How Natural Is Green Tea?

How Natural Is Green Tea?

Green tea leaves have for many years been used throughout Asia continent as a natural medicine for poor digestion, body aches and pains, headaches and general improved wellness.

Very little processing is required to produce green tea. In most cases the leaves are dried immediately after harvesting or briefly treated with steam prior to drying. There are a few types of tea that are also lightly roasted. Because of this minimal processing, the leaves keep their green color and more importantly they keep the very valuable ingredients that contribute to their healing properties. Green tea leaves contain caffeine, tannins, essential oils, proteins, vitamins, minerals and trace elements such as fluoride, zinc and potassium.

Green tea is naturally found to be rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are used by the body to protect cells from free radicals (unstable molecules found in our cells) damage. Too much damage, over time, could lead to diseases which includes cancer. As part of our body cell renewal, antioxidants attach themselves to free radicals and this results in the neutralization these molecules. Drinking green tea frequently has been linked (confirmed by research) with the prevention of cancer; it lowers high blood cholesterol, prevents harmful blood clotting and acts to minimize the risk of strokes.

Green tea is very good for arthritis sufferers because of its anti-inflammatory properties.

As reported earlier, Green Tea has some caffeine which helps invigorate and improve concentration.

Green tea is also antibacterial. The tea contains the trace element fluorine whichs helps to fight tooth decay. It is suggested that just one cup of tea a day will be beneficial in the prevention of decay. Green tea is also ideal after dinner as a palette cleanser.

Many Naturopaths recommend green tea to cleanse the body. It is a useful addition to all types of detoxification diets. It contains no calories, no carbs and is referred to as the 'fat eater' in China due to its cholesterol-lowering properties.

Green Tea is fantatic for quenching your thirst, and can be enjoyed at any time of the day - either hot or cold. Sometimes lemon juice is added, or the tea is poured over ice to produce a really refreshing drink.

How to prepare Green Tea:

Put one level teaspoon of tea leaves per cup; then Boil your water and then let the water stand for a couple of minutes - allowing it to cool slightly. Pour the water over the green tea and leave the tea to brew.

Brewing the tea for 2-3 minutes will give you a mild tasting but highly stimulating tea.

Brewing the tea for 4-6 minutes yields a less stimulating and stronger tasting tea.

Important: The caffeine in green tea may cause heart palpitations in some sensitive people. To reduce the amount of caffeine in your tea, put one teaspoon of leaves in your cup, pour a little bit of hot water over it and allow it to stand for 30 seconds then strain. Now use the leaves to prepare your tea as usual - or of-course buy non-caffeine Green Tea, which is available in many health food stores.

By: Keith Woolley.

Green, Black, Oolong Tea Differences

Green, Black or Oolong Tea

All “true” tea comes from the Camellia sinensis bush, but the way it’s processed determines whether the end product will be green, black or oolong tea.

Black Tea
To make black tea, the freshly picked tea leaf is deliberately exposed to the air, left on trays in the sun to wither and dry for 18-24 hours. Then the leaves are broken and allowed to ferment for a time, before being fired.

Oolong Tea
Making oolong tea is similar, although the withering and fermenting processes are shorter, resulting in a partially-fermented leaf.

Green Tea
But green tea leaf isn’t fermented at all – in fact, just the opposite! The tea leaves are steamed almost immediately after picking in order to stop the fermentation process, after which they are rolled and dried. So black tea is fermented, green tea is unfermented and oolong is somewhere in between.

To Ferment or Not to Ferment?
Whether or not the tea leaf is fermented has a great effect on the catechin content of the resulting tea. In green tea, the catechins make up about 15-30% of the dry weight of the leaves, compared to just 8-20% of oolong and a miserly 3-10% of black tea.

Why is the catechin content so much lower in black tea? The minute a tea leaf is plucked, an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase combines with oxygen and begins to change the catechins into compounds called theaflavins and thearubigens. This process is encouraged in the manufacture of black tea. Not only are the tea leaves left to wither in the sun for 18-24 hours, they are also twisted and broken to accelerate the process of converting catechins into theaflavins and thearubigens. These compounds are responsible for the distinctive taste, aroma and dark color of black tea. And while they do have some health benefits, they don’t have the same wide-ranging antioxidant and disease-fighting prowess as the catechins.

The Number One Rule in Green Tea Processing
Every green tea processor knows that, above all, they must protect the catechins from the effects of polyphenol oxidase -- to preserve the look, taste and health benefits of this amazing beverage. They do this by steaming or pan-firing the tea leaves just as soon as they are plucked, to inactivate the enzyme. This means the tea leaves must be rushed to the manufacturing plant as soon as they are picked, and care must be taken not to break or bruise the leaves in the process.

Then, once the leaves have been steamed, they can safely be rolled, twisted, dried and packaged without obliterating the catechins. Still, even after the leaves have been processed and packaged, the catechins in green tea can be destroyed if exposed to oxygen for too long. That’s why you should always keep your green tea in an airtight container, even if it comes in tea bag form. Remember: Oxygen is the catechins’ worst enemy.

Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. presents GreenTeaLibrary.com, the most comprehensive collection of scientific information describing the many health benefits and properties of green tea.

Chinese Green Tea. Chinese Green Tea Varieties

Chinese Green Tea

Cultivation of tea plants in China dates back thousands of years, and today green tea makes up over 50% of the teas produced in China. It is produced in all of China's tea growing provinces, and several Chinese green tea varieties known by the name of the province in which they were grown. Dozens of Chinese green tea varieties are available in the United States and other countries.

Chinese Green Tea Varieties
Numerous varieties of green tea are produced in China. Some of the Chinese green tea varieties are:

~ Dragon Pearls, a nutty, sweet tea with balled leaves that unfurl as they steep.
~ Dragon Well, the most popular green tea from China, is aromatic with a full-bodied flavor.
~ Jade Spring is somewhat sweet, and can be re-steeped without becoming bitter.
~ Chinese Gunpowder Green Tea is a blend of old and new tea leaves, and to avoid a bitter flavor it should not be overbrewed.