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A Cup of Spring

2/4/2021

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Spring is here! When I look outside I see not only blossoms but "spring green" leaves, sprouting out of previously leafless brown branches. It is the time of leaves. When I think of leaves, I think of a very common leaf that most of us have in our homes or have at some point came in contact with but have no idea of its story; the Tea leaf.  
 
Growing up in Malaysia, I drank Tea often, even as a child. When I say Tea, I mean Black Tea or Wu Long Tea. When we went to a Chinese restaurant, they always served Wu Long or Pu Er Tea in a pot for the whole family to go with the meal. We had Afternoon Tea, around 4 to 5 o'clock, with some snack or pastry, something we learned from being a former British colony. It would often be a Black Tea, Orange Pekoe, which the British set up plantations for in the highlands of peninsula Malaysia. I only began to drink the classical Chinese style of Tea, Gong Fu Cha, when I was in the US. A Tai Ji brother (how we call a fellow student in Tai Ji class) was a student of a master calligrapher as well as of Tea. In Gong Fu Cha, we drink, smell and experience Tea in a ritual, that requires a certain state of calmness as well as introspection; this style of Tea drinking is more relaxed and is less elaborate than the Japanese Tea ceremony. Speaking of Tea rituals, my husband and I were married by performing a (semi-) traditional Tea ceremony, where elders of the family were served Tea; in their acceptance by drinking the Tea served by us, they symbolized their acceptance of us as a couple.
 
What is Tea? There are many misconceptions about Tea. Technically, when you say you are drinking Tea, then you are referring to the infusion of the leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant. All other teas, such as peppermint or chamomile, are not teas but "herbal infusions." Tea is the most widely drunk beverage in the world after water. Camellia sinensis originated in China but has spread all around the world and enjoyed, as well as adopted as their own. My research into Tea has revealed that we can trace how Tea came to that particular region or culture by the terms, Cha or Tey or even La. If the plant came by land through the Silk Road or from northern China then the term Cha or Chai was adopted, such as in Russia, Japan, Turkey or the Middle East. However, if the plant came by the water route from the South of China, by ship mostly brought by the European traders, then it was/is called Tea, The or Te, with the exception of Portugal, which uses the word Cha. The term La was passed on through South-West China to the neighboring countries like Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
 
The Chinese believe that Tea was discovered by Shen Nong, The Divine Farmer or God of Agriculture; he is also the mythological emperor who taught the Chinese to farm and use plants as medicine. He passed down his knowledge through his tasting and testing of the herbs on himself through the The Classic of Herbal Medicine, Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing. Shen Nong is said to have used Tea as an antidote to counteract any poisonous plants. In old pottery found in the Tian Luo Shan region in Fu Jian province in China archaeologists believe Tea was being cultivated almost 6000 years ago; that would be around 4000 BCE. But it wasn't until China's flourishing golden age of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) that Lu Yu wrote Cha Jing, The Classic on Tea, that drinking Tea became an art, a philosophical pursuit practiced by the cultivated scholarly class. It was the Cha Jing that also influenced the spreading of Tea into Japan, who then in turn created their own manner of drinking Tea, which is more well-known in the West. Chado, The Way of Tea, is influenced by Zen Buddhism and has become not just a cultural ceremony but a meditation, as well as a way of life.
 
In Chinese Medicine, in the lineage of Shen Nong, we use Tea as medicine. In the Materia Medica, we have 2 types of Tea. One is Lu Cha (Folium Camellia sinensis), Green Tea. It is bitter and cool, affects the Stomach organ. It harmonizes the Stomach, sinks the Qi down in cases of nausea and vomiting. A classical usage is to clear the head; Green Tea has an effect to clear headaches due to its circulatory effect. However, one has to be careful with Green Tea, as it can be too strong for people with weak digestive systems, those who have cool systems; this may result in digestive issues such as nausea and too stimulating for people with sleep issues. Green Tea has become a trendy drink due to its ability to aid in weight-loss and metabolism, as well as being high in anti-oxidants. In the Chinese medical point of view, it helps to dispel dampness in the body, as such aid in weight-loss. But no amount of Green Tea without dietary changes and increase in movement  can stimulate weight-loss. One common mistake that many make with Green Tea is to brew it with boiling hot water (100 degrees Celsius). As these leaves are not oxidized, one has to use 80-degree hot water, so as not to burn the leaves. If you have found that your Green Tea was too bitter, it is because it was burnt from 100-degree water, which stimulated too quick a release of catechins from your Tea or that it was left too long to steep. So, to make good-tasting Green Tea, use no more than 80-degree (spring/filtered) water, 30-90 seconds brewing time and use good quality Green Tea leaves; often teabags do not contain good quality Tea. 
 
