I have a friend and colleague, tea expert Denis Bolvinov, who together with his team runs an interesting project, Heavenly Tea (skytea.ru). It is an online store of organic Chinese tea, and also a whole website with a huge amount of useful information about this popular drink. Denis has been engaged in tea and tea ceremony since 2004 and from time to time he gives tea ceremony courses. I asked Denis to tell my readers what you should know about tea before drinking it.
Rules for making tea
Use water that is mild, sweet, 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 of the appropriate volume for the number of people participating in the tea party.
Control the time of brewing, pouring out each brew in good time (because good tea can be brewed several times).
Do not let the teapot with the brewed tea get cold. If necessary, pour hot water over the kettle.
Keep track of when the tea reaches 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: brewing
Choose the right amount of tea. In a 1.5 liter kettle you should put 12-15 grams of puerh, 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 down the drain when the first bubbles begin to separate from the bottom, and when the water is boiling, pour the water back up.
Don't boil the tea! It's enough for the tea water to just come to a boil. If a tea leaf is in water at 100 degrees, it releases the alkaloid guanine, which is bad for the liver and heart.
Tea Benefits
Most of the health benefits of green tea are due to the fact that the leaves of this plant contain many water-soluble polyphenols - catechins. Their benefits extend to almost all human organ systems. They protect the cardiovascular and nervous systems, liver, prevent the development of obesity, diabetes, malignant tumors. And when combined with other anti-cancer agents, catechins have a synergistic effect. For example, curcumin (found in turmeric) and green tea catechins enhance each other's effects in colon and laryngeal cancer cells. The combination of catechins and vanilloids of chilli pepper 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 alone.
Cautions
You should not drink tea right before meals, it makes your saliva thinner, which makes food seem tasteless, and it can also reduce the absorption of proteins. It is better to drink this drink at least 20-30 minutes before meals.
After a meal, pause for half an hour: the tannin in the tea can impair the absorption of protein and iron.
Avoid tea that is too hot or too cold. Hot tea can damage your throat, esophagus, and stomach. Frequent consumption of tea above 62 degrees leads to increased stomach wall wounding. Cold tea can cause phlegm buildup, interfere with digestion, and contribute to weakness and colds. The optimal temperature of tea is 56 degrees.
Do not drink chilled tea. If the brew in the kettle gets cold or the tea is brewed too long, the tea phenol and essential oils begin to oxidize spontaneously, which significantly reduces the benefits of tea. But tea that has been brewed for 24 hours can be used for medicinal purposes, but as an external remedy. It is rich in acids and fluorine, which prevent capillary bleeding, so yesterday's tea helps with inflammation of the mouth and bleeding gums, eczema, superficial skin lesions and pustules. Rinsing the mouth in the morning, before brushing teeth, and after meals not only leaves a feeling of freshness, but also strengthens the teeth.
You should not drink tea at night, because of the excitatory effects of theine and aromatics. Although some puerhs, on the contrary, can improve sleep.
Pregnant women should not drink too much tea: thein has a negative effect on fetal development. Five cups of strong tea drunk in a day contains so much theine that it can cause the baby to be underweight. In addition, thein increases heart rate and urination, which puts more strain on the heart and kidneys and increases the likelihood of toxemia.
Those suffering from stomach ulcers, duodenal ulcers and hyperacidity should drink tea in moderation (Puer or mild tea with milk is better). A healthy stomach contains a compound of phosphoric acid, which reduces gastric acid secretion. But theophylline in tea can inhibit the function of this compound, resulting in more acid in the stomach and slower healing of ulcers.
For patients with atherosclerosis and severe hypertension it is better not to drink strong tea: theophylline and thein excite the central nervous system, due to which the brain vessels are narrowed.
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 should be guided primarily by your body and your state of health. There are people who are fine with tea and those who are not.
Although the main effect of tea, which has made it the most popular drink in the world, is not medicinal, but tonic and increases the speed of thinking while relaxing the body. That is why it is usually drunk in company, for a more liberating promise 🙂
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