WORLD OF TEA

Chrysanthemum tea for health

2012-01-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

Chrysanthemum Tea is prepared in the same way as traditional tea. The dried flowers are infused with hot water for over 10 min. and the tea is ready to serve. For clinical usage, the chrysanthemum is boiled either alone or together with various herbs, according to the prescription to suit a specific clinical purpose.

Based on traditional usage, in addition to use as a tea Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat is used for common cold, fever, migraines, conjunctivitis, eye irritation, hypertension, ulcerative colitis, vertigo, ophthalmia with swelling and pain, etc. As a mixture with other herbs, it has been claimed to be able to relieve migraines and eye irritation, improve vision and cure keratitis.

Apart from the above traditional usage, there were also other usages, such as antitumor activities. Chrysanthemum water extract was found to significantly inhibit growth of transplanted tumor in mice, suggesting that the water soluble components of chrysanthemum may have potent chemopreventive effects.

The other research shows that that chrysanthemum was quite effective in reducing elevated blood pressure and in relieving the physical symptoms that accompany such blood pressure problems. Researchers also said that chrysanthemum possesses a potent antibiotic effect and it was subsequently proven to be useful in treating angina and related cardiac problems.

The Chinese have utilized herbal remedies made from chrysanthemum for thousands of years. The herbs have been used as medicine and as a beverage for centuries in china. The herb categorized in the Divine Husbandman's Classic, called “Shen'nong Bencaojing" in ancient writing which dated 1st century AD in China.
Chrysanthemum tea for health

Green Tea and health benefits

2011-12-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

The famous Chinese master Lu Yu wrote in AD 780 that tea could cure headaches, body aches and pains, constipation and depression.

Firstly, green tea shares all the health benefits that are thought to come from black tea, except in a more effective form, as the tea is fresher.

Tea can help reduce your chances of getting heart disease by up to half, as well as fight dental plaque and cavities (although it will also stain your teeth if you don’t make sure to drink plenty of water and brush regularly, so watch out).

Drinking tea also burns more calories. Green tea has been mooted as a cure for cancer, Alzheimer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and cardiovascular disease.

The antioxidant part of green tea has been shown to efficiently scavenge the toxin in human body. Green tea’s antioxidant activity is particularly important for preventing lipid peroxidation which often plays a key role in the build up of atherosclerosis plaque.

Tea drinking also protects the blood vessels that feed the heart and brain; men who have the highest intakes of polyphenols from tea and other foods have almost 75 percent fewer stokes than men with low intakes.

Green tea is good for the digestive system. It helps the drinker to think clearly and even improves the eyesight. Green tea strengthens arteries and reduces excess fats in the bloods.

The tannins in green tea can stop diarrhea.
Green Tea and health benefits

Flavonoids in tea

2011-12-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

Researchers have unidentified a class of antioxidants called polyphenols that appear to be responsible for much of the health benefits of tea called flavonoids.

The term ‘flavonoid’ is generally used to describe a broad collection of natural products that include a C6-C3-C6 carbon framework, or more specifically a phenylbenzopran functionality.

Flavonoids known for their health promoting qualities and disease preventing dietary supplements, are found in whole grain, soy, vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, teas, chocolate, nuts, olive oils and red wine.

Many flavonoids act as antioxidant and may protect against cancers.

93 per cent of tea phenolic compounds are flavonoids. Green tea contains more of simple flavonoids called catechins, while the oxidization that the leaves undergo to make black tea, coverts these simple flavonoids to more complex varieties called theaflavins and thearubigins. Green tea also contain epicatechin and gallic acid.

Epidemiological, in vitro and animal studies indicate that flavonoids exert protection against cardiovascular diseases.

Since green tea fight free radicals and reduce the risk of heart disease, it seems natural to assume that it is the ingredients contribute to health protection.

The cardio-protective effect of flavonoids can be attributed to its antioxidant, anti-thrombogenic and lipid lowering properties and also its effect on promoting endothelial function.

150 mgs of flavonoids, the amount found in a cup of brewed tea, is enough to have an immediate antioxidant effect.

Tea provides about 22 per cent of the total intake of flavonoids in the Unites States diet.

Flavonoids in tea

History of Caffeine

2011-11-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

The drinking of tea and coffee introduced a new drug, caffeine, which has not naturally available in temperate climates, into Western civilization in the 17th century.

With the development of worldwide trade routes during the 17th and 18th centuries, caffeinated products such as coffee, tea, guarana, coca, and mate spread rapidly from their indigenous environment of the parts of the world.

It is the most common stimulant drug in used for centuries, yet it wasn’t until the 1800s that scientists purified it and gave it a name.

Caffeine was first purified by German chemist named Johann Freidlieb Ferdinand Runge. With the aid of chromatography technique he purified a a crystalline white powder with a bitter taste from coffee beans.

Its chemical structure was identified in 1875. Caffeine was isolated from tea in 1827, five years after first isolated from coffee.

The plants contain the methylxanthines have been used to make popular beverages since ancient times.

In the late 1800s, entrepreneurs began selling flavored carbonated beverages with added caffeine. Original claims for promoting used of these products appealed directly to the stimulant pharmacology of caffeine.
History of Caffeine

Health Benefits by Drinking Tea

2011-11-02T02:27:00.000-07:00

Human beings have a long history of tea plant cultivation and tea drinking. Drinking tea is a daily ritual for million of people. Tea seems to dispel the heat and bring of instant cooling, together with a sense of relaxation.

Addition to this pleasure, tea also provides a number of health benefits.

Research has shown that drinking tea is possibly more beneficial to the body, while it puts liquid into the body tea also is loaded with antioxidants. Water of course does not have antioxidants to add to its replenishment of the body.

British studies have shown that for women tea drinking will help strengthen bones and prevents his fractures.

Some of the research that has been done with tea and its antioxidants have given some proof that it may help to guard against certain types of cancer, weight loss and it may even help protect against the onset of Alzheimer's, along with other diseases.

Antioxidants bond harmful oxygen-containing molecules in the body called free radicals and peroxides that otherwise could damage DNA, cell membranes, and other cell components.

In addition to this, various research studies appear to indicate that tea may even reduce the relative risk for diabetes as well as improve insulin sensitivity.

Tea catechins lower blood sugar levels by inhibiting the action of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starches such as carbohydrates and coverts them into glucose.

There is research on tea and its possibility of lowering the incidence of skin cancers plus the ability to aid smokers in recovering and repairing damaged cell structure. The result of epidemiological study stated that one of the health benefits of drinking tea is that it can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer in men and women by up to 60%.

Another wonderful benefit from drinking tea is it is rich in natural fluoride and prevent tooth decay. It is important to avoid using sugar in tea for this benefits to be maximized. Tea catechins prevent growth of bacteria that also cause tooth decay and the formation of plaque.

The Ancient Chinese and Tibetans may not have had out modern scientific and medical instruments, but they have a long tradition of health and healing knowledge that we can learn from even today.

There has also been research done into the types of antioxidants in black tea and green tea, while they both have antioxidants they are different types of antioxidants and are equally healthy for the body and guarding against disease.
Health Benefits by Drinking Tea

White Tea

2011-09-25T21:25:00.001-07:00

The leaves for all three teas, black, green and white come from one plant, Camellia sinensis. Those leaves meant for black and green teas are rolled and fermented before drying, whole those destined for white teas, which actually brew up pale yellow red – are not. White teas is the least processed of all teas.

There is a suggestion that white tea to be defined as a tea made from either the first flush bud and one leaf, either air dried or directly warm fired.

White tea is thought to be healthiest of all three types of tea.

The tea is harvested while the leaves are immature. The white tea is processed immediately without fermentation.

Fresh tea leaves are rich in flavonoids called catechins. Catechins appear to protect human body from a variety of cancers. They also keep the blood vessels healthy.

Because white tea leaves are neither rolled nor fermented, fewer of their catechins marry into polyphenols. According to researchers the plain catechins content of white tea is three times higher that of green tea.

Therefore they are the best dietary source of this compound.

A new research showed that white tea prevented the breakdown of elastin and collagen, by stopping the offending enzymes from doing the damage.

Catechins have an antioxidative and antiaging effects. The catechins found in tea are twenty-five to one hundred times as potent as vitamins C and E.
White Tea

John Jacob Astor and tea business

2011-08-23T19:37:00.001-07:00

John Jacob Astir was one of the first multimillionaire in the United States. He arrived in New York practically penniless in the spring of 1784, and when he died in 1848 he left a fortune of some twenty millions.

He was born into poor family in Germany in 1763.

John Jacob Astor, earned a massive fortune through trade. When the rise of the Chinese trade, he began in 1808 with the American Fur Company, then bought five clipper ships and held a monopoly on the fur trade to China.

He carried beaver and otter pelts to China and returned with silk, tea and tea ware.

The cargo of teas would be sold almost on arrival (11 or 2 moths after the ship left New York in May) to whole grocers, for their notes at four and six months.

It is aid that part of his success lay in the fact that he made up for the trade deficiency in gold, not opium and that he used the fastest ships available at the time.

Astor increased his wealth with this Chinese trade. His ships returned from China with tea that provided profits of as much as $100,000 for a single cargo.

John Jacob Astor at one period of his life has several vessels operating in this way. They would go to the Pacific (Oregon) and carry thence furs to Canton. These would be sold at large profits,

Then the cargoes of tea shipped to New York would be duly received, on which Astor did not have to pay duty to the United States for year and a half.

When the fur trade began declining in 1810 and tea from India began to cut into his China profits, Astor turned his attention to real estate in New York , where he made even more money.
John Jacob Astor and tea business

Fluoride in Tea

2011-07-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

The tea plant naturally concentrates fluoride from soil and water. Fluoride accumulates mostly in the leaves of the tea plant, especially the mature or fallen leaf.

A large percentage of the total fluoride, 25-84%, is released during infusion, and tea is considered to be major source of fluoride.

Instant tea is a reasonably good choice of beverage, although in very large quantities, it can result in excessive fluoride intake.

Brewed tea also contains fluoride, though in lower concentrations than instant tea. In practice, fluoride content in tea as consumed will be higher if the beverage is made with fluoridated water.

Additionally, brewed tea is higher in antioxidant phytonutrients than instant tea and thus is preferable when available.

The fluoride in tea is not necessarily a bad things. Tea consumption has been linked with healthier teeth and gums and stronger bones, possibly in past due to its fluoride content.

It also contributes bones to resistant to decay by acids and demineralization.

The benefits of fluoride are greatest when exposure to it begins in infancy and continues during the development of a child’s teeth.

Fluoride is not a concern unless you are drinking more than two or three quarts of instant tea, or a gallon of regular brewed tea, daily.
Fluoride in Tea

Green Tea, Arthritis and Inflammation

2011-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

Green tea is an extract of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. This delicious drink sometimes referred to as a ‘cup of steaming medicine’.

It contains a group of polyphenols known as catechins, the most abundant of which is the gallate ester.

In a study in mice, researcher found that consumption of green tea polyphenols produces a significant reduction in arthritis incidence, with a marked reduction of inflammatory mediators, neutral endopeptidase activity of IgG and type II collagen specific IgG levels in arthritic joints.

Two most potent catechins, epigallocatechin-3 gallate or EGCG and ECG, actually block cartilage destroying enzymes. When drink green tea, cartilage is better able to stave of the breakdown process and stay intact.

Many study suggest that green tea has anti-inflammatory properties, and new research is beginning to explain why.

It has been shown to posses antioxidant activity against a broad range of oxidants and anti-inflammatory activity against pro-inflammatory mediators of chronic disease.

EGCG or epigallocatechin-3 gallate inhibits the expression of the interleukin gene involved in the inflammatory response. EGCG blocked the expression of many biologic parameters that are associated with enhanced inflammatory response.
Green Tea, Arthritis and Inflammation

What so special about English Breakfast Tea?

2011-04-22T08:48:00.001-07:00

The majority of teas available in the market today are blends of different kinds of teas from different growing regions.

Today’s English breakfast tea contain Assam tea for strength, Ceylon tea for flavor and African tea for color.

English breakfast tea is more full-flavored and full bodied than a single black tea.

The best English breakfast blends are rich and dense, with a dark reddish amber color. Some have a thick malty flavor, while others impart subtle, dark raspberry jam notes.

Many tea authorities suggest that the Keemun tea blended with milk creates a bouquet that reminds people of "toast hot from the oven" and maybe the original source for the name.

