WORLD OF TEA

Invention of tea bags

2012-05-15T02:09:00.001-07:00

Before tea bags became available, tea drinkers often used refillable, perforated metal infusers, also called tea balls or tea eggs, which they filled with looses tea and immersed in hot water just lie a tea bag.

The tea bag was invented in 1908 by New York tea importer Thomas Sullivan, who developed the practice to sending small sample of tea in silk bags rather than in the customary tins to retailers.

The purpose is to cut marketing cost rather than sending full sized tins for his customers to sample.

Some of the customers discovered that they could brew the tea right in the bag, and Sullivan was swamped with order for tea bags.

He wasted no time in complying and soon the first tea bag machine was invented.

It was a major step towards making tea an even more popular beverage in the Western world because it could now be consumed in a time saving and comfortable way – just pouring hot water over the tea bag.

It was not until 1944 that the flat rectangular tea bag, made of porous paper filter was invented. Quickly, a tea company sprang into action and patented the tea bag.

Thomas J. Lipton was responsible for designing a four-sided tea he dubbed the 'flo-thru' tea bag, which allowed tea to steep more quickly in the cup than the customary two-sided bag.

Invention of tea bags

English Breakfast Tea in History

2012-04-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

The prototype of this most popular of all teas was developed over a hundred years ago by the Scottish Tea Master Drysdale in Edinburgh.

By the 1700s, it become indoctrinated into the English lifestyle. It replaced the customary practice of drinking ale at breakfast.

The institution of tea for breakfast was probably influenced by Queen Anne (1665-1714).

It was marketed simply as "Breakfast Tea". It quickly became popular in England because Queen Victoria loved all things Scottish.

Tea shops in London, however, changed the name and marketed it as "English Breakfast Tea", claiming it as their own.

It is an originally blend of fine black teas from India and Chinese tea, often including some Keemun tea.

Keemun, a black Chinese tea with a fruity taste and a hint of pine. Keemun possess a full, concentrated flavor and a toasty aroma and sometimes referred to as the ‘Burgundy of teas.’

Nowadays Assam, Ceylon and African teas are blended to provide drinkers with the three elements they require – strength, flavour and color.

It should be offered with milk or lemon. It may also be used to brew iced tea.
English Breakfast Tea in History

Fermentation of tea

2012-03-23T17:14:00.005-07:00

Almost all tea polyphenols are catechins. In black tea, which is produced by fermenting the tea leaves, the same catechins which are contained originally in green tea react with each other during the process of fermentation.

They are three basic types of tea. They differ mainly in the degree of fermentation. Green tea undergoes little or no fermentation and black tea is produced by full fermentation, semi-fermented tea – oolong tea is the product of partial fermentation.

The fermentation process of tea leaves begins with drying, which is followed by twisting and then rolling to separate the leaf cells and release the oils (oil provides the taste). This step initiates fermentation.

Fermentation is caused by the oxidation of enzymes. The dark color of red tea is caused by full fomentation process, where as oolong is half fermented.

During fermentation, the tannin in tea is partly oxidized and the leaf changes color and turns bright coppery red.

Then the leaves are spread out of a cool, damp place, where they absorb oxygen and undergo further fermentation. The final step is drying by hot air to stop fermentation process and give the tea a uniform color, taste and aroma.

The period of fermentation generally extends for 3 to 4 hours. As a rule, the shorter the fermentation the more pungent the liquor; the longer the fermentation the softer the liquor and deeper the color.

Fermentation of tea

Chrysanthemum tea for health

2012-01-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

Chrysanthemum Tea is prepared in the same way as traditional tea. The dried flowers are infused with hot water for over 10 min. and the tea is ready to serve. For clinical usage, the chrysanthemum is boiled either alone or together with various herbs, according to the prescription to suit a specific clinical purpose.

Based on traditional usage, in addition to use as a tea Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat is used for common cold, fever, migraines, conjunctivitis, eye irritation, hypertension, ulcerative colitis, vertigo, ophthalmia with swelling and pain, etc. As a mixture with other herbs, it has been claimed to be able to relieve migraines and eye irritation, improve vision and cure keratitis.

