Green tea

[Anonymous]

Now I’ve gone through some of the WoW stuff before, particularly as it specifies “hot drinks”, which could cover a lot of things, and omit others (ice tea anyone?) vs the leadership position of “hot drinks” = “tea + coffee” (not hot chocolate, herbal tea etc)

However, I was reading something the other day which said that the WoW was about black tea. Now either that’s distinguishing it from the various teas which aren’t actually made from the bona fide tea plant e.g. peppermint, chamomile etc… or it means that green tea is alright.

Green tea comes from the same plant, but has slightly different qualities. The reason we tend to drink black tea in the west is because it came to us from the east on long distance clippers (sailing ships). Green tea is what they tend to drink in China and Japan, and black tea has only been introduced recently to these parts (they thought whites were weird for drinking what they thought was rotten tea).

Green tea contains caffeine, but is supposed to have anti-oxidants, so is arguably healthier than than the black stuff, although still not without problems.

So has anyone heard anything on green tea and the WoW.

Just to confuse things even more, there’s white tea, whatever that is, and a bunch of other things too.

[Anonymous]

I love tea! I am such a health nut, and tea has so many good properties that I drink it all the time. The only kind of teas I stayed away from in my attempts to follow the WoW. were black teas. I then realized that the spiced chai milk tea that I love came from black tea. But I drank it cold, not hot so I don’t know if its okay. Herbal and green tea is too good for me not to drink! Also as someone who does not drink caffeinated sodas (or soda of any kind) like the majority of people I know, I appreciate the small energy boost green tea can offer. Only problem is my kids get a bit confused in church during WoW lessons because we all (including the kids) drink tea. All I know is that I have never once personally felt like my tea drinking was wrong, so I will continue to do it.

How many people follow the part of the WoW about eating meat sparingly? I do! So I figure in that sense I am more fully living the law than most. My opinion is that “hot drinks” really referred to heavy stimulants, and if the WoW had been revealed in our time it would have included things like energy drinks, and even certain prescription meds. Just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Did someone say “tea?”

Brian’s “Tea For Mormons 101” Class.

This topic is very confusing at times in the English language because we use one word for two different things:

1. Tea: a beverage made by infusing the flavor and nutritional essence of a plant into water (usually hot water).

2. Tea: The “Camelia Sinensis” plant (Latin species name), a leafy Chinese shrub used to make a beverage by infusing the leaves in water.

So in one sense, Tea refers to any water-infused beverage regardless of what it is made out of. It also refers to one specific shrub with leaves.

To make matters worse, the WofW text says that Mormons should avoid “hot beverages” which you might think to mean ALL teas (see definition #1). But of course that would be too simple 😈 The Church shortly thereafter tried to clarify this by interpreting “tea” as only definition #2. In those days, there was really only “black tea” from England due to the near British monopoly on trade with India and China.

Ways of preparing Camelia Sinensis (Tea Tree):

1. Green Tea.

The tea leaf has minimal processing. It is steamed or heated shortly after picking to stop an enzyme in the leaf from starting a process of fermentation to turn the leaf brown. Tastes more fresh and grassy normally. The infused beverage comes out clear with green or yellow color.

2. White Tea.

Similar to Green Tea, but from a particular sub-species of Camelia Sinensis. It is also picked at a different time in the growing season. Minimal processing used to prevent fermentation. Very subtle flavor. The infusion comes out clear to pale yellow.

3. Red Tea (aka Black Tea to westerners, also English Tea).

The leaves are allowed to sit for a time after being picked. Fermentation begins, turning the leaves dark brown or black. The infusion beverage comes out reddish brown in color.

4. Oolong Tea (other spellings too with similar phonetics)

This is somewhere between green and red depending on the style of the tea master who makes it. The leaves are bruised some time after picking and allowed to partially ferment before being heated to stop the process.

5. Puehr Tea (true “black” tea)

The most fermented of all processing types. Leaves are often compressed into cakes, pucks or bricks. The highest grades are allowed to ferment for decades, bring very high prices for aged teas (like fine wines). Fully developed Puerh tea is dark brown to actually black when infused in water, like a nice cup of topsoil , for the true tea connoisseur.

Herbal “tea”

This is a beverage made by infusing herbs other than Camelia Sinensis (see definition #1 above). This does not violate the current and common understanding of the WoW in the LDS Church, even if it violates the original wording of the text.

[Anonymous]

Brian Johnston wrote:

4. Oolong Tea

mmmmmm…. I love Oolong tea!

Brian, since you seem to be the tea expert what is your opinion of the drink pictured below….

I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT, but Chai tea comes from black tea doesn’t it? I drink it cold if that makes a difference.

[img]http://lbjsbrownbag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/bolthouse-farms-vanilla-chai.jpg[/img]

[Anonymous]

Chai is a drink with black/red tea (camelia sinensis), cream and spices. So yes. It contains tea in the “naughty” sense that Mormons currently think of the WofW.

