Green teas belong to a huge and rather popular group of tea drinks, which are highly valued all over the world by true tea connoisseurs not only for their delicate, unique taste and aroma, but also for their healing properties. Today there are a great many varieties of green tea. Types of green tea differ in taste, place of growth, harvest period, processing technology of tea raw materials, in the presence of fruit additives, in the level of fermentation and quality.

Varieties of green tea

The quality and taste characteristics of any class of tea depend on many factors that develop gradually, starting from the moment of planting tea trees, bushes on the plantation, ending with a special technology of preparation and processing of freshly harvested raw materials. The taste and quality of a tea drink is influenced by the composition of the soil, climatic and weather conditions, the type of tea trees, the type of leaves, the time and type of harvest (machine or manual). Green tea can be:

• loose (long),
• pressed,
• extracted,
• powder,
• granular
• tiled.

Long-range green teas are more popular and of high quality, which, in turn, can be leafy or broken (broken, cut).

Chinese green tea has an interesting history, while the recipes for some varieties are still kept secret and are passed from one tea master to another. The infusion of real Chinese green tea has a light yellowish or light green hue, a fresh herbaceous taste with hints of smoke. The color of the finished infusion of Japanese green teas is darker and more intense. The best varieties of green tea are considered to be the raw materials for the preparation of which were collected by hand in the highlands of China.

Popular varieties of green tea

The most popular types of Chinese green tea include: Longjing (Dragon Well), Gunpowder, Tuo Cha, Sen Cha, Huang Shan Mao Feng, Yun Wu, Dong-ting Bi-lo (Bilochun). Among green teas, there are classes that are close to white teas in terms of infusion color and taste. For example, Lu Yin Zhen (Green Silver Needles), Xue Hua (Snow Flower). White villi (Bai hao) give the tea leaves lightness, airiness, a silvery hue, and the finished infusion acquires a more intense, bright taste. Popular varieties of Japanese green tea include: Midori Tani, Senya, Bantia, Matcha.

Xihu Longjing (Dragon Well)

This variety is considered the most elite green Chinese tea. The tea owes its name to a source that originates in the Hangzhou province. Tea leaves have a flat shape, dark jade shade. The finished infusion has a delicate, delicate aroma with a characteristic tart aftertaste and a bright yellow color.

Gunpowder

This variety is as popular with tea gourmets as Xihu Longjing due to its unique taste and sophisticated aroma. If we translate the name of the tea, it means "gunpowder", thanks to the characteristic sound that the curled tea leaves make when brewing. Under the influence of hot water, tea leaves unwind and, as it were, "explode", transferring all their beneficial properties and aroma to the infusion. It is worth noting that the more the leaves are curled in the tea leaves, the higher the quality of the tea and the richer the taste of the tea infusion. The finished infusion has an amber-honey color, the most delicate aroma with notes of dried fruits, sufficient strength and sweet-tart taste with a pleasant, barely perceptible acidity.

Dong-ting Bi-lo

Dong-ting Bi-lo or Bilochun ("Spring of the Green Snail"). It is at the beginning of spring that the collection of raw materials for this variety is carried out. Green is a color, and a snail is a shape, a kind of tea leaves, which are twisted like a snail shell. The finished infusion has a characteristic floral-fruity aroma, sweetish taste and pleasant aftertaste.

Yun Woo (Cloud Mist)

Based on the name of this class of green tea, we can conclude that the raw materials for the drink are collected only in high mountain areas. The aroma of the finished tea infusion resembles fried seeds. Yong-woo is known for its honey-nut flavor and aroma of fresh hay.

Huangshan Mao Feg

The collection of young tea leaves is carried out in early spring. Tea leaves are covered with a thin white pile and look like "bird's tongues". The infusion has a delicate herbal-fruity aroma, green-golden color. Mao Feg green tea restores mental strength, emotional balance, and promotes relaxation.

September

This class of green tea is produced in Japan, where it is considered an elite variety. The raw materials for making tea are harvested twice a year - in May and July. Chinks resemble "spider legs" in appearance. The finished infusion has a light green color, a sweetish-tart taste, a bright, rich herbaceous aroma. This type of tea goes well with many traditional Japanese dishes.

Green tea producers

The best green teas are produced in China and Japan. In China, raw tea is grown in the Chshejian and Fujian provinces. In Japan, green tea is produced in the Uji region of Kyoto. Raw materials for green tea are also grown in Georgia ("Bouquet of Georgia"), India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the island of Java. In India, raw materials for making green teas are grown in the northern regions of the country, while the quality and taste characteristics of Indian green tea are below average.

Green tea is called a tea that underwent a slight fermentation during production, traditionally the process lasts up to two days. Leaves with a low oxidation state are the basis for brewing a healthy aromatic drink. Black and green tea is harvested from tea bushes, but the difference is that after steam processing and light fermentation, the latter is only oxidized by 3-12%. This review takes a closer look at green tea. Anyone is interested in knowing which kind of tea is better to choose, familiarizing themselves with the range of its beneficial properties and methods of application.

Characteristics of green tea

Useful properties of green tea

Once you find out how green tea is useful and how valuable this product is to humans, you will be happy to introduce it into your menu. It is not for nothing that today many are interested in this drink and actively use it. It turns out that we have a much more powerful antioxidant than the usual black tea. According to the studies, observations and various analyzes of scientists, we can conclude that the effect on the body of green tea is mainly curative. In particular, the following positive changes were recorded in the field of beauty and health.

Green tea benefits

• washing with infusion helps to cleanse and normal skin tone, tea ice is also useful for the neck and face;
• if you make a mask of flour, green tea and yolk for 15 minutes, then the skin of the face is tightened and acquires a healthy color;
• a good effect takes place when using cosmetics and dietary supplements that contain green tea extract;
• it is known that with regular consumption of the drink, digestion improves;
• green tea protects tooth enamel from caries and gums from diseases;
• the drink improves the functioning of the liver and gastrointestinal tract, prevents disruption of the brain;
• thanks to antioxidants, the predisposition to oncology decreases, the capabilities of the immune system increase;
• zinc in tea helps to strengthen nails and accelerate hair growth, rapid wound healing;
• preparations with green tea have a diuretic effect, but they are not used as diuretics due to their stimulating effect;
• the drink reduces hunger, kills many microbes in the body and prevents the formation of stones in the organs.

Scientists argue about the individual medicinal properties of green tea, the effect of the drink is being studied to this day. In any case, you should include it in your diet, especially if you have a goal of losing weight.

Alkaloids, polyphenols, minerals, and vitamins in green tea

The drink contains the following alkaloids:

• caffeine (the percentage of caffeine is higher than in coffee);
• theophylline;
• theobromine.

The composition contains polyphenols, such as catechins, these substances occupy 30% of the composition and for the most part are a kind - epigallocatechin gallate. Also, tannin should be isolated from polyphenols (this drink contains tannin in a higher concentration than black tea). Let's name a number of vitamins and minerals contained in the drink:

• vitamin C;
• vitamin E;
• vitamin A;
• vitamin B3;
• vitamin B2;
• vitamin B1;
• vitamin P;
• sodium;
• magnesium;
• phosphorus;
• calcium;
• potassium;
• fluorine;
• iron;
• zinc;
• selenium;
• manganese;
• chromium.

In addition, the composition contains carotenoids and a number of phytochemical elements.

Calorie content of green tea

The calorie value of the drink may vary depending on the additives. If you adhere to a strict diet and are constantly busy with counting calories, then the following data will be useful to you (the calorie content is indicated per 100 milliliters of the product):

• infusion of leaf tea without additives - 3-5 kcal;
• infusion of leaf tea with a spoonful of granulated sugar - 33-35 kcal;
• infusion of leaf tea with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar - 63-65 kcal;
• infusion of leaf tea with the addition of 3 large tablespoons of low-fat milk - 35 kcal;
• infusion of leaf tea with the addition of 3 large tablespoons of cream - 75 kcal;
• infusion of leaf tea with the addition of 2 small tablespoons of condensed milk - 80 kcal.

