Green Tea.

The origin of green tea is believed to be more than 4000 years old from China. It is believed that when water for drinking was being boiled for a Chinese emperor, leaves from an adjacent bush fell into the water. This drink impressed the emperor and the rest became history. Those were leaves from the tea plant. Soon, tea as a beverage, started to become popular. India, Japan and China are the three countries where tea has been popular since then. Today black tea is being drunk all over the world and is next only to water  in the quantity of it drunk. Of all the teas, green tea is believed to be most beneficial to health.

Green Tea Extract.

Tea, whether green or black or oolong, is made from the leaves of the same plant called Camellia Sinensis. The difference in the making of these teas is that green tea leaves are the least fermented of the three while black tea leaves are the most fermented. That is the reason the green tea leaves retain the maximum health potential of the three tea leaves. Green tea contains 30% more anti oxidants than black tea. However black tea contains theaflavins  which is not found in green tea.

Tea Plant-Camellia Sinensis.

Tea that is grown at higher altitudes have a better flavor. A tea plant takes about 3 to 5 years to start giving commercial production and once it starts to do so, it does so for a close to 100 years.

Picture of Tea Plants.

Stages in the making of green tea.

• Once the green tea leaves are harvested (plucked), they are either pan fired ( dried with hot air as the Chinese do) or steamed (as the Japanese do).
• Next the leaves are rolled under pressure. It used to be done by hand previously but now modern machinery is used. This removes the juice from the leaves, which is spread uniformly on the rolled leaves.
• The rolled leaves are then dried in large driers to remove its moisture content. This helps to increase the shelf life of tea.
• The dried leaves are then blended according to their grading and packed.

The Best Green Tea.

You have bottled green tea, or iced tea or lipton or regular green tea. Choose the regular green tea – cause it’s the best. It contains the maximum amount of the antioxidants called catechins. The other green teas are processed which leads to loss of this ingredient and you may have certain chemicals like fluorides too, added to it. The anti oxidant properties of  Catechins in green tea are 100 times more powerful than Vitamin C and E.

Picture of green tea.

Contents in Green Tea|Composition of Green Tea.

• Green Tea Caffeine has a stimulating action on mood, physical stamina, stomach and intestinal activity and cerebrovascular system.
• Polyphenols in green tea, mainly catechins (EGCG) are powerful anti oxidants.
• Carotenoids in green tea are again antioxidants and provide vitamins.
• Tocopherols in green tea are chemical compounds which have biological Vitamin E activity.
• Ascorbic Acid which is Vitamin E.
• Green tea contains minerals such as selenium or zinc, chromium and manganese.
• Green tea contains Phytochemical compounds which are antioxidants.

Next: 14 health benefits of green tea and a word of caution on green tea.

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