What I Do Not Know

The list gets longer and longer every day, but it might be possible for me to sum up the categories of what I don't know about tea.

What Tea Is Healthiest for You: Is caffeine better for your cardiac system because it speeds up your heart rate? Does white tea have more anti-oxidants? Does caffeine actually dehydrate you? The answer to all of these is "Yes" and yet I still have no way to tell what's best for your body. It's almost certain, however, that drinking tea is better for you than not drinking tea, because all those "oldest people on earth" folks come from Japan, which is one of the top three nations in the world for per capita tea consumption. (I don't know that either, but it sounds good.)

How to Properly Brew Tea: I've had the same tea with different brewing times, water temperatures, rinsing techniques, and vessels, and they all turn out differently, but I can't tell what corresponds to what. Sometimes hotter water is better, sometimes not -- for the same tea! I think you just have to figure out a method that works for you.

Why Ritual Is Important: I've become very interested in the Chinese tea ritual, not that I know much about it. I've been wondering why ritual matters for drinking tea -- or in any arena of your life. Any suggestions?

How to Proceed

Well, it's been awhile since my last post, partly due to moving, and partly due to my increased knowledge and increased intimidation about tea. My increase in knowledge is directly proportional to my increase in awareness of precisely how much I do not know about tea, which is a lot.

The blogs I've found and made friends with take this a lot more seriously than I do, as do the tea mailing lists to which I subscribe. As a result, my endeavor henceforth is not to provide you with valuable information, but a qualitative account of my journey and slight bits of knowledge about tea. This will take place on a far less regular basis, but should provide a far more enjoyable result for any readers I may have acquired, or might down the road.

Next time: What I Do Not Know (Part 1 of ?)