As you can see from the list above, when losing weight, it is advisable to consume tea with a minimum amount of high-calorie supplements.

Gunpowder, Xihu-Longjing, Sencha, Maofeng, Oolong

Norms and restrictions for the use of green tea

Can I drink green tea at night?

It is said that it is almost impossible to get pronounced harm to health from green tea, but this is not always the case. For example, the drink has a negative effect on people with a depleted nervous system. The caffeine in tea contributes to undesirable arousal effects, loss of energy and sleep disorders. It turns out that people whose nervous system is exhausted for some reason should not take green tea before going to bed, it is better to drink a little drink in the morning. Also, the drink is not useful for increased excitability, tachycardia, a predisposition to edema and insomnia.

Can you drink green tea all the time?

After learning about the nutritional and cleansing properties of green tea, some people start consuming the drink frequently and in large portions. Perhaps this approach is wrong. One cup of the drink in the morning and a couple more cups during the day will definitely not harm your health, if the attending physician has not imposed a ban on this drink due to illness. When you have quality tea that is properly stored and brewed, then of course you can use it constantly instead of other harmful drinks.

How much green tea can you drink per day?

Usually, experts recommend that healthy people limit themselves to 10 grams of dry tea leaves a day. Considering that one small spoon contains 1.5-1.7 grams, you can drink about 6 cups, which equals 1.2 liters. It should be noted that by consuming 5-6 cups of the drink, you can satisfy up to 75% of a person's daily need for potassium, cover 50% of the daily need for magnesium, and replenish the supply of zinc, fluoride, copper. Surely, you have heard that some residents of Japan and China are used to drinking 2-3 dozen cups of green tea a day, but here it is necessary to clarify, their cups have a much more modest volume, about 30-50 grams, which amounts to a total of 0.6 to 1.5 liters. It can be concluded from the above that it is optimal to consume a drink daily in 5-6 cups of 200 grams. People with medical conditions should only take any beverages, including green tea, if approved by their healthcare professional.

Contraindications for green tea

Green tea treatment and weight loss with its help are discussed everywhere, but few people think that the drink is not suitable for everyone. Of course, for healthy people, he does not pose a danger. If you do not know what green tea is harmful, then check out the list:

• the drink should be consumed to a minimum or completely excluded before childbirth and during menstruation;
• in case of acute hypotension, it is undesirable to drink green tea;
• due to the effect of increasing acidity, you should not drink the drink for stomach ulcers;
• at elevated body temperature, green tea is unhelpful, as it can worsen the condition;
• some of the ingredients in green tea can overload a diseased liver;
• with arthritis and rheumatism, this drink is harmful, as it can provoke a worsening of the disease.

Drink green tea and other homemade drinks in moderation and with caution.

Popular varieties of green tea

In specialized stores in our country and around the world, you can buy natural teas, there are a huge number of varieties of this wonderful medicinal drink, the most popular options are discussed below. It is interesting that the difference in the tastes of different types of natural teas is seen not only by experts, but by absolutely all consumers. Let's highlight the most important points that are useful to know, describing in a nutshell what flavoring features common types of green tea have.

Gunpowder Green Tea

Gunpowder tea description

Many people are familiar with leaves rolled into balls, which open when brewing; they have a long shelf life. The popular drink has a pronounced strength, the yellow color of the infusion.

Gunpowder Green Tea Aroma and Flavor

Gunpowder green tea - has a slightly bitter, moderately tart and rich taste - sugary-sweet with a light hint of smoke and dried fruit.

Xihu Longjing Green Tea

Description of Longjing Tea

In the production of one of the best Chinese teas, only the upper shoots of each bush are used, the leaves are roasted in kettles to stop fermentation. Flat leaves and 3 minutes after brewing with water up to 80 degrees give a bright yellow infusion containing catechins, vitamin C and amino acids.

Longjing Green Tea Taste and Aroma

Xihu-Longjing green tea - the infusion has a pronounced, but not harsh aroma (some compare it with the aroma of an orchid), a clearly sweet aftertaste (you need to pour a maximum of 5 grams of raw materials on one cup to prevent sour taste).

Sencha Green Tea (Sencha)

Sencha tea description

Before rolling, the green tea leaves collected in May and July are not roasted, but steamed. The finished infusion has a light green tint, the leaf shape is spider legs.

Sencha Green Tea Flavor and Aroma

Green tea Sencha (Sencha) - a variety of this Sintya variety is harvested in April, has the most vitamins, a special mild taste, and later types of tea are characterized by a weak aroma, a rough tart taste (the dry product has a woody smell).

Huangshan Maofeng Green Tea

Description of Maofeng tea

The tea, which is widespread in China, is collected in early spring when the buds swell and the first tender leaves emerge, they are immediately processed and dried in the oven. Raw materials are brewed with water of 85 degrees, insisted for 4 minutes, the procedure is carried out up to 3 times.

Maofeng green tea taste and aroma

Huangshan Maofeng green tea - has a rich and fresh aroma with delicate fruity notes, a long sweetish rich aftertaste.

Oolong green tea

Description of oolong tea

Rich in vitamins, slimming, anti-aging drink is obtained by brewing tea leaves harvested in spring and autumn. A consumer who buys a package of this product sees fragments - slightly shiny compressed lumps of the same size.

Taste and aroma of green oolong tea

Green oolong tea can be recognized by its pronounced delicate creamy aroma, soft milky flavor of the infusion.

There are other types of green tea that real connoisseurs must also try, for example, they are in demand today:

• Bilochun;
• Bantea;
• Yun-Wu;
• Pu-erh;
• Ryokutia;
• Midori-Thani;
• Matcha;
• Gyokuro;
• Bouquet of Georgia;
• Ocean Pearl;
• Green Saucep;
• Baihao.

Interestingly, each variety has its own brewing rules. The optimum water temperature can be 61 to 87 degrees, the infusion is kept from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. Note that expensive elite types of drinks are brewed at low temperatures and infused for a minimum time, while cheaper ones of lower quality require maximum temperatures and prolonged infusion. You can find out exactly how you need to brew a particular type of green tea by reading the information on the package. If you follow the recommendations of the manufacturers, you will be able to feel the true taste and aroma of the drink.

tonic natural drink contains a huge amount of nutrients and helps to lose weight (the calorie content of unsweetened green tea is only 3-5 kcal per 100 grams)

Application of green tea

If green tea is not contraindicated for you, use it with pleasure for health improvement and weight loss. Next, we will tell you about the topics that interest you.

Slimming green tea

First, the drink helps to reduce the percentage of sugar in the blood, which means suppressing excessive hunger, which helps to stop overeating. Undoubtedly, this circumstance will create conditions for losing weight. For example, you can take a cup of unsweetened quality green tea half an hour before a meal. With this approach, you will eat much less and feel fuller from consuming small portions.

Secondly, due to the large amount of polyphenols in the composition of the drink, intense heat exchange is activated in the human body and fatty deposits are intensively burned. Scientists claim that consuming 3-6 cups of good green tea per day can burn 45% more fat than without the product.

Thirdly, the drink has a diuretic effect, so when consumed regularly and wisely, excess fluid is removed from the body. Traditionally, green tea is not combined with milk, but milk tea is often found in diets. If you dilute the drink with skim milk or add milk with 0.5% fat, then the diuretic effect is enhanced. By the way, this fact is important for women who want to protect themselves from leg edema.

Despite the indisputable benefits of green tea for health and weight loss, it should be clarified that the body shaping process must be approached in a complex manner, that is, one product alone cannot provide the desired effect. You need to adhere to the correct diet, not have bad habits and live an active life.

