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Tea’s amazing history

March 5th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Who knew tea’s history was so exciting? Robert Fortune stole the secret of tea.

The great tea robbery: How our cuppa wouldn’t exist if an amazing Victorian hadn’t stolen the secret from China’s warlords | Mail Online reports:

“Green tea and black tea were not different species, as had been thought, but leaves from the same plant differently processed, one fermented, the other not.

He also discovered, to his horror, that the tea we were drinking should carry a health warning.

The Chinese were routinely slipping coloured dye into the tea intended for Britain because they thought we wanted it greener than it was naturally.

The dye was Prussian Blue, a form of cyanide. For years, tea had been poisoning us. “

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.

Green Tea And Weight Loss: Drink Yourself Slim And Healthy

May 3rd, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Although it seems too easy, researchers conclude that drinking green tea is an excellent aid to weight loss, as well as being all-round good for you.

The research studies used green tea extract, which is a more concentrated form of green tea, but drinking the tea itself in between meals is a great substitute for a candy bar or chocolate. You get the uplift, without the calories.

How To Drink Yourself Slim With Green Tea

Green tea is an excellent appetite suppressant, and it’s especially useful if you’re trying to cut down on your portions, without going on a strict diet. Aim to drink a cup of green tea before each meal, and in between meals too, if you feel hungry. If you wish, you can add a jolt of skim milk to the tea, and if you’re very hungry, a teaspoon of honey.

You’ll find that you’re not hungry until the next meal - you may even forget to eat - but do ensure that you eat three meals a day, and a small snack. This is important to enhance your metabolism. If you skip meals, your metabolism slows, and this means that your body’s adjusting itself into starvation mode, and making your calories stretch. This is dangerous if you’re trying to lose weight.

Green Tea Varieties Prevent Boredom While You’re Losing Weight

There are many different varieties of green tea, all with a slightly different taste and effect.

Archaeologists report that tea has been a favorite beverage for 5000 years. In India, China, Japan and Thailand green tea has been used as a traditional medicine, used to control bleeding, heal wounds and regulate body temperature, as well as control blood sugar and ease digestion. Green tea is especially popular in Japan, where green sencha tea makes up 80 per cent of all tea consumed. It’s a high grade tea, which is steamed to prevent fermentation.

So don’t restrict yourself to the green tea brands you find in your supermarket. You’ll find varieties like “Gunpowder” green tea, in which the leaves have been rolled into pellets. Because the tea leaves are rolled, they retain more flavor and aroma.

Have fun exploring green teas - make your green tea diet exciting, and losing weight will be fun.

Resource: You’ll find Gunpowder Tea at Xtreme Herbs.

Copyright © 2007 Drink Green Tea Daily Blog

Credits: 30 Day Slimmer | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund