The Wonder of Tea - Heaven In a Cup

(First published in the Kansas City Wellness Magazine, February of 2000 )

Set a teapot over a slow fire....
and all of your sorrows will follow the vapor
-Emperor Kien Lung

C.S Lewis once wrote, "You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." An interesting quote coming from an author whose writing style was terse and books slender. It just makes one value every last drop of goodness all the more. Immersed in a captivating tale with my tea cup steaming by my side, I can find heart-warming inspiration from cup and verse. Of late, my arm chair meanderings have shifted more to the Chinese variety; from Lewis to Lao-tze and English Breakfast to Jade Oolong. Ahhh, camellia sinensis. Green or black, a little bit of heaven in a cup. From the preparation to the final sup, the enjoyment of tea is one of those simple acts that allows us to breath in life a little more slowly and fully. A respite from comings and goings, Tien Yiheng says, "tea is drunk to forget the din of the world."

In China, where most botanists agree the plant originated, the Taoists and Buddhists enthusiastically embraced camellia sinensis and found it useful during meditation. A cup of fine tea enlivens as it calms and harmonizes the system. We feel better after a cup because we are better. As it turns out, tea has strong medicinal qualities.

In fact tea’s vital chemical compounds have many benefits for health. Studies have shown that the anti-oxidant polyphenols in tea may reduce the risk of several cancers, including gastric, esophageal, skin and ovarian cancers. Other studies have shown polyphenols help prevent blood clotting and lower cholesterol levels. Tea has been shown to boost the immune system’s disease fighting capacity of gamma delta T-cells. Polyphenols also reduce intestinal inflamation and aid in digestion. The plant nutrients, flavonoids eliminate toxins by deactivating potentially harmful free radicals. Studies have shown, as well, that tea can help stabilize diabetes, has anti-aging benefits, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and high cholesterol. Its anti-bacterial properties aid in the prevention of tooth decay. Tea contains vitamin A, B, C, as well as folic acid, potassium and manganese and in fact, rates as high or higher than many fruits and vegetables in the ORAC score which measures antioxidant potential. Along with exercise, tea can be an aid in weight loss by raising metabolic rates and speeding up fat oxidation. Drinking tea has also been found to lower stress hormone levels. No wonder one feels better and calmer after drinking a cup. And while a cup of coffee has 100 milligrams, an average cup of black tea contains 50 milligrams, and green tea only 22 milligrams of caffeine. According to Ken Cohen, world renowned qigong master, Chinese scholar and tea enthusiast, tea contains substances that may change or mitigate the effects of caffeine. And so, though tea enlivens and boosts metal alertness, it doesn’t jolt the system.

I was first introduced to fine tea by Master Kenneth Cohen, while studying qigong with him. I was amazed in the difference in taste, as well as the overall feeling I had from the fine, loose leaf, green tea we were enjoying compared to the varieties I was used to drinking. Speaking with Ken recently on the telephone, I asked him how he became such a tea connoisseur. "From my own studies. "he said, "All aspects of the Chinese arts are connected with tea." According to Master Cohen martial artists, doctors of Chinese medicine, qigong practitioners and artists all drink tea to regulate the flow of qi (vital energy), creating a feeling of well-being.

Ready to go fire up the kettle? Before you do, consider trying a high quality, single estate, whole leaf tea. Although the cost will be more than packaged tea bags found at the grocery store, the difference in nutrients and taste is well worth the price, and you will get many more infusions (3-7) from fine teas. According to Mr. Cohen, high quality tea is grown in a beautiful environment, needing special soil and climate. Unlike commercial brands of packaged teas, which are remnant and discarded leaves from many regions, fine tea is grown and carefully picked by hand from one estate, free of pesticides.

The Tea Market in Kansas City Missouri, located at 329 E. 55th, is a local tea shop which carries many "single estate" green, white, oolong and black teas from China, Taiwan, Japan and India. Owner Stacie Robertson, a certified tea professional, is a great source of information and sells, as well as fine teas, accessories and brewing equipment, including teapots from the Yixing region, which are known for enhancing the taste of tea.
Like a good book, a cup of tea nourishes and leaves you wanting more. So take the time, sit awhile, enjoy.