It goes well with same foods that red wines does and it is often used for brewing iced tea.
What so special about English Breakfast Tea?

English Breakfast Tea

2011-03-15T01:50:00.000-07:00

The prototype of this most popular of all teas was developed over a hundred years ago by the Scottish Tea Master Drysdale in Edinburgh.

It become indoctrinated into the English lifestyle. It replaced the customary practice of drinking ale at breakfast.

It was marketed simply as "Breakfast Tea". It became popular in England due to the craze Queen Victoria created for things Scottish (the summer home of Victoria and Albert was the Highland castle of Balmoral).

Tea shops in London, however, changed the name and marketed it as "English Breakfast Tea". It is an originally blend of fine black teas from India and Chinese tea, often including some Keemun tea.

Keemun, a black Chinese tea with a fruity taste and a hint of pine.

Nowadays Assam, Ceylon and African teas are blended to provide drinkers with the three elements they require – strength, flavour and color.

Many tea authorities suggest that the Keemun tea blended with milk creates a bouquet that reminds people of "toast hot from the oven" and maybe the original source for the name.

It should be offered with milk or lemon. (One never serves lemon to a guest if they request milk-the lemon is never used. It would curdle the milk.) It may also be used to brew iced tea.
English Breakfast Tea

Tea Health Benefits

2011-03-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

The health benefits of tea have been touted for centuries. It have probably been utilized, drunk, eaten, pickled by mountain tribes since time immemorial. Chinese legend claims that tea consumption goes back as far as as 2737 BC.

At that time, the Chinese people have been using tea as treatment for everything from headaches to depression.

The basis for all the buzz about tea's healthy properties are polyphenols. Phenols are basically a chemical compound that are found in many plants, including tea. Get a whole bunch of phenols together, and you've got polyphenols.

The thing that makes polyphenols so healthy is that they are thought to be powerful antioxidants. Polyphenols are best known for being effective antioxidants, and the polyphenol in tea are no exception.

Teas that are least oxidized (mainly green and whites) retain more polyphenols than those that are fully oxidized.

Antioxidants are basically chemicals that reduce oxidative damage to cells. Medical researchers have found a high correlation between oxidative damage and the occurrence of disease.

Their research suggests that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods reduces damage to cells and biochemical from free radicals. That's something that most scientists agree upon.

In particular, green and white teas contain high amounts of the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate, which has potent anti-inflammatory properties and is thought to boost the body’s ability to use fat as an energy source.

This particular polyphenol inhibits the enzymes urokinase, which plays an important role in the growth of malignant cells.

Tea has soventlike properties that break down fats, and when consumed after meals rich in fats, it reduces the risk of arterial disease.

Tea also contains theophylline, a close relative of the theobromine found in cocoa. Theophylline stimulates the heart and dilates the airways; it can help improve breathing in those suffering from congestion such as asthma.

Scientists also believe that the caffeine in tea is good for the body’s heart and circulatory system, which may help prevent heart disease and stroke. Te is believed to help clean toxins, or poisonous substances from the body.

Tea prevent dental decay by inhibiting the growth of Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria responsible for plaque formation.

When the modern researchers finally studied tea, they confirmed what the Chineses had said for centuries: that tea holds within it a special health-preserving and revitalizing power.
Tea Health Benefits

Tea During Ancient Time

2011-01-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

Teas are botanically classified as Camellia sinensis, which are teas from China and Camellia assamica, which are teas that originated from plants in the Assam region of northern India.

Tea has long been touted for its healthful properties and according to some scholars may be the most commonly drunk beverage in the world after water.

Legend credits the origin of the tea infusion to leaves form a tea tree falling by accident into drinking water intended for the Chinese emperor, Shen Nung in 2737.

There are varying legends as to whether tea originated in India or in China.

The plant has been cultivated so long and so widely in South China that at present it is difficult to ascertain its geographical origin from wild plants in the natural vegetation.

There was a suggestion that after reviewing ancient records, that the used of tea started in Szechuan and was introduced to central Chin after the Ch’in conquered Shu, in the fourth century BC.

Another accounts purporting to tell about the early use of tea by an ancient emperor says that as early as the twelfth century BC, tribal leader in and around Szechuan included tea in their offerings to Emperor Wen, duke of Chou and founder of the Chou dynasty (1122-256 BC).

The earliest record of tea cultivation and consumption is found in ancient Chinese literature dating back to 1100 BC.

In the year 350 AD, tea is growing along the Yangtze River in Szechuan province.

Tea consumption evolved into part of Chinese religious symbolism and culture – the first monograph on tea, written about 780 AD, was called Ch’a Ching, or Tea Scripture.

Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, is ascribe, by a Chinese text of the first century BC, the notion that tea is an indispensable constituent of the elixir of life. His followers, who sought the secret of immortality, certainly believed this, dubbing tea “the forth of the liquid jade.”

Ancient written history tell in 727 AD, tea is presented to Emperor Shomu as an official gift from Chinese T’ang Court, Tea’s then spread to Japan.

At first this beverage was primarily used as a medicine, or by Zen Buddhist monks to prevent drowsiness during long hours of meditation.

In 1600 Texeira, a Spaniard, saw dried tea leaves at Malacca: a proof that tea had been introduced into Southern Asia by the Chinese long before the arrival of the Europeans in those area.
Tea During Ancient Time

Green tea for your belly

2010-12-02T03:08:00.000-08:00

Green tea for your belly
Belly fat is not just unbecoming, it is dangerous to your long term, health and well being. When excessive fat is stored inside your abdominal cavity it has devastating metabolic consequences.

This intra abdominal adipose tissue continually dumps fatty acids into the bloodstream poisoning your muscles so they become unresponsive to the normal action of insulin.

That means your insulin, sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels go up, predisposing you to high blood pressure diabetes heart disease and even some forms of cancer.

Finding a way selectively burn this toxic belly fat has been the holy grail of scientists and dieters alike, but to has proved to be an elusive goal.

Evolving evidence points to green tea and its components like theanine and catechins as at least part of the answer to this problem.

You will need to drink about three to four cups of either caffeinated or decaffeinated green tea per day to see the full benefits including weight loss, increased metabolism and a shrinking waistline.
Green tea for your belly

The Legends

2010-08-27T13:04:00.001-07:00

The Legends
Legends about discovery of tea with the origins of the average shrouded in Oriental folklore.

The legend credits the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung, who discovered that the boiling of water made it safe to drink.

One day, almost five thousand years ago, as the Emperor was waiting for his pot to boil, leaves from a bush nearly fell into the hot water.

The emperor drank the liquid and found it tasty, refreshing and relaxing.

The wild plant was Camellia sinensis, which can grow to approximately 15 feet. The China plant is very hardy and can with stand extreme cold temperature.

The leaves are approximately two inches long.

Camellia assamica is considered a tree and can grow up to 65 feet if not reduced to the plucking level of about 4 feet.

The leaf is six times as large as the sinensis as the sinensis leaf.

The Camellia assamica subspecies lasiocalyx is also tree that grows to about 15 feet. The leaf size is intermediate between sinensis and assamica.
The Legends

Biography of Sir Thomas Lipton

2010-07-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

Biography of Sir Thomas Lipton
Towards the the end id the nineteenth century a modern shopping industry began to appear in Scotland, offering low prices and high quality. The most famous of the new shopkeepers was Thomas Lipton.

Thomas Lipton was born in Glasgow in 1850. When he left school he was only nine years old, but he found work and had soon saved enough to buy a ticket on a liner to New York.

In New York he got a job in a grocery store. Three years later still a teenager he was back in Glasgow bursting with the new ideas he had seen in the New York shops. When he opens his own shop in 1870, he began to try these ideas out.

Within a few years new Lipton’s shops were opening all over Scotland at the rate of one week. England came next, and by 1885 more than 600 Lipton shops were busily trading.

At first shops sold mainly hams, eggs, cheeses and butter.

Next, Lipton entered the tea market, and again with dramatic success. Lipton became a very wealthy man as a result of his business successes.

Later in his life he was well known for his love of sailing and for the beautifully made yachts always called Shamrock,, that he bought and raced in Britain and America.

But when he died in 1931 he was still known best for the great changes he had brought to shopping.
Biography of Sir Thomas Lipton

Tea Producing Countries

2010-07-18T01:29:00.000-07:00

Tea Producing Countries
Although tea is now consumed in most part of the world, it is still grown and processed primarily in the East.

In 2003, world tea production reached 3.15 million tons, a 75,000 ton increase over 2002.

The principle tea producing countries are China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Argentina.

Many producing countries the improvement of productivity has become a more significant factor for gains in prediction than increased area.

As tea often has to compete with other food and export crops for available land, there is an evident need to make optimum used of the limited land available.

Higher output has to be obtained predominantly through improved yields, which are mainly achieved through rehabilitation of old tea lands and in filling with the best available planting material.

Tea is grown in more than thirty countries. Globally, some 2.3 million hectares are planted to tea, and production from this area was approximately 3.0 million metric tons in 1997.

Many of the producing nations consume very little of the product while other countries import large quantities for domestic consumption.

Some countries, like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, also import tea for value addition and re-export. Tea is an important beverage in certain Western countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada.

Tea geographical separation of principle production and consumption areas provides the greatest potential for future trading.
Tea Producing Countries

Tea and Osteoporosis

2010-06-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Tea and Osteoporosis
In osteoporosis, a disease of low bone-mineral density (BMD), the bones and joints become thin and fragile.

It is the biggest cause of fractures among elderly women. Hormone deficiencies are the leading cause of the disease.

Tea is reported to protect against hip fractures. There was a study suggest that drinking 1-6 cups/d of tea may significantly reduce the risk of bone fracture by increasing bone-mineral density (BMD).

Studies suggest that isoflavonoids in tea increase BMD and help reduce the risk of fractures in old age.

Of the 1256 women between the ages of 65 an 76 year who surveyed, 1134 drank at least 1 cup/d of tea. BMD at the base of the spine and at two hip regions was significantly higher in tea drinkers when the data were adjusted to account for age and body weight.
Tea and Osteoporosis

Boston Tea Party

2010-05-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, a band of angry colonists gathered at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, disguised as native American Indians.

They boarded three East Indian Company ships and threw their tea cargoes into Boston Harbor, as a protest against the unfair taxation.

These acts and others ultimately led to the Revolution War. For a while, drinking tea was seen as unpatriotic, and citizens showed support by switching from tea to coffee or other substitutes.

Following the Boston Tea Party, young ladies of Boston signed the following pledge:

We the daughters of those patriots who have, and so now appear for the public interest and in that principally regard their posterity, as such do with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves the drinking of foreign tea, in hopes to frustrate a plan that tends to deprive a whole community if all is valuable to life.

After the war, people resumed drinking tea and eventually the United States sent ship to China and began importing tea directly.

Tea never became the national obsession in America that it is in England – coffee seems to fill that role in the US – but the United States has been very involved in the tea trade since the early nineteenth century.
Further reading: history of tea

Tea Effects on Blood Pressure

2010-04-23T02:47:00.001-07:00

Tea Effects on Blood Pressure
Epidemiological investigations have shown that tea consumption may exert a lowering effect on blood pressure. A survey of adults in China that average rate of hypertension in the group who drank tea as a habit was lower than that in the group who did not.

A clinical investigations on patients with hypertension revealed that a 10 g daily intake of green tea for half a year resulted in reduction of the blood pressure by 20-30%.

Oral administration of tea polyphenols also yielded a decrease of blood pressure in patients, a number of studies also revealed the blood pressure decreasing effects of tea in experimental animal models.

The reported active substance include tea extracts, polyphenols and tea tannin.

In addition, theanine, the amino acid component of tea, was found to be effective in decreasing the blood pressure of spontaneous hypertensive rates.

Caffeine may exert a variable effect on blood pressure. Intravenous administration of caffeine may cause an initial fall in blood pressure and then a secondary rise.

So, caffeine should be taken into account if whole tea preparation instead of tea component is used in studying the effect on blood pressure.
Tea Effects on Blood Pressure

The Beginning of Tea Drinking

2010-03-26T08:45:00.001-07:00

The Beginning of Tea Drinking
The use of tea as a beverage probably dates to the remotest antiquity but not among nations (with exceptions of China) whose literature is available.

Confucius speaks of tea drinking 500 years before Christ. It is not mentioned by any of the classical writers. It was not until the organization of the East Indian Company that tea was brought into England.

In regard to this use in America the only thing that seems to be certain is that it was not brought over in the Mayflower.