Green tea for nursing mothers

Women who have breastfed babies ask if green tea affects the quality and quantity of breast milk. Let's open this interesting question. Experts recommend taking a drink if you have a problem with poor milk supply. Different types of tea are welcome, including green tea. It should be noted that we have before us a product that does not belong to lactogonic agents. In fact, green tea helps to relax the ducts of the mammary glands, which promotes more active movement of fluid through them. By the way, this effect can be achieved from other types of warm drinks.

Some breastfeeding moms like to add milk to green tea and this drink does not harm them, but it happens that children prone to allergies develop digestive upsets.

Women should not use boiling water for brewing, its temperature should be around 80 degrees. It is better not to drink the drink on an empty stomach. In the absence of health problems, the daily allowance is 6 cups. Those nursing mothers who are diagnosed with gastritis, problems with the esophagus or stomach ulcers will have to give up green tea.

In some cases, due to the consumption of a large amount of green tea by the mother, the child has increased excitability and sleep disturbances. In this case, you can resort to an alternative - drinking white tea, which contains much less caffeine.

Tea with high and low pressure

The effect of the drink on blood pressure is often discussed on the Internet. Some sources say green tea can help lower blood pressure. We believe that this effect is so insignificant that it is not worth positioning the drink as a remedy for hypertension. Here it is necessary to mention the fact that drinking quality green tea in a healthy person helps to reduce the risk of heart attack by as much as 40% and reduce the risk of hypertension by 65% ​​- this is assumed, but not yet proven by scientists.

So that you will no longer be bothered by the question, green tea lowers or increases blood pressure and how it works, we will give a little explanation. To increase and stabilize blood pressure, a person should engage in an acceptable sport, often walk in the fresh air, regularly take a contrast shower, eat only healthy food, sleep for a long time, consume very high-quality coffee and green tea.

It is believed that with the help of green tea it is possible to improve the quality of life of hypotonic patients, since caffeine normalizes the condition of the blood vessels and accelerates the heart rate. Thus, a person notes a short-term effect of a moderate increase in blood pressure. This method should not be used all the time, despite its effectiveness. Too much caffeine can have the opposite effect.

We believe that green tea itself should not be expected to normalize blood pressure. The product works under the condition of an integrated approach, coupled with other means. This is the only way green tea helps to strengthen blood vessels and the body as a whole, to normalize blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels.

If you love green tea, then by all means purchase it in elite retail outlets and proven online stores, where quality is guaranteed. The fact is that today there are many fakes. A drink with moderate use and the absence of contraindications will certainly benefit the body. If you feel unwell, you need to see a doctor and find out if you can drink green tea and what can replace it.

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"People drink tea to forget the hustle and bustle of the world"
Teng Yen

The ancient oriental drink is of divine origin, as the ancients claimed. The homeland of green tea is China. The ancient Chinese were aware of the medicinal properties of tea, which they called the "fire of life", believing that it strengthens the mind and body. Green tea works very "smart": it blocks the growth of "bad" cells, but at the same time supports the vital activity of nerve cells.

There are many legends about how green tea appeared. One of them says that in the VI century A.D. Buddhist preacher Bodhidharma (Damo) arrived in China. He took a vow not to sleep for nine years, but two days before the end of the term, he still fell asleep. Waking up, Bodhidharma cut off his eyelids in anger and threw them on the ground. At this place, a bush grew, the leaves of which had a miraculous property to drive away sleep. There are several variations of the legend, but in all cases the tea bush grew out of the soil fertilized for centuries by a pious monk.

Tea in China was highly valued - the emperors gave it to their dignitaries as a sign of encouragement, and already in the 6th century it became the favorite drink of the nobility. And by the 10th century, tea had become the Chinese national drink and trade item. Tea was introduced to Europe in the 16th century by the Portuguese and Dutch, and spread across the Atlantic to New Amsterdam. In Russia, they learned about the existence of tea in 1638 - the Mongol khan presented the Russian ambassador to Mongolia with four pounds of black tea, and he gave them to the royal court in Moscow. But when the Chinese say "tea", they mean exactly green, and they drink only its various varieties. People who are accustomed to black tea are always surprised that green "does not smell like tea." Indeed, it has a tart, exceptionally delicate aroma, reminiscent of the smell of freshly dried hay or wilted strawberry leaves.

One of the ancient Chinese manuscripts says: "Tea strengthens the spirit, softens the heart, removes fatigue, awakens thought and does not allow laziness to settle ...".

In real green tea, the "four tea jewels" are especially manifested: tenderness and three "freshness" - color, aroma and taste.

1. Tenderness is the charm of the first buds and tea leaves that hatch.
2. The freshness of the color is the transparency of the drink, playing with the entire palette of green: from yellow-green to rich and winning emerald.
3. The freshness of the scent is the unique scent of each variety: from light and transparent breezes of the spring breeze to the thick and persistent smells of earth.
4. The freshness of the taste is its endless shades, forming beautiful melodies.

Green tea composition

Unlike black tea, it is not fermented, therefore, useful substances remain unchanged in it and has an exceptional ability to release only useful components into solution, useless and harmful substances remain undissolved. The chemical composition of tea is not constant, it changes during the growth of the tea bush and when processing tea leaves. An infusion of high-quality green tea is a concentrate of the most valuable flavoring, medicinal and dietary substances.

The beneficial properties of green tea are primarily due to the presence of polyphenolic compounds in it, in particular, catechins, the content of which is 30% of the dry weight of green tea. Due to the peculiarities of leaf processing, namely the absence of a fermentation stage, green tea has significantly more catechins than black tea. The most useful of the catechins is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Its content reaches 65% of all green tea catechins.

Tea is beneficial primarily for its antioxidant properties and the ability of catechins to neutralize free radicals. Green tea catechins are even more powerful antioxidants than vitamins C and E. The second important property of catechins is the ability to bind metals into strong complexes, converting them into a non-toxic form. The third quality, so far poorly understood, is that green tea catechins affect some molecules (proteins, complexes of proteins with nucleic acids) that are responsible for the fate of a cell: cause its death or, conversely, promote survival and division. But it is not yet fully understood how this property of catechins affects the body as a whole.

The tonic effect of green tea is associated with the presence of caffeine, and its concentration in the tea leaf is higher than in coffee, and the effect is milder, and is associated with a combination of caffeine with tannin (a substance that stimulates mental and physical performance). In addition, tea caffeine does not accumulate and is not retained in the human body, even with very frequent consumption of tea. In addition to caffeine, green tea contains alkaloids, which have a vasodilating and diuretic effect.

Studies by Dutch scientists have confirmed that daily consumption of 1-2 cups of tea reduces the risk of aortic atherosclerosis by 46%, and consumption of 4 cups by 69%.

Drinking green tea every day can help fight excess weight. Particularly nice: unsweetened tea contains no calories! And it helps you lose weight. Tea accelerates metabolic processes in the body. And if the cause of excess weight is a decrease in the body's metabolic processes, then you need to drink more green tea. Studies have shown that the nutrients found in green tea speed up metabolic processes and help burn an additional 70-80 calories. Drinking 5 cups of green tea a day and exercising for 15 minutes can significantly reduce body weight.

It is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. It contains potassium, copper, vitamins C1, B1, B2, PP, K. They strengthen the walls of blood vessels and have a strong antibacterial effect.

