Do not disdain the tea stem, its value is better than you think

Tea stem’s value is better than you think

Many tea drinkers have a high demand for tea, and generally, tea stem is discarded when steeping. In fact, tea stem is not all bad.

CONTENT

What is tea stem?

Tea stem, generally speaking, is the leaf stem of tea. Today we are going to talk about, is the stem which picks from the finished tea, the most common is Tieguanyin tea stem, also known as tea branch.

The most common is Tieguanyin tea stem

The number of tea stems depends on the type of tea. Green tea, yellow tea, and black tea generally do not contain tea stem, unless the machine picking does not remove them. As for white tea (Shoumei, Laobai tea), oolong tea and puer tea, sometimes relatively mature fresh leaves are required in the picking standards, so it is normal for tea stem to exist in these types of tea.

The effect of tea stem on tea quality

Why is the tea stem processed together with the tea leaf? It’s related to the nature of the tea stem itself.

Tea stem facilitates the fermentation and transformation of tea

Tea stem hardness is hard, help dark tea brick, and other tea brick compressed molding. The hardness and shape of tea stem and tea leaf are different, which leads to a large gap in the brick tea, facilitates the flow of air and is conducive to the fermentation of dark tea and Pu ‘er tea. For Fuzhuan tea brick, a certain amount of tea stem content will also enhance the permeability of Fuzhuan tea brick, which is conducive to the growth and reproduction of E.cristatum, because E.cristatum is an Aerobic organism. Tea stem also plays a very important role in the transformation of white tea brick.
The fermentation of oolong tea also requires the participation of tea stem, take Tieguanyin as an example. Fixation is the key of Tieguanyin fermentation processing, the surface cell remains activity, and the transpiration will happen at the same time on the surface. Transpiration will take away the huge heat of fermentation, the tension formed and make the water from branches to leaves through the stem, keep the leaves wet and not to be burned. After overnight fermentation, the tea branches and leaves exchange water. With the affection of tea stem in the fermentation, the tea will get into a high-grade quality.

Tea stem can improve the flavor of tea

Tea stem contains a considerable amount of aroma substances. The aroma of tea leaves gradually decreases from the first leaf to the third leaf, while the aroma of the tea stem is the highest. The aroma substances of tea are mainly in the main veins of tea stem and tender leaf, and the amino acid in the tender stem is higher than that in tender leaf. The vascular bundle in the stem is the main transport tissue of nutrients and aroma, and most of the substances contained are water-soluble. During the processing of tea, the aroma is transferred from the stem to the leaf with the evaporation of water, and these substances transfer to the leaf and combine with the effective substances of the leaf to form a higher and stronger aroma quality. Therefore, it is necessary to have appropriate tea stems to produce fragrant, full flavor tea. The length of tea stems varies according to different tea types.

Dark Tea Brick

Tea stem can make tea more nutritious

According to the research of tea experts, the picked tender stem contains a large amount of amino acid (mainly theanine), aroma substances, tea polysaccharide, which is much higher than the content of buds and leaves, especially theanine, which is 1-3 times higher than the content of buds and leaves. This is mainly because theanine is synthesized in the root and transported to the above-ground part through the xylem, the other part produces glutamate to participate in the nitrogen metabolism of tea tree, and the other part accumulates in the new buds, so the content of amino acid (especially theanine) in tender stem is high.
the other part produces glutamate to participate in the nitrogen metabolism of tea tree, and the other part accumulates in the new buds, so the content of amino acid (especially theanine) in tender stem is high.
In addition, tea stem, as a nutrient conduction organ of fresh leaves, contains high sugar content. Tender tea leaves contain a lot of sugar, except for water-soluble pectin, mature leaves and stem almost contain more sugar than young buds.

Fuzhuan Tea Brick

The effect and wonderful use of tea stem

Tea stem contains a large amount of tea polysaccharide, lignin and cellulose, which can promote gastrointestinal motility, help food digestion, and lower blood sugar. Experts said that the nutrition and essence of tea are in the tea stem and leaf, daily steep and drink of 6 grams of tea stem, can be active to prevent aging and radiation, to a certain extent, tea stem also has some disease prevention effect.
Also, putting tea stems in a bag and placing them in a newly renovated room, or in a newly purchased cabinet or car is a great way to get rid of odors.