> Tea knowledge in Myanmar Language

Tea Products

Three Kinds of tea are produced in Myanmar, Pickled tea (fermented wet green tea or Laphet So), Green tea and black tea. In 2003, the volume of production of Green tea, Black tea and pickled tea was 8,003 MT, 4,224 MTand 9,932 MT, respectively. The domestic production of pickled tea stands at 44% of all tea, followed by green tea and black tea in Myanmar.
The production techniuques of each tea are different, giving their characteristic taste and properties. Green tea is produced by a traditional pan-frying method (Kato M.et al 2001). Plucked tea leaves are placed into a large pan and heated to stop enzymatic reaction; thereby keeping the polyphenols intact. Heated leaves are placed on a table and rolled by hand, followed by sun drying. Household industries in Myanmar have been using this traditional method for over 100 Years. This traditional method is still the major processing method of green tea in Myanmar; however, a few companies are using machine processing. Black tea is produced by machine processing Manufacture of pickled tea is desribed later in this paper.

Pickled Tea In Social Culture Of Myanmar

Pickled tea has an important role in the Social Life of the people of Myanmar. Unlike Japan Myanmar does not have a tea ceremony. However, tea plays an essential role in many other ceremonies. Pickled tea is one of the offerings at celebrations, especially at religious functions. weddings, welcoming and social gatherings. Tea is offered in religious ceremonies to pay respect to Buddhist monks. In Shan State. green tea and sweet candy are offered to guests at the beginning of engagement ceremonies. Myanmar's young and old often have get-togethers, which start with chatting and eating pickled tea dishes served with a cup of green tea.

• MGT - Myanmr Nara green tea,
• MPT- Myanmar Pin Laung green tea,
• MBT- Myanmar Black tea,
• MLS - MYanmar Pickled tea (fermented wet green tea)

The tradition of eating pickled tea is good for facilitaitng communication at home, at work and at clubs during afternoon break or in holiday gatherings. There is a Myanmar saying handed down through the centuries that goes:

"of all fruits, mango is the best, of all meats, pork is above all else, of all leaves, tea excels the rest"

It is known that pickled tea gives a fresh and alert feeling for work and study. It is said that it could give satisfaction when taken after a meal. Myanmar's elders used to have pickled tea afters like a dessert.

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Tea-Leaf Eating Habit

It is important to cosider pickled tea in the overall context of eating the whole leaf of tea rather than using only its extract as a beverage. While pickled tea is eaten as a snack in Myanmar, Whole-tea Leaf eating habit seems to be in practice in other countries also, like Thailand (minority communities in northern part), northern part of Laos, (Matsushita, 1998), and Saharan Africa (Krishan et al., 2004). Eating tea means using whole leaves for food, which may have some benefits; it provides major nutrients like carbohydrates, minerals, amino acids, proteins and even vitamins and coenzymes. There are three different ways of consuming whole tea leaves. First, consumption of tea leaves after infusion of tea in Saharan Africa. Second, Whole tea leaves made into a powder, which is called "Macha" (or Matcha) in Japan. It is dissolved with hot water and consumed whole. Macha is laso used in various food preparations like steamed bread, cakes, cookies, rice toppings and is mixed with milk and ice cream in Japan. Third, consumption of fermented wet green tea leaves (Pickled Tea) as in Myanmar and Thailand. The First and second types of whole-leaf tea consumption provides nearly the same nutrients which are inherent in the tea leaves. In addition pickled tea provides vitamins and coenzymes, which are produced during fermentation by natural microbes.

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Method of Making Pickled Tea

Plucking of tea leaves begin in April. A bud and two leaves below it on a shoot are steamed in a wooden steamer for five minutes to stop the enzymatic reaction. Steamed Leaves are spread on a table and

The dilution factor* is the dilution ot the tea infusion that gives 50% inhibition of DPPH that is equivalent to the IC₅₀ of ascorbic acid (IC₅₀(AA)= 0.43mM). The Strength of the tea infusion** is for the original infusion equivalent to ascorbic acid mM. MGT Myanmar Nara green tea: MPT. Myanmar Pin Laung Green Tea: MBT. Myanmar Black tea; MLS, Myanmar pickled tea (Laphet so, fermented wet green tea) rolled by hand. After rolling, leaves are placed in a plastic-lined basket and sealed to allow for natural fermentation. The basket is then placed in an underground container (2 x 2 m diameter) and covered with heavy stones for pressure. The tea leaves are kept weighted down for two months; the leaves by then become soft. The fermentation time varies in different places. In some areas the leaves are kept for fermentation for more than one year. After fermentation, soft tea leaves are separated from hard leaves. The final product is then ready to be packaged and put on the market shelves.

