Tea!
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which originated in the borderlands of south-western China, north-east India and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content.
How much tea should you drink?
Dr. Frank Hu, chair of the Department of Nutrition and professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says that the health benefits of tea come with drinking two to four daily cups of green, black, or oolong tea. Other types of tea, such as the fermented tea known as pu-erh, might also be good for health, though the supporting evidence is more limited.
The effects of tea aren't all rosy. If you add lots of sweetener and cream to tea, you're increasing your calorie, fat, and sugar intake. If you have insomnia or an irregular heartbeat, the caffeine (a stimulant) in tea might trigger symptoms. And drinking tea that's too hot might damage your esophagus and increase cancer risk.
But in general, tea is part of a healthy diet. "And it's comforting," Dr. Hu says. "There's something about the enjoyment of tea that's worth considering."
Tea types:
-
True tea (Camellia sinensis) - there are 7 fundamental tea sorts:
- Green tea
- Red (black) tea
- Oolong Tea
- White Tea
- Pu-erh
- Yellow tea
- Hei-cha
-
Herbal tea examples:
- Barley tea
- Camomile tea
- Chrysanthemum tea
- Hibiscus tea
- Honey tea
- Mint ginger lemon tea
- Peppermint
- Rooibos / Lemon Rooibos
- Rosehip tea
- Spearmint tea
- Tulsi or Holy Basil tea
- Yerba Mate
Brewing guide:
| Tea type |
Water temperature (°C) |
Steeping time (minutes) (min-max time) |
| Black |
95 |
2 |
4 |
| Oolong |
95 |
1 |
3 |
| cold water |
60 |
120 |
| Green |
80 |
1 |
3 |
| Pu-erh |
100 |
2 |
5 |
| White |
65 |
1 |
3 |
