Now chew tea, in place of drinking!

'Chai', a key part of our daily life, is now getting 'popular' in chewable form and has been found to 'lessen' the effects of nicotine among smokers. In some parts of Germany, people chew white tea leaves, which is a phenomena very similar to chewing 'paan masala' in India, to invigorate themselves, an Ooty-based Doddabetta Tea Factory and Tea Museum's General Manager L Varadaraj told media persons. "It was really quite interesting to know that people there (in Germany) use White Tea (silver tips tea), just like pan masala, for refreshment," said Varadaraj, whose factory exports White Tea in parts of the European country. White Tea variety is more costly in the tea industry. The leaves are hand-plucked and sun-dried before being exported. Unlike other varieties, white leaves remain unprocessed, which is why, they have high quantity of anti-oxidants and even considered better than green tea in terms of health benefits, he said.