Green Tea Benefits

Health Benefits and Green Tea ...

We're not always so fortunate that something we enjoy is also good for us. So, how lucky are we that green tea benefits our health and promotes wellbeing?

The role of green tea in promoting health has been much in the news in the last few years. There is ample evidence that, consumed in moderation, green tea does indeed aid many aspects of bodily function. Some of these benefits have been known for over a thousand years.

The polyphenols, flavonoids and even caffeine (in moderate quantities), present in green tea are all known to help the body protect itself.

• Green tea helps lower cholesterol (the 'bad' kind)
• Green Tea absorbs free radicals that can damage cell membranes
• Green Tea reduces the prospect of certain cancers.

Despite Federal FDA denials, many studies lend strong support to those who promote green tea benefits. Black tea, also has most of the same benefits.

But green tea has many virtues beyond the medicinal. It tastes delightful and provides a relaxing form of enjoyment in a hectic world.

Just as with black or Oolong tea, green tea benefits come from the leaves of an evergreen plant called Camellia Sinensis. They are plucked, then processed just as black tea is, but unlike black tea, green tea leaves do not go through a long oxidization process.

Instead, green tea leaves are steamed, which helps retain the EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) antioxidants. Black and Oolong teas undergo 'fermentation which converts the EGCG into other compounds.

Fermentating tea, despite the use of the same word, does not involve the same process as winemaking. No sugars are converted to alcohol. It's simply a synonym for oxidization, more or less.

As a result, the green tea flavor is much more delicate and the aroma and taste retain much more of the quality and flavor from the original bush. That flavor is enjoyed in a hundred varieties by tea drinkers the world over.

• The Long Jing tea from Hang Zhou in China, pan dried and flat in appearance, often goes by the name Dragon Well. This green tea is among the most common drinks in China. Yet for all its commonality, it makes a fine brew.
• The Gyokuro, also known as Jewel Dew as a consequence of its color, is another fine green tea from China.
• The Ryokucha from Japan is a green tea that is so common there that a form of the word (ocha) is often taken to mean simply 'tea'.
• Green tea from the Uji region of Kyoto, regarded by tea connoisseurs as among the finest green teas.
• Matcha is a powdered green tea once used primarily in tea ceremonies. Now it is so popular throughout Japan and elsewhere that it finds its way into ice cream and other sweets.
• Gunpowder, which has nothing to do with the explosive, is another popular variety. The leaves are rolled into tiny pellets, making for a very intense infusion. Its muscatel overtones make for a wonderful brew.
• There is even an Earl Grey style green tea. Though without the heady flavor of the more common black tea type. Bergamot oil combines well with green tea.

So, if you have always been a committed black tea drinker, it's time to open up your horizons and enjoy green tea and how green tree benefits your health.

It may not make you wealthy, but utilising the health benefits of drinking green tea, must be a very wise decision.