All the joys of drinking green tea

Green tea against breast cancer

The American Cancer Research Association has announced that polyphenol E, which is found in green tea, helps to stop the growth of cancerous tumors. This discovery, which was announced at the Eleventh International Conference on Cancer Prevention, shows that green tea can be a tool for both the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. The researchers followed forty women with hormone-independent breast cancer, half of whom were given 400, 600, or 800 milligrams of polyphenol E twice a week for six months. Another group of women took a placebo. Throughout the study, blood and urine samples were taken from women at the fourth and sixth months of observation. Biomarkers such as proteins, growth factors and lipid biomarkers were analyzed, on which the mechanism of action of green tea extract could be seen. Polyphenol E acts as a blocker of the development of vascular endothelium and hepacites, which cause the growth of cancerous tumors, allow them to move and penetrate into healthy tissues of the body. In addition, scientists have noticed that there are trends towards lower cholesterol and vascular endothelial growth factor in those taking polyphenol E. Research on green tea and breast cancer is still pending. Scientists plan to conduct several more related experiments. For example, how does green tea extract work if a woman has a high risk of developing breast cancer.

Patients with type 2 diabetes,

Green tea drinkers stop suffering from sudden changes in blood sugar levels when overeating sweets. These effects are due to the increased sensitivity of cells to insulin and the uptake of glucose by the cells of adipose tissue.

If you are tired and have a headache

One glass of tea contains about 0.05 g of caffeine, that is, the same amount as a headache tablet. Not without reason did the ancient Chinese treat headaches with tea. Moreover, "tea" caffeine does not accumulate in the body, so you can drink tea every day, finding in this drink a source of vigor and clarity of thought.

Tea-sleeping pills

Overly strong tea ... makes you drowsy. To do this, you need to increase the usual dose of tea leaves by about 10 times, and drink with milk.

Green tea strengthens capillaries

It is known that in all people with age, the fragility and fragility of blood vessels, including the smallest capillaries, increases, their permeability increases, and there is a danger of internal hemorrhages. And the older a person is, the more fragile his vessels are. Green tea will come to the rescue here, of course, if you drink it regularly. It will strengthen the walls of blood vessels, increase their elasticity, and reduce the risk of internal hemorrhages. Almost all of this huge work is "done" "by tannin (a complex mixture of various phenolic compounds), which gives tea a unique tart taste.

If you have hypertension

A drink for the treatment of this disease is prepared as follows. Before brewing, lightly rinse the crushed dry green tea with warm boiled water to reduce the caffeine content, which stimulates the cardiovascular system. Then pour boiling water over the washed tea (at the rate of 3 g of tea per 1/2 glass of water) and leave for 10 minutes. Drink it one glass 3 times a day after meals. The total amount of liquid consumed during the day is reduced, taking into account tea, to 1.2 liters, so as not to overload the cardiovascular system.

Tea drinking against sclerosis

If you regularly drink green tea, then you will never know what sclerosis is. On the one hand, it prevents the deposition of fat and fat-like substances - lipids - on the walls of blood vessels, on the other hand, it destroys already deposited fatty layers, that is, it prevents and treats sclerosis.

Alzheimer's disease

Scientists from the University of Newcastle have found that green tea blocks the breakdown of a substance called acetylcholine, which serves as a transmitter of signals between nerve cells. Although the causes of Alzheimer's disease are not yet fully understood by scientists, it is known that such patients have a dramatically reduced level of acetylcholine in the brain. The action of modern drugs is based on increasing the level of acetycholine to normal. In the brain of a healthy young person, tea maintains adequate levels of acetylcholine. At the same time, both the black and green varieties of the drink work according to the same principle, but unlike black green tea, it blocks not two, but three enzymes that destroy acetylcholine, and the effect lasts longer.

Help the stomach

Thanks to its bactericidal properties, green tea destroys pathogenic microbes in the stomach and intestines, inhibits and even stops putrefactive processes. Therefore, if you have an upset stomach, drink strong green tea for 2-3 days.

If your eyes are tired

Eyes usually get tired from working at a desk for a long time in poor lighting, sitting in front of a TV or computer for a long time, reading for a long time ... If you find these symptoms, lie on the sofa and place sterile cotton swabs dipped in a strong infusion of a mixture of green and black tea on your eyelids. Do not throw away the rest of the tea grounds - wrap it in gauze and place it on your eyelids over the tampons too. Lie on the couch with tampons and gauze for 15-20 minutes.

If a toothache tortured

If you have a toothache, put in your mouth a strong infusion of green tea, in which you previously put a few crushed cloves of garlic on the mucous membrane of the gums. This infusion has bactericidal and astringent properties. Hold the infusion until the pain subsides. It is quite easy to eliminate the smell of garlic from the mouth - chew a pinch of dry green tea.

Cold

Tea is a wonderful remedy for a variety of colds. First, it increases urinary and sweating. And this cleanses the body. Secondly, it has an antipyretic effect. Thirdly, it enhances pulmonary ventilation, expanding the airways and increasing the depth of inspiration, which is especially good for bronchitis, tracheitis and pneumonia. And fourthly, it warms and disinfects the nasopharynx. As you can see, green tea perfectly destroys the entire "gentleman's" set of cold symptoms. But at high temperatures, green tea should not be overused, as there will be an excessive load on the heart and kidneys. If your forehead does not burn with heat, there is no high temperature, then for the treatment of colds, you can drink tea in any quantity (the more, the better!)

If you get hurt

Fresh wounds can be washed with very strong tea. Thanks to tannins, tea coagulates proteins, that is, it has about the same hemostatic effect on the blood as hydrogen peroxide, only weaker.

Sunburn

If you fall asleep on the beach and get burned, try green tea to relieve your condition. Trust me, it is very effective. The recipe is quite simple: brew the tea, cool it quickly and apply generously with a cotton swab to the burned skin. Do not be lazy and repeat "ablution" as often as possible.

Lack of vitamins

In winter and spring, many suffer from vitamin deficiencies. This manifests itself in drowsiness, fatigue, unreasonable irritability, decreased appetite. Vitamin deficiency is a pre-disease, which, if not eliminated, can become a disease. Green tea, which contains almost all naturally occurring vitamins, will help get rid of it.

Despite all the positive properties of green tea, you should not overuse this drink:

• "If coffee at the end of the period of action produces a very strong, but soon passing feeling of pessimism, then tea acts more treacherously - excessive consumption of this drink can cause melancholy. The property of this stimulant is to support mental work, and the harm lies in its strong effect on nerve centers ". Papus (Gerard Anaclet Vincent Encausse).
• It is known that green tea lowers blood pressure, so hypotensive patients should not drink a green drink;
• Researchers from the University of New Jersey have found that drinking large amounts of green tea can lead to kidney and liver disease. If you completely replace the daily dose of liquid with green tea (which, by the way, is now very fashionable in the fitness environment), then such an excess can lead to poisoning of the body with polyphenols, and this, in turn, can cause serious changes in the tissues of the liver and kidneys. It is thanks to the polyphenols that green tea is considered such a healthy drink, but you should not get too carried away with it.
• Do not give strong tea to small children, as their body is too sensitive to this drink. In order not to worsen the child's sleep, it is recommended to give tea (preferably with milk) in the morning.
• In yesterday's tea or in tea left for later, the amount of purine compounds and caffeine increases. Such tea is primarily dangerous for patients with gout, hypertension and glaucoma. Leaving the brew for 24 hours not only loses vitamins, but also becomes an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. True, this tea can be used for medicinal purposes, but only as an external remedy. So, tea infused per day is rich in acids and fluoride, which stop bleeding. Therefore, yesterday's tea helps with inflammation of the oral cavity, eczema and superficial skin lesions. It is also useful to wash your eyes with yesterday's tea. If you rinse your mouth before brushing your teeth and after eating, you will get a feeling of freshness and strengthen your teeth.
• You should not drink tea before meals. This leads to dilution of saliva, and the food begins to seem tasteless. In addition, the absorption of protein by the digestive organs may temporarily decrease. Therefore, drink your tea 20-30 minutes before meals.
• You should also not drink tea immediately after a meal, since any heavy drinking immediately after a meal leads to a significant decrease in the concentration of gastric juice, and this slows down the work of the digestive organs. Better to wait 20-30 minutes.
• Do not take medications with tea. After all, the tannins contained in tea, splitting, form tannin, due to which many medicines are poorly absorbed. No wonder the Chinese say that tea destroys medicines.
• Breastfeeding mothers should be aware that caffeine, which is found in any tea drink, can cause insomnia in a nursing baby. However, excessive intake of strong green tea can cause severe sleep disturbances in adults. Also, negative reactions to abuse of a green tea drink can be: exhaustion of the body, increased heart rate and even tremors in the hands.

