What is GABA?

GABA is gamma-aminobutyric acid. It is a chemical that occurs naturally in the brain. Many scientific studies say that when taken as a supplement, GABA can help lower high blood pressure and promote an overall sense of well-being.

What is GABA tea?

GABA tea is specifically processed with the aim that the naturally occurring GABA acid can be available in a higher amount than when a traditional processing of tea is used. Drinking GABA tea is one of the healthiest ways to increase your intake of gamma-aminobutyric acid.

GABA tea processing

Immediately after harvesting, the tea is spread outside in a thin layer for withering. Once complete, the tea is loaded into the Da Lang 大浪 machine. The use of this machine is usually reserved for the production of Oolong tea. However, when processing GABA tea, using the Da Lang machine has become a common step. This is mainly because thanks to this machines the leaves undergo an even, very light oxidation in it. This process takes 2-3 hours.

The following special production step turns classic tea into GABA tea. This requires a Yan Yang Ji 厭澽機 machine, which is a closed anaerobic chamber. The removal of oxygen and introduction of nitrogen causes the tea to produce a higher level of GABA than normal processing would allow. The tea remains in the chamber for 12 hours. After the end of exposure to nitrogen, the tea is returned to the Da Lang machine. This entire cycle is repeated three times. With each cycle, the level of GABA in the tea increases. Commonly processed tea has an average of about 80 mg of GABA per 100 g of finished tea. If we want to name a specific tea a GABA tea, it must contain at least 150 mg of GABA per 100 g of tea, otherwise it has no right to be called that.

After three cycles in the Da Lang and Yan Yang Ji machines, we continue processing the tea. Typically, the next step is rolling. 13-15 kg of tea can be placed on one bamboo mat, which is also the dose for the rolling machine. After the rolling, the tea passes through a dryer and then returns to the bamboo mat.

From there, it's basically a return to standard tea processing. Rolling, rolling and drying again and returning to the bamboo mat. The steps of rolling, rolling and drying are repeated until the tea is as desired by the production master. During processing, the tea leaves change in all aspects, shape, color and aroma.

How does the GABA process affect the taste and aroma of tea?

The GABA tea processing process gives the tea leaves a unique sweet and sour and slightly spicy taste. At the very beginning of GABA teas, the taste was changed to such an extent that it was not even possible to distinguish the original tea. The taste was distinctly sour and accompanied by an unpleasant smell. Over time, thanks to significant improvements in the production process of GABA tea, the change in taste has shifted from negative to positive, and good GABA teas boast spicy notes and a pleasant aroma. But it always depends on the type of tea and the specific production process.

The origin of GABA tea

The roots of GABA tea go back to Japan, where a unique process of its production was developed. The key figure in the discovery of GABA tea was Prof. Tsushida. In 1987, he and his colleagues at the National Tea Research Institute were looking for ways to extend the shelf life of fresh tea leaves. They experimented with packing the harvested tea leaves in anaerobic conditions, just as it is done with fresh vegetables.

After examining the tea leaves, it was found that the content of GABA and alanine in the tea increased exponentially. The study also found that glutamic acid and aspartic acid almost disappeared. Initially, the research was done with green tea, but it was later found that GABA levels were also increased in black tea and Oolong. Based on these findings, further experiments began with tea processing to increase the amount of GABA in the tea leaf.

This innovative method eventually made its way to Taiwan, where the production of GABA tea has been perfected for over a decade.