Green tea for health
May 4th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
The role of green tea in promoting health has been much in the news in the last few years. There is ample evidence that, consumed in moderation, green tea indeed does aid many aspects of functioning. Some of these benefits have been known for over a thousand years.
The polyphenols, flavonoids and even caffeine (in moderate quantities) present in green tea are all known to help the body protect itself. Green tea helps lower cholesterol (the ‘bad’ kind), absorbs free radicals that can damage cell membranes and reduces the prospect of certain cancers.
Despite Federal FDA denials, many studies lend strong support to those who tout green tea’s benefits. Black tea, as well, has most of the same benefits.
But green tea has many virtues beyond the medicinal. It tastes delightful and provides a relaxing form of enjoyment in a hectic world.
Just as with black or Oolong tea, green tea comes from the leaves of an evergreen called Camellia Sinensis. They are plucked, then processed. But unlike black tea, green tea leaves do not go through a long oxidation process.
Instead, green tea leaves are steamed, which retains the EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) antioxidants. Black and Oolong teas undergo ‘fermentation’ which converts the EGCG into other compounds. ‘Fermentation’ in tea, despite the use of the same word, is not the same process as in winemaking. No sugars are converted to alcohol. It’s simply a synonym for oxidation, more or less.
As a result, the tea flavor is much more delicate and the aroma and taste retain much more of the ‘vegetative’ quality from the original bush. That flavor is enjoyed in a hundred varieties by tea drinkers the world over.
The Long Jing tea from Hang Zhou in China, pan dried and flat in appearance, often goes by the name Dragon Well. This green tea is among the most common drinks in China. Yet for all its commonality, it makes a fine brew. The Gyokuro, also known as Jewel Dew as a consequence of its color, is another fine green tea from China.
The Ryokucha from Japan is a green tea that is so common there that a form of the word (ocha) is often taken to mean simply ‘tea’. Connoisseurs regard the green tea from the Uji region of Kyoto to be among the finest. Matcha is a powdered green tea once used primarily in tea ceremonies. Now it is so popular throughout Japan and elsewhere that it finds its way into ice cream and other sweets.
Gunpowder, which has nothing to do with the explosive, is another popular variety. The leaves are rolled into tiny pellets, making for a very intense infusion. Its muscatel overtones make for a wonderful brew.
There is even a green tea-style Earl Grey. Though without the heady flavor of the more common black tea type, the bergamot oil combines well with green tea.
So if you have always been a committed black tea drinker, it’s time to open up your horizons. It may not make you wealthy, but it can give you enjoyment and promote your health. And isn’t that very wise?
Green tea for health
May 4th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
The role of green tea in promoting health has been much in the news in the last few years. There is ample evidence that, consumed in moderation, green tea indeed does aid many aspects of functioning. Some of these benefits have been known for over a thousand years.
The polyphenols, flavonoids and even caffeine (in moderate quantities) present in green tea are all known to help the body protect itself. Green tea helps lower cholesterol (the ‘bad’ kind), absorbs free radicals that can damage cell membranes and reduces the prospect of certain cancers.
Despite Federal FDA denials, many studies lend strong support to those who tout green tea’s benefits. Black tea, as well, has most of the same benefits.
But green tea has many virtues beyond the medicinal. It tastes delightful and provides a relaxing form of enjoyment in a hectic world.
Just as with black or Oolong tea, green tea comes from the leaves of an evergreen called Camellia Sinensis. They are plucked, then processed. But unlike black tea, green tea leaves do not go through a long oxidation process.
Instead, green tea leaves are steamed, which retains the EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) antioxidants. Black and Oolong teas undergo ‘fermentation’ which converts the EGCG into other compounds. ‘Fermentation’ in tea, despite the use of the same word, is not the same process as in winemaking. No sugars are converted to alcohol. It’s simply a synonym for oxidation, more or less.
As a result, the tea flavor is much more delicate and the aroma and taste retain much more of the ‘vegetative’ quality from the original bush. That flavor is enjoyed in a hundred varieties by tea drinkers the world over.
The Long Jing tea from Hang Zhou in China, pan dried and flat in appearance, often goes by the name Dragon Well. This green tea is among the most common drinks in China. Yet for all its commonality, it makes a fine brew. The Gyokuro, also known as Jewel Dew as a consequence of its color, is another fine green tea from China.
The Ryokucha from Japan is a green tea that is so common there that a form of the word (ocha) is often taken to mean simply ‘tea’. Connoisseurs regard the green tea from the Uji region of Kyoto to be among the finest. Matcha is a powdered green tea once used primarily in tea ceremonies. Now it is so popular throughout Japan and elsewhere that it finds its way into ice cream and other sweets.
Gunpowder, which has nothing to do with the explosive, is another popular variety. The leaves are rolled into tiny pellets, making for a very intense infusion. Its muscatel overtones make for a wonderful brew.
There is even a green tea-style Earl Grey. Though without the heady flavor of the more common black tea type, the bergamot oil combines well with green tea.
So if you have always been a committed black tea drinker, it’s time to open up your horizons. It may not make you wealthy, but it can give you enjoyment and promote your health. And isn’t that very wise?
Green tea for arthritis pain relief - the benefits of green tea grow
October 20th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you’re thinking that green tea is a magic liquid with benefits for many ailments, you’re right. New research indicates that green tea can provide arthritis pain relief.
