One of the most popular types of tea in China, oolong tea may offer certain health benefits when sipped regularly. The tea undergoes only a small degree of fermentation during its processing, which gives oolong a flavor somewhat similar to black tea but more akin to green tea. Health claims for oolong tea's benefits include reduction of cholesterol levels, preservation of heart health, treatment of digestive disorders, strengthening of the immune system, and formation of strong bones.

Sherry vinegar is made from sherry wine, which is produced in the Jerez (Xérès or Sherry) denomination of origin in south­western Spain. The unusual thing about the vinegar (and the wine) is that it's aged and blended so that younger vinegar picks up the characteristics of the older vinegar: complex, harmonious, deep, rich, nutty, slightly sweet, and very sharp.

American especially, but also people all over the world enjoy a tall refreshing glass of freshly brewed iced tea, but who wants to wait around for it to chill in the fridge ! But just how to achieve the desired results of cold, perfectly brewed tea, right away, has long befuddled the masses.

Traditions and Rituals of Tea From Around the World

East Frisia, Germany

Located in the coastal regions of Lower Saxony, Germany, East Frisia is one of the highest per capita consumers of tea in the world, enjoyed on average 2 - 4 times per day with drinking 3 cups on average at each serving. Tea is elevated to an art here. Tea enters East Frisia by East Frisian ships contracted by the Dutch East India Company in 1610. East Frisia at the time is part of another great empire, Prussia. The first hundred years of tea’s presence in Prussia (now mostly Germany) tea is used as an elixir or for medicinal purposes. Then it simply becomes ‘thee’ beverage of East Frisia.

“Tea and Empires - A Brief Geopolitical History of Tea”

If you were to visually represent the history of tea as a tree, showing it’s interconnectedness to the rise and fall of eastern and western empires, then the roots of the tree would run long and deep into the earth (the East) and the branches would elongate high into the sky (the West) branching in multitude and volume. No other tradable good brings the East and West together more than tea has. Becoming one of the most important commodities of the great trading companies of yesteryear, the East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. Tea becomes the beverage of choice of some of the most expansive empires on earth; the Russian, the Chinese and the British Empire.

TEA : The Many Health Benefits in a Cup