When you drink a cup of good Green Tea, it should taste like a cup of Spring; like liquid fresh spring leaves or grass in your mouth. That's why the best Green Tea is harvested in Spring. The Chinese and Japanese grow as well as produce the best Green Teas. They have made Tea not just a beverage but an art.
 
 
 
 
Image Tea Plantation by Dendhy Halbaik on Pixabay
Image Green Tea in Gai Wan by apple deng on Pixabay
​Image Shen Nong/Shinno from Wikimedia Commons
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Crocus: A Herald of Spring

18/2/2020

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Picture
Picture
Since a week now, I look out my kitchen window at the afternoon sun shining from the west. On the green grass is a splatter of purple, purple Crocus. Crocus vernus or Spring Crocus are some of the first blossoms of spring. They are bulbs or corms that you plant into the earth in the autumn and the cold rain/snow of winter hydrate them as well as the earth. Once the Winter Solstice and a few moons have passed (often about 2 in the Basel area), they cut through the earth with their sword-like green leaves, then pop their beautiful heaven-facing crowns of 6 petals and 3 stigmas of orange out of the earth. Crocus vernus, also known as Dutch Crocus, which can have purple, yellow or white petals. They pass within a few weeks, once the heat of spring begins to warm the earth, but they are as resilient against cold as rocks are. They invoke in me a joy and hope that though it is cold and grey, spring is on its way and nothing can stop it from emerging. Crocus are such hardy beings, even though they seem so delicate and fragile.
 
Croci belong to the Iridaceae family and are native to central as well as southern Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. In Europe, there is also Colchicum autumnale (Herbstzeitlose in German) that blossoms in late summer and autumn. Both Crocus vernus and Colchicum autumnale are toxic so beware not to ingest any. 
 
Our Crocus vernus are relatives to Crocus sativus, commonly known as the Saffron plant. They are eatable. You might know Saffron as a spice that you put into your risotto, that gives the risotto a beautiful fragrance and yellowish color. It is the most expensive spice in the world, if you get pure, good quality Saffron, it costs about CHF 1800 per kilogram! Hence, only very small portions of a gram are sold at stores and our dishes require only very minute amounts. The stigmas of the Crocus sativus is what Saffron is, those little stringy parts of the flower in the center. So maybe now you can imagine why it costs so much. Someone has to harvest these very delicate thread-like parts of the blossom in autumn and prepare them. Iran produces 90 percent of the world's Saffron. I just found out that a village in canton Valais, Switzerland actually produces its own Saffron (probably in very small amounts and quite exorbitantly priced!).
 
In the old days, Saffron was also used in the dying of clothes. Thus, the name Saffron Orange. The Buddhist monks used to wear robes of this color, many believe that this was the original color that the Buddha himself wore. Hence, the Theravada Buddhist order (Buddhists orders in South-East Asia and Sri Lanka) still does. In fact, you may also see other orders such as the Chan (Zen) Buddhist Shao Lin monks from China, who also practice martial arts along with meditation, wear this Saffron color and grey too. Saffron Orange is a symbol of the flame of fire, as the reminder to seek truth and enlightenment.
 
In Chinese Medicine, we call Saffron, Fan Hong Hua. It is a blood-moving herb, used in combination with other herbs (as with most of the Chinese medical formulae) to aid menstrual and skin issues. It affects the organs of the Heart and Liver, that means that it would also have effects of calming the spirit, aiding in insomnia and anxiety. As with many of the herbs in the Chinese Materia Medica, Saffron is a food-grade herb with a sweet flavor and a neutral to cold temperature. It should not be used in large amounts (who would with its steep price) and in cases of being pregnant. 
 
When I look at the Crocus, I sense the delicate exterior and the power center in the stigmas. It holds the power of the Yin, storing the power of inward movement of autumn, sinking its force deep into the corms as cold winter hits. Just as the light changes and the temperature in the earth rises, it pushes its leaves through the earth and then these radiantly colored petals do, what seems to me, like Yoga back-bends to reveal its orange core. It reminds me that Yin is just as powerful as Yang, that we can't have one without the other. In order to Spring, we must have stored enough power in the Winter. 
​

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Crocus image by Capri23auto on Pixabay
Monks image by Honey Kochphon Onshawee on Pixabay

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    Elaine Yap

    I am a Chinese Medicine practitioner at ICM, mother of 2 sons, living on my third continent. I love to share with you my perspectives on healing, TCM, gardening, social change and life.

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Institut für Chinesische Medizin ICM GmbH

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