Green Tea Fights Rheumatoid Arthritis reports:
Researchers examined the effects of green tea polyphenols on mice injected with collagen. (A procedure that produces a condition similar to rheumatoid arthritis in humans.) Polyphenols are considered to be an antioxidant and occur naturally within the body and in certain foods.
During three different studies, mice that were given the green tea polyphenols were significantly less likely to get arthritis. Of those who ‘drank the tea’, 44% became arthritic. For the ones who were not given the antioxidant, all but one (94%) developed the disease.
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All About Black Tea
July 31st, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Of all the varieties of tea, black tea is one of the most popular.
All true tea is the product of the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. But, ah, what a difference a little oxygen and sunlight makes. Green tea is very lightly oxidized, Oolong moderately so and black tea the most heavily oxidized of all. There’s even a fourth variety, white tea, that rarely makes it to western shores.
The black tea leaves are plucked, washed, rolled and dried. From there they may find themselves partially ground into a tea bag or sold more or less whole. But in whatever form the leaf makes it to market, the flavor is largely the result of the region from which it came and the processing used there.
Much of it originated in China near Mount Wu Yi, in the Fujian Province. One style, the Lap Sang Sou Chong, is dried by holding the leaves over burning pine. The result is a delightfully strong, smoky flavor. From the Yunnan Province hails the tea that adopts the name of its homeland. Here is produced a dark, malty tea that is full of rich flavor.
India, for centuries one of the world’s largest tea producers, offers two with names that are possibly more famous than the tea itself. Assam is full-bodied and with a distinctive astringency that prompts many to dilute it with milk. The Darjeeling from West Bengal is more delicate, but still a very robust tea. Slightly spicy, it makes a perfect breakfast drink.
Initial efforts to grow tea in Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka) in the 18th century were met with utter failure. But the growers persisted and tea drinkers around the world are the beneficiaries. The black Ceylon teas grace many fine table in their home country and throughout the world.
Vietnam has recently made efforts to join the ranks of major producers. The light aroma of a Vietnamese black is deceptive. This dark brew has a wonderful taste that is the real deal.
Even Turkey offers a black tea that any aficionado will want to sample. Hailing from the Rize Province on the eastern coast, this mahogany colored brew is prepared in a samovar and served up ‘koyu’. The best way to translate that word is simply to drink some. Be prepared for a jolt.
Black tea also makes for an excellent partner in traditional or modern blends. For example, the famed Earl Grey (named after its 17th century promoter) is a sweet, perfumey blend that gets its distinctive taste from a small amount of bergamot oil.
Whichever country you favor, whatever flavor you enjoy, sample a wide variety of black tea straight or flavored.
Tea: a popular beverage for thousands of years
July 29th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Tea has been a popular beverage for thousands of years.
No one knows with certainty who first had the odd idea of taking leaves from the Camilla Sinensis plant and adding them to hot water to make a brew. It may have been an accident at first, with leaves from the bush floating into a heated kettle. But almost certainly, the practice began over 5,000 years ago in China.
However it began, the art spread quickly after the taste and health benefits were discovered by those early pioneers. Eventually, in 800 AD, an ex-monk named Lu Yu wrote the Ch’a Ching, containing all that was then known about the ways of preparing tea. The word spread to Japan by way of Buddhist monks, in particular one named Yeisei, where it quickly became a royal favorite.
The Portuguese and other western seamen later made contact with the Orient. They were introduced to a beverage unlike any other they knew in their native countries. From their travels in the early 17th century, they returned with many treasures, including the precious tea leaves. The importation of this then-expensive novelty rapidly made many of them wealthy.
In the mid-17th century, Britain finally got into the act and began to import tea from China and the East Indies. As is obvious now, it became so popular that afternoon tea is now strongly associated with that country.
With the merger of the John Company and the East India Company, both importers of tea with a near monopoly in the western world, tea spread everywhere. By the end of the 17th century tea imports were 40,000 pounds.
A few years later, though, the novelty had become a commodity. Over 240,000 pounds were imported into England in 1708 and the leaves were being sold in common food shops in Holland and France. Most of Europe doesn’t have the right climate to grow its own tea. The drink that had been imported and made popular by royalty was now consumed by nearly everyone.
At the same time, tea was spreading to other nations around the world. The Russian Tsar Alexis received several chests as a gift in the early 17th century. By the end of it the Russians were engaging in regular trade with China across their common border. The need to travel over a year across thousands of miles kept the price high. But eventually the practice spread throughout society and tea could be found in every samovar.
The United States, as some may remember, had a little ‘ceremony’ called the Boston Tea Party. As an act of protest against the heavy-handed British government, several Americans decided to dump large quantities of the good into the Boston harbor. In reaction, the British government closed the port and troops occupied the city. A revolution began. The results that followed changed the world forever.
Technorati Tags: China, East India Company, history, tea
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Drink your green tea: it’s good for you
July 17th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Sally Seidman’s article “Tea — Plenty of It — May Do the Body Good” is a great explanation of green tea’s known and unknown benefits:
One substance in tea, the tongue-twisting epigallo-catechin gallate (EGCG), appears to reduce psoriasis, prostate cancer and colon tumors (at least in animals) and is now an ingredient in a growing number of foods, beverages and dietary supplements. But that’s just one of the components of tea that may have health benefits.
If you haven’t yet added green tea to your daily beverage list, it’s time you did. A simple cup of tea can have immense benefits, but remember that you need to make green tea a daily habit.
