According to Chinese mythology, in 2737 BC the Chinese Emperor, Shen Nung, scholar and herbalist, was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water. A leaf from the tree dropped into the water and Shen Nung decided to try the brew. The tree was a wild tea tree. There are many authentic and supposed references to tea in the centuries before Christ, according to the Chinese dictionary dated circa 350 AD. The Chinese t'u was often used to describe shrubs other than tea, hence the confusion when Confucius allegedly referred to tea or t'u when writing about the "sow thistle" plant in the Book of Odes.
From the earliest times tea was renowned for its properties as a healthy, refreshing drink. By the third century AD many stories were being told and some written about tea and the benefits of tea drinking, but it was not until the Tang Dynasty (618 AD - 906 AD) that tea became China's national drink and the word ch'a was used to describe tea.
The spread of cultivation throughout China and Japan is largely accredited to the movement of Buddhist priests throughout the region.
The first book on tea "Ch'a Ching", circa 780 AD, was written by the Chinese author Lu Yu. It comprises three volumes and covers tea from its growth through to its making and drinking, as well as covering a historical summary and famous early tea plantation. There are many illustrations of tea making utensils and some say that the book inspired the Buddhist priests to create the Japanese tea ceremony.
The modern term "tea" derives from early Chinese dialect words - such as Tchai, Cha and Tay - used both to describe the beverage and the leaf. Known as Camellia sinensis, tea is an evergreen plant of the Camellia family. It has smooth, shiny pointed leaves, which look similar to the privet hedge leaf found in British gardens.
The Indian and Japanese legends both attribute it to Bodhidharma the devout Buddhist priest who founded Zen Buddhism. The Indian legend tells how in the fifth year of a seven year sleepless contemplation of Buddha he began to feel drowsy. He immediately plucked a few leaves from a nearby bush and chewed them, which dispelled his tiredness. The bush was a wild tea tree.
Camellia sinensis is indigenous to China and parts of India. The wild tea plant can develop into a tree 30 metres high, so that monkeys were trained to pick the leaves and throw them down for collection below. Today, under cultivation, Camellia Sinensis is kept to a height of approximately one metre for easy plucking purposes. There are more than 1,500 teas to choose from more than 29 different listed countries around the world but the main producers are India and Sri Lanka,Kenya ,Malawi,Indonesia, China. It is cultivated as a plantation crop, likes acidic soil and a warm climate with at least 50 inches of rain per annum.
Other factors affecting flavour characteristics are the methods of processing and, of course, the blending together of teas from different areas and regions OR the additions of flowers, fruit, oils, herbs or spices from other plants.
The first mention of tea outside China and Japan is said to be by the Arabs in 850 AD and it was they who were reputed to have brought it to Europe via the Venetians circa 1559. However, it is the Portuguese and Dutch who claim the credit of bringing tea and tea drinking to Europe. The Portuguese opened up the sea routes to China, some say as early as 1515. Jesuit priests traveling on the ships are reputed to have brought the tea drinking habit back to Portugal, while the Dutch sailors manning the ships were said to have encouraged the Dutch merchants to enter the trade, and had set up a regular shipment of tea to ports in France, Holland and the Baltic coast in 1610. England entered the trade via the East India Company, or the John Company as it was known, in the mid to late 17th Century.
Oral Health
Fluroide is the most successful agent against tooth decay ever discovered.
Tea is one of the few natural sources of fluoride (depending on the type and strength of tea) and has been shown to have a positive effect on preventing tooth decay and gum disease.
Scientists believe that drinking tea improves oral health by helping prevent dental caries.
A British study published in 1991 suggested that heavy tea drinking could even provide some children with enough fluoride to prevent tooth decay. It has also been suggested that plaque, the scale caused by mouth bacteria that leads to gum disease, is decreased by drinking tea. These effects are probably due to tea’s antioxidant components working in synergy with its fluoride content.
Black tea contains small amounts of a number of vitamins considered essential for maintaining health:
Carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, has antioxidant and protective properties.
Thiamin (vitamin B1) and riboflavin (vitamin B2) are both essential for releasing energy from food. Nicotinic acid and pantothenic acid are necessary for the release of energy from fat and carbohydrate. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is essential for a healthy immune system. Vitamin B6 is involved in the metabolism of proteins. Folic Acid plays a role in cell division.
