Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world – water is first.
Tea is liquid meditation reminding us to enter a time and space to find our own thoughts and vision.
Tea has been grown organically for thousands of years. In 2737 BC, the Chinese emperer, Shen Nung, wrote: ‘Tea gladdens and cheers the heart.’ Tea estates in China, India and Sri Lanka have always depended heavily on tea workers for such tasks as weeding and gathering manure for fertiliser. Tea picking has traditionally been undertaken by women – supposedly because they have small hands to pick the small tip leaves.
In the last 50 years tea production has undergone a transformation toward more chemical-intensive fertilisation and pest control. Not only has this been damaging to the environment and the workers and consumers, the yields only increased in the short-term. They have since decreased in both quantity and quality – taste has deteriorated.
Now there is a swing towards organic tea production. The global consumption of organic tea has grown 10 percent in the last decade. Many large tea plantations in China, India, and Sri Lanka are in the process of converting to organic. Conversion is a long term process requiring many years. The plantations’ soil and plant tissue is regularly tested to determine any chemical residue.
Drinking black tea has many benefits including combating heart disease, lowering cholesterol and staving off several types of cancer while protecting skin and strengthening bones and teeth (however too much caffeine (found in tea) will limit bone regeneration). Tea has almost no calories, no fat and no salt and is as rich in flavonoids as a serving of vegetables.
Several studies have found that regular tea drinkers are as much as 44 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack than the general population. Results show that black tea appears to repair blood-vessel damage in people who have coronary-artery disease.
It has been found in numerous clinical and large-population studies that black or green tea reduces the risk of cancer, particularly stomach and colorectal cancers. This is thought to be chiefly because of the high antioxidant content of tea, especially green tea.
A study of Chinese tea drinkers found that as little as half a cup of green tea per day may lower the risk of high blood pressure by nearly 50 percent.
Green tea has more health benefits than ordinary tea. From early times, green tea has been highly valued for its medicinal uses. Recent scientific research is now confirming 4,000 years of folklore and medical practice in Asia. Green tea is a key element in achieving and maintaining good health. All the health benefits of black tea are to be gained to a greater degree from drinking green tea. Some of the other benefits of green tea are reported to include:
- Preventing and hastening recovery from colds and flu
- Preventing bad breath
- Aiding with the prevention and relief of type two diabetes
- Blocking key receptors in producing allergic reactions
- Aiding Parkinson’s disease sufferers
- Slowing the HIV infection process
- Maintaining healthy fluid balance
- Relieving fatigue and stress
- Boosting the immune function of skin cells
- Relieving and preventing arthritis
- Reducing the risk of stroke
- Preventing osteoporosis
- Reducing DNA damage in smokers
- Delaying the signs of ageing
- Improving bone structure
- Preventing dangerous blood clotting
- Calorie burning – green tea is increasingly being used as part of a healthy diet, as it can help gain or maintain body weight and composition.
Catechins – Antioxidant – reduces incidence of cancers. Lowers blood cholesterol, inhibits increase of blood pressure. Inhibits increase of blood sugar. Kills bacteria and viruses. Prevents halitosis.
Vitamin C – Reduces stress.
Vitamin B complex. Aids carbohydrate metabolism
r-Amino Butyric Acid. Lowers blood pressure
Flavonoids. Strengthens blood vessel walls. Prevents halitosis
Fluoride. Prevents tooth cavities.
Vitamin E. Acts as an antioxidant. Regulates aging.
Theanine (amino acid) Gives green tea its taste.