It is stated by authority that the first merchant who put on sale in England was named Garway.

By 1660 tea was pretty well known in England among the wealthy and fashionable. By 1664 it was on sale at the coffee houses. Even in 1664 the cost was excessive shillings a pound being the price.

While the first use of this leaf was as a medicine a German named Olearius recognized its value as a beverage as early as 1633.

But many there were who vilified it calling it an “impertinent novelty and the sellers of its immoral and mercenary persons.”

In Boston, tea was on sale by 1690 and in 1691 there were two houses besides those kept by Daniel Vernon and Benjamin Harris.

By 1712 it was advertised in the Boston News Latter and you could buy it from Zabdiel Bolton at his apothecary shop.

The favorite variety was green but the advertisement reads “green and ordinary.” Bohea was favorite and by 1725 it could be purchased in apothecary tobacco and drygoods shops,, as well as those devoted to “small ware.”.

From a commercial point of view the China tea trade began about 1678 by the East Indian Company carrying to England about 5,000 pounds of tea as a speculation.

This quality supplied London for many years before it was finally disposed of.

The exports of tea from China reached a maximum about 1886, when a total of about 300,000,000 pounds were exported.

From 1886 there has been a gradual decline in the amount exporter largely due to the growing popularity of India teas.
The Beginning of Tea Drinking

Green tea

2010-03-04T07:11:00.000-08:00

Green tea
Green tea is a uniquely powerful beverage for improving health, burning body fat, and preventing disease.

Today, this ancient beverage has a bright future owing to a steady stream of new studies showing the health benefits accrued buy drinking it.

We routinely have a cup of decaf tea green tea in the evening after the kids are in bed and we can relax and enjoy spending some quiet time together.

We try to drink two to four cups throughput the day and find decaffeinated green tea keep us focused yet relaxed.

It is also one of the best sources of beneficial phytonutrients that are helpful in preventing aging and disease.

Tea is a great way to stay well hydrated without consuming excess empty calories.

Green tea increases your metabolism and appears to selectively mobilise the fat stores from inside your abdominal cavity. Regular tea drinkers have a lower risk of diabetes high blood pressure and heart disease.

The active components of green tea are potent antioxidant: polyphenols (or catechins) and flavonoids.

These compounds give tea not just its color and flavor, but also its antioxidants fighting proprieties.

The specific polyphenol that appears to b most protective is epigallocathechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant that is twenty five to one hundred times more potent that vitamins E or C.

A single cup of green tea provides more antioxidant protection than a serving of strawberries, carrots or even broccoli.

In theory, this should make green tea a great tool for preventing illness like cancer heart disease and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Green tea is one o the best sources of flavour-3-ol polyphenols. Other sources of this age defying antioxidant include, berries, apples, pomegranates, red wines, and grapes.

Flavon-3-ols provide powerful multiple health benefits including protecting the LDL cholesterol from oxidation (helping to prevent plaques in the arteries); reducing inflammation; lowering the risk of cancer by inhibiting the generic and cellular injury; and blocking aging of the skin induced by sunlight.

Since we started drinking three o four cups of green tea daily, we seem to be less susceptible to sunburn.

The biologically active phytonutrients is green tea also stimulate various aspects of the immune system.

Studies show that green tea does protect against DNA damage, the initial insult that can create a malignant cell.

It also seems to help extinguish cancerous colonies of cells before they get a foot hold in the body.

Tea consumption has been linked with lower risks of cancers of the lung, colon, breast, liver, prostate, bladder, pancreas, and skin.
Green tea

Processing and Varieties of Tea

2010-03-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

Tea and Longevity

2010-02-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

Tea and Longevity
There is some evidence that drinking tea also promote longevity. For instance, a low mortality rate has been reported among Japanese women who are practitioners of the traditional tea ceremony.

It has been shown, for example that the longer the concentration of the antioxidants vitamin E and vitamin C in the bodies of animals, the longer they live.

This suggest that active consumption of agents that are effective antioxidants may slow the aging process.

Green tea is rich in antioxidants. It has been demonstrated that catechins in green tea are far stronger antioxidants than vitamin E.

Although there is no direct evidence a relationship between green tea consumption and aging, it contains powerful antioxidants, which is suggestive that it can help slow the aging process.

There was a research in Japan conducted an 8 year follow survey concerning the green tea effects on the prolongation of human life using 8500 participants.

Those who had more than 10 cups of green tea each day had a longer lifespan than those who had 3 or more cups daily.

In this study, a decreased relative risk of death form CVD was also found for people consuming more than 10 cups/d of green tea, and importantly, green tea consumption also prolonging effects on cumulative survival.
Tea and Longevity

Tea Merchants in 19th century

2010-02-01T03:13:00.000-08:00

Tea Merchants in 19th century
Not only international traders benefited from the wild popularity of tea, but domestic merchants as well.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, tea was still sold in bulk, but in 1826 a merchant by the name of John Horniman packaged and sold tea leaves in small boxes or tins.

People loved this, particularly since Horniman guaranteed the quality of the product.

Throughout the long history of tea in England, grocers who sold bulk in tea were often tempted to add the dried leaves of other, less expensive plants to stretch out the costly Chinese tea.

Prepackaged tea from a reputable merchant was a more dependable product, and Horniman’s company prospered until it was finally bought out by Lyons in 1918.

As the nineteenth century progressed and teas as being produced in India and other places, several merchants began tor specialized in tea.

In England there were four major brands that dominated: Lyons, Brooke Bond, Ty-phoo (which produced just one blend and sold it at a single price as a digestive aid), and the Co-op Wholesale Society in Manchester.

The Co-op was established in 1863 and served as wholesaler to five hundred co-operative societies across Britain.

Of all the names associated with team Lipton is perhaps the best known. Sir Thomas Lipton was born Glasgow in 1850 and worked in family grocery store during his early years.

When he was fifteen years old, he went to America and worked in the food section of a New York department store, where she fell in love with American advertising and merchandising.

When he returned to Scotland, he opened his first small grocery store in Glasgow in 1871. By 1880, he owned and operated a chain of twenty general stores.
Tea Merchants in 19th century

Antioxidant Activities of Chrysanthemum

2010-01-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

Antioxidant Activities of Chrysanthemum
The antioxidant properties of flavonoids extracted from chrysanthemum could have been responsible for the broad pharmacological effects of chrysanthemum.

It was found that water extract showed significant antioxidant activities in the linoleic acid system in vitro.

The inhibitor rate against peroxidation of linoleic acid was much higher than that of antioxidant alpha-tocopherol.

In the liposome model system, the extract showed significant inhibitory activity against peroxidation of lecithin, suggesting that the extract may reduce lipid peroxidation and play a role in protecting against damage to the cell membrane.

The water extract of chrysanthemum also showed significant direct inhibitory effects on various free radicals.

Similar to other antioxidants chrysanthemum extract has been shown to be an electron donor with strong reducing power.

The significant correlation between phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity indicates that the polyphenolic directly to the antioxidant activity of the extract.

It was demonstrated that flavonoids, a subgroup of phenolic compounds, were responsible for the antioxidant activity of the chrysanthemum extract, which can scavenge reactive oxygen radicals such as hydroxyl radicals and superoxide radicals.

The flavonoids can also be absorbed into cell membrane and hence protect the cells from the damage of free oxygen radicals.

The overall observations seem to indicate that the chemical reducing property may contribute to the free radical scavenging activities of chrysanthemum extract.
Antioxidant Activities of Chrysanthemum

Tea bags consumption and history

2009-12-20T17:50:00.000-08:00

Tea bags consumption and history
A New York tea merchant named William Sullivan invented tea bags accidently in 1904.

He had the idea of sending samples of tea to customer in hand sewn silk bags rather than in a tin.

He was soon flooded with orders for the convenient tea bags.

Making herbal blends from scratch might not be everyone’s cup of tea and for that reason, tea bags are a welcome convenience.

Although true tea aficionados shun them, tea bags can make an acceptable cup of tea.

They’re also readily available and provide convenience for those with a go-go-go lifestyle for new comers to the world of herbal teas, and for those who are traveling or dining in restaurants.

If your carry a few wrapped tea bags in your purse, briefcase, or backpack, you have only to request, “Hot water, please’” when you are on the road or in places where herbal teas are not available.

Happily, herbal teas are now more available than ever. Yet in order for the herbs to be put into tea bags, they are ground into a very fine cut that exposes the surfaces areas of the herbs thousands of times, thus allowing flavorful and therapeutic essential oils to evaporate more quickly.

When the tea bags sit for many months before being used, the herbs they contain lose potency. Many companies compensate for this loss by adding natural or unnatural flavorings to the herbs.
Tea bags consumption and history

Effects of Tea on Cardiovascular Disorders

2009-12-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

Effects of Tea on Cardiovascular Disorders
The physiological effects of the prevention and tea products on the cardiovascular system and their potential uses doe the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disorder have drawn a great deal of interest.

In traditional Chinese medicine, tea, especially green tea, can be used as a major component in a composed prescription for treatment of hypertension or coronary heart diseases.

Epidemiological experimental investigations on the effects of tea on cardiovascular disorders have been concentrated mainly on the effects on blood pressure, on blood lipids and on atherosclerosis.
Effects of Tea on Cardiovascular Disorders

Nomenclature of Tea

2009-11-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

Nomenclature of Tea
By the time the nomenclaturist Linnaeus published his Species Plantarum (1753), tea had already grown and consumed for centuries and he was aware of the availability of green and black teas.

Accordingly, he identifies two separate species of plants that yield tea: Thea virids (green) and Thea bohen (black).

Those inaccurate classification held until the early 19th century, when it was determined that these two plants were, in fact, one and the same.

The species of the tea plant is Camellia sinensis.

It is in the the family Theaceae of order Theales.

Interestingly enough, over 2000 varieties of tea are derived from this one plant species.

The differences are one function of the way o which the tea leaves are processed.

Study of relationship between green tea and cancer

2009-10-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

Study of relationship between green tea and cancer
Studies conducted in China revealed that green tea users had an approximate 50% reduction in risk for both esophageal cancer and stomach cancer.

Inhabitants of tea producing districts in Japan have a lower mortality from stomach cancer, possibly the result green tea consumption.

In addition to a regular tea drinking, this population consumes green tea all types of products, including candy, gums, bread, shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, etc.

Contrary to the preceding, however to recent studies found no association between green tea consumption and stomach or colon cancer.

Green tea was linked to a reduced risk of oral cancer in northern Italian and a Chinese population, esophageal cancer in Chinese women, gastric cancer in Swedish adolescents, pancreatic cancer in residents of a retirement community in the United States, and colon cancer in retired male self defense official in Japan.

Cohort studies suggest that there is a protective effect of green tea for colon, urinary bladder, stomach, pancreatic and esophageal cancer.

In Japanese survey, an overall protection by green tea was observed, together with slowdown of the increase of cancer incidence with age. The effects were more pronounced when the tea consumption was more than 10 cups/day.

In another Japanese study, consumption of 7 or more cups per day of green tea significantly decreased the risk of cancer of both the stomach and rectum (by 31% and 54% respectively) compared with non-users.

Regular tea drinkers in China experienced a lower incidence of cancer of the colon, rectum, and pancreas compared with non drinkers of tea.

A case control study from Poland reported a significant reduction in risk of pancreatic cancer with increasing lifetime tea consumption.

Increased green tea consumption was closely associated with decreased axillary lymph node metastases among patients who were premenopausal with stage 1 and 11 breast cancer and overall decreased recurrence of stage 1 and 11 breast cancer.
Study of relationship between green tea and cancer

Tea and War

2009-09-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

Tea and War
Throughout the nineteenth century tea continued to play a powerful role as an important commodity.

By the end of century tea was an essential part of the daily rations of many armies throughout the world including both British and American.

It was considered necessary, not only because of its soothing effects but perhaps more importantly, because tea necessitated boiling water, thus helping to ward off many of the intestinal diseases that had plagued armies for centuries.

Much has been written about the role tea played during the two world wars, not only as necessary refreshment for the troop but also as an item of trade.

During the first two wars of World War I, from 1914 to 1916, tea as enjoyed by the British as it had been before the war began.

When German submarines began sinking British ships, however supplies became less available and the price of tea rose dramatically.

In response to the scarcity of tea, the government classified it as a luxury and began rationing it to civilians.

The public uproar that resulted soon made it clear that tea would have to be reclassified as a basic necessity, essential for keeping up national morale.