Apart from the above traditional usage, there were also other usages, such as antitumor activities. Chrysanthemum water extract was found to significantly inhibit growth of transplanted tumor in mice, suggesting that the water soluble components of chrysanthemum may have potent chemopreventive effects.

The other research shows that that chrysanthemum was quite effective in reducing elevated blood pressure and in relieving the physical symptoms that accompany such blood pressure problems. Researchers also said that chrysanthemum possesses a potent antibiotic effect and it was subsequently proven to be useful in treating angina and related cardiac problems.

The Chinese have utilized herbal remedies made from chrysanthemum for thousands of years. The herbs have been used as medicine and as a beverage for centuries in china. The herb categorized in the Divine Husbandman's Classic, called “Shen'nong Bencaojing" in ancient writing which dated 1st century AD in China.
Chrysanthemum tea for health

Green Tea and health benefits

2011-12-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

The famous Chinese master Lu Yu wrote in AD 780 that tea could cure headaches, body aches and pains, constipation and depression.

Firstly, green tea shares all the health benefits that are thought to come from black tea, except in a more effective form, as the tea is fresher.

Tea can help reduce your chances of getting heart disease by up to half, as well as fight dental plaque and cavities (although it will also stain your teeth if you don’t make sure to drink plenty of water and brush regularly, so watch out).

Drinking tea also burns more calories. Green tea has been mooted as a cure for cancer, Alzheimer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and cardiovascular disease.

The antioxidant part of green tea has been shown to efficiently scavenge the toxin in human body. Green tea’s antioxidant activity is particularly important for preventing lipid peroxidation which often plays a key role in the build up of atherosclerosis plaque.

Tea drinking also protects the blood vessels that feed the heart and brain; men who have the highest intakes of polyphenols from tea and other foods have almost 75 percent fewer stokes than men with low intakes.

Green tea is good for the digestive system. It helps the drinker to think clearly and even improves the eyesight. Green tea strengthens arteries and reduces excess fats in the bloods.

The tannins in green tea can stop diarrhea.
Green Tea and health benefits

Flavonoids in tea

2011-12-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

Researchers have unidentified a class of antioxidants called polyphenols that appear to be responsible for much of the health benefits of tea called flavonoids.

The term ‘flavonoid’ is generally used to describe a broad collection of natural products that include a C6-C3-C6 carbon framework, or more specifically a phenylbenzopran functionality.

Flavonoids known for their health promoting qualities and disease preventing dietary supplements, are found in whole grain, soy, vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, teas, chocolate, nuts, olive oils and red wine.

Many flavonoids act as antioxidant and may protect against cancers.

93 per cent of tea phenolic compounds are flavonoids. Green tea contains more of simple flavonoids called catechins, while the oxidization that the leaves undergo to make black tea, coverts these simple flavonoids to more complex varieties called theaflavins and thearubigins. Green tea also contain epicatechin and gallic acid.

Epidemiological, in vitro and animal studies indicate that flavonoids exert protection against cardiovascular diseases.

Since green tea fight free radicals and reduce the risk of heart disease, it seems natural to assume that it is the ingredients contribute to health protection.

The cardio-protective effect of flavonoids can be attributed to its antioxidant, anti-thrombogenic and lipid lowering properties and also its effect on promoting endothelial function.

150 mgs of flavonoids, the amount found in a cup of brewed tea, is enough to have an immediate antioxidant effect.

Tea provides about 22 per cent of the total intake of flavonoids in the Unites States diet.

Flavonoids in tea

History of Caffeine

2011-11-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

The drinking of tea and coffee introduced a new drug, caffeine, which has not naturally available in temperate climates, into Western civilization in the 17th century.

With the development of worldwide trade routes during the 17th and 18th centuries, caffeinated products such as coffee, tea, guarana, coca, and mate spread rapidly from their indigenous environment of the parts of the world.

It is the most common stimulant drug in used for centuries, yet it wasn’t until the 1800s that scientists purified it and gave it a name.

Caffeine was first purified by German chemist named Johann Freidlieb Ferdinand Runge. With the aid of chromatography technique he purified a a crystalline white powder with a bitter taste from coffee beans.

Its chemical structure was identified in 1875. Caffeine was isolated from tea in 1827, five years after first isolated from coffee.

The plants contain the methylxanthines have been used to make popular beverages since ancient times.

In the late 1800s, entrepreneurs began selling flavored carbonated beverages with added caffeine. Original claims for promoting used of these products appealed directly to the stimulant pharmacology of caffeine.
History of Caffeine

Health Benefits by Drinking Tea

2011-11-02T02:27:00.000-07:00

Human beings have a long history of tea plant cultivation and tea drinking. Drinking tea is a daily ritual for million of people. Tea seems to dispel the heat and bring of instant cooling, together with a sense of relaxation.

Addition to this pleasure, tea also provides a number of health benefits.

Research has shown that drinking tea is possibly more beneficial to the body, while it puts liquid into the body tea also is loaded with antioxidants. Water of course does not have antioxidants to add to its replenishment of the body.

British studies have shown that for women tea drinking will help strengthen bones and prevents his fractures.

Some of the research that has been done with tea and its antioxidants have given some proof that it may help to guard against certain types of cancer, weight loss and it may even help protect against the onset of Alzheimer's, along with other diseases.

Antioxidants bond harmful oxygen-containing molecules in the body called free radicals and peroxides that otherwise could damage DNA, cell membranes, and other cell components.

In addition to this, various research studies appear to indicate that tea may even reduce the relative risk for diabetes as well as improve insulin sensitivity.

Tea catechins lower blood sugar levels by inhibiting the action of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starches such as carbohydrates and coverts them into glucose.

There is research on tea and its possibility of lowering the incidence of skin cancers plus the ability to aid smokers in recovering and repairing damaged cell structure. The result of epidemiological study stated that one of the health benefits of drinking tea is that it can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer in men and women by up to 60%.

Another wonderful benefit from drinking tea is it is rich in natural fluoride and prevent tooth decay. It is important to avoid using sugar in tea for this benefits to be maximized. Tea catechins prevent growth of bacteria that also cause tooth decay and the formation of plaque.

The Ancient Chinese and Tibetans may not have had out modern scientific and medical instruments, but they have a long tradition of health and healing knowledge that we can learn from even today.

There has also been research done into the types of antioxidants in black tea and green tea, while they both have antioxidants they are different types of antioxidants and are equally healthy for the body and guarding against disease.
Health Benefits by Drinking Tea

White Tea

2011-09-25T21:25:00.001-07:00

The leaves for all three teas, black, green and white come from one plant, Camellia sinensis. Those leaves meant for black and green teas are rolled and fermented before drying, whole those destined for white teas, which actually brew up pale yellow red – are not. White teas is the least processed of all teas.

There is a suggestion that white tea to be defined as a tea made from either the first flush bud and one leaf, either air dried or directly warm fired.

White tea is thought to be healthiest of all three types of tea.

The tea is harvested while the leaves are immature. The white tea is processed immediately without fermentation.

Fresh tea leaves are rich in flavonoids called catechins. Catechins appear to protect human body from a variety of cancers. They also keep the blood vessels healthy.

Because white tea leaves are neither rolled nor fermented, fewer of their catechins marry into polyphenols. According to researchers the plain catechins content of white tea is three times higher that of green tea.

Therefore they are the best dietary source of this compound.

A new research showed that white tea prevented the breakdown of elastin and collagen, by stopping the offending enzymes from doing the damage.

Catechins have an antioxidative and antiaging effects. The catechins found in tea are twenty-five to one hundred times as potent as vitamins C and E.
White Tea

John Jacob Astor and tea business

2011-08-23T19:37:00.001-07:00

John Jacob Astir was one of the first multimillionaire in the United States. He arrived in New York practically penniless in the spring of 1784, and when he died in 1848 he left a fortune of some twenty millions.

He was born into poor family in Germany in 1763.

John Jacob Astor, earned a massive fortune through trade. When the rise of the Chinese trade, he began in 1808 with the American Fur Company, then bought five clipper ships and held a monopoly on the fur trade to China.

He carried beaver and otter pelts to China and returned with silk, tea and tea ware.

The cargo of teas would be sold almost on arrival (11 or 2 moths after the ship left New York in May) to whole grocers, for their notes at four and six months.

It is aid that part of his success lay in the fact that he made up for the trade deficiency in gold, not opium and that he used the fastest ships available at the time.

Astor increased his wealth with this Chinese trade. His ships returned from China with tea that provided profits of as much as $100,000 for a single cargo.

John Jacob Astor at one period of his life has several vessels operating in this way. They would go to the Pacific (Oregon) and carry thence furs to Canton. These would be sold at large profits,

Then the cargoes of tea shipped to New York would be duly received, on which Astor did not have to pay duty to the United States for year and a half.

When the fur trade began declining in 1810 and tea from India began to cut into his China profits, Astor turned his attention to real estate in New York , where he made even more money.
John Jacob Astor and tea business

Fluoride in Tea

2011-07-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

The tea plant naturally concentrates fluoride from soil and water. Fluoride accumulates mostly in the leaves of the tea plant, especially the mature or fallen leaf.

A large percentage of the total fluoride, 25-84%, is released during infusion, and tea is considered to be major source of fluoride.

Instant tea is a reasonably good choice of beverage, although in very large quantities, it can result in excessive fluoride intake.

Brewed tea also contains fluoride, though in lower concentrations than instant tea. In practice, fluoride content in tea as consumed will be higher if the beverage is made with fluoridated water.

Additionally, brewed tea is higher in antioxidant phytonutrients than instant tea and thus is preferable when available.

The fluoride in tea is not necessarily a bad things. Tea consumption has been linked with healthier teeth and gums and stronger bones, possibly in past due to its fluoride content.

It also contributes bones to resistant to decay by acids and demineralization.

The benefits of fluoride are greatest when exposure to it begins in infancy and continues during the development of a child’s teeth.

Fluoride is not a concern unless you are drinking more than two or three quarts of instant tea, or a gallon of regular brewed tea, daily.
Fluoride in Tea

Green Tea, Arthritis and Inflammation

2011-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

Green tea is an extract of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. This delicious drink sometimes referred to as a ‘cup of steaming medicine’.

It contains a group of polyphenols known as catechins, the most abundant of which is the gallate ester.

In a study in mice, researcher found that consumption of green tea polyphenols produces a significant reduction in arthritis incidence, with a marked reduction of inflammatory mediators, neutral endopeptidase activity of IgG and type II collagen specific IgG levels in arthritic joints.

Two most potent catechins, epigallocatechin-3 gallate or EGCG and ECG, actually block cartilage destroying enzymes. When drink green tea, cartilage is better able to stave of the breakdown process and stay intact.

Many study suggest that green tea has anti-inflammatory properties, and new research is beginning to explain why.

It has been shown to posses antioxidant activity against a broad range of oxidants and anti-inflammatory activity against pro-inflammatory mediators of chronic disease.

EGCG or epigallocatechin-3 gallate inhibits the expression of the interleukin gene involved in the inflammatory response. EGCG blocked the expression of many biologic parameters that are associated with enhanced inflammatory response.
Green Tea, Arthritis and Inflammation

What so special about English Breakfast Tea?

2011-04-22T08:48:00.001-07:00

The majority of teas available in the market today are blends of different kinds of teas from different growing regions.

Today’s English breakfast tea contain Assam tea for strength, Ceylon tea for flavor and African tea for color.

English breakfast tea is more full-flavored and full bodied than a single black tea.

The best English breakfast blends are rich and dense, with a dark reddish amber color. Some have a thick malty flavor, while others impart subtle, dark raspberry jam notes.

Many tea authorities suggest that the Keemun tea blended with milk creates a bouquet that reminds people of "toast hot from the oven" and maybe the original source for the name.

It goes well with same foods that red wines does and it is often used for brewing iced tea.
What so special about English Breakfast Tea?

English Breakfast Tea

2011-03-15T01:50:00.000-07:00

The prototype of this most popular of all teas was developed over a hundred years ago by the Scottish Tea Master Drysdale in Edinburgh.

It become indoctrinated into the English lifestyle. It replaced the customary practice of drinking ale at breakfast.

It was marketed simply as "Breakfast Tea". It became popular in England due to the craze Queen Victoria created for things Scottish (the summer home of Victoria and Albert was the Highland castle of Balmoral).

Tea shops in London, however, changed the name and marketed it as "English Breakfast Tea". It is an originally blend of fine black teas from India and Chinese tea, often including some Keemun tea.

Keemun, a black Chinese tea with a fruity taste and a hint of pine.

Nowadays Assam, Ceylon and African teas are blended to provide drinkers with the three elements they require – strength, flavour and color.

Many tea authorities suggest that the Keemun tea blended with milk creates a bouquet that reminds people of "toast hot from the oven" and maybe the original source for the name.

It should be offered with milk or lemon. (One never serves lemon to a guest if they request milk-the lemon is never used. It would curdle the milk.) It may also be used to brew iced tea.
English Breakfast Tea

Tea Health Benefits

2011-03-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

The health benefits of tea have been touted for centuries. It have probably been utilized, drunk, eaten, pickled by mountain tribes since time immemorial. Chinese legend claims that tea consumption goes back as far as as 2737 BC.

At that time, the Chinese people have been using tea as treatment for everything from headaches to depression.

The basis for all the buzz about tea's healthy properties are polyphenols. Phenols are basically a chemical compound that are found in many plants, including tea. Get a whole bunch of phenols together, and you've got polyphenols.

The thing that makes polyphenols so healthy is that they are thought to be powerful antioxidants. Polyphenols are best known for being effective antioxidants, and the polyphenol in tea are no exception.

Teas that are least oxidized (mainly green and whites) retain more polyphenols than those that are fully oxidized.

Antioxidants are basically chemicals that reduce oxidative damage to cells. Medical researchers have found a high correlation between oxidative damage and the occurrence of disease.

Their research suggests that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods reduces damage to cells and biochemical from free radicals. That's something that most scientists agree upon.

In particular, green and white teas contain high amounts of the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate, which has potent anti-inflammatory properties and is thought to boost the body’s ability to use fat as an energy source.

This particular polyphenol inhibits the enzymes urokinase, which plays an important role in the growth of malignant cells.

Tea has soventlike properties that break down fats, and when consumed after meals rich in fats, it reduces the risk of arterial disease.

Tea also contains theophylline, a close relative of the theobromine found in cocoa. Theophylline stimulates the heart and dilates the airways; it can help improve breathing in those suffering from congestion such as asthma.

Scientists also believe that the caffeine in tea is good for the body’s heart and circulatory system, which may help prevent heart disease and stroke. Te is believed to help clean toxins, or poisonous substances from the body.

Tea prevent dental decay by inhibiting the growth of Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria responsible for plaque formation.

When the modern researchers finally studied tea, they confirmed what the Chineses had said for centuries: that tea holds within it a special health-preserving and revitalizing power.
Tea Health Benefits

Tea During Ancient Time

2011-01-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

Teas are botanically classified as Camellia sinensis, which are teas from China and Camellia assamica, which are teas that originated from plants in the Assam region of northern India.

Tea has long been touted for its healthful properties and according to some scholars may be the most commonly drunk beverage in the world after water.

Legend credits the origin of the tea infusion to leaves form a tea tree falling by accident into drinking water intended for the Chinese emperor, Shen Nung in 2737.

There are varying legends as to whether tea originated in India or in China.

The plant has been cultivated so long and so widely in South China that at present it is difficult to ascertain its geographical origin from wild plants in the natural vegetation.

There was a suggestion that after reviewing ancient records, that the used of tea started in Szechuan and was introduced to central Chin after the Ch’in conquered Shu, in the fourth century BC.

Another accounts purporting to tell about the early use of tea by an ancient emperor says that as early as the twelfth century BC, tribal leader in and around Szechuan included tea in their offerings to Emperor Wen, duke of Chou and founder of the Chou dynasty (1122-256 BC).

The earliest record of tea cultivation and consumption is found in ancient Chinese literature dating back to 1100 BC.

In the year 350 AD, tea is growing along the Yangtze River in Szechuan province.

Tea consumption evolved into part of Chinese religious symbolism and culture – the first monograph on tea, written about 780 AD, was called Ch’a Ching, or Tea Scripture.

Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, is ascribe, by a Chinese text of the first century BC, the notion that tea is an indispensable constituent of the elixir of life. His followers, who sought the secret of immortality, certainly believed this, dubbing tea “the forth of the liquid jade.”

Ancient written history tell in 727 AD, tea is presented to Emperor Shomu as an official gift from Chinese T’ang Court, Tea’s then spread to Japan.

At first this beverage was primarily used as a medicine, or by Zen Buddhist monks to prevent drowsiness during long hours of meditation.

In 1600 Texeira, a Spaniard, saw dried tea leaves at Malacca: a proof that tea had been introduced into Southern Asia by the Chinese long before the arrival of the Europeans in those area.
Tea During Ancient Time

Green tea for your belly

2010-12-02T03:08:00.000-08:00

Green tea for your belly
Belly fat is not just unbecoming, it is dangerous to your long term, health and well being. When excessive fat is stored inside your abdominal cavity it has devastating metabolic consequences.

This intra abdominal adipose tissue continually dumps fatty acids into the bloodstream poisoning your muscles so they become unresponsive to the normal action of insulin.

That means your insulin, sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels go up, predisposing you to high blood pressure diabetes heart disease and even some forms of cancer.

Finding a way selectively burn this toxic belly fat has been the holy grail of scientists and dieters alike, but to has proved to be an elusive goal.

Evolving evidence points to green tea and its components like theanine and catechins as at least part of the answer to this problem.

You will need to drink about three to four cups of either caffeinated or decaffeinated green tea per day to see the full benefits including weight loss, increased metabolism and a shrinking waistline.
Green tea for your belly

The Legends

2010-08-27T13:04:00.001-07:00

The Legends
Legends about discovery of tea with the origins of the average shrouded in Oriental folklore.

The legend credits the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung, who discovered that the boiling of water made it safe to drink.

One day, almost five thousand years ago, as the Emperor was waiting for his pot to boil, leaves from a bush nearly fell into the hot water.

The emperor drank the liquid and found it tasty, refreshing and relaxing.

The wild plant was Camellia sinensis, which can grow to approximately 15 feet. The China plant is very hardy and can with stand extreme cold temperature.

The leaves are approximately two inches long.

Camellia assamica is considered a tree and can grow up to 65 feet if not reduced to the plucking level of about 4 feet.

The leaf is six times as large as the sinensis as the sinensis leaf.

The Camellia assamica subspecies lasiocalyx is also tree that grows to about 15 feet. The leaf size is intermediate between sinensis and assamica.
The Legends

Biography of Sir Thomas Lipton

2010-07-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

Biography of Sir Thomas Lipton
Towards the the end id the nineteenth century a modern shopping industry began to appear in Scotland, offering low prices and high quality. The most famous of the new shopkeepers was Thomas Lipton.

Thomas Lipton was born in Glasgow in 1850. When he left school he was only nine years old, but he found work and had soon saved enough to buy a ticket on a liner to New York.

In New York he got a job in a grocery store. Three years later still a teenager he was back in Glasgow bursting with the new ideas he had seen in the New York shops. When he opens his own shop in 1870, he began to try these ideas out.

Within a few years new Lipton’s shops were opening all over Scotland at the rate of one week. England came next, and by 1885 more than 600 Lipton shops were busily trading.

At first shops sold mainly hams, eggs, cheeses and butter.

Next, Lipton entered the tea market, and again with dramatic success. Lipton became a very wealthy man as a result of his business successes.

Later in his life he was well known for his love of sailing and for the beautifully made yachts always called Shamrock,, that he bought and raced in Britain and America.

But when he died in 1931 he was still known best for the great changes he had brought to shopping.
Biography of Sir Thomas Lipton

Tea Producing Countries

2010-07-18T01:29:00.000-07:00

Tea Producing Countries
Although tea is now consumed in most part of the world, it is still grown and processed primarily in the East.

In 2003, world tea production reached 3.15 million tons, a 75,000 ton increase over 2002.

The principle tea producing countries are China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Argentina.

Many producing countries the improvement of productivity has become a more significant factor for gains in prediction than increased area.

As tea often has to compete with other food and export crops for available land, there is an evident need to make optimum used of the limited land available.

Higher output has to be obtained predominantly through improved yields, which are mainly achieved through rehabilitation of old tea lands and in filling with the best available planting material.

Tea is grown in more than thirty countries. Globally, some 2.3 million hectares are planted to tea, and production from this area was approximately 3.0 million metric tons in 1997.

Many of the producing nations consume very little of the product while other countries import large quantities for domestic consumption.

Some countries, like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, also import tea for value addition and re-export. Tea is an important beverage in certain Western countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada.

Tea geographical separation of principle production and consumption areas provides the greatest potential for future trading.
Tea Producing Countries

Tea and Osteoporosis

2010-06-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Tea and Osteoporosis
In osteoporosis, a disease of low bone-mineral density (BMD), the bones and joints become thin and fragile.

It is the biggest cause of fractures among elderly women. Hormone deficiencies are the leading cause of the disease.

Tea is reported to protect against hip fractures. There was a study suggest that drinking 1-6 cups/d of tea may significantly reduce the risk of bone fracture by increasing bone-mineral density (BMD).

Studies suggest that isoflavonoids in tea increase BMD and help reduce the risk of fractures in old age.

Of the 1256 women between the ages of 65 an 76 year who surveyed, 1134 drank at least 1 cup/d of tea. BMD at the base of the spine and at two hip regions was significantly higher in tea drinkers when the data were adjusted to account for age and body weight.
Tea and Osteoporosis

Boston Tea Party

2010-05-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, a band of angry colonists gathered at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, disguised as native American Indians.

They boarded three East Indian Company ships and threw their tea cargoes into Boston Harbor, as a protest against the unfair taxation.

These acts and others ultimately led to the Revolution War. For a while, drinking tea was seen as unpatriotic, and citizens showed support by switching from tea to coffee or other substitutes.

Following the Boston Tea Party, young ladies of Boston signed the following pledge:

We the daughters of those patriots who have, and so now appear for the public interest and in that principally regard their posterity, as such do with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves the drinking of foreign tea, in hopes to frustrate a plan that tends to deprive a whole community if all is valuable to life.

After the war, people resumed drinking tea and eventually the United States sent ship to China and began importing tea directly.

Tea never became the national obsession in America that it is in England – coffee seems to fill that role in the US – but the United States has been very involved in the tea trade since the early nineteenth century.
Further reading: history of tea

Tea Effects on Blood Pressure

2010-04-23T02:47:00.001-07:00

Tea Effects on Blood Pressure
Epidemiological investigations have shown that tea consumption may exert a lowering effect on blood pressure. A survey of adults in China that average rate of hypertension in the group who drank tea as a habit was lower than that in the group who did not.

A clinical investigations on patients with hypertension revealed that a 10 g daily intake of green tea for half a year resulted in reduction of the blood pressure by 20-30%.

Oral administration of tea polyphenols also yielded a decrease of blood pressure in patients, a number of studies also revealed the blood pressure decreasing effects of tea in experimental animal models.

The reported active substance include tea extracts, polyphenols and tea tannin.

In addition, theanine, the amino acid component of tea, was found to be effective in decreasing the blood pressure of spontaneous hypertensive rates.

Caffeine may exert a variable effect on blood pressure. Intravenous administration of caffeine may cause an initial fall in blood pressure and then a secondary rise.

