Many years ago in a tea shop, a statement from a chic couple caught my attention: “Can’t live without tea”. Instantly, I said “Wah, how glad to meet a tea lover”. But when watched further, I was so disappointed. Because after smelling many different kind of tea from caddy made of tin, she chose the flavored aromatic blend that has very strong floral essential oil flavor. My husband whispered and I tried to covered his mouth promptly while he is right about his concern: “How long can she live healthily by drinking too much non-pure tea daily”.

Basically if drinking tea is not for health, then perhaps the best choice simply is water.

Q: Which tea is the best tea?

A: The one that suits to your conditions at that moment is the most suitable tea to you. The answer one to this question would be:

how much do you know your body and are you aware the change of health conditions and energy level in time?

Indeed many scientific researches have confirmed the health benefits that tea can bring to body, but it is about how it can facilitate the daily healthy lifestyles but not vitamin or medicine to solve any specific health problem.

The answer two to this question would be:

Do you know when to drink what and how much?

Some people say, it is necessary to boost up physical energy in the morning and refreshing head in the afternoon; some people say the other way around; but are you aware the change of your health conditions and energy level in a day? What and how do you need to sustain a balanced energy in your body and mind in the morning and afternoon? The need for each person might be different and even changes in different phases？

My mother has a lot of health problem since the day I have memory, when I was responsible to prepare tea for her and for my father everyday since I was kid, plus the learning of the change of Yin-Yang, here is my suggestion:

  • After breakfast : White tea because it is a nice way to wake up your body with soft and gentle manner while enjoying a cup of gentle clean and pure natural flavors and taste.
  • 10:00 a.m. : It is time to refreshing your thought and relaxing your body by recharging the refreshing energy with Green Tea.
  • Noon time : I simply follow my mind and body to drink tea that go along with food that I am eating. Because the main focus is to have healthy and balance diet, so stomach comes first.
  • 16:00 (4:00 p.m.) : It’s time to recharge the physical energy, so I will choose from Oolong or Black Tea. Again, I will pay attention not to upset or stimulate too much to my stomach, so I would choose either traditional fermented charcoal roasted Oolong or Solar-dry Gushu Black Tea.
  • 19:00 or after dinner : based on my knowledge about Anhua Dark Tea, I would definitely choose the Fu Cha that cleans those greasy fatty feeling in my stomach with the refreshing after taste.
  • 21:00 : It’s time to make a closure for the day, normally it is time for me to enjoy a moment of tea ceremony. I would definitely keep away from green, yellow or lightly fermented Oolong; instead I would make my choice among aged gongfu black tea, traditional oolong, aged white tea or aged dark tea. While visiting Hunan these few days, I would definitely go for aged Anhua dark tea, it is not just because I am currently visiting Anhua where I can easily access to very good quality of dark tea, but it is because it is the tea that I feel good in this humid and in between warm and cheer air region. Yet, it is very important that does not give me too much energy from tea tannin which might cause sleeping problem. With the right choice of tea and slowing down the tea moment, tea and the meditative tea ceremony moment actually serve me even much better than any sleeping pile that I do not need.

Of course this is the tea drinking time table for people who do not have problem with stomach or any specific health problem/s.

Tea provides many health benefits if you know what to choose and how to adapt the tea drink in your healthy diet everyday.

copyrighted of Mei Lan Hsiao, Belgium Chinese Tea Association