The government then took over all tea imports, fixed process and controlled sales. By 1918, all the tea available in Britain was owned and meted out by the government at the rate of two ounces of tea per week per person.

In 1919, after the war ended, normally auctions resumed and consumption rose to three ounces of tea a head weekly by 1931.

While both wars did have an impact on the world’s consumption of tea, some things never change, and the British continued to import at an astronomic rate.

Primarily through the efforts of the British owned plantations, 470 million pounds of India tea were plucked in 1945, in spite of the turmoil in India during World War II.

This was the largest tea crop ever from India, and British profits in tea increased by 200 percent.
Tea and War

Antimicrobial Activity of Tea

2009-09-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Antimicrobial Activity of Tea
Medical books written as early as in the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279) in China mention that green tea in combination with ginger can effectively cure dysentery disorders, including those so-called red and white in appearance.

Modern medical research has demonstrated that tea and tea products are active against a wide range of microorganism, implying that tea may be potentially useful for treatment of some infectious illness.

A number of reports indicated that green tea and black tea can inhibit the growth of a wide spectrum of pathogenic bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhosa, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio choilerae, and others.

Both tea powder and tea infusion are active. In a comparison of the activity of green tea and black tea against various bacteria known to cause disease, the Gram-positive bacteria with more sensitive Gram–negative.

In the case of Staphylococcus aureus, black tea showed stringer bactericidal activity than green tea and coffee.

Tea polyphenols are major components responsible for the antibacterial activity of various tea products.

The active tea polyphenols and theaflavins and their minimum inhibition concentration values were estimated in the range of 100-800 ppm.

In addition,, tea aroma compounds such as linalool, geraniol, nerolidol, cis-jasmone and caryophyllene, also display antibacterial activities.

It is of importance that tea can inhibit methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus which poses severe problems in clinical chemotherapy.

The anticaries activity of tea has drawn much attention. Tea products have shown inhibitory activity against mutans streptococci and glucosyltransferases.

Mutan streptococci that are known to synthesize glucans have been implicated as primary causative agent of caries.

Two types of glucans, water soluble and water insoluble are synthesized by two different groups of glucosyltransferase in these bacteria.

The water insoluble glucan is highly adhesive to tooth surface resulting in the formation of dental plaque.

The bacteria grow in dental plague, metabolize varies sugars there and produce organic acids, especially lactic acid, which retains in the plaque, eventually to decalcify the tooth enamel and develop dental caries.

An earlier investigation conducted at primary schools over a year has found that the incidence of dental caries among children who took a cup of tea immediately after lunch was found to be significantly lower than that among children who did not.

Various tea extracts have shown bactericidal activity against mutan streptococci. Moreover, several catechins, the components from green tea, are active against cariogenic bacteria.
Antimicrobial Activity of Tea

The Art of Tea

2009-08-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

The Art of Tea
Nothing warms the body and soul like holding a fragrant, steaming cup of herbal tea, inhaling its subtle scents as you slowly sip.

Tea is among the most ancient, basin and simple methods of healing and nourishing body, mind and spirit.

As science has proven time and again, plants are endowed with important nutrients and potent healing compounds.

Some of those elements come from the raw earth: for example, a plant grown in calcium - or iron-rich soil draws those elements into its own body.

When you brew plants in water, the resulting beverage – herbal tea – is imbued with those constituent, carrying them into the body, where they are quickly absorbed.

Even better, teas are very easy to prepare, inexpensive and delicious.

Plant constituents that release their properties into water include carbohydrate protein, enzymes, mucilage, pectins, saponins and polysaccharides.

Essential oils are soluble but evaporate easily gums and tannins are partially soluble. All can play a role in improving and supporting human health.

Even though there is a wide array of medicinal herbal preparations, including capsules, tablets and tincture, drinking herbal tea offers unique benefits that should not be overlooked.

Teas are rapidly absorbed in the body. Also teas, are flavorful and aromatic. When we drink herbal tea the brain is soothed and nourished by aromas inhaled though the nose and the tasty sensory messages received by the tongue.

Another important benefit of drinking herbal tea is that it gives us an opportunity in our busy day to take a bit of time out for ourselves.

Taking tome out to taste and savor herbal teas provides an opportunity for reflection. Rather than swallowing a couple tasteless capsules with a gulp of water as we run out the door, we can use our time drinking herbal tea to think about intention - nourishing nervous sytem strengthening nervous system.
The Art of Tea

Processing and Varieties of Tea

2009-07-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

Processing and Varieties of Tea
Tea has more naturally occurring caffeine than does coffee.

However, the brewing process typically dilutes tea more than coffee, resulting in on quarter to one third less caffeine per cup.

The processing of all teas begins with the Camellia sinensis plant.

Only the top two leaves and the unopened leaf bud from the plants are used.

There are four principal methods for processing the plant, and they result in the major of tea that are the most widely consumed.

These are white, green (or fermented), oolong (or semi-fermented), and black (or fermented) tea.

White Tea
White tea tea is derived by the simplest of the four processing methods and in some classification schemes, is group with green tea.

Only the youngest leaves are picked for white tea, and these leaves still contain short white “hair”.

The leaves are simply steamed and dried and their appearance is relatively unaltered.

Brewing then produces a pale yellow cup of tea with a fresh flavor. Examples of white tea are imperial Silver Needles, Drum Mountain White Cloud, Pai Mu Tan and Poobong White Tea Darjeeling.

Tea leaves for the production of green tea are handled with special care because preservation of the healthy natural, active substance in the fresh leaves is essential for the tea to be at its best.

After picking the leaves are set in hot air wither and them usually pan fried to prevent oxidation or fermentation.

The more oxidation takes place, the darker and more pungent the tea is.

Once fried, the leaves are rolled, giving them a twisted, curly or balled appearance and increasing their durability.

This process also helps regulate release of natural substance during steeping.

The leaves are next dried, using a process called firing, in which the leaves are placed in a heat controlled environment.

The most common approach is to move the tea on a conveyor through a rotating drum.

The drum is heated by fire to a temperature that is constantly controlled to ensure even firing of the leaves.

The goal is to reduce the moisture in the leaves to about 4%. In addition, some sugars are caramelized in the process and the polyphenols undergo epimerization.

Firing stabilizes the fragrance and flavor of the tea. The resulting green colored leaves yield a cup of tea high in nutrients and minerals that is the subject of many medical studies.

During production of oolong team the leaves are allowed to mature longer before picking, which results in fuller body.

Upon picking, the leaves are withered much as they are in green tea. However, after withering, their edges are bruised by shaking.

Bruising mixes the cellular constituents and starts the oxidation process. Bruising is typically repeated several times and the leaves are the spread out to dry.

The next step is oxidation, which continues until 20 to 60% of the tea leaf is fermented, depending on the variety of oolong.

Although avoided in creating green teas, this process is essential in oolong and black teas because it yields the heartier, richer flavors characteristic of these varieties.

Fermentation is finally stooped by pan firing and the leaves are ready for export.

Black Tea
Unlike other teas, black tea is completely fermented, giving their characteristic color as well as a strong, rich flavor.

The first treatment of the leaves for black tea is again withering, followed by rolling. Then the leaves are piled up in cool humid rooms to ferment.

After full fermentation, the leaves are fired to stop the process, and the juices that are the product of fermentation dry on the surfaces of the leaves an remain until steeping.

The processed leavers have budding tips called pekoe from Chinese Pak-Ho, meaning hair, probably a reference to the white “down” that appears in the budding leaves.
Processing and Varieties of Tea

Tea for Everyone

2009-06-17T05:37:00.000-07:00

Tea for Everyone
In 1878, Samuel Phillips Day wrote in his book Tea: Its mystery and History, of the working class family: “What was first regarded s a luxury, has now become, of not an absolute necessity, at least one of our accustomed daily wants....Consumed by all classes, serving no simply as an article of diet, but as a refreshing ad invigorating beverage tea cannot be too highly estimated.”

By the time Queen Victoria died in 1901, tea was the drink for the masses in England, Tea’s importance to the lower classes was exemplified by the women in small villages who sometimes banded together to form “tea club”.

The purpose of these clubs was to get together in the afternoon and share tea, gossip, advice and the like.

When the money was scarce they shared responsibilities as well, one woman bringing the tea, another the biscuits or small breads, another bringing the teapot and so forth.

Tea was served in the finest manor houses as well as the humblest cottage. Tea was served after lawn tennis, on picnics after cycling – just about anywhere and everywhere that people gathered.

Afternoon tea during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century included many of the items that we traditionally associated with modern tea gatherings – scones or biscuits, éclairs, small cakes or muffins, small sandwiches, shortbreads, an larger cakes flavored with almond, ginger, or madeira.

How one drink tea soon became as important as when and with what.

Ladies of high fashion thought that a teacup should be held with three fingers, with the pinky extended.

This tradition went back to medieval times, when the gentry ate with three fingers, and commoners ate with five.

An extended pinky finger became a mark of elitism and is still parodied as such today.

One custom that was not adopted by the British was the Chinese was of loudly slurping tea.

The Chinese drank tea very hot, and it was perfectly acceptable (and even encouraged) to make loud slurping noises while drinking.

The Temperance movement in England during the mid-nineteenth century provided a added incentive for drinking.

At meetings throughout the country, tea was served as a replacement for gin or beer and was thought to be much healthier because it did not contain alcohol.
Tea for Everyone

Chemical Composition of Tea Flush

2009-05-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

Chemical Composition of Tea Flush
Tea flush is generally a reference to young shoots of tea that consist of tea that consists of the terminal bud and two adjacent leaves.

In fresh tea flush there exist a wide variety of non-volatile compounds: polyphenols, flavonols and flavonol glycosides, flavones, phenolic acids and depsides, amino acids, chlorophyll and other pigments, carbohydrates, organic acid, caffeine and other alkaloids, minerals, vitamins and enzymes.

The chemical composition of the tea leaves depends upon leaf age, the clone being examined, soil and climate conditions and agronomic practices.

Tea total polyphenols in tea flush ranges form 20% to 35%. Tea polyphenols include mainly mainly six groups of compounds.

Among them, the flavonols (mainly the catechins) are the most important group and occupy 60- 80% of the total amount of polyphenols.

The catechins have been widely and intensively investigated for their bioactivity and utilization.

Four major catechins, namely epigallocatechin-3-gallate, epigallocatechins, epicatechins-3-gallate and epicatechins, constitute around 90% of the total catechins fraction and catechins and gallocatechin are present about 6% of the total fraction.

There are some minor catechins that constitute less than 2% of the total catechins.

The catechins that are water-soluble, colorless compound contribute to astringency and bitterness in green tea.
Chemical Composition of Tea Flush

Tea and Cancer

2009-04-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

Tea and Cancer
Most of the on cancer chemoprevention by tea has been conducted using green tea or its individual polyphenolic constituents.

Less work has been reported on black tea.

In animal studies, the polyphenolic fraction isolated from green tea. The water extract of green tea, or individual polyphenolic antioxidants present in green tea have afforded protection against chemically induced carcinogenesis in the lung, liver, esophagus, forestomach, duodenum, pancreas, colon, and breast.

The raises possibility that green tea consumption and its associated catechins may lower cancer risk in humans.

Studies have shown that green tea intake increases the excretion of a class of carcinogens known as heterocyclic arylamines formed during the cooking of meat, poultry and fish; this is expected to reduce DNA adduct formation, in particular and carcinogenesis, in general.

Consumption of both green and black tea aqueous extracts influences the excretion of mutagens and promutagens in the urine of animals.

Several epidemiological studies suggest that tea and its associated compounds may prevent some, but not all, cancers.

This is understandable, because cancer is a complex disease with multiple etiologies, even for one body site.

It is, therefore a false hope that any nutritional or synthetic agent can prevent or treat all cancer types.

However, based on a large volume of cell culture, animal studies and human observational studies, there is hope that green tea consumption can retard cancer development at selected sites in some populations.

The challenge is to elucidate what cancer type can be prevented by tea. This requires extensive research for which considerable resources are required.
Tea and Cancer

Applications of Chrysanthemum Tea

2009-03-30T00:08:00.000-07:00

Applications of Chrysanthemum Tea
Chrysanthemum tea is prepared in the same way as traditional tea. The dried flowers are infused with hot water for over 10 min, and the tea is ready to serve.

For clinical usage, the chrysanthemum is boiled either alone or together with various other herbs, according to the prescriptions to suit a specific clinical purpose.