All the main prohibitions on taking green tea relate specifically to its strong saturated brewing. Therefore, it should always be remembered that strong brewed tea is more harmful to health, due to its astringent properties, than its weaker counterpart. The main secret of the healing effect of tea drinking is its moderate intake. Ideal doses of green tea are a couple of cups a day.

Green tea myths

Different sources of information talk about different properties of green tea, then, as an invigorating drink, then they attribute to it sedative properties.

What's the catch? There is the so-called golden rule of tea drinking.

In order to drink tea correctly, you should remember three numbers: 2-5-6. These are minutes. If we drink tea after 2 minutes after brewing it, we get an exciting effect; after 5 minutes - soothing; after 6 minutes, all the essential oils from the tea have already evaporated, and we just drink a drink with a weakened aroma.

It should also be remembered that tea can bring the greatest benefits to the body only in the first 15 minutes after brewing it. And after 5 hours of infusion, additional boiling of the tea leaves or adding boiling water to it, the tea can turn into a real poison for the body.

Tea is able to exert its beneficial effect only when we use it as a separate meal, i.e. at least half an hour apart from the main meal. But not if not during a meal or immediately after.

The herbal teas and teas offered to us for sale in bags are often a dummy, saturated with various kinds of flavors. Such teas are not only not beneficial, but can even harm health.

How to determine the quality of tea?

Try to become a tea tester for a short time - specialists who, by appearance, infusion and other indicators, can determine the quality of tea.

Experts advise buying it by weight, and not in bags.

It has long been known that color is the main indicator of the quality of tea. Green teas in dry form (and partly in infusion) retain, oddly enough, their green color. It can have a variety of shades - from silvery green (or golden green) with a dull sheen to dark green or olive - depending on the type of tea. However, overheating when drying green tea dramatically degrades its quality, and this immediately affects the color of the leaf: it darkens. It is generally accepted that the best green teas (Chinese varieties) are pistachio-colored. Thus, light green tea is better than dark green tea. That is, the lighter the green tint of the leaf, the higher the grade of green tea. Conversely, low grades, as well as stale, poorly corked, spoiled green tea - a dark or dirty earthy green color.

An interesting detail: the tea leaves are "hairy", that is, they are covered with a tiny nap, which has an amazing property - to persist after all stages of tea processing. This nap gives the tea different shades that are especially noticeable in sunlight. Therefore, the best green teas have a silvery or golden hue. The picking time of the tea leaves also makes its own adjustments. Thus, spring tea has a slightly sweet taste, while summer tea is a little bitter. The best green tea is considered to be the one harvested before the season of "Purity and Clarity" (Qing Ming Jie) according to the traditional Chinese calendar. It is believed that at this time the earliest and most tender shoots have a special energy, and the first insects usually appear somewhat later. Therefore, tea harvested before Qing Ming Jie cannot contain fertilizers and chemicals. But such tea is produced very little, and it practically does not go on the wide sale. It is a huge misconception that an indicator of the quality of green tea is its rich aroma. The aroma of tea is given only by essential oils that the manufacturer adds to it. The same thing that is sold in our stores smells not even with essential oils, but only impregnated with artificial flavors.

Tea produced in the current year is considered fresh, and tea that has been stored for more than a year is considered old. To understand whether this tea is fresh or old, you should pay attention to the presence of broken sheets, cuttings and debris, which should be no more than 5%.

Caution fake!

Tea was forged always and everywhere, in various ways. For example, in Western Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, such a type of falsification as mixing rusty metal sawdust with tea was widespread. Such "additives" greatly increased the weight of each pack and allowed fewer genuine teas to be sold for more money and therefore pocket the price difference. At the same time, the quality of the product did not suffer at all, and its "improved" composition could not harm the health of tea lovers, since the metal was easily sifted out or, in case of untimely detection, simply remained at the bottom of the teapot. Others use local tea imitation plants. Surrogate plant products include: carrots, fireweed, badan, as well as certain types of Caucasian laurel. The danger of such fakes lies in the fact that often when mowing (not even harvesting!), The procurers of this raw material often capture other plants as well. Weed companions are often extremely poisonous (the so-called false incense, as well as wild rosemary, is especially poisonous). Without sorting, without sifting out the collected, the manufacturers of surrogate tea sometimes involuntarily, without wanting to, create rather poisonous mixtures that cause poisoning and sometimes death of consumers of fake tea.

It is very important to remember that tea can only be produced from genuine tea raw materials by tea-growing countries: China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, Georgia, Azerbaijan. This means that tea from the USA, Germany, Holland, Denmark and other non-tea countries is either a re-export of Asian teas, or a fake. Real Chinese tea is exported from China only by China National Tea and Local Products Import and Export Corporation. This inscription must be followed by an indication from which province of mainland China the tea was exported. Further - the inscription that it is "Product of the People's Republic of China". There are no inscriptions like "Made in China" on real Chinese tea.

On the packaging of good Indian teas may be the inscription "Made in India", but only a few well-known companies, such as STS, Baueprogg., A. Tos.

On the labels for the packaging of green teas, the abbreviation made according to the international labeling system must be present so that the buyer can receive the relevant information about the tea. The Ortodox mark indicates that the tea was rolled by hand during the manufacturing process and the leaves were minimally damaged. These teas are also often labeled "classic". This is also an indicator of the high quality of the tea. Tea, in the manufacture of which machine technology was used, is marked as "STS". If the pack is marked "PURE" ("pure"), then it contains high-quality varietal tea of ​​the same type, unmixed with other varieties, having its own unique aroma and taste properties. The "Blended" marking indicates a tea blend (blend) consisting of two or three different types of tea, where one (two) is of low quality (often small-leaf Indian teas), and the other is of higher quality. There are also high quality blends (for example, "Irish Breakfast" or "Russian Caravan"), where quality varieties are mixed to obtain unique taste or aroma properties. Often a tea made from the top three leaves with buds is labeled as "Golden Tea" and without buds as "Silver Tea". Elite teas should also have the inscription "first leaf", "second leaf" ... This means that in this varietal mixture of tea, sorted (usually by hand) apical leaves prevail, coming immediately after the bud ("first leaf"), after one leaf after bud ("second leaf"), etc.

We brew correctly

For fussy residents of the XXI century, accustomed to drowning bags with strings in boiling water, the Chinese art of tea drinking seems like a luxury. But a number of simple techniques can still be learned. Spring water or water with a low content of mineral salts is best suited for making tea. Before brewing, all tea utensils should be rinsed with boiling water. The amount of tea for brewing is determined individually, on average for green tea - one teaspoon for 150-200 ml of water. The temperature of the water for brewing should be 80–85 ° С. For the first time, green tea is infused for 1.5–2 minutes and completely poured into chahai, or "sea of ​​tea", from where it is poured into cups. This achieves the same strength of the infusion in all cups. With subsequent brews, the brewing time will gradually increase by 15–20 seconds. Depending on the variety, green tea can withstand three to five infusions.

Application of green tea

It turns out that tea is not only drunk, but also eaten. In some countries, it is considered a healing food and is widely used in cooking.

For example, in Tibet, tea leaves replace greens and are used to make soup. In many Asian countries, dried tea leaves are widely used as a specific seasoning in the preparation of hot and cold dishes from meat and game, as well as from fish and shellfish. In China, Burma and Thailand, fermented tea is used as an independent dish or as an addition to various meat and fish dishes.