I really try to hold back on sharing a lot of my personal views/practice regarding the WofW in threads here. I am usually afraid of alienating too many members who might come here. The WofW is that intense of a topic … to the point of spiritual distraction IMO.

I asked God. He told me He really doesn’t care as much about all this as Mormons want to think. He sort of rolls His eyes. It’s kind of important, especially if it is important to one of His children (when they individually have a problem with addiction or destructive behavior), but really. WofW forbidden four is a seriously myopic view of the message He wanted delivered.

Is it “OK” to drink a cold protein drink with chai in it? *shrug* It is evil if you believe it is evil. That’s my opinion. There’s nothing supernaturally evil about the substance we call “tea” — like it will taint your soul forever.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tea primer! Part of me always wondered if the tea prohibition was partly because of it being such an English thing – at times very expensive or difficult to obtain, especially out in the middle of nowhere, outside the borders of the US. I realize it wasn’t actually strongly adhered to until the 1920s (after statehood), but it is just something that always was in the back of my mind, probably due to the Boston Tea Party.

[Anonymous]

Brian Johnston wrote:

…I really try to hold back on sharing a lot of my personal views/practice regarding the WofW in threads here. I am usually afraid of alienating too many members who might come here. The WofW is that intense of a topic … to the point of spiritual distraction IMO.

I asked God. He told me He really doesn’t care as much about all this as Mormons want to think. He sort of rolls His eyes. It’s kind of important, especially if it is important to one of His children (when they individually have a problem with addiction or destructive behavior), but really. WofW forbidden four is a seriously myopic view of the message He wanted delivered.

Is it “OK” to drink a cold protein drink with chai in it? *shrug* It is evil if you believe it is evil. That’s my opinion. There’s nothing supernaturally evil about the substance we call “tea” — like it will taint your soul forever.

THANK YOU for saying so Brian. I get this, and I have also felt the same impression from God on this issue. What’s the big deal – except for what we make of it… Even on this website, with the exception of DA, I was feeling pretty “alone”.

[Anonymous]

Today in SS, my own teenage daughter and son brought up the word of wisdom as we were discussing Moses and the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses.

They are starting to get it — they compared the WofW to the law of moses…and made the comment that “mormons want to be told everything what to do and what not to do, instead of just using their common sense…” I was proud of them. After SS, my 15 year old daughter came up to me and “confessed” that she had tried some herbal and Green tea with one of her friends, and she was concerned that she “didn’t feel guilty” about it – even though she had attended the youth temple trip. We had a good talk…

[Anonymous]

Thanks for Tea 101 and 102, Brian. I learned a couple of things.

I also love tea and have consumed herbal tea for years. When Green Tea became more popular or available, I considered whether or not this was within the WofW bounds or beyond it. Was it good for me, or not? So, I researched it. My conclusion was that Green Tea is neither as wonderful as proponents would claim, nor as terrible as opponents would argue. I also concluded that the caffeine content was sometimes difficult to ascertain, but that is was relatively comparable to some sodas. I decided it was okay for me, and felt good about my decision.

Personally, I usually like herbal teas better, but do enjoy green tea as well. No tea beats good water, but that’s just my opinion.

I think the general concensus in my neck of the woods is that Green Tea is against the WofW. A friend of mine asked my opinion and I gave it (similar to what I wrote above), but then also asked a member of Stake Presidency who said it’s against the WofW. The friend then asked me what I thought. I told him that I thought he asked two too many questions.

[Anonymous]

Cnsl1 wrote:

The friend then asked me what I thought. I told him that I thought he asked two too many questions.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, black tea doesn’t just contain caffeine, it’s also got tannin in it, which is a problem. I think green tea lacks this.

Quote:

After SS, my 15 year old daughter came up to me and “confessed” that she had tried some herbal and Green tea with one of her friends, and she was concerned that she “didn’t feel guilty” about it – even though she had attended the youth temple trip. We had a good talk…

Herbal tea isn’t even an issue, because it’s only a tea in the sense it’s brewed.

If anyone’s looking for a tea substitute which is drinkable, I recommend rooisbos (redbush) which is a plant from South Africa. It takes about twice as long to brew as black tea does, and makes a reasonable drink. (I’ve never found a decent coffee substitute yet, but that’s another story) It has no caffeine, and is not

Quote:

Africa also has its own tea plant, called Rooisbos (or Red diamond or Red bush). This is produced mainly in South Africa and is not exactly tea, but infused like tea. The species of this plant is different from the common tea plant, Camellia Sinensis and the scientific name of Rooisbos is Aspalathus linearis which belongs to legume family of plants.

