In recent decades, green tea has become increasingly popular in our country (before that, for two centuries, Russians had been drinking mainly black varieties). This is facilitated by the established idea that green tea is the most useful, since it undergoes minimal processing and retains all the healing substances. Nowadays, you can easily buy Chinese tea of different types (black, green, white, yellow, red, oolong, pu-erh), delivered directly from China. So what are the beneficial properties of green tea?

An ancient drink that has become popular in recent decades

As the Chinese say, tea is better than wine, because it invigorates and amuses without intoxicating, and is preferable to water because it does not transmit infections. A Chinese legend tells how green tea was discovered. Allegedly, more than four thousand years ago, a shepherd noticed that his goats, who were eating shoots of a tea bush that day, had become unusually agile, playful, and mobile. The resourceful goatherd immediately thought of adding the leaves he had picked to hot water, resulting in a pleasant infusion.

Until the 1st century BC, unprocessed leaves were used to prepare the drink in China, then they began to dry and roast them. In the 7th-10th centuries, during the reign of the Tang Dynasty, numerous tea plantations appeared in the country and ceremonial consumption of the drink became a custom. At the court of the emperors of the Celestial Empire, famous tea masters competed with each other in preparing the most exquisite drink. In the 10th-13th centuries, traditional utensils and dishes were already used in China for brewing and drinking tea. The drink became popular in Japan, where its own tea ceremony arose, it also came into use in Korea, India, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Tea was brought to Europe by ambassadors in 1584. The Portuguese were the first to become acquainted with it, then the Dutch. The English began to drink green tea in 1664 thanks to the East India Company. With the conquest of India and Ceylon, they began to cultivate their own varieties there, later switching to black ones.

In Russia, green tea was first tried by Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich and his boyars in 1618, after several sacks of the product were brought to Moscow by ambassadors of one of the East Asian rulers. By the end of the 18th century, tea was consumed by noble and wealthy people in Russia, and in the following century it became an everyday drink for the general population. When Russia included Kalmyks, Tatars, Bashkirs, Altai people, and Buryats, it turned out that representatives of these peoples widely consumed green tea, most often with milk. However, until the end of the last century, Russians loved and drank mainly black tea, which is less healthy. The situation changed when previously scarce green tea from China began to be supplied to our country and its healing properties became widely known.

The beneficial effects of green tea on the body

In this drink, the tonic caffeine (theine) is not present in pure form, but in combination with tannin. Therefore, it acts on the nervous and cardiovascular systems more gently and for a longer time than the same alkaloid contained in coffee. In addition to caffeine, green tea contains theobromine, which has a stimulating effect, and theophylline, which helps saturate the blood with oxygen. Green tea contains a large amount of vitamins C, A (carotene), E, P, group B, catechins, flavonoids, valuable amino acids and enzymes. It also contains trace elements and minerals: calcium, potassium, sodium, fluorine, magnesium, iron, iodine, phosphorus, gold. All these elements determine the beneficial effect of the drink on the body, which is as follows:

Green tea literally washes cholesterol out of blood vessels, prevents them from narrowing, returns elasticity to their walls, which helps normalize blood pressure. Flavonoids present in this drink regulate blood sugar levels, exhibiting an insulin-like effect. Tea also helps increase the production of red blood cells.

This drink improves metabolism, strengthens nails and hair. Green tea helps digest heavy food, breaks down fats well, and helps to lose weight. It is the main component of herbal weight loss mixtures for women.

Infusion, extract and essential oils of green tea are used in cosmetology, for facial skin and hair care, in compresses, masks, ointments, shampoos, and rinses.

Green tea helps to boost immunity and helps fight gastrointestinal infections, such as salmonella, cocci and dysentery bacteria. It strengthens cell membranes, has an antioxidant effect on the body, and helps prevent cancer.

This drink has a positive effect on the human reproductive system. It helps remove sand from the kidneys, various carcinogens from the body, including heavy metal salts.

Green tea should be drunk in small quantities by people suffering from insomnia, high blood pressure, gastritis and peptic ulcers.

The above-mentioned beneficial properties are inherent only to a quality product. Therefore, it is worth buying green tea from leading Chinese manufacturers in a specialized online store.

To prepare the drink, use purified water, brought to the point of boiling and cooled to a temperature of 61°C to 87°C. To brew a certain type of green tea, hot water of the appropriate temperature is required. The higher the quality of the product, the shorter the steeping time of the drink (it ranges from 30 seconds to 4-5 minutes) and the more times you can add water to the teapot.