The Art and Essence of Asian Tea (3/3)

Lasi is a form of south Asian tea that consists mainly of fermented milk. Most of the time, goat's milk is used as cows are considered sacred animals in South Asian countries, particularly among the Hindu states. It consists of fermenting the milk in a big pot and leaving for days, using traditional techniques. (warning, do NOT try this at home as there are several traditional techniques involved). The resulting mixture is sour in taste and reportedly good for health and has been drunk by South Asians for a very long time. Such drinks are available in places as isolated as Nepal where the mountainous regions enable mountain goats to be bred and they provide the ingredients for Lasi. Kuma Saza tea Kuma Saza tea is green in color and is known to be alkaline and rich in amino acids and vitamins. It is made from a bamboo species that grows in Hokkaido or the north part of the Japan. It is a good tea for those who are having digestion problems or for those who drink a lot of alcohol and want to cleanse their livers. It is light in taste and many have said in terms of results that it taste a little like green tea but lighter in taste. Lei Cha tea There is a tea that is special to the Hakkas in China (Or Ke Jia in Hanyu Pinyin). It is called Lei Cha. It is basically tea that is mixed with beans (called mame in Japanese), kidney beans as well as various other herbs to form an interesting infusion tea. They usually served it in a cup with a chopstick and you can use the chopstick to stir the ingredients in the cup for maximum taste. Green tea Green tea in Asia is almost as popular as coffee is in the West. Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese green teas are filled with polyphone's which are almost as 100 times as powerful as the antioxidant found in Vitamin C. It has been suspected that tea’s polyphone's have the same properties known as catechins that prevents the uncontrollable growth of new blood vessels. This, many believe, help to stop cancer by preventing newly-emerging tumors from growing by robbing them of their sustenance for growth. Catechins can also stop DNA deformations caused by carcinogens or cancer-causing substance initially developing. Chinese scientists believe that green tea daily dosages help to bring about lower probablities of cancer in the oesophagus, stomach and liver. Japanese scientists show that drinking up to ten cups or more in one day on a daily basis may also cut down the risks of heart and coronary diseases. Some have even suggested that merely gargling the green in the mouth may stop bacteria from gathering in the teeth cavities. Experiments with lab animals yielded the result of lower incidences of skin cancer when green tea was applied to their epidermal layer. The results are still inconclusive for black tea but some suspect that they can be the same in terms of results. For more information about the enjoyment of tea, as well as purchasing assorted specialty teas and utensils visit www.easterntea.com