Green Tea

[Cristoforo]

I am pasting hereunder the introduction of a document a friend of mine (studying medicine in the University of Malta) sent me about Green Tea and its very interesting properties. The document is very long so I will try to upload it instead of pasting it here.

Green Tea

The beverage of choice in the east, green tea shows promise as an anti-aging, cancer-fighting agent

Description / Source / Components
"Each year about 2.5 million tons of tea are manufactured from the dried leaves and leaf buds of the shrub Camellia sinensis. ... Green tea, which is not fermented, is made by steaming or pan-frying tea leaves and then drying them. It accounts for about 20% of world production and is mostly consumed in China and Japan, where it has been used medicinally as a stimulant and digestive remedy for about 5000 years." (Kaegi)

"Green tea is different from black tea in that it [green tea] is produced from leaves that have been withered, rolled, fermented, and dried. Because of the curing process, the properties of the green tea are very similar to that of the fresh leaf." (Fetrow)

"Black teas - the preferred drink in Europe and the Americas - are partially dried, crushed, allowed to "ferment" or oxidize in heat for a few hours, then fully dried. ... Green teas, the preferred drink in Asia, are not crushed and oxidized. Instead they are steamed, then rolled and dried. The steaming actually prevents oxidation by inactivating the enzymes in the leaves. Thus green and black teas have different chemical properties." (University)

"The growth bud and the first two or three leaves at the tip of the shoot produce the finest tea, while poorer quality tea is produced from material taken from lower down on the stem. Harvesting is still performed by hand in much of the world, as it takes discrimination to determine which are the best leaves." (Muir)

"Commercially prepared green tea extracts are standardized to contain 60% polyphenols and depending on the method of preparation, the tea may contain 1% to 4% caffeine." (Fetrow)

"When green tea is taken for medicinal purposes, 5-10 ml of the herb is steeped in a cup of boiling water for about 15 minutes. The usual amount taken is 1-3 cups daily, without the addition of milk or sugar. More recently, green tea capsules have been developed for the market, but the clinical benefits of these are unknown." (Kaegi)

"Green tea contains many polyphenols known as catechins, including epigallocathechin-3 gallate (EGCG), epigallocathechin (EGC) and epicathechin-3 gallate (ECG)." (Jankun)

[Napo]

Originally Posted by Cristoforo

I am pasting hereunder the introduction of a document a friend of mine (studying medicine in the University of Malta) sent me about Green Tea and its very interesting properties. The document is very long so I will try to upload it instead of pasting it here.

The green tea here all has an American name labeled on it and also I am not sure if it is pure green tea. It seems to have stems in it and not full leaves. You probably have to go to specialty shops here, unless they have a special section with a more expensive purified type.

[Phlegethon]

There are thousands of New Age and bio stores here that sell such tea - and then there's also thousands of Asia shops around here.

I drink liters of green tea per day, basically to substitute coffee, and I wonder when I will turn into the incredible Hulk. I already must be glowing green from the inside.

[Napo]

Well, there is a Mongoloid Incredible Hulk on Skadi already. Haven't you noticed the avatar and that annoying "finger banner" which is what I call it. It seems to focus on the slanted persons fingers really precautiously.

[Arawn]

Both Green and Black tea is good, and there are some nice blends of the two as well. I drink crap loads of tea, but i think my preference is more towards black tea, and green/black blends, as sell as spice tea and licorice tea.

[Scáthach]

Wow, weird, I'm drinking a cup right now.

Personally I think the best things about it are that it is 3% warmer than ordinary tea thus it's quite helpful for those of us, ok: me, who have arthritis and secondly it speeds up your metabolism...not a huge amount, but still.

[Siegmund]

Just got a new type of green tea called "Genmai Cha." It's distinctive, since it contains roasted rice as well as tea. The blurb reads in part:

This blend originated with Japanese peasants who would stretch their precious supply of tea by blending it with roasted rice, in an era when tea was still a barely affordable luxury. Over time, the toasty, malty flavor developed a following on its own merits. ... top quality Sencha leaf forms the base of the blend.

It's really quite good and warming on a cold Spring day like this one. Brrrrr.

[Scáthach]

siegmund! hi

[Siegmund]

Originally Posted by Scáthach

siegmund! hi

Hi! Nice to see you.... I hope you stick around for a while.