Go oolong!

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David Pidhirney pours over his work. (CANWEST NEWS SERVICE)

He's "equalizing" the pours so the cups of his Pu-Erh tea will all end up tasting the same, he explains. As he walks around the table, the six women gathered inside this Calgary home listen intently.

The fermented tea, named after a county in Yunnan, China, speeds up metabolism and helps flush fat through the system, among other medicinal qualities, says Pidhirney, owner of Totalitea tea boutique in Calgary.

Pidhirney will host tea parties at private homes upon request. He brings about 10 different teas plus all the accoutrements, including ornate teapots for serving. The host invites the guests and sets the table with sweet and savoury dainties to go with those teas.

Pidhirney charges only $5 per person, but brings along a selection of teas he hopes guests will want to buy.

In a two-hour party, Pidhirney gives tea neophytes a taste of its history, the country and region of origin, growing secrets of specific plants, and the differences in tasting characteristics among teas.

Indeed, there's much to learn about tea, yet the appeal is simple: there is something inherently calming about curling up with a cup. It's warm, does a body good on bitterly cold winter days and comforts the soul.

Perhaps a cup of tea is just evocative of more civilized times when life seemed less complicated. It's hard to rush a proper cup of tea, after all.

Today, it's the second most popular beverage worldwide, behind water. In Canada, we drink about nine billion cups a year. According to Tea Association of Canada, that added up to 270 cups per person in 2007.

But all of this tea drinking began as a happy mistake, or so the story goes. In 2737 B. C., Chinese emperor Shen Nung accidentally discovered the drink when a tea leaf fell into a hot bowl of water he was drinking, says the association.

-- Canwest News Service

Tea 101

HERE are the world's most common teas and their descriptions.

Black Tea: Most commonly used in North American tea bags, black tea is made from fully oxidized leaves, which produce a hearty, deep, rich flavour in an amber-coloured brew. Popular black teas include: Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Keemun, Lapsang Souchong, Sikkim, Yunnan, and popular blends such as English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast and Russian Caravan.

Green Tea: Most popular in Asia, green tea is not oxidized. It is withered, steamed or heated to prevent oxidation and then rolled and dried. It has a delicate taste, light green colour and is very refreshing. Varieties include: Gunpowder, Dragon Well, Jasmine, Sencha Dancha, Hojicha, Genmaicha, Gyokuro, Spider Leg, Matcha and Tencha.

Oolong Tea: The name oolong literally translates as "black dragon." This tea is very popular in China. Oolong teas feature partly oxidized leaves and combine the taste and colour qualities of black and green tea. Extremely flavourful and highly aromatic, oolong teas are consumed without milk or sugar. Varieties of oolong tea include Formosa Oolong, Ti Kuan Yin, Pu-Erh, Formosa Pouchong and Black Dragon.

White Tea: White tea is made from leaf buds covered with whitish hairs. The new buds are plucked before they open, withered, then dried slowly at low temperatures. Unlike other tea-processing methods, the leaf buds are not rolled and slightly oxidized. The result is a tea with a mild flavour and natural sweetness.

Source: Tea Association of Canada

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 24, 2009 F4