Based on traditional usage, in addition to use as a tea, C. morifolium is used for the common cold, fever, migraines, conjunctivitis, eye, irritation, hypertension, ulcerative colitis, vertigo, ophthalmia with swelling and pain, etc.

As a mixture with other herbs, it has been claimed to be able to relieve migraines and eye irritation, improve vision, and cure keratitis.

The curing rates of ulcerative colitis and hypertension are reported to be more than 90% and 80% respectively.

Apart from the above traditional usages, there are also reports of other usage, such as antitumor activities.

Chrysanthemum water extract was found to significantly inhibit growth of transplanted tumor in nude mice, suggesting that the water-soluble components of chrysanthemum may have potent chemopreventive effects.

Although chrysanthemum is considered to be a “mild” herb and almost with no side effect in traditional medical practice, adverse effect has been reported with its flowers, and leaves may cause skin dermatitis.

In contrast there was no report that drinking chrysanthemum tea could cause respiratory or alimentary tract irritation.
Applications of Chrysanthemum Tea

High and Low Tea

2009-03-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

High and Low Tea
With the growth in popularity of serving tea to friends and family, inevitably, a new set of rules also came into being. “Tea etiquette” became the rage, and new conventions and a new vocabulary quickly evolved.

There were many different kinds of meals and occasions that were called “tea”. Today the terms “low tea” and “high tea” are often used incorrectly in the United States.

A formal affair, “low tea” was called this because the tea and food were served on low tables next to armchairs on which the guests were seated.

“High tea,” on the other hand, indicated and still does a less formal, family affair served at 5.30 or 6.00, when workers returned from the field and children were home from school.

High tea, also sometimes called “meat tea.” Was much more substantial meal served on a kitchen or dining table, and included savory meats, soups, puddings and sweets and lots of robust tea.

High tea, the referred not to “high society” but to the height of the table.

“At home tea” and “tea receptions” were huge social events that often included as many as two hundred guests.

People customarily dropped by anytime between four and seven in the evening to enjoy bountiful displays of food and tea.
High and Low Tea

Physiological and Therapeutic Effects of Tea

2009-02-18T19:46:00.000-08:00

Physiological and Therapeutic Effects of Tea
In China, from Tang Dynasty to Qing Dynasty (618-1911 A.D.), there had existed a great number of books contributed to tea. Those included mainly 3 categories, namely books in herbal medicines, tea manuals and general historic publications.

Tea was repeated to exhibit 24 kinds of physiological and therapeutic effects, such as causing less sleep, calming down, clearing sight, relieving headache, dispelling thirst, dissipating fever, detoxification, helping digestion, reducing obesity, diuresis, as a pectoral for chest disease, invigorating, strengthening teeth, and more.

In addition to the probable applications as medicine, tea, used as a daily beverage has made great contributions to human health in at least two major aspects.

Firstly, tea drinking changes the habit of how people consume water.

In ancient times, when people felt thirsty they would simply drink natural, unprocessed water that might contain pathogenic microbes.

Since the adoption of tea drinking, people had used boiling water to make tea infusion. In fact this practice helped people avoid a variety of infectious disease.

Secondly tea appears to be a good substitute for alcoholic beverages. This people who very much enjoyed tea drinking might avoid alcohol over consumption that causes severe damage to the human body.
Physiological and Therapeutic Effects of Tea

Tea and Its Chemical Constituents

2009-01-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

Tea and Its Chemical Constituents
Tea from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, a plant of the Theaceae family, is consumed by more than two thirds of the word’s population and is the most popular beverage next only to water.

The tea plant is cultivated in more than 30 countries. Approximately 2.5 million metric tons of dried tea are produced annually.

Production involves a series of drying and fermenting steps.

Green tea is consumed primarily in some Asian countries, such as Japan, China, Korea and India and a few countries in North Africa and Middle East.

Black tea is consumed in some Asian countries and Western nations. Oolong is consumed in southeastern China and Taiwan. There are also many products sold in the market as herbal tea, which are not derived form the plant camellia sinensis. They are extracts of several herbs.

Teas differ regarding how they are produced. Green tea production involves steaming fresh leaves at elevated temperatures, followed by a series of drying and rolling so that chemical composition essentially remains to that of the fresh leaves.

Black tea production involves withering plucked leaves, followed by extended fermentation. Thus, depending on the extent of fermentation, the chemical composition of most black teas is different.

Oolong tea is made by solar withering of tea leaves followed by partial fermentation.

Tea leaves are unique because they are rich source of catechins and theanine. These constituents impart flavor and taste to tea beverages. Green tea also conations caffeine, theophylline and theobromine, the principle alkaloids, and gallic and theanine, the phenolic acids.

Black tea in addition to the catechins, also contain thearubigins, theaflavins and caffeine.

Oolong tea contains monomeric catechins, thearubigins, and theaflavins.

Caffeine is a natural component of all teas. Although a serving tea usually contains less than half the caffeine of coffee, actual caffeine levels are dependent on specific blends and the brew strength.

In general green tea contains 3 – 6% and black tea contains 2- 4% of dry eight caffeine.

Tea contains phenolic acids, mainly caffeic, quinic and gallic. Theanine is an amino acid found only in tea leaves, which imparts a pleasantly sweet taste to tea. It is degraded to Glutamic acid and has relaxation effects in humans. Up to one third of the dry weight of tea comprises catechins and other polyphenols such as quercitin, myricitin and kaempferol.
Tea and Its Chemical Constituents

Acne and Green Tea

2009-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

Acne and Green Tea
Green tea is used by the Chinese as a traditional medicine to treat many ailments including acne and to improve general well-being. But does it provide an effective herbal alternative to modern medication?

In a recent study, a green tea cream was trailed against a 4% benzoyl peroxide solution on people suffering with moderate to severe acne. The results from this research study showed that green tea was just as good in treating acne as the benzoyl peroxide.

But benzoyl peroxide dries out skin causing itching or allergic reactions. Unlike green tea that has the added advantages of natural anti-bacterial properties and antioxidants, particularly epigallocatechin gallate which is 200 times more powerful than vitamin E at fighting free radicals.

Green tea also helps to reduce inflammation, hormonal activity and aids in detoxification - which is all good news for acne sufferers.
Green tea extract is an extremely versatile herbal supplement - it can be administered topically, often being used in creams, taken as a in the form of a pill or incorporated into your diet and drunk as a tea.

This last method is very popular (Green Tea with Honeysuckle is often known as Pimple Tea in many Chinatowns) when drunk after a meal it aids digestion and helps to detoxify your system, getting rid of the toxins that can cause acne. Tip: don’t drink it with sugar, this will neutralize the worthwhile effects of the tea.

It seems that taking green tea for acne is a win-win situation It has many beneficial properties which promote good all-round health with little or no known side effects and for the price, green tea its definitely a herbal treatment that is worth trying.
Source: articlehub
Acne and Green Tea

Tea Consumption

2008-12-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

Tea Consumption
Tea from leaves of Camellia sinensis, a plant of the Theaceae family, is consumed by more than two thirds of the world’s population and is the most popular beverage, next only to water.

The tea plant is cultivated in more than 30 countries. Approximately 2.5 million metric tons of dried teas are produced annually. Production involves a series of drying and fermenting steps.

Green tea is consumed primarily in some Asian countries, such as Japan, Korea, China and India and a few countries in North Africa and Middle East. Black tea is consumed in some Asian countries and Western nations. Oolong tea is consumed southeastern China and Taiwan.

There are also many products sold in the market as herbal tea which are not derived from the plant Camellia sinensis. There are extracts of several herbs.

Teas differ regarding how they are produced. Green tea production involves steaming fresh leaves at elevated temperatures, followed by series of drying and rolling steps so that the chemical composition essentially remains similar to that of the fresh leaves.

Black tea production involves withering plucked leaves, followed by extended fermentation. Thus, depending on the extend of fermentation, the chemical composition of most black teas is different. Oolong tea is made by solar withering of tea leaves followed by partial fermentation.
Tea Consumption

Tea: From China to Europe

2008-12-21T03:39:00.000-08:00

Tea: From China to Europe
Tea continued to gain popularity in China after Tang dynasty. Teahouses first appeared in Song dynasty (960 – 1279 A.D) and quickly spread throughout the country. Teahouses were known as places where one could relax and have a good time.

Black tea which the Chinese called “red tea” was manufactured and consumed in Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644 A.D.). Most of the manufactured black teas were exported and the majority of Chinese remained consuming green tea.

Drinking of tea was considered beneficial to health. In the book ‘Tea Manual’ (Cha Pu) written in Ming Dynasty, the author concluded that “Drinking genuine tea helps quench the thirst, aids digestion, checks phlegm, wards off drowsiness, dispels boredom and dissolves greasy foods.”

In Japan the first tea was brought from China in the early 9th century. China started supplying Russia with small quantities of tea toward the end of the 17th century, and the trade was first carried overland by caravans.

The first tea to reach Europe went by the way of the Dutch who brought the first consignment to Holland in the early part of 17th century. The early supplies of tea entering England were brought over from Holland. In London the first tea was served to the public in 1657. By the mid 1750s tea houses and tea gardens were appearing in and around London.

Tea was soon to become the national drink in the British Isles. An author in the late 18th century described the difference in the way of tea drinking between Chinese and the European. He mentioned that Chinese drank tea without sugar; however, almost everyone in Europe added sugar to tea.

Since then, great changes have taken palaces and the difference, at least in some region, seems to be less prominent in the represent time.
Tea: From China to Europe

Origin of Tea and Its Health Benefits

2008-12-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

Origin of Tea and Its Health Benefits
The tea plant Camellia sinensis has been grown in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. According to Chinese mythology, it was the emperor Shen Nung who discovered tea in 2737 BC. In ancient China, tea was considered as a medicinal remedy for headache, body aches and pains, depression, immune enhancement, digestion and detoxification; as an energizer and to prolong life.

The Japanese population learned the habit of drinking tea from the Chinese in approximately 800 AD. Tea consumption has now been adapted and assimilated by many cultures around the world. In Kamakura era (1191 – 1333), the monk Eisai stressed that beneficial effect of tea in his book, ‘Maintaining Health by Drinking Tea’ in 1211 in which he emphasized: “Tea is miraculous medicine for the maintenance of health.”

Of all the beverages consumed today, tea is undoubtedly one of the oldest, most widely known, and most widely consumed. Its consumption was introduced throughout the world by traders and travelers. One thing that makes tea attractive is that it is inexpensive and comes in numerous flavors.

Tea drinking is a pleasurable experience that is enjoyed either alone or shared at social gatherings. The Japanese tea ceremony and the English 4 o’clock tea are examples of how important tea has become in the tradition of some cultures.

As the people age, a major health issue becomes remaining disease free. Thus, understanding what to eat and drink and what to avoid is important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Evidence is accumulating that tea has the potential to help reduce the incidence of major diseases, especially when combined with a healthy lifestyle. Such a lifestyle includes plenty of exercise and minimizing mental stress. It also includes consuming a diet that possesses health promoting effects.

Nutrition has, therefore, been an area of intense investigation during the past few decades. Some foods and beverages have a beneficial and protective effect. Daily intake of tea, fruit juice, and soy milk is part of a health promoting dietary tradition. This undertaking is based on differences in disease incidence as a function of locally prevailing nutritional habits.
Origin of Tea and Its Health Benefits

Instant Tea

2008-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Instant Tea
The commercial production of instant teas began in the 1940, and this form of tea has grown in popularity in the United States to the extent that it now comprises 42% of tea sales in that country, although on a worldwide basis instant tea accounts for only a very small proportion (less than 5%) of consumption. The demand in the United States is for instant teas soluble in cold water, because it is iced tea which is the real basis for the success of instant tea in that country.

In the other countries, hot tea is the preferred beverage and it would appear that here the popularity of tea bags has been the factor responsible for the limited consumption of instant teas.

The methods used for instant tea production have been protected by patents, and the patents published up to 1969 have been reviewed in 1977. The basic steps in the preparation of instant teas are extraction of tea solids from fermented but unfired tea leaf black tea, or green tea, followed by concentration of the extract, and drying of the concentrate to a powder.

Extraction may be effected by a variety of method among which counter current extraction and percolation methods have been widely used. Concentration of the extract is effected by evaporation of the water under reduced pressure at a moderately elevated temperature and during this process various methods for trapping the escaping volatile compounds have been devised. These trapped volatiles are concentrated and retained for incorporation into the final dried product.

