is debatable. To use a breadmaker, all you need to do is add the ingredients of bread (flour, milk, yeast and so on) and turn it on – you can even get special ‘bread mix’ to use if fresh ingredients are too much trouble for you. The machine will make dough from your ingredients and then bake it into a loaf of bread. The bread typically tastes quite good, but won’t last very long because of the lack of preservatives. Where breadmakers really get interesting is not when they are making normal, store-style bread, but when you decide to get creative with them. Because they make bread so quickly, they make it much more convenient to experiment with strange ingredients that might just turn out great. You can make bread with your favourite cheese in it, for example, or chocolate, or some kind of herbs and spices that you like. There are many websites on the Internet devoted entirely to sharing interesting breadmaker recipes, and many new kinds of bread have been discovered through this experimentation that would never have been found otherwise. Basically, if you just want bread, you’re probably better off buying it from a shop. If you want unusual, customised experiments in bread, however, then breadmakers aren’t very expensive, and getting one could be a good choice for you. The only thing to worry about, really, is where on earth to put the bulky things.

Make chocolate covered strawberries at home

It isn't hard to tell when spring has arrived officially. I agree that the signs aren't always clear when you look at the weather, but they are clear when you look at the produce section of your grocery store. For example, strawberries are always in abundant in the spring. You will find many grocery stores offering them at very affordable prices during this season. Many of us get excited about the abundant number of red berries but not excited enough about eating only strawberries all week. You will find many irresistible buy-one-get-one-free offers. With such offers you might end up having more than enough berries to consume. If you don't know what to do with all these berries you can use them to make chocolate covered strawberries. Sounds exciting? I bet. Recently I saw an ad for chocolate covered strawberries from a local chocolate factory. But when I saw the price offered for it at reputable store, I was shocked. What I then did was to engage in price comparison. This made me to discover, to my greatest amazement, that average cost of chocolate covered strawberries is expensive. I then decided to find out how to save money and still get what I want. I don't know why, but the expense of the treat made it much more appealing. Of course, this isn't to imply that I want to get into a chocolate covered strawberries buying frenzy. It simply means I want to find out if there was a way I could make them myself. If I succeeded I could then put the produce sales to good use. My thought previously was that I would need expensive cocoa blocks for melting and dipping. But thankfully, I discovered that the best way for melting chocolate is via old-fashioned chips which can be bought right from your local grocery store. Of course this was really great news for me as I hate going to and fro looking for what I want, even though I have no problem going for chocolate covered strawberries that are not too expensive. Another news I came across is the fact that I can use my microwave for this purpose. You see, in theory, making chocolate covered strawberries is easy. You should follow the necessary instructions carefully. By following the instructions carefully you will not scorch the chocolate. For starters, fade the chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Don't forget the importance of using the defrost setting. Also, remember that when you dip your chocolate covered strawberries on high, it will scorch it. What to do? Wait until the dip is quite smooth. This can take two to three minutes. Do you know the specific technique that people use to dip chocolate covered strawberries? Simply dip the berries into the mixture, and then shake the excess away as you withdraw it. Lastly, you can then give the chocolate covered strawberries a few whirls in clockwise direction, and then set it on wax paper. After this you are set to start enjoying the labor of your hard work!

Basil the sweet herb

Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) Basil is my favorite of all the herbs because it is so versatile and easy to grow. Those of you who follow my recipes site will know that I like to grow my own herbs and as basil is normally ready to eat just 6-weeks after planting I naturally use it often. Basil is an attractive annual, about 18 inches (450 mm) tall with light-green, fairly broad leaves. There are several species of cultivated basil, one having purple leaves, so it is also a decorative plant in your garden. Basil grows easily from seed planted after all danger of frost has passed. Pinch stems when the plant reaches 18 inches (450 mm) tall to promote bushy, compact growth. Avoid lush growth as it may reduce the flavor. Green leaves can be picked about 6 weeks following planting. It is best to cut leaves for drying just before flowers open. However, if you can use fresh the taste is far better and it is also an extra vegetable to compliment a healthy diet. Spicy-scented basil leaves are one of the most popular of all herbs used in cooking. There are two particular ways I like to use basil; the first, and most common, is to mix it with pine nuts and a little garlic, a splash of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil in a blender to make Pesto. Pesto can be kept for a few days in the refrigerator. Use about 90% basil to 10% pine nuts. The other way I like using basil is with freshly picked tomatoes, sliced, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with chopped basil. This dish can be served alone as an appetizer or as part of a salad. The other great thing about basil is that you should grow one basil plant between each tomato plant in your garden. The plants compliment each other and the basil acts as a deterrent to many of the bugs that like tomato. It never fails to amaze me the way nature has a habit of making complimentary plants that together protect each other in growth and them compliment each other on the table. Top chef's use basil with all tomato dishes, whether cooked or raw. The other thing to remember about using olive oil is that it is an omega 3 oil and very good at promoting "good" cholesterol. This article is copyright (c) David McCarthy, 2006.

South african corn and small grains

South Africa has a very diverse rainfall, allowing many fruits, vegetables and crops to grow throughout the country, all year round. Crops are just one of South Africa’s most important production of food, not only to South Africans, but also the rest of Africa. Of South Africa’s total cultivated area (approximately 10 million hectors), around 36% is planted with maize and 21% has small grains. Oil seeds, sorghum, maize and small grains covers around two thirds of the total arable land. The most important grain crop for South Africa and the rest of Africa is maize. Maize is a dietary staple for humans, a source of livestock feed and is also used in the production of other foods. Maize is the largest locally produced field crop and is a great source of carbohydrates to both humans and animals. South Africans produce around 8 million metric tons of mealies per year (depending on the rainfall), consumes around 7.5 million metric tons and exports the surplus to countries like Lesotho and Swaziland. More than 600 million metric tons of maize is produced per year world-wide (varies every year). Maelies are cold-intolerant and therefor need to be planted during the spring season. Its root system is generally shallow, so the plant depends on soil moisture. Maelies are planted during the month of November in South Africa and harvested around March. Because maize is most sensitive to drought, you never know how the crop will do until you see how much it rains. The rains in the summer rainfall area only start around December, so it is difficult to predict if it will rain. Maize is planted before this time, so you have to hope and pray it rains. More than 50% of water in South Africa is used for agricultural purposes. Grain is the second most important crop and produced in the winter rainfall areas of Western Cape and summer rainfall areas of the North West, Northern Province and the Free State. Free State is currently the highest producer of grain but there are annual fluctuations. Western Cape is the most stable production area due to the more dependable rainfall. It is usually grown during the frost-free season. Sorghum is another very important grain for South Africa and is cultivated in the drier parts of the summer rainfall areas of Free State as well as in the North-West with yields often exceeding 200 000 tons. Sorghum is slender with leafy stems and grows up to 3 meters high on a variety of soils in areas with around 600 mm of rain per year. It is drought and heat tolerant and cultivated primarily for hay. An average temperature of around 25°C produces maximum grain yields in a given year. Sorghum is native to Southern Africa and has been used since prehistoric times for food as well as brewing purposes. This is also used in packaging materials for sensitive equipment and is made into excellent wallboards for house building. Lucerne seed is also very important and is mainly produced in Oudtshoorn, De Rust and Douglas. Oudtshoorn alone is responsible for around 90% of the lucerne seed produced in South Africa today. Around 100 to 120 lucerne bales per hectare can be produced every three weeks, as long as enough water is available. Make sure lucerne is planted during the rainfall season. South Africa produces a large variety of crops, fruit and vegetables and is able to provide in their people's needs, with enough remaining to export high quality produce to the international market.