88 Treasures Tea (八十八寶茶)

A week ago, while browsing the tea aisle at 99 Ranch Market in Kent, a little red box of tea caught my eye. It was called 八十八寶茶 or 88 Treasures Tea, and I could see that it was from a tea company based out of Xining (西寧), China. It didn't cost too much so I decided to give it a try. In the least, it would make a good blog post.

You may already know that ba bao cha (eight treasure tea) is very popular in Xining. Eight is considered a lucky number to the Chinese and so the blend will always contains eight ingredients.

I looked closer at the package in my hand... and, sure enough, this blend appears to actually contain 88 ingredients!

I knew it would take me a hundred years to translate the packaging on my own, so I asked a Chinese friend who sometimes visits me at Teacup. He took the box home and then emailed me his translation a couple days later.

Here's what it says: "New Organic 88 treasure tea is the perfect, healthy gift for dad! Our unique blend of herbs and teas contains eleven times the power and longevity of simple eight treasures! Our tea is good for the prostate and vitality. Give dad the gift of life and great taste!"

The box even has a little picture of a young man giving a cup of tea to an older man printed above the product name. At this point it dawned on me that the 88 also appeals to the Chinese love of puns, because 88 and dad can both be pronounced "Ba Ba" in Mandarin. (That's why Chinese father's day is August 8th.)

So what's in the blend you ask? Here's the list that I was given:
Chrysanthemum, Astragalus, Wolf Berry, Jujube, Ginseng root, Tuckahoe, Tangerine Peel, Danshen, Snake Gourd Seed, Star Anise, Common Squill Bulb, Horsetail, Longstamen, Common Smoketree, Fritillary, Wax Gourd Peel, Sweet Osmanthus Flower, Dogbane Leaf, Rock Sugar, Ginko, Pricklyash Peel, Elm bark, Chamomile, Rosehips, Towel Gourd Stem, Raspberry leaf, Korean Monkshood, Loquat Leaf, Papaya leaf, Peppermint, Shanlu Tea, Spearmint, Drug Sweetflag Rhizome, Raisin, Oak Bark, Strawberry Leaf, Bat Guano, Vanilla, Passionflower, Kelp, Red Clover, Wild Cherry Bark, Rhubarb, Peony, Sand Root, Licorice Root, Damiana, Goldthread, Ma Huang, Hyssop, Candied Hawthorn, Stinging Nettle, Dong Quai, Lemon Peel, Puer Tea, Wintergreen, Tuberous Sword Fern, Lavender, Lemongrass, Bombax Flower, Ginger Root, Nux Vomica, Elder Flowers, African Plum, Salvia, Japanese Climbing Fern Spore, Nine Winter Monkey Tea, Echinacea, Marshmallow, Fermented Yarrow Flower, Clove, Lycopene, Water Vapor, Gut Flora, Selenium, Nut Husk, Saw Palmetto, Balloon Flower Root, Gypsum, Zinc, Snow Lotus, Urea, Dandelion, Valerian, Linear Stonecrop, Mustard Seed, Wooly Datchmanspipe, and Green Tea!

Here's what it all looks like:

I steeped it for five minutes in a small ceramic teapot (Chip to be precise) using boiling hot water...

...and here's the result:

So what does it taste like you ask? It's very sweet, with an odd metallic note and a surprisingly mild finish. The most noteworthy flavors were mud and syrup. I did pick up a little bit of gingery-heat in my throat about an hour after drinking.

As for the health benefits of imbibing so many exotic herbs... I really can't make any firm declarations. I feel a little bit light-headed and sweaty and my pee has never looked darker.

I probably won't drink 88 Treasures Tea again.

Indonesian Teh

My tea friend Nicole* recently returned from several weeks in Indonesia and she brought me a little bit of Indonesian tea as a gift! It came packed in this sweet little box with a bird on it.

This is what Nicole told me about this style of tea: "This is Indonesian tea (teh). I've been brewing it like a black tea but the Indonesians usually add lots of sugar (teh manis). It can be hot or iced, but traditionally it's hot and really sweet."

The box lists three ingredients: Teh Bubuk, Aroma, and Vanili. The tea itself looks brown and powdery with lots of "husky bits." It has a potent vanilla scent.

The Teh:

I believe that all tea is good (yes, even Lipton) if you drink it with the right people and/or the right attitude... so in hopes of making this tea taste better, I decided to take an imaginary journey to Indonesia (a place I've never been) while brewing and sipping this tea.

In my mind I am sitting in a breezy outdoor cafe surrounded by many new sounds and smells. I am waiting for a cheap, delicious lunch of fresh fruit and nasi goreng. I have become very thirsty and hungry from an unforgettable morning spent exploring old temples and lush jungles. After lunch, I am both excited and nervous about visiting an orphanage for orangutans. While I wait for my food a server brings me a steaming hot cup of sweet local tea. I savor its heady aroma and make small talk with a friendly old fisherman. He tells me proudly that Indonesian tea is the best in the world... and even though I have a few ounces of a (much preferred) high mountain oolong in my backpack, I agree with him, because right now this is the only cup of tea that matters.

The Brew:

While I was never expecting to be blown away by this tea, I did enjoy it. I used about 1 teaspoon of dry leaf to about 8 ounces of boiling hot water. I steeped it for about 5 minutes before stirring in a heaping teaspoon of raw sugar. The resulting brew was pleasant, though the vanilla aroma was a bit cloying. I'm sure it would go well with spicy food. I won't be drinking this often but I'm happy to make some space on my tea shelf for this cute little piece of Indonesia.

*Nicole is the same groovy globe trekker who introduced me to Ba Bao Cha and Tibetan butter tea. Xiexie Nicole!