The concentrated extract is turbid due to the formation of cream and solubilization of this cream is a fundamental problem in the production of instant teas soluble in cold water. The finals step of drying the concentrated tea extract is commonly achieved by spray drying, but other methods, such as freeze drying or drum drying are the subject of published patents.

The importance of instant teas to the World Tea Industry may be gauged by the intense activity which is current in the field, and this activity is itself an indication that a truly acceptable instant tea has not been yet produced.
Instant Tea

Drinking Tea to Stay Young

2008-11-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Drinking Tea to Stay Young
Second only to water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. Our ancestor must had some clue about tea’s benefits; archeology evidence credits the first use of tea more than 500,000 years ago, even though science has only started empirically proving tea’s numerous benefits in the past 20 years.

The three main types of tea (black tea, green, tea, and oolong) all come from the same plant. The differences in color and taste result from the degree of fermentation the tea leaves undergo after harvesting. The fermentation, in turn determines the type and amounts of flavonoids that are present in the final products. Tea is thought to be beneficial because the flavonoids in it have been shown to have powerful antioxidant properties.

By drinking tea, you stay younger and healthier. They combat the free radicals, or toxins that can alter the chemical structure of your cells, which affects your DNA. Without tea, your DNA starts to age, which means you do too.

As if keeping your cells younger weren’t enough, there is a report on tea consumption and cardiovascular disease that for every three cups of tea a person consumed in a day, there was a 26 to 66 percent in reduction in the risk for stroke. Another study in 2003 revealed that when combined with the diet low is saturated fat, taking a supplement of bioflavonoid-enriched green tea extract served to further lower “bad” cholesterol levels. Unlike other prescription drugs, which can have some unpleasant side effects, the green tea supplement was well tolerated. Catechins, one of the many flavonoids found in green tea, may help to prevent plague buildup in the hearty. A cup a day is cheaper than an angioplasty.
Drinking Tea to Stay Young

How to Enjoy Tea

2008-10-29T01:40:00.000-07:00

How to Enjoy Tea

Try bottled as a portable beverage choice. Many bottled or canned ice tea drinks as much added sugars as a regular soda; read the label to check calories. Look for those flavored with noncaloric sweeteners.

Watching calories? Enjoy tea without added sugar or honey. For a touch of flavor in unsweetened tea, just add a slice of lemon or lime, fresh ginger or fresh mint leaves.

Add citrus juice for flavor and smart nutrition! Tea’s flavonoids partly inhibit the absorption of nonheme iron (iron from legume, grain products, and eggs). A squeeze of vitamin C rich lemon, orange, or lemon juice in tea can counteract some of the action.

For more calcium, enjoy “milk tea”: hot or cold tea added to milk. Some believe that adding milk to tea lowers tea’s antioxidant power. However, no scientific evidence proves that milk binds to and inactivates polyphenols. If enjoy milk in tea certainly add some!

Experiment with culinary uses of dried tea leaves: as a flavor rub for a roast, for tea marinated meat, or in homemade sorbet.

Use tea – perhaps a flavored variety – in place of water in dough or batter for breads, cookies, cakes, and brownies.

How to Enjoy Tea

Tea: Types and Health Benefits

2008-10-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

Tea: Types and Health Benefits
Tea is the most common beverage choice through the world. Whether it’s black, green, or oolong tea, tea comes from the same plant, called Camellia sinensis. Differences in color and flavor depend ion processing.

For black tea, the most popular type in the United States, tea leaves are exposed to air, the natural biochemical process turns them a deep red-brown color and imparts a unique, rich flavor. Many flavored specialty teas start with black tea.

For green tea, typically served in Chinese and Japanese restaurants, the tea leaves are not processed as much. Instead, they’re just heated or steamed quickly to keep their green color and delicate flavor.

Oolong tea is “between” tea: between black and green tea.

Whether black or green or oolong, tea appears to have potential health benefits, perhaps derived from its flavonoids. Flavonoids and other polyphenols, which are phytonutrients, work as antioxidants that may help protect body cells from damage done by free radicals. Using the oxygen radical absorbency capacity (ORAC)) score, which may ranks the antioxidants potential of plant based foods, tea ranks as high as or higher than many fruits and vegetables.

Can tea drinking help keep our body healthy? May be, but the research linking tea consumption and disease prevention is too new for certainty, And there’s not enough evidence yet to offer specific advice about tea drinking. Some promising areas of study suggests that tea or tea’s flavonoids may reduce risk of gastric, esophageal and skin cancers and may offer protection from heart disease and stroke – if consume enough (four to six cups a day). Some studies are investigating whether tea plays a role in relaxation or mental performance.

Tea may supply fluoride, which helps strengthen tooth enamel, if it’s made with fluoridated water. Tea also may help fight cavities by reducing plaque formation and hindering cavity-forming bacteria.
Tea: Types and Health Benefits

How afternoon Tea started?

2008-09-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

How afternoon Tea started?
The idea of afternoon tea as a meal and a social event is universally attributed to Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford (1783 – 1857), wife of the seventh duke. She apparently often experienced what was commonly called “a sinking feeling” between lunch and evening meal.

Thinking that a little substance might help, she began drinking tea and nibbling small savory treats in the late afternoon. In the first half of the nineteenth century, luncheon was a small meal taken during the middle of the day, and dinner was often not served until eight o’clock at night. The duchess found that taking tea with little food in late afternoon was so beneficial and pleasant that she soon begin inviting friends to join her at Belvoir Castle for this small afternoon meal, around five o’clock. The menu typically included small cakes, sandwiches of bread and butter various sweets and of course tea.

This practice had proven so successful and pleasant at her summer residence that when the family returned to London in the fall, Anna continued it, inviting friends for “tea and walk in the fields”. The custom caught in with others, and soon many people copied her idea.

It was probably not until the middle of the nineteenth century that late afternoon tea became an established custom throughout the country, and then, still only among the well to do. Queen Victoria loved tea, and her enthusiasm for the afternoon tea party made it even more popular.
How afternoon Tea started?

Tea: From Japan to Europe

2008-09-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

Tea: From Japan to Europe
Monks first introduced tea to Japan in the sixth century, but it wasn’t until the eighth century that cultivation began and tea became an important part of Japanese life. During the fifteenth century, tea masters in Japan developed rituals and symbolism around serving tea that resulted in the Japanese tea ceremony, which is still practiced today with such grace.

The first European port city to experience tea was Amsterdam, during the first few years of the seventeenth century. At first tea was treated as nothing more than a novelty-though a very expensive one. Tea didn’t make it to London for another half-century, but once the Brits found a taste for tea, they were never the same again. The British developed such a mania for tea that it quickly became part of the national culture.

The obsession for tea in England during the nineteenth century had devastating effects half a world away in China and India. As England expanded her imperialistic power, she became more greedy for tea and the profits it engendered. When British that trading opium for tea was more lucrative than buying tea with silver, they quickly developed a huge opium industry in India. The ruling British class in India forced local farmers to grow opium poppies in their field, rather than food crops. The result was hunger and deprivation in India and the Opium Wars and their tragic toll in China.
Tea: From Japan to Europe

Hot Water Soluble Tea

2008-08-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

Hot Water Soluble Tea
In country consuming the traditional hot beverage the instant product has not, so far, enjoyed the same fairly wide acceptance as has instant coffee. Only on the last few years has there been any serious attempt to market instant tea in the United Kingdom outside the catering and vending sector. The market is still in an early stage of development with several freeze dried products of reasonable quality consisting of 100% tea solids retailing alongside mixes containing whiteners or sugar and other flavoring.

The manufacturing process is essentially similar to that for instant coffee, namely the preparation of an aqueous extract, followed by concentration and drying of the extract to yield a completely soluble powder or granules. In the case of tea, however, control of the processing condition is much more critical of product degradation is to be avoided. The extract may be prepared from conventional black tea or from undried green leaf which may be partly processed before the extraction. In either event the extraction conditions must be precisely controlled in order to provide both satisfactory quality and a commercially viable yield. After extraction the liquors require very careful handling to minimize undesirable changes before the final drying step. This may be by spray drying or freeze drying.

For a retail product, marketing considerations dictate that the product density should be such that one tea spoonful of powder or granules corresponds to a cup of average drinking strength.
Hot Water Soluble Tea

The Flavor of Tea

2008-07-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Flavor of Tea
The principal components which determine the aroma, flavor and physiological action of tea are:

An essential oil: about 0.5%, this is probably formed during fermentation.

Caffeine: 1.8 to 5.9%

Tannins: 13 to 18%

Some 140 components have been reported as contributing to the aroma and flavor of tea and research in this field is continuing.

The aim of making good tea is to obtain the maximum extraction of caffeine and the minimum amount of tannins. Most commercially available teas are blends, designed to satisfy the tastes of the customer. One would think that making a cup of coffee would be quite a simple matter. This is far from so; there are many schools of thought as to how this should be done. These range from the very elaborate and formalized ritualistic proceedings of the Japanese tea cult, to homely brew which is being increasingly appreciated around the world.
The Flavor of Tea

Processing of Black and Green tea

2008-07-10T01:13:00.000-07:00

Processing of Black and Green tea
Black and green teas result from different postharvest treatment. In the case of black teas, the freshly picked green leaves are spread out on mats and allowed to dry out slowly and wither after which they mechanically rolled to break up the cells and liberate any enzymes which may present. The rolled leaves are then fermented for several hours, either in baskets or spread out under damp cloths. During this stage the colorless tea tannins are partially oxidized changing to a reddish-brown color and some essential oil is developed. This process is stopped by subsequent hot-air drying (frying). The whole process determines the flavor, strength, smoothness and color of the resulting infusion and calls for skill and experience to achieve consistent result.

Green teas are not fermented. The freshly picked leaves are steamed which prevent fermentation and blackening during the final drying process. The tea tannins are in consequence, largely in their original state as no essential oil is developed unfermented teas lack the aromatic character of the fermented varieties.

Oolong teas have a half way character; the leaves are allowed to wither and partially ferment before being rapidly dried at a high temperature. This results in a tea having a fine fragrant character.
Processing of Black and Green tea

Why You Should Drink Green Tea

2008-06-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Why You Should Drink Green Tea
In the Asian nations green teas has been enjoyed for a long time for a number of reasons, including both taste and health. The western world and the medical community have recently started to recognize the many benefits of choosing to drink green tea. The great reasons to drink tea are discussed briefly below.

A Vacation from the Ordinary
Each day most Americans consume at least a few cups of coffee. In the supermarket today there are countless different flavors available, although sometimes you will want to truly escape from the ordinary. Green tea might just be the change you want with its grassy flavor and sweet, nutty aroma.

Green Tea Chock Full of Antioxidants
For centuries green teas has been drunk and enjoyed for its healing properties. The western medical world is beginning to see why with the advances of science. Since green tea contains antioxidants it is a great reason to drink it. These antioxidants have been proven to help in the growth of healthy cells and increase the energy needed for daily life activities.

Escape the Caffeine Jitters
Caffeine jitters can result for some people who drink coffee. Everyone experiences at some point the bodies feeling after a last cup of coffee when it starts to shake as if in preparation for liftoff. This is why many have decided to give up coffee altogether. Green tea is a great reason for these consumers since it is a different, milder form of caffeine. When it comes to the jitters caused by caffeine most green teas that aren’t decaffeinated seem to have a milder effect. There isn’t an exact known reason for this, but for many it is easier to stay awake during the business day by drinking green tea.

In the list of reasons to drink green tea these are just a few. Depending on your personal taste preference and why kind of health benefits you want there may be many other benefits of green tea. Green tea will help you feel better and more inclined to face the day no matter what your reasons are.
Why You Should Drink Green Tea
Article Source: www.articlemap.com
By: Colin Holcomb

Tea in general

2008-05-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

Tea in general
What is generally tea meant by “tea” is a hot water infusion of the dried broken leaves of Tea sinensis (L) Sins, an ever green shrub which grows throughout the tropic from sea level to about 6000 ft. The plants from the higher altitudes yield the most esteemed varieties. As the most natural products, considerable differences exist between teas grown at different altitudes as well as teas collected different seasons; but of more significant is the method by which the leaves are prepared for market.

The trade distinguishes between the countries of the origin and often between growing regions: but in addition, teas are often classified by the method of postharvest handling and preparation for market. There are three main types:

Fermented Teas (Black tea)

Unfermented Teas (Green Tea)

Semifermented Tea (Ooling Tea)

Tea in general

Green Tea Benefits

2008-04-09T03:20:00.000-07:00

Green Tea Benefits
Green tea is now used in many health products globally; it has excellent antioxidant properties, widely used by drug and health product manufacturers. Green tea weight loss products are readily available in many forms and considered by many as one of the best products to take to shed excess calories.