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Consumption Of Pickled Tea

There are many recipes for pickled tea, which differ from place to place in Myanmar. The traditional way of preparation is to garnish the pickled tea with salt and sesame oil and eat it in combination with a variety of fried beans, dried shrimp, fried garlic, roasted peanuts and sesame seeds. It is usually served in a decorated lacquer ware container having different compartments for each ingredient with the central compartment containing the pickled tea (Fig 2).

This dish is always served with a cup of green tea. Another popular recipe is called Laphet Thoke, which is seasoned or marinated pickled tea with vegetables such as cabbage, tomatoes, or green chillies and a variety of fried beans. Although the seasoning varies, it basically consists of sesame oil, salt and lime or lemon juice.

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Health Properties Of Pickled Tea

The health properties of drinking tea have been largely investigated and are known to have potent antioxidant effect in prevention of several chronic ailments like cardiocascular diseases and several types of cancers (Zheng et al., 2004, Garbisa et al., 2001, Curin et al., 2005). Pickled tea confers all these health benefits in addition to providing coenzymes and vitamins, generated during microbial fermentation process. A comparison of different teaa extracts in their antioxidant activity is shown in the analysis represented in table below:

Antioxidant activity of Myanmar green tea, black tea and pickled tea were determined by colorimetric analysis using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhyorazyl (DPPH) at the absorbance of 517 nm. (Yamaguchi, et.al). 3g of each tea were prepared by hot water infusion for 3 min and 30 min. Ascorbic acid was used for a standard and measured the radical scavenging activity at the concentration of 50% inhibition (IC50) of DPPH. Each tea infusion was serially diluted and DPPH radical scavenging activity was analyzed. The dilution factor, Which gave equivalent inhibition of ascorbic acid to DPPH radical and the strength of original tea infusion was calculated (table 3). This study shows that Myanmar way of green tea infusion for 30 min has 3 time higher antioxidant capacity than 3 min infusion. In regard to the antioxidant eaten whole. However, in this experiment, the tea was put in a water infusion and the water was examined for antioxidant activity. Therefore, it is difficult to extrapolate the whole leaf antioxidant activity from this data. The different types of tea processing, which may play a role in antioxidant activity and taste, is depicted in table 2.

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Conclusions

The folklore in the country and philology of the name of tea "Let ta Pahet" shows that tea is indigenous to Myanmar. Tea Occupies > 70,000 hectares area with a production of about 22,000 MT, averaging merely 300 kg/ ha yield which is one of the lowest in the world. The reason is the traditional way of culture from tea seed without using chemical fertilizers in soil preparation, by small holders and only due to low fertilizer use but also due to poor knowledge of plantation, nurturing, production and marketing. A focus on the application of field technology is required in Myanmar to increase tea productivity, as has happened in areas of almost abandoned tea in Himachal Pradesh in India ( Jain, 1999). Very little information is available on the status of soil and cropping systems or the status of agrotechnological R & D in Myanmar. What is evident is that for this increased productivity is to be sustained, it will be possible only by developing a good center of field research in Myanmar.

This paper has reported the existence of a unique species of the genus Camellia in Myanmar. This plant C. irrawediensis is low in caffeine and rich in theobromine, which is a broncho-dilator. This genome offers a gold mine of opportunity for pharmaceutical industry as well as meets the requirements of a caffeine-free tea beverage.

Pickled tea accounts for 44% of the total production in Myanmar. Used as snack or desert by the people of Myanmar, it plays an important role in social and economic life of its people. The customary 30-minute brew and pickled tea provide a very large quantity of health-giving anti-oxidants in the diet of the people of Myanmar. The traditional belief, of the benefit of consuming pickled tea has not been scientifically proven. Sweetness after eating pickled tea and satisfaction after meal could be attributed to the leaves. Natural fermentation that occurs in tea leaves by some microorganisms may result in production of vitamins or coenzymes for health, which should be studied.

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