So, caffeine should be taken into account if whole tea preparation instead of tea component is used in studying the effect on blood pressure.
Tea Effects on Blood Pressure

The Beginning of Tea Drinking

2010-03-26T08:45:00.001-07:00

The Beginning of Tea Drinking
The use of tea as a beverage probably dates to the remotest antiquity but not among nations (with exceptions of China) whose literature is available.

Confucius speaks of tea drinking 500 years before Christ. It is not mentioned by any of the classical writers. It was not until the organization of the East Indian Company that tea was brought into England.

In regard to this use in America the only thing that seems to be certain is that it was not brought over in the Mayflower.

It is stated by authority that the first merchant who put on sale in England was named Garway.

By 1660 tea was pretty well known in England among the wealthy and fashionable. By 1664 it was on sale at the coffee houses. Even in 1664 the cost was excessive shillings a pound being the price.

While the first use of this leaf was as a medicine a German named Olearius recognized its value as a beverage as early as 1633.

But many there were who vilified it calling it an “impertinent novelty and the sellers of its immoral and mercenary persons.”

In Boston, tea was on sale by 1690 and in 1691 there were two houses besides those kept by Daniel Vernon and Benjamin Harris.

By 1712 it was advertised in the Boston News Latter and you could buy it from Zabdiel Bolton at his apothecary shop.

The favorite variety was green but the advertisement reads “green and ordinary.” Bohea was favorite and by 1725 it could be purchased in apothecary tobacco and drygoods shops,, as well as those devoted to “small ware.”.

From a commercial point of view the China tea trade began about 1678 by the East Indian Company carrying to England about 5,000 pounds of tea as a speculation.

This quality supplied London for many years before it was finally disposed of.

The exports of tea from China reached a maximum about 1886, when a total of about 300,000,000 pounds were exported.

From 1886 there has been a gradual decline in the amount exporter largely due to the growing popularity of India teas.
The Beginning of Tea Drinking

Green tea

2010-03-04T07:11:00.000-08:00

Green tea
Green tea is a uniquely powerful beverage for improving health, burning body fat, and preventing disease.

Today, this ancient beverage has a bright future owing to a steady stream of new studies showing the health benefits accrued buy drinking it.

We routinely have a cup of decaf tea green tea in the evening after the kids are in bed and we can relax and enjoy spending some quiet time together.

We try to drink two to four cups throughput the day and find decaffeinated green tea keep us focused yet relaxed.

It is also one of the best sources of beneficial phytonutrients that are helpful in preventing aging and disease.

Tea is a great way to stay well hydrated without consuming excess empty calories.

Green tea increases your metabolism and appears to selectively mobilise the fat stores from inside your abdominal cavity. Regular tea drinkers have a lower risk of diabetes high blood pressure and heart disease.

The active components of green tea are potent antioxidant: polyphenols (or catechins) and flavonoids.

These compounds give tea not just its color and flavor, but also its antioxidants fighting proprieties.

The specific polyphenol that appears to b most protective is epigallocathechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant that is twenty five to one hundred times more potent that vitamins E or C.

A single cup of green tea provides more antioxidant protection than a serving of strawberries, carrots or even broccoli.

In theory, this should make green tea a great tool for preventing illness like cancer heart disease and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Green tea is one o the best sources of flavour-3-ol polyphenols. Other sources of this age defying antioxidant include, berries, apples, pomegranates, red wines, and grapes.

Flavon-3-ols provide powerful multiple health benefits including protecting the LDL cholesterol from oxidation (helping to prevent plaques in the arteries); reducing inflammation; lowering the risk of cancer by inhibiting the generic and cellular injury; and blocking aging of the skin induced by sunlight.

Since we started drinking three o four cups of green tea daily, we seem to be less susceptible to sunburn.

The biologically active phytonutrients is green tea also stimulate various aspects of the immune system.

Studies show that green tea does protect against DNA damage, the initial insult that can create a malignant cell.

It also seems to help extinguish cancerous colonies of cells before they get a foot hold in the body.

Tea consumption has been linked with lower risks of cancers of the lung, colon, breast, liver, prostate, bladder, pancreas, and skin.
Green tea