The Health Wonders of a Humble Plant
Over two thousand years ago, high in the Himalayan foothills, in what is today known as Assam, India, people developed the custom of picking and making a hot beverage from the leaves of a very ordinary-looking bush.
Green Tea Takes off in Japan
The culture of green tea spread fairly quickly in Japan a thousand years ago, when monks—including one named Saicho—began bringing the plants back from China.
It wasn't long before the Japanese began to notice that green tea drinkers tended to act more vibrant. They had a glow about them—and they also tended to get sick less often. Then more and more folks who lived to a ripe old age were crediting their five-cup-a-day green tea habit as the secret to their longevity and good health.
The Scientific Evidence Continues to Mount
Today, doctors, nutritionists, and others who study how to keep the human body humming along know that there truly is something special about green tea. It seems hardly a day goes by without another research team announcing new findings about the benefits of tea. We've posted some recent finding here on our blog. (Don't plan on reading it all in one sitting.)
Why Green Tea Is so Good for Us
In a word: antioxidants. Green tea is loaded with the stuff. Antioxidants zap chemicals known as free radicals, which hasten cell death and are believed to be involved in the body's aging process.
Antioxidants come in many flavors, some more potent than others. Those in green tea fall under the category of polyphenols—in particular, a class of polyphenols known as catechins.
Green Tea—The Best Source of Tea Catechins
All true teas come from the same plant—Camellia sinensis. But when it comes to catechin content, not all teas are created equal.
Green tea contains a higher percentage of tea catechins than does any other type of tea—more than black tea or Oolong tea, which are allowed to sit and ferment after harvest. This fermentation has a devastating effect on tea catechins.
Green tea, in contrast, is steamed right after harvest, before fermentation has a chance to start.
Even today, on Japan's traditional family farms, growers harvest only what they can process that day. That's why small-farm green tea is thought to contain the highest percentage of catechins of all.
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