It is harvested in the summer whereas real tea leaves are harvested in the spring. Rooisbos can be prepared in the same manner as the usual black tea. However, the brew has a reddish brown color, explaining why it is also referred as red tea. It is free of caffeine and more like herbal tea with nutritional and health benefits. Nevertheless, it is marketed like tea.

http://www.www.helium.com/items/1539595-an-introduction-to-the-teas-of-africa (According to this website, ?black tea is the most drunk drink in the world after water.)

I’ve yet to read horror stories about red bush tea, but I know that there can be problems with certain other teas, e.g. tea made with raspberry leaves contains poisons, and chamomile, which is nice in small quantities but bad for you in large quantities. There’s a strange drink that they have in South America called mate, which I think has much more caffeine than tea does, and is probably worse for you.

Then there’s tea tree, which isn’t a form of tea either!

[Anonymous]

I’m quite the ignorant one on this topic (as of many topics to be honest 🙄 ) but I think for the first time ever I pulled out good old section 89 and actually READ it… I had NO IDEA that caffeine isn’t mentioned in it! lol…. boy do I feel duped. And who washes their bodies with Jack Daniels? (I might just have to start a new bathing routine )

Anyway.. I couldn’t help but wonder where we got all of the breakdowns we have today? The forbidden’ness’ of liquor, is mentioned many times throughout different scriptures, in my interpretation, and I understand that. I am thankful for the Wisdom that this Word imparts… but I’m not too sure if this is something that should deem you ‘worthy’ or ‘unworthy’.

The whole ‘hot drinks’ thing… *shrugs* I love a good cup of coffee. In Puerto Rico, the members drink a chicory coffee… mixed with milk and tons of sugar this stuff is DELISH (rumor has it, thats its actually good for you)! I’m not sure what the members do out here in the Netherlands, as I haven’t been to church out here just yet, but I know they have to do something. Hot drinks are such a huge part of the culture.

I dont know, I feel kind of odd at the moment, having actually read what the WofW is saying (finally, lol), and am thoroughly confused at how its being applied. To me it is a word of wisdom, advice given that you may choose to follow or not follow, or pick and chose what works for you. If you want to drink some tea, then by golly, drink some tea… You might run and be a little weary, walk, and possibly faint… but I personally don’t think it will affect your salvation.

[Anonymous]

cwald wrote:

THANK YOU for saying so Brian. I get this, and I have also felt the same impression from God on this issue. What’s the big deal – except for what we make of it… Even on this website, with the exception of DA, I was feeling pretty “alone”.

Believe me, cwald…I think you are not as alone as you may feel sometimes.

I am right there with ya on this topic…I truly believe the WoW has become something over time that is rooted in people trying to live a principle…but that doesn’t mean it IS the principle. I was recently traveling for work, and had a thought one morning…I could have a cup of coffee with my breakfast. It isn’t a big deal…but I kept thinking that the fact that I’m thinking about specifically having some bothered me, as if I was trying to rebel. I don’t ever drink coffee, or tea, and I don’t believe either has any “magical” spirit blocking substance in them. It is no big deal, except that I’ve been taught that being mormon includes abstaining from these and I still consider myself mormon (cafeteria style). If you were to blind-fold me and have me drink several drinks and one of them was tea…would my body all of sudden lose physical and spiritual blessings? Nope. It would just be another drink.

To me, it is what I make it. So I don’t have to fight it because I don’t care about it. And if I went out of my way to “Break” it, I think that would mean I do care because I’m trying to do something I wouldn’t normally do. To me, it is like swearing. They are just words and sounds…I really don’t think God cares. But if my intent is to swear to disrespect someone else…than those words now bring a thought process and an intent that is worthy of God judging my heart around why I would do that. I think that is what God cares about inside of me…what is going on in my head and heart.

I’m not saying anything about anyone else’s choices…just mine…and that is I don’t care about it. Never had tea, never see a need for it…and spiritually I have more important things to think about. I don’t mean to belittle the topic, because for months I studied it out, so I respect others who choose to handle it differently and want to study the meaning like I did. I’m just sharing where I got to…and that is that I feel God has told me the same thing…it doesn’t matter except how it makes me think about it and my behavior towards it. I’ve never broken the commandment, but I don’t have a testimony in it.

[Anonymous]

For me, there are so many “acceptable alternatives” that already are allowed in other countries and cultures that I don’t get into a huff about it. I also believe that there are lots of instances where it’s better to ask for understanding or forgiveness than for permission.

So, my own “advice” is to follow to the very best of your ability your own understanding of what the spirit of the WofW means, not intentionally excuse stuff that obviously is out of bounds by any reasonable stretch (like drinking liquor), and answer openly and honestly, “Yes,” when asked if you obey the WofW in a temple recommend interview.

If it ain’t spelled out, it ain’t spelled out – so, by all that’s holy and intelligent, don’t ask someone to spell it out.

Yes, sometimes we ask too many questions.

[Anonymous]

Old-Timer wrote:

Yes, sometimes we ask too many questions.

And that about says it all!

[Author]

Posts