Tea's history is nearly 5,000 years old. Legend has it that it was discovered in 2737 B.C. by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water. In the 1600s tea became popular throughout Europe and the American colonies. In 1908, Thomas Sullivan of New York developed the concept of tea in a bag.


Kinds of Tea

Tea can be broken down in to 2 categories: non-herbal teas and herbal teas. Non-herbal tea can be further broken down into three basic categories: black, green and oolong. Black tea is the most popular, being consumed by over 90 percent of the tea consumed in U.S. Black tea has been fully oxidized or fermented and yields a hearty-flavored, amber brew. Some of the popular black teas include English Breakfast (a popular choice for breakfast due to its hearty flavor that mixes well with milk), Darjeeling (a blend of Himalayan teas with a flowery bouquet suited for lunch and snacks) and Orange Pekoe (a blend of Ceylon teas that is the most widely used of the tea blends).

Green tea, unlike black tea, is not oxidized. It has a more delicate taste and is light green/golden in color. Green tea, a staple in the Japan, is gaining popularity in the U.S. due in part to recent scientific studies linking green tea drinking with reduced cancer risk.

Oolong tea, popular in China, is partly oxidized and is a cross between black and green tea in color and taste.

All regular non-herbal teas contain varying amounts of antioxidants and caffeine.

While flavored teas evolve from these three basic teas, herbal teas contain no true tea leaves. Herbal and "medicinal" teas are created from the flowers, berries, peels, seeds, leaves and roots of many different plants. Detox herbal teas are special teas made from a blend of herbs with special detoxification and cleansing properties. These two do not contain any caffeine. They are best for our body.


Benefits of Tea

Non-herbal Tea is rich in antioxidant polyphenols (catechins, flavonols, theaflavins and thearubigins). These antioxidants are believed to be the active ingredients behind the beneficial effects of tea. Antioxidants help repair damage to cells and blood vessel walls from free radicals. They also help reduce blood clots which could lessen the risk of a heart attack. Flavonoids are also found in varying amounts of fruits and vegetables as well.

While drinking non-herbal tea has been promoted to cure everything from cancer to reduced heart attack, scientific studies are not conclusive.

Experts at King's College, London studied 340 men and women who had suffered heart attacks and matched them by age, gender and neighborhood residence with people who had no history of heart attacks. They then compared the two groups' coffee and tea drinking habits for a year. The tea drinkers drank black tea as opposed to green tea (which contains fewer flavonoids) or herbal teas (which contain none).

Findings revealed that the tea drinkers' risk of a heart attack approached half of the non-tea drinkers. Scientists speculate that tea's beneficial cardio effects are due to the beverage's large amounts of flavonoids.

Two cups of tea also have the equivalent antioxidant activity of one and a half glasses of red wine, 12 glasses of white wine, seven glasses of orange juice and 12 glasses of beer.

Tea consumption tended to reduce the development of aortic atherosclerosis in rabbits when studied in a laboratory setting. Tea polyphenols exert marked effects on cells, and inhibit neutrophil migration and inflammatory responses, sometimes at low concentrations. Other studies have shown no significant difference. Unfortunately epidemiological evidence relating regular consumption of tea or related polyphenols to cardiovascular heart disease is equivocal. Specifically, catechins are absorbed from tea, but low plasma concentrations are attained and whether such low plasma level have therapeutic effect remains to be validated. Also, the bioavailability of theaflavins and thearubigins is unknown at this time. Tea does not reduce blood pressure or plasma lipids in well-controlled human trials, although sporadic case reports have been positive. Tea polyphenols inhibit LDL lipid peroxidation in vitro, but the effect ex vivo is small.