In addition to weight loss functions, it can also help slow the signs of aging by helping to speed up the regenerative functions of the cells. Whilst this is an added benefit, weight loss products rely on its ability to work as a natural laxative and use it as a product that purges toxins from the system. Our body loses more calories because it is speeded up thereby reducing the amount of fat tissue which would normally form.

The use of green tea weight loss products still requires effort on the part of the person who wants to lose weight; meaning exercise and healthy food are still required. It is important to remember that weight loss also requires a person to completely change their eating habits otherwise just consuming the product will be a waste of time.

The greatest benefits are seen when people who drink green tea, do so before they go to sleep even though it can be used at anytime. Although it may at first seem a little scary, it has a strange effect on the body and as a consequence the stomach and bowls may not work as they should while you become accustomed to it during the first few days. Newer users of green tea weight loss products are more likely to see this effect as their body becomes used to the way it increases the metabolic rate ridding it of the toxins and burning calories that normally turn into fat. Results are normally obvious within the first week, particularly if you complete the diet with physical exercise, lots of liquids and green food.

One very successful combination of green tea products is that which includes ginseng root extract. Ginseng helps by adding minerals and vitamins that will increase its efficiency and detoxification properties.

When ginseng is used in association with green tea it stimulates the immune system and fortifies the user, representing a valuable energy source, during the stressful period when you are returning to normal weight. People can use ginseng and tea tree combined for extended periods of six months without any side-effects becoming apparent so they are extremely safe to use. Green Tea Benefits
By George Sandler
Source: http://ezinearticles.com

Tea May Offer 10 Major Health Benefits

2008-02-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

1) Green tea may prevent cancer
2) Green tea may restrict blood cholesterol
3) Green tea may control high blood pressure
4) Green tea may lower blood sugar
5) Green tea may suppress aging
6) Green tea refreshes thebody
7) Green tea may deter food poisoning
8) Green tea may prevent and treat skin disease
9) Green tea may stop cavitie
10) Green tea may fight virus

Caffeine in Tea

2007-12-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

Caffeine, present among flavor compounds in tea, is antimycotic as well as antibacterial. Inhibition of growth of several mycotoxigenic Aspergillus and penicillium spp at concentrations as low as 1microgram ml has been documented. Production of aflatoxin A, sterigmatocystin, citrinin and patulin by moulds is adversely affected by caffeine.

The mode of action of caffeine on metabolic functions of fungal cells has not been clearly defined. There was reported that caffeine, but not theophylline or papaverine, uncoupled the regulation of glycolysis and glucogenesis. Inhibition of growth of A.parasiticus by caffeine is due in part to an alteration in purine metabolism, but inhibition of aflatoxin synthesis does not apparently involve an inhibition of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) phosphodiesterase or a chelation of key metal ion.

Evidence does suggest that caffeine may restrict glucose uptake by A.parasiticus, resulting in decreased aflatoxin production. A preliminary examination of the affect of caffeine on patulin production by penicillium suggests that activity does not involve a generalized inhibition of lipid synthesis.

Green Tea May Help Keep Skin Cancer Away

2007-10-13T01:07:00.000-07:00

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, and it is estimated that more than 1 million cases of basal and squamous cell cancer will be diagnosed this year according to the Centers for Disease Control.

While avoiding prolonged sun exposure, the regular and proper use of sunscreen, and regular examinations by a board-certified dermatologist are the main actions for preventing skin cancer, green tea may help as well.

Green tea is reported to have antibacterial, antioxidant, and antitumor properties. Polyphenolic antioxidants are derived from the extracts of green tea. Also, the most widely studied component of green tea, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, may work by inhibiting ultraviolet induced DNA damage. Inhibiting ultraviolet induced DNA damage may be important because many cases of skin cancer are directly related to ultraviolet exposure from the sun or tanning beds.

The constituents of green tea have already proven effective in helping to prevent skin cancer in the lab. Accordingly, drinking green tea, in addition to avoiding prolonged sun exposure, the regular and proper use of sunscreen, and regular examinations by a board-certified dermatologist, may help prevent skin cancer in life.
Source: www.newstarget.com

Caffeine in tea

2007-05-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Tea Beverage
People actually already enjoyed caffeinated beverages for many years. The earlier record of caffeine consumption dated back somehow in 2700BC during Chinese Emperor Shen Nung.

Caffeine is a member of the xanthine family. It is odorless, bitter taste and is highly soluble in hot water. Caffeine has effects on the body because it increases alertness, stimulates metabolism and contributes to an increase in dopamine levels in the blood.

Several study shows that tea leaves contain 3% caffeine by weight. There are a lot of factors determine the caffeine content in the dry leaf, such soil chemistry, altitude, tea variety and practices of cultivation.
Tea Beverage

Green tea and weight loss

2007-04-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

Tea Beverage
If you want to loose weight without taking any weight loss pills or cellulite treatments, then there are also some wonderful natural weight loss treatments. One of the most popular among them is taking green tea. It is considered very effective herbal remedy for weight loss. You will be surprised to know that now a day’s people have just started sipping green tea in order to keep themselves fit and slim.

Green tea helps you to loose weight by boosting your metabolic rate, regulating your blood sugar, suppressing your appetite and giving you something else besides that high calorie, high sugar coffee beverage to drink in the morning.
Benefits of Green Tea in Weight Loss

• Green tea increases body metabolism. In a report, it has been found that green tea extract resulted in a significant increase in energy expenditure. The researchers also concluded that that over a 24-hour period, green tea extract increases the metabolic rate by 4%.

• Health experts also reports that green tea inhibits fat absorption and helps glucose regulation. It helps to slow the rise in blood sugar after a meal. This prevents high insulin spikes (lots of insulin promotes fat storage) and the subsequent fat storage.

• Green tea also helps in reducing appetite. It is highly effective in loosing body weight. So it is very good if you want natural weight loss.

• Green tea is also the best substitute for morning tea or coffee. Every morning you unknowingly take mega-calories in the form of tea or coffee. Try to replace it with green tea.

So there are four ways that green tea can help you with weight loss. And you’ll definitely notice the difference in your waistline after a few weeks. Health specialist recommends that 3 – 5 cups of green tea per day is optimal. This will help you to burn approximately extra 70 calories per day which amounts to 7 pounds per year. But before you start taking green tea you must consult your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Tea Beverage

History of tea

2007-02-20T00:54:00.000-08:00

Tea Beverage
In 2737 BC, legend has it that leaves from a tree dropped into Emperor Shen Nung's cup of boiling water. The servant had boiled the water for hygienic reasons before the emperor was to drink it. But this time the water was turned brown by the wayward leaves. Being a scientist, the emperor was curious and decided to try some of this new liquid. He found the liquid aromatic and refreshing. Since that serendipitous beginning, tea has been part of many cultures down through the years.

Japan was introduced to tea by Yensei, a returning Buddhist priest residing in China at the time of the discovery. Tea was immediately embraced by Japanese society and resulted in the creation of the intricate Japanese Tea Ceremony, elevating tea to an art form.
Tea continued to travel throughout the Orient and it was during the time of the European explorers tea made its cultural broad jump. The East India Tea Company brought tea into Holland but its prohibitive cost of $100 per pound kept tea as a rich man's beverage until so much was imported that tea prices fell and was sold in small food shops.

In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant brought tea to the American colonists in New Amsterdam, later called New York. Soon the colonists were drinking more tea than all England.
In England, tea gardens, ornate outdoor events with fancy food and tea, fireworks and gambling, seemed to sprout up overnight as entertainment centers of the day and many British enjoyed the festivities offered there.

Russia discovered tea when ornate chests of the dried leaves were sent to Czar Alexis by the Chinese Embassy in Moscow in 1618. It became Russian custom to sip heavily sweetened tea from a glass in a silver holder. Russians also enjoyed honey or strawberry jam stirred into tea as their ethnic contribution. Even today, vodka and tea are the national beverages of Russia.
To recover extensive expenses from the French and Indian War, England levied a huge tax on tea imported to the colonies, mistakenly believing the colonists were so hooked on it they'd pay anything to keep their supply coming in. One night the men of Boston dressed as Indians, reminiscent of the French and Indian War, stole aboard the ships docked in the Boston harbor and threw the expensive tea cargo overboard and into the harbor. England reacted by having a raging fit, closing Boston's port and sending Royal troops into occupation of Boston. Because of this, colonists met to discuss these events and declared a revolution.
At one point, England even gave The John Company the power to not only import tea but to coin its own money, make peace, declare war and other priveleges previously only held by countries.
In the 1880's, America came to the forefront as the biggest importer of tea due to faster clipper ships and the ability to pay its debts in gold.

A tea plantation owner introduced iced tea to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. It was an extremely warm day and his hot tea booth was being passed up by the crowds in favor of cold drinks. As desperate measure, since he was out time and money for even coming to the Fair, he added ice to the vats of liquid hot tea and in the process made it one of the highlights of the 1904 World's Fair.

The tea bag came along as a surprise. Samples of tea at the turn of the twentieth century were given out in small silk bags and instead of opening the bags, the tea bag in its entirety was being dropped into hot water by consumers. Quickly, a tea company sprang into action and patented the tea bag. Thomas J. Lipton was responsible for designing a four-sided tea he dubbed the 'flo-thru' tea bag, which allowed tea to steep more quickly in the cup than the customary two-sided bag.
Tea Beverage

Coffee Benefits - Is Coffee Better Than Tea?

2007-01-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

Tea Beverage
Would you like to have tea or coffee? Just what are the specific coffee benefits? You must have heard this offer of choice a thousand times. Be it guests at your house or while visiting someone or from the airhostess in the flight. The general idea in many countries continues to be that tea and coffee are two beverages which have equal importance. However, this is not 100% true.

There is a huge divided lobby on this opinion. Many people opine that tea is definitely more popular than coffee as it has medicinal properties and is good for health. Coffee on the other hand is more popular in the workplace. The debate continues on which is more popular. There are however, some distinct pros and cons of both beverages. Let's talk about the benefit of tea.

As we all know tea was discovered by the Chinese and scientific research has proven than it has very good medicinal properties which can help fight fatigue. Tea is more popular in Asia and Europe where tea drinking is considered to be a proper social function.

Coffee on the other hand gives an instant 'fix' and helps people be alert and ward off sleepiness when at work thanks to the caffeine content in the drink. The health conscience coffee drinker tends to opt for decaffeinated coffee and thus gets the flavour without the caffeine.

Coffee is very popular in the United States and is also an international drink which is appreciated the world over. These are the coffee benefits present in every cup!It is very difficult to determine which beverage garners more votes with a global audience since each drink has its own fiercely loyal fan following.
Tea Beverage

Decaffeinated Tea

2006-12-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

Tea Beverage
In General Tea from the Camellia Sinensis family contains from 1.6 percent caffeine in Formosa broken leaf type to 4 to 4.5 percent in most other types. According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 97 percent of the 4.5 percent caffeine must be removed in order to label the tea decaffeinated. Some packers label their teas 98 percent caffeine free. These teas, however, have never been decaffeinated but have a naturally low caffeine count.

Caffeine-free labels only apply to herbal products, not traditional teas. There are two sources of decaffeinated tea in the world, both processed by firms in Europe. Decaffeinated tea is found in all leaf grades and a great variety of flavors. There are three processes used to decaffeinate tea: methylene chloride, ethyl acetate and carbon dioxide.

The latter two are the only two permitted in the United States. The use of methylene chloride on tea uses the same processing methods as ethyl acetate (see below) but is not allowed for import to the United States. Carbon dioxide is a high pressure, super critical process. Unlike the other two processes mentioned, this process is considered natural and is more gentle to the tea leaves.

Ethyl Acetate Process
The ethyl acetate decaffeination process uses the Haco Method, which is similar to the one used for coffee. Ethyl acetate is derived as a result of the reaction between ethanol and acetic acid. The raw materials are taken from natural origins, such as fruit. This process leaves a maximum carrier residue of 1 ppm or less, and a maximum caffeine residue of .08 percent, dry weight. The tea is 99.9 percent decaffeinated at the end of the process, and has an 8 percent maximum water content when leaving the factory. Decaffeinated Ceylon Black is processed in this manner.

