The World from a Tea Plant's Eye, by Michael Harney

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The great author, Michael Pollan, wrote a book called the "The Botany of Desire" that discusses man's relationship with several plants. He asked that we look at the world from the plants' view.

When analyzing and considering tea, we should remember that tea was not originally designed for our pleasure. Like all plants, tea evolved according to its own propagation peccadillos and survival needs. When we talk about tea and components of the leaf, we tend to focus on what they do for humans. Caffeine keeps us awake. Certain polyphenols help keep us healthy. The warm beverage cheers our souls and nourishes. But from the plant's point of view, from nature's standpoint, why are these components present inside the green leaf of a perennial plant? How did this humble plant become the most popular beverage on the planet? Tea, like most plants, just wants to grow. Its growth is fueled by glucose, which it magically creates out of sunlight and carbon in the air. Also tea can not run from its predators, it remains firmly planted in the ground. So to survive thousands of years, tea plants have developed many different defenses against those pests that would eat the leaves until the plant dies and threaten the entire species.

Caffeine is an important component of tea's appeal. For centuries it has kept tea-devoted Buddhist monks awake and closer to enlightenment during long meditations. We like the gentle stimulation tea provides.

Consider, that caffeine does not serve the same stimulating purpose for the tea plants themselves. It is not the caffeine within that stirs tea leaves to wave at you wildly in the wind, or allows the plant to sit there forever rooted in deep meditation, at one with the ground of being. Research suggests that caffeine helps repel pests. (It is natural OFF.) A bug eats a leaf that contains caffeine, is zapped with repulsion, and moves on.

Similarly, the polyphenols (ECGC and the others) help protect the fragile leaves against fungi, viruses and other harmful microorganisms. Polyphenols also, remarkably, seem to help protect against excessive ultraviolet light. (The plant's own sun-block.)

Theteas tha are the highest with the best polyphenol (EGCG ) are green teas made in early Spring: Lung Chings from China and Senchas from Japan.

To be continued this afternoon...