tea report?
Monday, April 23rd, 2007 Tea, Camellia sinensis, from the family Theaceae; it is a shrub like evergreen found mostly in places with tropical hills, plenty of rain fall, and where the soil has some acidity to it; mostly native to China, India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. In
China , they have small leaves and it generally thrives at higher altitudes. In
India , they have larger leaves and it generally thrives at lower altitudes. Then there are a hybrid mix, it is kind of in between the
China and
India types of tea.
The plant itself is like I said before a shrub like evergreen that can grow to be up to 17 meters high, but is usually kept at 2 meters by pruning. The flowers are scented and can occur singly or in clusters of 2 to 4. Its fruits are brownish-green containing 1 to 4 spherical or flattened seeds.
The tea leaves are what we use to make our drinks from. The leaves are normally had picked to ensure a good quality product. When picking the leaves there are a couple of things that need to be considered. When taking the raw green leaves, before you process the leaves, you need to decide how much oxidation (fermentation) should take place before drying them out. Tea leaves have enzymes in their veins. When the leaf is broken, bruised, or crushed, the enzymes are exposed to oxygen resulting in oxidation. The amount of oxidation depends upon how much of the enzymes are exposed and for how long.
Processing of the leaves is where you get the different types of tea, such as, Green Tea, Black Tea, White Tea, or Olong Tea.
Black Tea is processed by withering the leaves and placing into a special trough where air is blown though the leaves. The air that is blown through them reduces the water content and causes enzyme activity. Then the leaves are rolled by passing the leaves through a special type of machinery. When the leaves are rolled, the cells rupture, causing the enzymes to release, which then causes chemical oxidation and the presence of phenolic compounds. The leaves are then spread out in a damp, warm place for a couple of hours (2-6) as they ferment, turning a bright reddish coppery color. Then the leaves are dried with hot air to stop the fermentation process and to remove any left over water.
Green Tea is processed not by withering and fermenting but by the exact opposite. The Green Tea leaves are unfermented and unwithered. They are fresh picked leaves that are steamed and dried to ensure that they will not ferment. It has a lighter flavor and color than black tea.
White Tea is processed similar to Green Tea. The White Tea leaves are not rolled and, it does not go through any oxidation at all, because after they are picked they are allowed to dry in for a little period of time, and immediately fired or steamed.
Oolong Tea’s processing requires only partial oxidation of the leaves. They wither anywhere from 8 hours to 24 hours, then they are tossed in baskets to bruise the edge of the leaves. Then the leaves are steamed. This particular type of tea can vary in color and taste.
Even though there are different varieties of tea, Green Tea and Black Tea are the most popular tea’s consumed by humans. Some would say that tea is one of the most important non-alcoholic drinks. Not only is Tea popular, there are many medicinal and stimulating purposes as well.
The medicinal purposes are almost endless, but here are a couple of things I have found out. Tea contains high levels of antioxidants, and flouride, and many other health benefits. Study finds tea drinkers have lower blood pressure (Archives of Internal Medicine, 2004), Tea may lower cholesterol and protect against heart disease (Journal of Nutrition, 2003), and Black tea may lower “bad” cholesterol (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, 2003, also Tea consumption may help heart disease patients (Circulation: The Journal of the American Heart Association, 2001).
Tea can also help in the prevention and reduction of Cancer: Green tea could help stem esophageal cancer (
Harvard Medical School , 2004). Green and black tea can slow down the spread of prostate cancer (Center for Human Nutrition at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, 2004). Tea may protect against cancer caused by smoking (Journal of Nutrition, 2003). Green tea and white tea fight colon cancer (Linus Pauling Institute at
Oregon State University study, Carcinogenesis, 2003). Hot tea may lower risk of some skin cancers (
University of Arizona study, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention (Vol. 9, No. 7), 2001). Green tea consumption may lower stomach cancer risk (
University of
California at
Los Angeles (UCLA)
School of Public Health study, International Journal of Cancer (Vol. 92: 600-604), 2001).
There are also ways for tea to reduce hypertension, boost your immunity. Tea will also fight against leukemia, Alzheimer’s disease, and against AIDS.
Hypertension-Reducing Benefits: Green and oolong teas reduce risk of hypertension (
National Cheng Kung University study, Archives of Internal Medicine, 2004).
Immunity-Boosting Benefits: Tea believed to boost the body’s defenses (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2003)
Leukemia-Fighting Benefits: A green tea component helps kill leukemia cells (Mayo Clinic, 2004).
Alzheimer’s-Fighting Benefits: Drinking tea might delay Alzheimer’s Disease (
Newcastle University ’s Medicinal Plant Research Centre study, Phytotherapy Research, 2004).
AIDS-Fighting Benefits: Tea may play a role as an AIDS fighter (
University of Tokyo , Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2003).
As for the stimulating purposes, well tea contains a drug we all know, Caffeine. Most people even believe that tea would not be as popular to day if it were not for the Caffeine. Caffeine helps give us energy, keep us awake, enhance our moods, and even how we think.
