I have a friend and colleague, a tea expert Denis Bolvinov, who, together with his team, is leading an interesting project – “Heavenly Tea” (skytea.ru). This is an online store for organic Chinese tea, as well as a whole site with a huge amount of useful information about this most popular drink. Denis has been engaged in tea and tea ceremony since 2004 and periodically conducts tea ceremony courses. I asked Denis to tell my readers what you absolutely need to know about tea before drinking it.
Tea making rules
Use soft, sweet water, mineral-free and odorless. Bring it to a boil, but do not boil it.
There are two ways to make tea. Method one: brewing.
- Choose a teapot that matches the size of the tea party.
- Control the brewing time, pour each infusion on time (after all, good tea can be brewed several times).
- Do not let the teapot cool down. Water the kettle with hot water if necessary.
- Track when tea is at its peak. If you feel that the next brew will be weaker than the previous one, stop brewing (otherwise you will be very hungry).
Method two: cooking
- Choose the correct amount of tea. In a 1,5-liter teapot, put 12-15 grams of pu-erh tea, 7-10 grams of red tea, 5-7 grams of green, yellow or white tea.
- Soak the tea in cold water while the water in the kettle is boiling.
- To oxygenate the water in the kettle, pour some water into the drainer when the first bubbles begin to separate from the bottom, and when the water begins to boil, pour the water back.
- Don’t make tea! It is enough for the water and tea to just boil. If a tea leaf is in water at a temperature of 100 degrees, the alkaloid guanine is released from it, which is harmful to the liver and heart.
The benefits of tea
Most of the beneficial properties of green tea are due to the fact that the leaves of this plant contain a lot of water-soluble polyphenols – catechins. Their benefits extend to almost all organ systems in humans. They protect the cardiovascular and nervous systems, the liver, prevent the development of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and malignant tumors. And in combination with other anti-cancer substances, catechins have a synergistic effect. For example, curcumin (found in turmeric) and green tea catechins work together in colon and laryngeal cancer cells. The combination of catechins and capsicum vanilloids results in their synergy in the prevention of various types of cancer. One study found that in a 25: 1 ratio, catechins and vanilloids were 100 times more effective at killing cancer cells than green tea itself.
Caveats
- Tea should not be drunk right before meals, as it dilutes saliva, which makes food tasteless, and it can reduce the absorption of proteins. It is better to drink this drink at least 20-30 minutes before meals.
- After eating, pause for half an hour: the tannin contained in the tea can impair the absorption of protein and iron.
- Avoid too hot or cold tea. Hot tea can damage the throat, esophagus, and stomach. Frequent consumption of tea with temperatures above 62 degrees leads to increased vulnerability of the stomach walls. Iced tea can cause phlegm to accumulate, interfere with digestion, and contribute to weakness and colds. The optimum tea temperature is 56 degrees.
- Do not drink cold tea. If the infusion in the teapot cools down or the tea is brewed for too long, the tea phenol and essential oils begin to oxidize spontaneously, which greatly reduces the benefits of the tea. But tea that has stood for a day can be used for medicinal purposes, but as an external remedy. It is rich in acids and fluoride, which prevent bleeding from capillaries, so yesterday’s tea helps with inflammation of the oral cavity and bleeding gums, eczema, superficial skin lesions, abscesses. Rinsing your mouth in the morning before brushing your teeth and after eating not only leaves a feeling of freshness, but also strengthens the teeth.
- You should not drink tea at night, because of the stimulating effect of theine and aromatic substances. However, some pu-erhs, on the other hand, can improve sleep.
- Pregnant women should not drink a lot of tea: theine negatively affects the development of the fetus. Five cups of strong tea per day contain enough theine that can lead to underweight babies. In addition, theine increases heart rate and urination, which puts more stress on the heart and kidneys and increases the likelihood of toxicosis.
- Those suffering from stomach ulcers, duodenal ulcers and high acidity should drink tea in moderation (preferably pu-erh or weak tea with milk). A healthy stomach contains a phosphoric acid compound that reduces gastric acid secretion. But the theophylline contained in tea can suppress the function of this compound, as a result, the acidity in the stomach will increase, and ulcers will heal more slowly.
- It is better for patients with atherosclerosis and severe hypertension not to drink strong tea: theophylline and theine excite the central nervous system, which causes the blood vessels of the brain to narrow.
It is important to understand that tea, like any medicinal herb, is an individual thing and has an individual effect. Therefore, when choosing tea for yourself, you must, first of all, be guided by your body, your state of health. There are people for whom tea is suitable, there are those for whom it does not.
Although the main effect of tea, thanks to which it became the most popular drink in the world, is not medicinal, but tonic, increasing the speed of thinking while relaxing the body. Therefore, it is usually drunk in company, for a more relaxed promise ?