Processing Herbs For Herbal Tea Using Oxidation Analagous to Black Tea, Oolong, or Rooibos

PHILADELPHIA - July 12, 2013 - PRLog -- True tea, from the Camellia sinensis plant, when used to produce black or oolong tea, is typically processed using a method that encourages or promotes oxidation of the leaf, resulting in the characteristic dark color.  Rooibos is an herbal tea that is also processed by an analagous method, letting the harvested plant sit in heaps where it is allowed to oxidize, turning it a rich red color.

Most herbal teas, by contrast, are not oxidized in this manner, and are simply dried.  Teacology does explore a few related questions, including roasting, and the processing of Yerba mate and related plants like Guayusa or Yaupon, mentioning one instance of Yerba mate being processed in a way analagous to how tea is typically processed.

Oxidizing herbs commonly used in herbal teas

Alex Zorach, who runs the Teacology blog, undertook a process in 2009 to oxidize a variety of common herbs, including common sage, Monarda, lemon balm, and several types of mint.  The experiment produced various results, including insights that plants like sage with tougher leaves require rougher handling to produce sufficient bruising to induce oxidation.

The experiments generally produced good results in terms of flavor.  Alex Zorach plans to pursue further experiments, refining his method and perhaps trying new herbs, at some point in the future.

Read the full post:

http://teacology.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/oxidizing-herbs...