What is Green Tea ?
What is Green Tea ?
Like all the other teas, green tea is made from the Camellia Sinensis plant. The dried leaves and leaf buds of Camellia Sinensis are used to produce various types of teas. Green tea is prepared by quickly pan frying or steaming fresh leaves at high temperatures and then dried to prevent too much oxidation. During this process, it is able to maintain important molecules called polyphenols, which seem to be responsible for many of the benefits of green tea. A brewed green tea is typically green, yellow or light brown in color, and its flavor profile can range from grass-like and toasted (pan fired) to vegetal, sweet and seaweed-like (steamed). If brewed correctly, most green tea should be quite light in color and only mildly astringent.
While all green tea originates from the same plant species, there are different types of green tea grown and produced all over the world today, including China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Hawaii and even South Carolina.
Green tea, however, is considered to have originated in China. It is said that even today the word “tea” in China refers only to green tea, not to the general category of tea as it does in the West. China’s Yunnan province is considered to be the original home of the Camellia sinensis plant species.
There are several different types of green teas, not all green tea taste the same, even though it all comes from the same plant variety. It depends not only on the processing method the tea producers use, but also on the cultivation practices the tea growers use. What time of year is the tea plucked? How is the plant pruned? What parts of the plant are plucked? Are the plants treated with chemicals or are they organically grown? What kind of heat is applied to the tea leaves to stop oxidation? How are the tea leaves shaped, rolled and dried? Are the leaves left whole or cut in smaller pieces ?
A tea’s final flavor also depends on the “terroir” or environment the tea is grown in. Is it cool and mountainous or hot and tropical? Do the plants live next to limestone and pine trees or sand and seaweed? Do the tea plants grow near other crops that can affect their flavor, like rose bushes, coffee plants or grape vines?
The most popular, widely consumed types of green teas hail from the places where green tea originated: China and Japan. Green teas from China and Japan have different flavor profiles based on where and how they are grown, but most distinctively how they are processed; pan fired in China and steamed in Japan. Other countries producing green tea typically take cues from China or Japan and adopt one of these country’s tea production styles. Green tea is generally known to have lower caffeine content per cup than black tea and much lower caffeine content than coffee. Like all drinks cultivated from caffeinated plants, however, a specific level of caffeine per cup of green tea is hard to define as it will depend on the type of green tea as well as how is was processed and prepared.
| Avg. Caffeine Content | 8 oz. Beverage |
| 24 to 40 mg | Green Tea |
| 14 to 61 mg | Black Tea |
| 95 to 200 mg | Brewed Coffee |
Health Benefits :
Weight Loss.
Green tea increases the metabolism. The polyphenol found in green tea works to intensify levels of fat oxidation and the rate at which your body turns food into calories.
Diabetes
Green tea apparently helps regulate glucose levels slowing the rise of blood sugar after eating. This can prevent high insulin spikes and resulting fat storage.
Heart Disease.
Scientists think, green tea works on the lining of blood vessels, helping keep them stay relaxed and better able to withstand changes in blood pressure. It may also protect against the formation of clots, which are the primary cause of heart attacks.
Esophageal Cancer
It can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer, but it is also widely thought to kill cancer cells in general without damaging the healthy tissue around them.
Cholesterol
Green tea reduces bad cholesterol in the blood and improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
It is said to delay the deterioration caused by Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Studies carried out on mice showed that green tea protected brain cells from dying and restored damaged brain cells.
Tooth Decay
Studies suggests that the chemical antioxidant “catechin” in tea can destroy bacteria and viruses that cause throat infections, dental caries and other dental conditions
Blood Pressure
Regular consumption of green tea is thought to reduce the risk of high blood pressure
Depression
Theanine is an amino acid naturally found in tea leaves. It is this substance that is thought to provide a relaxing and tranquilizing effect and be a great benefit to tea drinkers.
Anti-viral and Anti-bacterial.
Tea catechins are strong antibacterial and antiviral agents which make them effective for treating everything from influenza to cancer. In some studies green tea has been shown to inhibit the spread of many diseases.
Skincare
Green tea can apparently also help with wrinkles and the signs of aging, This is because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Both animal and human studies have demonstrated that green tea applied topically can reduce sun damage.
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