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Green Tea: Nature's Rediscovered Ancient Medicine Essay

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Green Tea: Nature's Rediscovered Ancient Medicine

According to legend, tea originated in China in 2737 B.C. with Emperor Shen Nung, who observed that those who boiled their water before drinking it were bestowed with good health. One day he was boiling water when a gust of wind blew leaves from a tea tree into his pot. He was very pleased with the drinks aroma and taste, and thought the drink to be sent from heaven. Shortly after tea was invented, it found its way to Japan and spread throughout Asia (2). Tea did not make its way to the United States and Europe until about 1650, when it was brought over by the Dutch. At first, tea was only available to the rich and royalty because it was so expensive. Tea leaves were brought to England …show more content…

The Colonists protested "taxation without representation" and stopped the tea from being unloaded. They dressed up as American Indians in December of 1773 and took over ships from the East India Company, throwing the tea overboard in what we now call the Boston Tea Party. This act eventually led the way to the independence of America (1).

There are three categories of tea: black, oolong, and green. All tea comes from the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis. The fermentation process of the leaves after harvest is what makes these teas different. Black tea is fermented, oolong tea is only fermented partially, whereas green tea is steamed and not fermented at all (1). Because green tea is the least processed and freshest of the teas, it has more health benefits than the others do. Green tea also contains significantly less caffeine than black tea, but it has been found that decaffeinated green tea lacks the health benefits that the leaves possess in their natural state. The benefits of the tea are also decreased when milk is added to the drink. When preparing green tea, you should not steep in boiling water, but rather in hot water (approximately 160-200 degrees). If using loose tea leaves, one teaspoon tea should be added for a little over one cup of water (2).

Each kind of tea has a slightly different effect on the body. Black tea is the strongest of the three types of teas, contains more caffeine (although still half the caffeine of coffee), and is a

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