Jiaogulan Tea

At Teaopia (one of my favorite places to visit) I tasted a very small sample of Jiaogulan tea. It didn't taste like anything at the time and it didn't smell too much either which is why I got it. Paul doesn't really enjoy sitting next to me if I have a particularly smelly tea. Anyway, I got this Jiaogulan tea and brought it home. It's pretty much some kind of Chinese herb stuck together and all balled up using "light sucrose"(a fancy name for sugar, but sucrose sounds much healthier doesn't it?). When it is steeped the ball comes apart showing off the leaves and stems of the tea.

This tea is described as the "immortality tea" probably because it is drank in the regions of China where many people exceed the age of 100. The tea was first discovered in 1406 as a plant to gather and eat in a time of famine in China. The Jiaogulan plant is a vine and grows like a weed there, but it is a very attractive looking plant. I wonder if I could get myself a little potted Jiaogulan shrub and have my own steady supply of "immortality". It kind of makes me laugh to write/say "immortality" it makes me think of that really cheesy film Highlander, the first one. The only thing I can remember from it is the beginning with his little wife growing old and he doesn't age. But then again she doesn't look like she's aging either, she's just the same person with a grey wig on. Maybe we can explain it by putting it down to the highland air... or maybe she had Chinese connections and was drinking their tea? who knows.
Anyway, back to the tea!
There are many health benefits associated with this kind of tea. One health benefit is that it is good for someone with a sore throat or even bronchitis, however, I've always thought any kind of tea would be sufficient in soothing sore throats.

But what about the taste? you may ask, is it worth it to drink this tea? Personally I think the tea tastes like dirt, but it smells nice so I kept drinking it and it got better over several steepings of the tea. It is meant to be steeped up to five times for about five minutes each time. As it's being steeped I think it kind of resembles a murky fish tank without the fish.