A Few Simple Steps to Fully Enjoy Your Tea
1. Use a ceramic cup or teapot.
2. Use spring or filtered water, brought just to a boil.
3. Warm cup/saucer or teapot/lid by running under hot water before brewing.
4. Place one teaspoon tea per cup in bottom of cup or teapot (you may want to use a tea strainer or ball)
5. Fill container with prepared water, cover with saucer or lid and steep for several minutes, until the whole leaf sinks to the bottom.

Further resources on the benefits of drinking tea:
The Book of Green Tea by Diana Rosen
The Way of Qigong by Kenneth Cohen

Kitchen Dance

(first published KC Wellness 2008)

On Sunday afternoons this past winter (this long, cold, dreary winter) my daughter Claire and I could be found cooking up some warmth and inspiration in the kitchen. Steam rising, knives clicking, voices singing we would do-si-do around one another in our kitchen dance, stirring, tasting, seasoning our bubbling pots, filled to the brim. One such afternoon, in the midst of it all my granddaughter Isabella exclaimed with realization,"I was born to be farmer!"

Well, we are not farmers. We just like to play farm folk on the weekends. I do live on a few acres and love to garden and cook and engage my grandchildren when I can (come help me pile this wood. It is fun). Still, her mother and I found this comment pretty funny coming from a savvy, city girl. But city folk or no, she responded to the age old ritual of the hearth, which makes each meal shared with loved ones, a simple yet profound celebration.

My own memories of my mother were either in the kitchen, creating sumptuous meals, or at the piano, dishing out Debussy. She came from a family of artists. And great cooks. From my great-grandmother, grandmother and mother on down to myself, my daughter and now my granddaughters, painting, playing music, writing, gardening, sewing clothes or preparing meals are all opportunities for artistic and heartfelt expression.

The home cooked meal is becoming a lost art. Racing here and there Americans have turned to empty consumption, bought on the run, eaten on the run. Fast, convenient and mindless. No fuss, no bother. It is this bother, this waste of precious time, says writer Edith Schaeffer, which brings forth the most amazing results, the worth of which, is hidden from many. Her classic book, Hidden Art, examines the opportunities for artistic expression found in ordinary tasks throughout each day. It is through giving our awareness fully to each task that we discover ongoing opportunities for conscious and authentic expression, nourishing body and soul, friends, families and community.

When creating edible art it is helpful to broaden one’s palette of ingredients. Get to know a parsnip. The wider the range of ingredients the richer the tastes. And it is better for your health. According to Chinese medicine using the five colors and flavors in each meal nourishes the organs as it pleases the senses. So get to know the many, colorful vegetables in the produce section which often baffles the nice check out lady asking the ongoing question, "...and what is this?" "Why, it’s a butternut squash. Get to know one."

Making the choice to get better acquainted with vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains also enables one to eat less meat. Meat is the most resource intensive food produced on the planet, requiring huge amounts of water, grain and land. A pound of beef requires approximately 12,000 gallons of water to produce, compared to 60 gallons used for a pound of potatoes. Most meat is full of hormones, antibiotics and pesticide residue which not only pollutes the body, but the soil, air and water as well. Eating less meat is a green move for yourself, a green move for the planet. Get to know a cabbage. It has the fiber you need, which meat lacks, to remove waste and toxins and clean up cholesterol.

Carlos Castaneda writes, "There is no emptiness in the life of a warrior. Everything is filled to the brim. Everything is filled to the brim, and everything is equal." I think the same can be said of a farmer. Even a city farmer.
Let us teach our children well. To fill pots and life to the brim.


Footnote:
Acknowledgements to Kathy Hale who choreographed a jaunty dance called Kitchen Dance back in the day at City-in-Motion....ladies and lassies dancing with bowls and spoons and do-si-dos around the stage. Good stuff!
Also....here is a recipe for a very simple dish - glazed carrots - an old time dish that can go with anything, cheap, easy, delicious.

Glazed Carrots
take a bunch of carrots, scrub or peel
slice them (I like to slice diagonally to please the eyes)
saute for a few minutes in butter or olive oil or combo (me and Julia like butter)
add either some tarragon or some fennel seed ....salt a bit and taste
squirt some lemon juice onto carrots...let it sizzle for a bit
add a dollop of maple syrup or some brown sugar
Voila!
Taste and adjust to your liking.....
Colorful, easy, yumtum goodness
Enjoy!