2019 Winter GABA Oolong

January 2020 Tea of the Month

2019 Winter GABA Oolong

     Every season, vintage and style is different. Our 2019 winter GABA Oolong tastes like baked apple pie!  It has some fruity sweetness reminiscent of dried apricots and just a hint of berry sourness. This tea has malty overtones, a rich thick body, and a pleasantly soft finish. Perhaps this tea tastes so good because it is so good for us. 

     Want to go deep? Join our Mad Monk Tea Club and drink these amazing, exclusive, teas with us every month! Want to learn more? Check out these amazing blog posts and their footnotes.Enjoy!

WHAT IS GABA?

     Discovered by Japanese researcher Dr. Tsushida Tojiro, GABA tea is an amazing innovation in global tea production. In short it is a tea (in our case an Oolong Tea) that has gone through an additional “special” nitrogen rich, anaerobic fermentation.  

     GABA is short for gamma-aminobutyric acid. GABA is an incredibly important neurotransmitter. Our bodies already make GABA. In fact, GABA is one of the chief neurotransmitters for all mammals. Our brain is wired for it, our immune cells have receptors for it and it’s found in almost every major organ in the body. 

     The history of GABA tea is relatively new. Discovered in 1984 it has slowly made its way into the hands of only the most progressive and adventurous tea producers. And it is easy to see why. Imagine being able to take a product like rice or tea and make it more nutrient dense! Using a relatively simple technique the producer creates a natural synthesis that dramatically increases a compound that has been proven to do the following: 

1. Reduce Stress

2. Reduce high blood pressure 

3. Reduce sleep problems and insomnia

4. Counter Depression 

5. Alleviate muscle pains

6. Promotes the natural production of HGH

     Without getting too technical, this process takes an already present excitatory neurotransmitter (glutamic acid) and synthesizing it into an inhibitory neurotransmitter (gamma-aminobutyric acid).  Ok that’s pretty technical. Basically it makes the tea more mellow by changing stimulating aminos into calming ones.   

     Perhaps the most remarkable benefit of GABA is its ability to directly control our cortisol levels, the chemical directly related to stress and anxiety.  Furthermore GABA is known to inhibit high blood pressure another major factor in stress and anxiety.

     The chemistry is interesting, the health benefits are numerous but at the end of the day we drink this tea because of it's fantastic flavor! 

https://www.greentea.net/gaba/

https://tillermantea.net/2018/04/gaba-tea/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid#Biosynthesis