Carbon Dioxide Process
Decaffeinated Japanese Sencha starts on a base of premium sencha tea. Supercritical Carbon Dioxide is the most widely used solvent for decaffeination of food products. The gas is odorless, tasteless and inert. Carbon dioxide processing leaves no toxic residues. In addition, extraction of the caffeine takes place at room temperature which protects product quality by preventing the breakdown of temperature-sensitive components.

After extraction occurs, the supercritical fluid turns back into a gas, so no solvent residue remains. The decaffeination processes run under normal, official food control and fully comply with the Swiss and European food laws.
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How Tea Helps Your Health

2006-11-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

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Saves arteries.
Drinking black tea helps prevent deadly clogging of arteries and reverses poor arterial functioning that can trigger heart attacks and strokes, two major new studies have found. In a large 10-year study in the Netherlands, men who consumed the amount of antioxidants called "catechins" found in three cups of black tea were 50% less likely to die of ischemic heart disease, caused by narrowed clogged arteries, than were men who consumed only the catechins in half a cup of tea. In another recent test, Joseph Vita, M.D., of the Boston University School of Medicine, had heart patients drink either plain water or four cups of black tea daily. In a month, impaired blood vessel functioning (a risk factor for heart attack and strokes) improved about 50% in the tea drinkers.

Inhibits cancer growth.
Tea has long been tied to a lower risk of stomach, colon and breast cancer, although the connection is not proven. Now lab studies find that tea chemicals actually may stop cancer growth. Rutgers University researchers showed that a compound in black tea called TF-2 caused colorectal cancer cells to "commit suicide"; normal cells were unaffected. "The effect is quite dramatic," said Rutgers professor Kuang Yu Chen, who speculates that the chemical might one day be made into an anti-cancer drug.

Tames inflammation.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University gave arthritis-prone mice either green tea or water. The human equivalent of four cups of green tea daily halved the mice's risk of developing arthritis. Also intriguing: TF-2, the newly discovered anti-cancer compound in black tea, suppresses the Cox-2 gene that triggers inflammation, says research at Rutgers. That's the same way the drugs Vioxx and Celebrex work. Also, in a UCLA study of 600 Chinese men and women, drinking green tea halved the risk of chronic stomach inflammation, which can lead to cancer.

Wipes out viruses.
Previous tests prove tea can neutralize germs, including some that cause diarrhea, pneumonia, cystitis and skin infections. New research by Milton Schiffenbauer of Pace University finds that black and green tea deactivates viruses, including herpes. When you drink tea, he says, chances are good you will wipe out viruses in your mouth. Flu viruses, too? Possibly. A recent Japanese study showed that gargling with black tea boosted immunity to influenza. Recent research at Harvard indicated that tea chemicals stimulated gamma-delta T-cells that bolster immunity against bacteria and viruses.

Burns calories.
Most surprising, green tea's antioxidant EGCG stimulates the body to burn calories, notably fat. In a Swiss study, a daily dose of 270mg EGCG (the amount in 2 to 3 cups of green tea) caused men to burn 4% more energy - about 80 extra calories a day. Green tea did not increase heart rate, and the calorie burning was not due to caffeine.

Plus:
Canadian researchers block cavities in mice by replacing their water with tea. Indian eye researchers have retarded cataracts in rats by feeding the animals tea extract. Israeli scientists block Parkinson's-like brain damage in mice by giving them green tea extract or pure EGCG. W

For the best benefit ...
Drink both black and green tea, the regular kind sold in bags or leaves in grocery stores. Their antioxidants are equal. But green tea boasts special-acting EGCG. Bottled tea and instant tea have few antioxidants, research shows.
Herbal teas do not have the same health properties as real tea (Camellia sinensis). Tea with caffeine has slightly more antioxidant activity.
Steep tea leaves or bags in hot water 3 to 5 minutes to thoroughly release antioxidants. Adding milk to tea does not block absorption of antioxidants, new Dutch research finds.
Don't give much tea to kids. Tea "chelates" iron, removing it from the body. That may help combat chronic disease but can cause anemia in young people.
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Health Benefits of Tea

2006-11-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

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In general a flurry of discoveries about tea's health benefits, plus renewed appreciation of its ancient heritage, has pushed tea to the fore. Its antioxidants appear to lower cholesterol levels, improve cardiovascular health and help guard against some cancers. And some experts believe its flavenoids may inhibit the growth of plaque on teeth.

Tea's active ingredients are caffeine in combination with the tannin that gives it its pungency and much of its aroma and flavor (which essential oils also enhance). The New York Academy of Medicine held a symposium on "Pharmacological and Physiological Effects of Tea" in 1955 and found that, for reasons they could not explain, tea, unlike coffee, does not cause nervousness, insomnia, or stomach irritation when drunk in quantity.

The scientists' tests showed a cup of tea gives both an immediate and a delayed lift without secondary depressing effects later on. They agreed tea is a good agent for relieving fatigue and aids clearness of thought and digestion alike.

The Tea Cure
For years, studies in China and Japan have shown that the folklore about tea does contain some truth -- it does promote longer life. Japanese smokers have only half the lung cancer rate as American smokers. In areas of Japan where the most tea is drunk, the rate of stomach cancer is the lowest. In a study of 6,000 Japanese women, those who drank 5 cups or more of green tea per day cut their risk of strokes by 50 percent.

"Drinking tea with meals in Japan and China," says a cancer researcher at the University of British Columbia, "is thought to be a major reason for low cancer rates in these countries." Long-term consumption of black tea -- the kind that most Americans and Europeans drink -- and of other foods such as apples containing chemicals called flavonoids was associated with a much lower risk of stroke in a study of 552 Dutch men.

Flavonoids are natural vitaminlike compounds. They make blood cells called platelets less prone to clotting, and act as antioxidants, countering the artery-damaging potential of highly reactive free radical chemicals. In the study, men with a high flavonoid intake had a 73 percent lower risk of stroke during 15 years of follow-up, compared with men with a low intake of flavonoids. The men in the study got about 70 percent of their flavonoids from drinking black tea.

Men who drank more than 4.7 cups of tea a day had a 69 percent reduced risk of stroke compared with men who drank less than 2.6 cups a day, said the researchers of the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection in Bilthoven, the Netherlands. Tea also helps prevent tooth decay in several ways. It contains a solid dose of fluoride and works better than the antibiotic tetracycline. According to researchers at the Tokyo Dental College, it fights the kinds of bacteria in the mouth that cause gum disease and the eventual loss of the teeth. It also kills the greatest cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth, Streptococcus mutans.

In addition, researchers in Australia announced that a cup of tea could be the next weapon in the fight against skin cancer. A study by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization revealed that mice made to sip black tea suffered 54 percent fewer cancers than those that drank water. Both sets of test animals were exposed to levels of ultraviolet rays that an average Australian receives.

Earlier studies on black tea have shown that it can be effective against some forms of cancer and may even prevent heart and liver disease.

Properties in green and black tea called antioxidants are thought to be active agents against skin cancer. In the past 10 to 15 years, a growing body of research has shown that foods and vitamins with a strong anti-oxidant effect may reduce the risk of many diseases, including cancer and aging. Human trials using black tea as a preventative against skin cancer began in Australia in 1997.
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Making Chinese Tea

2006-10-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

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Chinese tea - water quality
The quality of tea is controlled by the quality of the water. It was said in ancient China that water is the mother of tea.
There are three categories of water: best is water from a hill, average is water from the river, bottom is water from a well. The best water from a hill is on a hilltop; the best water from a river is in the middle of a river; the best water from a well is from a well which is frequently used.
It is not easy to get water from a hill. So water from a tap is the most common. There are two ways to make the best use of tap water when making tea. 1. Leave the tap water in a bucket for 24 hours in order to let out the chlorine inside. 2. Boil the water then open the lid for 5 minutes in order to let out the chlorine inside.
Distilled water is a kind of artificial soft water. It is the most hygiene but it would not be the ideal water for making tea.
Best water temperature for making tea:
1. Low temperature (70 - 80c)
Good for making young shoot green tea such as Long Jing (Dragon Well) or yellow tea (Silver Needle).
2. Medium temperature (80 - 90c)
Good for making white tea (Silver Needle White Fur), red tea or Oolong.
3. High temperature (90 - 100c)
Good for making tea such as Tie Guan Yin (Iron Guan Yin), Pu'er, Shui Xian (Water Fairy).
Low temperature water tends to be more suitable for young tea leaves while high temperature water tends to be more suitable for ripe tea leaves.

Chinese tea - tea leaves
Chinese tea used to be categorized by its place of origin or place where it went to. Only till recently that Chinese tea is categorized based on its way of manufacture.
6 types of tea:
Green, yellow, black, white, light green and red.
Green tea
Green tea has the longest history and it can be dated over 3000 years ago. People picked the young shoots of leaves and dried it in the sun without fermentation.
Examples of green tea:
Long Jing
Fur Tip
Green Spring Snail
Yellow tea
Yellow tea is to ferment the tea leaves before they are totally dry. A degree of 10% to 20% fermentation would be expected.
Examples of yellow tea:
Silver Needle
Yellow Soup
Big Leaf Green
Black tea
Black tea is to ferment tea leaves to a degree of 100%. It is a kind of commonly consumed tea in Mongolia.
Examples of black tea:
Pu'er
Cake tea
Brick tea
White tea
White tea is a kind of day dry tea which is lightly fermented to a degree of 20% - 30%. Tea leaves are usually young ones covered with white fur.
Examples of white tea:
Longevity Eyebrow
White Peony
Silver Needle White Fur
Green tea
Light green tea is a kind of tea lightly fermented to a degree of 30% - 60%. Tea leaves are green in the middle and red on the fringe. This type of tea gives a taste of fruit or flowers.
Examples of Light green tea:
Water Fairy
SONG Species Long Bush
Iron Guan Yin
Red tea
Red tea is a kind of tea fermented to a degree of 80% - 90%. Western countries usually call it Black Tea. It usually gives a taste of roses.
Examples of red tea:
Red Tea
Tea sets
Tea pot - Zisha tea pot is known as the best tea pot for making tea with. Colours vary from dark purple, red to light yellow. Zisha tea pots have very tiny holes suitable for brewing tea. Also, it prevents any chemical changes from taking place.
Tea spoon - The best tea spoon would be made of bamboo. It is also used for removing any tea leaves from blocking the tea mouth.
Tea boat - It is used for laying tea pot and tea cups. The first rinse of water would be poured into the tea boat. This water can also be used for rinsing tea cups.
Tea cloth - It is used for wiping the water outside the tea pot.
Tea cups - The right size of tea cups would be used for their appropriate corresponding size of tea pots.
Healing aspects of Chinese tea
Chinese tea is known to have good healing power. It not only boosts health but also allows longevity. However, we should avoid tea which has been left cool for a long time or overnight.
Take Oolong as an example, it can reduce the fat in blood. It has been known for a long time that tea can reduce the fat in human body. Or take Pu'er or white tea as an example, it would be ideal for people to maintain a slim body. Apart from the effects above, all the three teas can reduce the possibility of developing cancer
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Drinking Tea can actually help you lose weight

2006-10-08T01:23:00.000-07:00

Although experts are divided on exactly how healthy green tea, there is no doubt that it has some health benefits. The following are the ones that have some scientific research behind them.

Firstly, green tea shares all the health benefits that are thought to come from black tea, except in a more effective form, as the tea is fresher.

Tea can help reduce your chances of getting heart disease by up to half, as well as fight dental plaque and cavities (although it will also stain your teeth if you don’t make sure to drink plenty of water and brush regularly, so watch out).

Drinking tea also burns more calories than just taking caffeine in pill form, as your body has to cool down the hot drink once it is inside you, and that takes energy. Tea can often burn more calories than it contains, meaning that could potentially help you to lose weight if you drink enough of it.

Strangely enough, tea is also thought to affect the color of your hair if you drink it in sufficient quantities. Black tea will make your hair darker, while green tea will make it a little redder it sounds too far-fetched to be true, but many women swear by it, particularly in India.

Unfortunately, there is also no shortage of people willing to claim that green tea will help you with whatever condition is fashionable at the moment. For that reason, read this list with some skepticism its up to you if you want to believe in green tea, or if it makes you personally feel better, but little has been proven scientifically either way.

Green tea has been mooted as a cure for cancer, Alzheimer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, cardiovascular disease and HIV. But if it worked, surely wed all be drinking it by now?
Drinking Tea can actually help you lose weight
Source: articlehub