Green Tea
Drinking Green Tea
Green Tea traditionally has been drunk in the east, particularly in China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Today it is becoming increasingly popular in the west for its health giving benefits. The art of brewing and drinking green tea has been around for centuries. In fact, green tea has been used for many different tea ceremonies in China and Japan. In these countries, there are rituals that must be followed and tools that must be used in brewing tea to be served to guests.
Like black tea, green tea comes from the leaves of the plant Camellia Sinensis. Unlike black tea, which is fermented before drying, green tea is steamed, baked or pan heated to dry the leaves. Green tea, along with white tea are the least processed of all the tea varieties.
Benefits of Green Tea
The Following are tea benefits of Green Tea:
- Boosts your immune system
- Lowers blood sugar
- Helps prevent cavities and tooth decay
- Slows the aging process
- Helps reduce the risk of cancer
- Lowers cholesterol
- Reduces high blood pressure
- Prevents arthritis
- Reduces the risk of heart disease
- Reduces the risk of stroke
- Lowers the risk of blood clot
- Aids digestion
Green Tea and Caffeine
Firstly, green tea is a great alternative to black tea commonly drunk in the west. Green tea contains on average 20mg of caffeine per serving, half the amount of Black Tea (40mg / serving) and a quarter of the amount of Coffee (80 mg / serving).
Green tea and weight lossA recent study by Swiss scientists concluded that drinking green tea can raise the body's metabolic rate by as much as 4%. While more research is needed in this area, nutritionists indicate that drinking tea can help people lose weight because it’s calorie free and a good source of fluids.
Scientists from Spain and the UK have been working together to identify how green tea helps prevent certain types of cancer. What they have discovered is that there is a compound in Green Tea called EGCC that impedes the growth of cancer cells. They've also determined that green tea has about 5 times the amount of this compound compared to regular black tea.
Brewing green tea Green tea should be brewed using water below boiling point (around 80-90°C) as water that is too hot turns the tea bitter. The leaves or the tea bag should be removed from the water after about 3 minutes. Using the same tea bag or leaves, you can make up to 2 or 3 more cups.