Sauerkraut salad

Fermented tea is popular in China and Thailand. Tea leaves are first boiled in boiling salted water, then flavored with soy oil and garlic. It turns out a kind of salad from loose wet tea mass.

Seasoning from tea

In China, dry green tea and garlic are used to prepare a specific seasoning for meat, fish, shellfish, rice and vegetable dishes. Dishes flavored with tea seasoning become healing (they transfer the beneficial substances contained in tea and garlic) and bactericidal (green tea and garlic have bactericidal properties). As for the garlic smell, unpleasant for others, it is almost not felt, since it is absorbed by the tea.

Marinated meat

You can marinate meat in sleeping tea. It is done this way: put pieces of any meat on a layer of wet tea, cover them with the same layer on top and pour all this with tea infusion a little more. Keep the meat in the refrigerator for about a day - then cook it in any way. Tea marinade will not make all meat soft, but it will change the taste for sure. Moreover, its "taste" variety will provide all kinds of tea.

Fish in tea

If you love fish dishes but are annoyed by the "fishy spirit", try this recipe for making fish with green tea. It is he who will save the fishy "masterpiece" from the unpleasant odor. Cut the sea fish fillet (500 g) into small chunks (2-3 cm thick), put in an enamel pan and cover with an even layer of the prepared mixture: dry green tea and crushed peppercorns (you cannot use ground pepper). Cover the saucepan for 15 minutes, then pour sunflower oil over the fish, salt, sprinkle with chopped onions and let it brew for 20 minutes. Then add 1 glass of milk to the saucepan and put it on fire. When the milk boils, add another one and a half glasses of milk, boiled rice and dry tea. The dish is simmering over low heat for several minutes under the lid. Take as much rice as you need as a garnish for the fish.

Shrimp in tea

Such a dish cannot be called cheap, but it is still worth trying. To do this, take frozen shrimp and cook in the usual way. And before boiling, pour green tea in them and cook a little longer than usual (the "rubberiness" that appears in overcooked shrimp, in this case, you can not be afraid). Having tasted the shrimp cooked in this way, you will understand that the experiment was successful, since the tea removes some of the specific shrimp flavor.

Green tea contains several times more vitamin C than lemon juice, vitamins P, B, K, PP, trace elements fluorine, iodine, zinc. The fluoride compounds in green tea leaves protect teeth from tooth decay, and gargling with green tea can stop the development of acute respiratory infections and flu. But the most surprising thing is that green tea retains all its beneficial properties not only when taken orally, but also when used externally. Many cosmetics firms are taking advantage of the antioxidant properties of green tea. Its extract is widely used in the creation of revitalizing, rejuvenating, moisturizing and sunscreen skin care lines. Natural masks based on green tea leaves can be prepared at home, depending on the type of skin, adding milk, oatmeal, sour cream. They also make lotions, lotions and even hair dye.

Green tea scrub recipe

Brew three large balls of jasmine tea and let the leaves unfold completely. After 20 minutes, drain the water, and mix the leaves of the jasmine flowers with 2 teaspoons of sea salt (available at the pharmacy). Apply the mixture to the face with gentle movements and gently massage the skin for a minute, paying particular attention to the T-zone. Then rinse off the scrub first with warm and then cold water. The skin will become smooth and radiant.

Interesting Tea Facts:

• under the Chinese Tang dynasty, the tea trade was declared a state monopoly, and large landowners were obliged to surrender tea, receiving bonds in return. They were allowed to buy other goods. These tea bonds soon became the first paper money (1024);
• It is to tea that we owe the fact that Heinrich Schliemann had the funds to excavate the legendary Troy. He earned part of his million-dollar fortune selling tea. In his memoirs, Schliemann writes: “When cotton became too expensive, I abandoned it and began to sell tea ... My first batch to Mr. Henry Schroeder in London consisted of 30 boxes of tea, after I managed to sell it profitably, I ordered 1000, then 4000 and 6,000 boxes, bought the entire tea warehouse of Mr. Günzburg in St. Petersburg on the cheap and earned 140,000 marks on tea for the first 6 months, while receiving another 6% of the capital ";
• the famous "Boston Tea Party", when boxes of tea sent from London, unfairly imposed by the British tax, flew overboard - this "drop of tea" on the night of December 15-16, 1773 overflowed the American cup of patience. The prospect of being left without their favorite tea prompted them to take decisive action - separation from England began. Historical curiosity, but, in fact, the United States is to some extent born of tea;
• the British have their own traditions of tea drinking. For example, pour milk into a cup first, and then tea. Or put a spoon across the cup, signaling that you have drunk enough tea - please do not add any more. Those who were not familiar with local etiquette could pay dearly. Once a certain prince de'Brolieu was forced to drink 12 cups of tea before anyone thought to explain to him the manipulation of the spoon. They say that one foreigner, in despair, thought of hiding the cup in his pocket so that he would not drink more tea;
• to the royal court of France tea was presented by Cardinal Mazarin, who took it as a cure for gout. Even by the end of the 17th century, knowledge about tea remained very scarce. It got to the point of ridiculousness: it was advised to smoke tea like tobacco, slightly flavored with brandy, and it was recommended to whiten teeth with ashes. The French were drawn to fashionable exoticism, and tea took pride of place here. Even if he did not like him, none of the high-society fashionistas dared to refuse him;
• Until the middle of the 19th century, Moscow consumed up to 60% of the tea imported into Russia. The expression “Muscovites-tea-growers” ​​was common, although the Maloros and Cossacks disparagingly said: “Muscovites are water-lovers”. The fact is that in these regions, even in the 19th century, they knew about tea only by hearsay and identified it simply with drinking water;
• According to the results of the auctions of elite varieties of tea held in Hong Kong and Guangzhou in 2005, the most expensive tea was the Chinese Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe). The price per kilogram of this tea has reached $ 685,000.

Health to you, readers!

Good green tea is a real treasure. In China, Japan and India, it is valued much higher than other varieties. All thanks to the amazing benefits and more subtle effect that low-fermented varieties give.

GREEN TEA IN CHINA, JAPAN, GEORGIA, INDIA, SRI LANKA

Green tea from China

Celestial Empire is considered to be the birthplace of tea camellia: tea began to be drunk here more than 4 thousand years ago. When the Chinese say the word "tea" they mean exactly green. China is the world's main supplier of elite and rare green varieties. Four green teas are among the top ten Chinese varieties.

We will talk about the types and features of Chinese green tea a little later. In the meantime - the most valuable representatives of other countries.

In Japan

And in Japan, only green varieties are produced. And the technology is quite unusual: the tea leaves are exposed to hot steam, which gives the tea an unusual, specific taste and a darker color of the infusion. And here is a list of varieties worthy of special attention of connoisseurs:

• September. The production volume is about 2/3 in Japan. A classic tea, outwardly it looks like thin needles of a rich green color. Its aroma is woody, the taste is sweet with a slight bitterness.
• Gekuro. It translates as "pearl drop". This is a rarer and more expensive tea. Raw materials for it are collected strictly at the beginning of spring. 20 days before harvest, tea bushes shade, which reduces the concentration of tannin in the leaf. Thanks to this, a more delicate and sweet taste, devoid of bitterness, is achieved.
• Matcha. Exotic tea powder, which is not only brewed, but also added to desserts. The steamed leaves are cleaned of stems and veins, and then ground into powder. Despite its strange appearance, there is nothing chemical in it. A small pinch is enough for brewing: the concentration of this tea is very high.
• Gemmaitya. It is a mixture of senti and fried rice. Previously, only poor Japanese drank it: rice increased the satiety of the drink, and with the addition of salt, such tea was something of a first course. Now everybody drinks gemmaitya.

