subject: Tea Some Interesting Facts [print this page] Tea Some Interesting Facts Tea Some Interesting Facts
Tea is the process of cultivating leaves or leaf buds and stems of the camellia sinensis plant. The leaves are harvested and cured in several different ways. The word tea can also refer to the beverage made from the cured leaves by combining it with hot or boiling water.
Tea beverage is the second most consumed drink in the world just behind
water. Tea has a very long and rich history. Some believe the Chinese were first to use tea, but It is also thought that India was the first to use it for medicinal purposes. In any event tea's history spreads over a multitude of cultures and thousands of years, no one is exactly sure of tea's origin. The cultivation and trade of tea was started by the Chinese. Through Buddhism the use of tea was spread to Korea And Japan.The trading of tea to western cultures began around the 19th century.
The six varieties of tea are white ,yellow, green, oolong, black, and purer. Mostly white, green, oolong, and black are found in any retail store. With the increased interest in health more varieties of teas and herbal teas are available than ever. All true teas come from the camellia sinensis plant, though different camellia sinensis plant varieties may be used to grow different kinds of tea. The method of processing the leaves can also change the type of tea. For white tea the same camellia sinensis plant is grown differently to create this variety. Pu-erh tea is fermented tea and is mostly used medicinally.
Herbal tea is commonly an infusion or similar preparation of leaves, flowers, fruit, herbs, or other plant material that is not from the camellia sinensis plant. Red tea in some Asian cultures is an infusion of black tea made from completely oxidized bud leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. While roobios tea which comes from the roobios plant found in the
mountains known as Cedarburg in South Africa. These leaves can be made into an infusion which can be refered to as Red tea also.
The term infusion comes from the latin word infundere which means to pour into. To Infuse tea with hot water is the most common way to brew tea and probably the most popular. This provides for some great tasting tea with little effort. Many newer teapots are equipped with infuser as part of the teapot which allows you to select bulk tea for your tea time enjoyment.
Tea contains an antioxidant called catechins, fresh picked tea leaves can contain up to 30% catechins by dry weight. Catechins are found in highest concentrations in white and green teas, black tea has less due to the oxidation process used to make it. Studies done by the U. S. Department of Agriculture have shown that the level of antioxidants in green and Black Are about the same . Tea also has theine and caffeine at about 3% by dry Weight, this means that an 8oz cup have between 30mg to 80mg dependent on brand and preparation method. Tea has been shown to have small amount of theobromine and theophylline. Due to modern-day pollution of the environment fluoride and aluminum have been found in tea, with some types of brick tea made from mature leaves and stems having the greatest levels. This happens because tea plants have a high sensitivity to and absorb environmental pollutants.
Tea that is dried contains more caffeine by weight than coffee, Although it takes more coffee in preparing the beverage, which means a cup of tea has less caffeine than a cup of coffee of the same amount.
Tea contains very little if any amounts of carbohydrates, fat or protein. Tea does contain various polyphenols, tea does not contain tannic acid even though some believe this to be true
.
I hope these are some useful facts I have presented concerning Tea and the enjoyment one can get from drinking it not to mention the healthy benefits as well.