How Tea may be a Heart-Saver
The natural antioxidant properties of tea may help reduce the risk of developing heart disease. Studies have provided evidence that it is the polyphenols in tea that have a beneficial effect on two long established heart disease risk factors:
· high blood cholesterol
· high blood pressure
Studies have indicated that average blood cholesterol levels drop as the amount
of tea consumed increases.1 Published evidence has shown trends towards
lower systolic blood pressure levels (systolic) as tea drinking levels go up.
Heart Disease:
Research Studies
The latest human study3 shows that tea significantly increases antioxidant activity. Amongst twenty-one volunteers who were tested for six days, and given the equivalent of three cups of tea a day, researchers found an increase of antioxidants in their blood plasma levels.
Another study4, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology and reported in The Lancet, indicated that the risk of heart attack in people who drank one, or more cups of tea a day was about half that of those who drank no tea. The researchers suggested that the benefits of drinking tea may be attributed to the high concentration of flavonoids which reduce blood clotting and the deposition of cholesterol in the blood vessels
Several other research studies have also demonstrated tea’s positive effect on heart disease. A Scandinavian study5 of men aged between 50-69, showed that drinking 4-5 cups of tea a day reduced the risk of stroke by 69% and other studies6 have indicated that drinking 4-5 cups of tea a day may also have a beneficial effect on high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure.
“These exciting studies offer further information about the role that dietary flavonoids may play in reducing the risk of circulatory diseases.”
Dr Simon Maxwell, Clinical Pharmacologist, Edinburgh University
Tea consumption may have beneficial effects in reducing cancer risk in certain populations. As tea is one of the most popular drinks in the world, any possible relationship between its consumption and a reduced incidence of cancer in humans is of great significance.
A wide spectrum of studies, both in the laboratory and in human populations, looking at the relationship between tea consumption and cancer generally indicate a protective effect of tea.
Results of the most recent preliminary research7 published in Nutrition and Cancer indicated that tea may protect against the development of pancreatic and prostate cancer. Researchers from the National Centre for Toxicological Research in the United States, extracted theaflavins and polyphenols and demonstrated that they significantly inhibited the growth of human pancreatic and prostate tumour cells. Their research also indicated that tea could have a role to play in changing the genes involved in the process of causing cancer.
"This study provides further
evidence concerning the anti-properties of tea consumption. These new results
are very preliminary and are based on test-tube experiments, but if confirmed in
further research and supported by human studies, they could provide new insights
into the prevention of pancreatic and prostate cancer"
Professor David Forman, Centre for Cancer Research, University of Leeds
Another study8, published in the International Journal of Cancer indicated that men who drink between 2 and 3 cups per day may reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer by up to 30% compared to non-tea drinkers. Researchers from the University of Toronto looked at the complete history of beverage intake amongst 617 men who were suffering from prostate cancer and compared them with 637 healthy men. The results of the study suggested that the benefits of drinking tea may be attributed to the high concentration of certain antioxidants called phytochemicals which help the body fight harmful free radicals.
1. Green MS, Harari G. Association of serum lipoproteins and health related habits with tea consumption in free-living subjects examined in the Israeli CORDIS Study. Preventative Medicine 1992; 21 : 532-545
2. Stensvold I, Tverdal A, Solvoll K, Per Foss O. Tea consumption. Relationship to cholesterol, blood pressure, and coronary and total mortality. Preventative Medicine 1992; 21 : 546-553
3. Leenan, R, Roodenburg, AJC, Tijburg, LBM, Wiseman, SA. A single dose of tea with or without milk increase plasma antioxidant activity in humans. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 87-92
4. Sesso HD, et al. Coffee and tea intake and the risk of myocardial infarction. Am J Epidemiol. 1999 Jan 15; 149 (2): 162-7
5. Keli SO and others. Dietary flavonoids, antioxidant vitamins, and incidence of stroke. The Zutphen Study. Archives of Internal Medicine 1996; 156:637-42
6. Effect of black tea drinking on blood lipds, blood pressure and aspects. Bingham-S-A, Vorster-H, Jerling-J-C, Magee-E, Mulligan-A, Runswick-S-A, Br-J-Nutr 1997 Jul, VOL: 78 (1), P:41-55, issn: 0007-1145
7. Lynn-Cook BD, Rogers T, Yan Y, Blann EB, Kadlubar FF & Hammons GJ. (1999). Chemopreventative effects of tea extracts and various components on human pancreatic and prostate tumor cells in vitro. Nutrition & Cancer, 35(1): 80-86
8. Meera Jain, Gregory Hislop, Geoffrey Howe, Alcohol and other beverage use and prostate cancer risk among Canadian Men International Journal of Cancer: 78, 707-711 (1998)