In Georgia

Georgian tea plantations are one of the northernmost in the world. Here green tea was first produced in the 16th century. Now there are several dozen varieties, which are classified according to numbers: from 10 to 125. The higher the number, the better the tea. The best of the numbered ones is # 125, but there are varieties that are even more appreciated, for example, "Extra" and "Bouquet of Georgia".

In the country of the mountains, green tea is often produced in the form of bricks, just like Chinese pu-erh tea. So it is stored longer, retaining its useful properties.

In India

But in India, light varieties have not taken root among the locals. Small volumes are produced in the north of the country: mainly for sale to neighboring states.

In Sri Lanka

Ceylon tea ... How much quality lies in this combination of words. In Ceylon (the old name of Sri Lanka), large-leaved, elite varieties of green tea are produced. The product with the romantic name "Pearl of the Ocean" stands out among them. It has a tart floral taste, rich and very intense. Ceylon tea with sausepa extract, an exotic fruit, is also interesting, illuminating and bright.

HOW IS GREEN TEA PRODUCED? From collection to packaging

The purpose of green tea production is to prevent leaf oxidation during the first stage of processing. Whereas black is fermented immediately after harvest.

There are so many varieties of green tea, there are so many unique recipes for their production. With all this diversity, several main stages can be distinguished that underlie it.

Collection of raw materials

The raw materials for green tea are young flushes (from English - shoots), shamrocks. Most often, the collection begins in early spring, but the exact time depends on the particular variety. There are strict rules for collecting tea. For example, some varieties require leaves collected at a strictly defined time of the day, when there is no precipitation and the established temperature regime is observed.

Steaming: 2-3 minutes

The goal is to prevent oxidation of the sheet and make it elastic to shape. Tea is steamed in special devices that generate hot steam (about 95-100 degrees). The sheet is placed in the equipment: just 2-3 minutes is enough for the tea to acquire new properties necessary for subsequent drying.

Drying: 10-15 minutes

After steaming, the leaves are dried at a humidity of 60-62%, a temperature of 90-95 degrees. Objective: to reduce the moisture content for the next step - curling. Drying of the sheet is carried out in special devices.

Twisting: 60-80 minutes

In the process of twisting, the surface of the sheet is damaged and juice is released from it. If black tea is rolled intensively and for a long time, then for green tea, one or two times drying is used. To do this, it is placed in special rollers.

Drying in the oven

Final drying takes place in special ovens. Purpose: final dehydration of the sheet. As a result, the moisture content drops to 2-5%, the raw material acquires a darker olive color.

Packing

It all depends on the standards in force at a particular plant or private farm. Often one batch is sorted into several categories according to the quality of raw materials: for example, large-leaf categories 1, 2, 3, small-leaf categories 2 and 3. The inferior quality tea is in the form of crumbs. It is the large leaf that is highly valued by lovers of green varieties: it gives a more aromatic, bright, rich infusion.

WORLD OF CHINESE GREEN TEA

Green tea is a Chinese national drink, the record holder in popularity among residents. The Celestial Empire is the birthplace of tea in general, and green tea in particular. The first mention of him in historical sources falls on the 1st century AD, during the reign of the Han dynasty. It was at this time that the hieroglyph "cha" appeared, which initially looked like this - "荼".

For centuries, Chinese green tea was only available to the imperial family and courtiers. The Celestial Empire remains its main producer to this day. Red varieties are less popular here.

In China, tea drinking is a ritual, a ceremony that has come down to us from Buddhist monks and has much in common with meditation and other spiritual practices. There is no doubt that it was green tea that was the first drink for ceremonies and first appeared in China.

Historians have established that tea culture flourished in the 7-10th centuries. Initially, green tea was used as a medicine. Many literary sources speak of the high value of tea in China: they wrote and are writing poems and treatises about it, Confucius's aphorisms have survived to this day, who considered it the best drink "to relieve fatigue and pacify the spirit."

Taste and aroma

The most delicious thing about sugar-free green tea is the sense of your own superiority. I don’t know exactly whose words these are, but I’m sure this person has never tasted real Chinese green tea. It is pleasant to drink it not only because of the realization of the high benefits, but also because of its delicious, exciting taste, which is able to transport you to another dimension.

“A tea bouquet is like an expensive wine. It cannot be repeated, the secrets of its preparation are available only to the author. "

Caitlin Turner

For all the variety of varieties of Chinese green tea, each of them has similar notes: floral, herbal, refreshing and delicate.

Early tea (spring) often has a lighter aroma and sweet taste, and summer and autumn varieties have a peculiar bitterness and astringency. The infusion has a green tint: from light green to emerald green.

The best varieties of Chinese green tea: TOP 5

Is it realistic to list and taste all the varieties of this limitless variety of tea? Unlikely, but why not aim for it? And you should start with the charming five of the brightest and most popular.

1. ... This is a real gem of the mountainous regions of Anhui province. This tea is one of the ten most popular varieties in the world. It is harvested in early spring, when the first leaves are just beginning to bloom on the bushes. Processing of tea begins on the day of collection: thanks to this, the infusion does not lose its aroma and freshness. The final stage of production is drying the leaves in ovens. Mao Feng's aroma is clear, pronounced, its taste is transparent and light.

1. ... The name of tea is translated from Chinese as "bitter tear". But such a sad name has nothing to do with its energy and aroma. The piercing taste is tart, even slightly bitter, but aromatic notes emphasize this bitterness favorably. Ku Ding is a real healing source. It removes toxins from the body, normalizes blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, and helps to lose weight. It has been noticed that a freshly brewed infusion helps to quickly eliminate a hangover.
2. ... This representative wins the hearts of men and women, amateurs, connoisseurs and beginners who are taking their first steps in acquaintance with the Chinese tea culture. The harmonious, sophisticated taste is saturated with floral, herbaceous shades, but the notes of roasted pumpkin seeds come to the fore. Longjin is great as a refreshing, invigorating, everyday drink. It raises the mood and tunes in to the creative wave.

1. . « Freshness of bamboo leaves ”- this is how its name is translated from Chinese. This invigorating green tea has a sunny, delicate, sophisticated taste with nutty and meadow notes. Labor-intensive production and careful selection of raw materials (ideally even young leaves are used) put Zhu Ye Qing among the elite of green varieties. This tea is for connoisseurs, lovers of elegant and sophisticated notes.
2. . Tea with a poetic name, which translates as "emerald spirals of spring", distracts from the usual rhythm with its unique aroma. The raw materials for it are tender young buds and leaves. Tea bushes grow among fruit trees: coincidence or not, the taste of Bi Lo Chun is filled with fruity and floral notes, light honey notes.

COMPOSITION AND USE

Are there any foods in the world that have been studied as thoroughly as tea? I doubt. It would seem that its chemical composition has been studied from and to, but until now scientists from different countries do not calm down and find more and more new properties characteristic of certain varieties.

Analysis of the results of tea research showed that green Chinese tea contains 5 main components that have a beneficial effect on the human body.

5 components of green tea for health

• Vitamins. We will not go into long listings: it is enough to compare the concentration of vitamins in tea and other products. For example, vitamin P in one of its mugs is 4 times more than in an orange, A is 6 times more than in carrots, and vitamin E is practically the same as in walnuts.

Impressive?

• Microelements. Drink 1-2 cups of fresh green tea daily, and say no to dietary supplements and minerals. Even during processing and fermentation, all useful substances are preserved in the leaf: fluorine, iodine, potassium and calcium, magnesium and even gold (albeit quite a bit). Such a rich composition more than compensates for the lack of these substances in the body, and this is an excellent prevention of many diseases and loss of strength.
• Tannins. These are polyphenols, which are stored in green varieties twice as much as in dark ones. They have a beneficial effect on the skin and digestion, which are interconnected in themselves.
• Amino acids. Green tea contains 17 amino acids, mostly glutelins, but there are also water-soluble albumin. During processing, the content of the latter increases by 10%. By the way, green tea contains more proteins than black. Among the tea amino acids there is glutamine, which actively restores the emotional background, reduces nervous tension.
• Alkaloids. Taine, caffeine, theobromine, theophylline - we owe them to them for a mild but stable vigor and restorative effect after drinking a glass of fragrant infusion.

