In the West, we don’t tend to think about the energetics of our daily food and drink. Instead, we want to separate daily diet and nutrition or pleasure into a different category from our medicines, including what we call supplements that we take to prevent illness. In the heart of Tea Country, that thought process is quite different.
The TCM Energetics of Tea or Cha
In China, Tea made from Camellia sinensis is called Cha, and it’s both a medicine and a daily pleasure for most. Cha, no matter which type you take, is considered a generally cool or cold medicine with a generally bitter taste. This, however, is altered by how the leaf is processed.
Fine-Tuning Tea’s Energetics
As with all Traditional Chinese Herbs, there are ways to fine-tune the energy of the medicine. That’s why some Chinese formulas contain honey-fried licorice root while other contain raw licorice root. Frying warms the resulting medicine. Cha is no exception.
White Tea, also known as Bai Cha, is the coldest of the lot. It’s plucked, picked, slightly oxidized in the shade, and sun-dried then finished. That means very little warmth was used as it was processed. It’s also plucked in early spring, which tends to be a cold time of year when life is just returning to the world. White Tea is Cold and is the least bitter type of tea. Thus, White Tea is traditionally drunk mostly in summer, when days are hottest. It can be helpful for those who are overheated, whether that’s due to over exposure to sun and heat, to hormonal imbalance as is the case with Hot Flashes, or when managing or recovering from Fever.
Green Tea, also known as Lu Cha, is plucked, picked, shade-dried, and pan-fried or hot-air dried before being finished. It has the most natural bitter qualities and is processed with a small amount of heat. That makes Green Tea a Cool and Draining medicine. It has the highest antioxidant count because it is not oxidized at all. That makes Green Tea a good choice for preventing and reducing inflammation and inflammatory diseases, supporting healthy elimination, and preventing cancer.
Oolong Tea, also known as Qing Cha, is plucked, picked, oxidized and roasted before being finished. The oxidization process and the roasting process add a lot of heat to Oolong tea, making it a warm medicine. Oolong tend to be sweeter than Green and White Teas, making it less draining. Oolong Tea comes in many varieties, some more warming than others. Folks who live in mild climates with generally stable health are wise to choose Oolong Tea as their daily drink, as its overall energetics are balancing and balanced, being neither too warming nor too cooling, neither too draining nor too tonifying. Oolong Tea is also the type most closely linked with healthy metabolism and improved fat-burning.
Black Tea, also known as Hong Cha or Hei Cha, is plucked, picked, considerably oxidized, and usually air-dried or pan-fried or both. Black Tea goest through a whole lot of warming in the process, making it among the most heating types of teas. It also tends to be Sweeter in taste than Bitter, making it more tonifying than draining. Black Teas are traditionally taken in cold climates, through winter or cold and dark seasons, and when recovering from illness to help boost overall energy and well-being.
Pu’er Tea, also known as Pu’er Cha, is the only truly fermented type of tea. It is plucked, picked, sometimes oxidized, and fermented before it is finished, which generally includes some aging. Pu’er Tea comes in two styles. Raw Pu’er Tea is known as Sheng style and tends to be strongly cooling and draining. It’s commonly used in the summer heat or for balancing the heat that builds up with meat-based diet choices. Cooked Pu’er Tea is known as Shou style and tends to be generally warming and less bitter or draining than Sheng style Pu’er tea. It’s still a good choice for draining internal heat toxins, but is more helpful for maintaining body heat through the transitional seasons of Spring and Fall. Both styles are strongly linked to lowered cholesterol levels, underscoring Pu’er Tea’s affinity for draining heat toxins.
TCM Effects Connected to Tea or Cha: Decoding the Names of Teas
Often, the traditional names of Teas in China include insight into the type of affects you may get from drinking that particular type and variety. Here are the most common ones you might see:
- sleeplessness (shao shui)
- calms spirit (an shen)
- clears vision (ming mu)
- clears head (qing tou mu)
- quenches thirst (sheng jin)
- clears heat (qing re)
- dispels summer heat (xiao shu)
- detox poison (jie du)
- aids in digestion (xiao shi)
- sober drunkenness (xing jiu)
- breaks down oils, fats (qu fei ni)
- moves qi down (xia qi)
- moves water down (li shui)
- evacuate bowels (tong bai)
- treats dysentery (zhi li)
- breaks down phlegm (qu tan)
- subdues wind (qu feng jie biao)
- strengthen teeth (jian chi)
- epigastric pain (zhi xin tong)
- treats skin fungus (liao cang zhi lou)
- fights hunger (liao ji)
- increases qi (yi qi li)
- longevity (yan nian yi shou)
Traditional Western Medicine and Tea
From a Traditional Western Medicine perspective, all Teas are hepaprotective, cardio-protective, and neuroprotective. Their medicine would be considered generally warming due to their stimulating properties with the note that Black Tea is a farm more warming brew than is White Tea. For the most part, all varieties of Tea would be considered generally drying and toning. Tea is also analgesic, nervine, stimulant, digestive, and detoxifying.
Ayurveda and Tea
From an Ayurvedic perspective, all Teas are generally Pitta-increasing, Vata-balancing, and Kapha-neutral. As a Pitta-increasing herb, all Teas and particularly Oolong Tea, which is most strongly linked to increased metabolism, support and improve both metabolism and circulation. Even the cooler varieties, like Green Tea and White Tea, tend to improve the flow of digestion, making them generally supportive of and increase in to Pitta in the body.
As a Vata-balancing herb, all Teas tend to have a balancing and soothing affect on the nervous system and lower digestive tract, both of which tend to become agitated when Vata is unbalanced. White and Green Teas are more Cooling and soothing than their warmer cousins, Black and Oolong Teas. Black and Oolong Teas tend to warm, which soothes Vata, while also stimulating Vata. Thus, if you need to increase Vata, you may want to try Black or Oolong Tea first and if you want to decrease Vata, you may want to try Green or White Tea first. No matter which type you try, you are likely to see Vata moving toward a state of balance after taking Tea.
As a Kapha-reducing herb, all Teas tend to have a drying and draining affect on the body. Black Tea is particularly astringent or drying and warming, making it a most excellent choice when you have a build-up of Kapha or phlegm in the body, such as the lingering phlegm in the lungs after a bout of flu or bronchitis. Tea also helps boost metabolism, support liver function, and improve blood circulation, thus helping the body to shed excess weight and detoxify.
Resources
Camellia Sinensis (Cha) Use in Traditional Chinese Medicine