Invigorating green tea: about tea caffeine

For some reason, many people think that black (red in Chinese) tea invigorates more than green tea. And this is a mistake: try to drink it at night, and you will be convinced of this. The reason is the high content of alkaloids in it, including caffeine.

“So caffeine is bad!” - many will say. Let's make some adjustments: only “coffee caffeine” (sorry for the tautology), which causes tachycardia, can cause harm, and if you overdo it, you can cause temporary clouding of mind and nausea. Greens are high in theine, a type of caffeine. It acts much softer, giving a stable, but not sharp vigor, which does not entail a breakdown.

Thus, by replacing coffee with tea, you get the vigor you need, avoiding bad side effects. However, we still do not recommend drinking green varieties at night.

Benefit and harm

The benefits of green tea are much more than the potential harm. To feel it, it is enough to drink 1-2 cups of high-quality and properly brewed drink daily.

• Beauty and youth. Antioxidants not only prevent the development of cancer, but also slow down aging. Lovers of green varieties have healthy skin, shiny hair, a great mood and a slender body.
• Healthy heart and blood vessels. Green varieties contain a lot of potassium and flavanoids, which normalize heart function and improve vascular health. Daily tea drinking - prevention of atherosclerosis and hypertension. As for the effect on pressure: the belief that green varieties lower it is not always true. More often, good tea normalizes this indicator: high lowers, low increases. But not always. We must not forget about the individual characteristics of each variety and organism. If you have problems with blood pressure, it is worth observing the effect that a particular type of tea has.
• Digestion. A weak infusion can be drunk even with stomach ulcers. A quality drink normalizes the production of pancreatic enzymes and speeds up the digestion of food.
• Strong bones and healthy joints. If the consumption rate is observed, green tea has a beneficial effect on the condition of the articular-ligamentous and musculoskeletal system. It removes from the body toxins that are the cause of metabolic arthrosis, and even young people face them due to poor-quality food.
• Nervous system. Green tea invigorates - that's a fact. Falling asleep after a hearty meal can make it difficult to concentrate on work or school. A mug of fresh green tea will invigorate and tune in to a new wave. Tea drinking soothes, relieves nervous tension, gives strength.
• Fighting excess weight. Chinese tea is good without snacks or sweets. Its taste is bright and deep: enjoying the variety of notes, you cleanse your body of excess, which means you lose weight. A hot drink eliminates the false feeling of hunger, thereby reducing the total calorie content of the diet. The main thing is to get into the habit of drinking tea separately from food.

All of these benefits can be obtained with moderate consumption of a high quality product. Forget about tea bags and long-term storage of tea leaves: always drink fresh tea and feel its benefits.

Any product can cause harm: if you do not follow the measure. Green varieties should be drunk in the morning to avoid sleep problems. They should not be taken with medications, and in case of problems with blood pressure, you need to monitor your condition.

ALL ABOUT BREWING

In order for a cup of aromatic tea to bring pleasure and benefit, you need to brew it correctly. Here are three whales on which proper cooking is based:

• water: its temperature and composition;
• the ratio of tea and water;
• duration of brewing.

The balance between these three criteria determines the taste and properties of the drink. And now for more details.

About water... If you live outside the city, and even not far from a spring with clean water, every connoisseur of Chinese tea will envy you. There is nothing better than living spring water as a base for brewing it. But city dwellers should take care of filtering or buying bottled water from trusted companies.

Tea water should not be boiled more than once. Especially when it comes to brewing green varieties. The optimum temperature is 80-85 degrees. The secret of how to determine it without a thermometer: open the lid of the teapot, bring your palm to it. If the steam does not burn, you can safely make the first spill. Too hot water kills the health benefits of green tea and impairs its taste!

The ratio of water to tea. The proportion depends on the variety, size and shape of the tea leaves. Average ratio: a small spoonful of dry product per 200 ml of water.

About the duration of brewing. It all depends on the desired effect and the intensity of the infusion. By the way, theine (an analogue of caffeine) saturates the water in the first 40-60 seconds after spilling, then only tannins are released from the leaves, which, when brewed for a long time, can give the drink a bitterness. Therefore, if you want to get maximum vigor, the leaves should not be kept in water for more than one minute. It is optimal to keep each spill for one minute.

The optimal number of spills. Again, a lot depends on the variety and its quality. Good tea will withstand 5-10 spills. We do not drink the first tea leaves, we hold each subsequent one for a few seconds longer than the previous one. In fact, everything comes with experience. Over time, you will learn to intuitively determine the brewing duration and the number of infusions.

Flow Brewing Procedure

There are no bags in China, vigorous tea leaves are not insisted here, to which boiling water is then poured. The pouring method is the best way to brew green tea. It allows you to reveal all its benefits, to observe the change in taste.

In the Middle Kingdom, green varieties are not brewed in clay. Let's not break the rules and take a glass teapot or porcelain gaiwan. It would be nice to heat the dishes over an open fire or rinse them with hot water before pouring tea. Under the influence of heat, the leaves begin to secrete essential oils: inhaling the scent is the best anticipation of tea drinking.

Pour water into the kettle, drain after 30-60 seconds. Don't forget to enjoy the scent. We hold the first strait for 1 minute, the next 5-10 seconds longer. Before filling bowls or cups, rinse them with hot water.

Why don't they drink the first brew? Firstly, it serves to better reveal the aroma of subsequent spills. Secondly, it removes dust from the leaves.

For everyone who embarks on the path of studying tea culture, amazing prospects open up. With the next tasting, with each new variety, the world of green tea opens up your perception, fills you with awareness and health.

There are a huge variety of green tea varieties in the world. Each of them has its own unique qualities. Some are delicate in taste, others are tart, some have a pungent odor, others floral. However, this variety allows you to choose a tea that will really please you personally.

By taste, green tea varieties can be divided into:

• Refreshing taste (Kukicha, Buncha, Sencha);
• Astringent taste (Chun Mi, Shen Puer, Gunpowder);
• Floral Spicy (Mao Feng, Pan Long Ying Hao);
• Floral delicate (Bi Lo Chun, Lung Ching);

China, in general, is amazing in terms of tea. It is not only the birthplace of tea - all the unique recipes, harvesting, processing and preparation technologies were invented there.

The tea leaves are rolled, fried, fermented, pressed into plates, crushed into powder, rolled into a ball shape, tied up to form a flower. This gave rise to thousands of teas, some of which are still unknown to experts.

In China, each province produces completely different tea, depending on the technologies traditionally originated in them. Moreover, their quality is determined by 8 standards.

6 classic varieties of Chinese green tea:

Chun Mi is one of the main tea exported by China. He was the first to come to Europe and it is his tart taste that Europeans associate with real tea. It's strong, cheap, no additives or flavors.

Received this name because of the leaves, twisted into small balls resembling a shot, crackling at high temperatures. In fact, it is the most popular green tea in the world. It is strong, tart, with a very pleasant aroma.

- it has a very delicate floral taste and aroma, due to which it was awarded the title "Imperial Tea". It is an elite type of tea, although its price is quite affordable.

Tocha is one of the most healing green teas. Recommended for diets and other situations of fasting of the body. It can be green and black.

King Ding - has a strong aroma and pleasant spicy taste. Most often, it is used for holidays and other celebrations.

- it has a soft, delicate and even sweetish floral taste. Helps relieve stress and escape from the hustle and bustle.