10 amazing facts about tea

In many countries, the Tea Party - part of the daily ritual, a sign of status and luxury. But tea - is not just a nice drink. Although no one knows exactly where he came from, it is believed that tea was conceived as a curative tonic, which was used in ancient China and then gradually spread throughout the world. The world of tea is certainly captors, so that put a kettle and let us together take a trip into the history of this wonderful drink.

The infusion of herbs
When we drink tea, in fact, we use what is called a decoction of herbs. What may be regarded as tea, must contain leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis or the tea bush. Unfortunately, a mixture that can be seen on store shelves are often different herbal combinations that have nothing to do with the tea bush.

In the past, people have realized that the combination of different herbs have medicinal properties, and the main purpose of herbal infusions - improve health. Chamomile, for example, helps with insomnia, and ginger are often used in disorders of the stomach.

If the broth does not contain tea leaves, it does not have caffeine, and it can be used at any time of the day.

Japanese tea ceremony
An important part of Japanese culture - the tea ceremony, which includes the use of a delicious powdered green tea known as "matcha". However, this is more like a rite of public ritual. The fact that the original tea ceremony was an art practiced by the elite of Japanese society to maintain their status. Every action in the ceremony focused on how it sees the guest.
In the ritual usually involves 4 to 5 people. In addition to green tea are served sweets. Tea ceremony paying particular attention to Japanese culture, so to achieve perfection in this business, you need a very long time to train.

Remove caffeine from tea
What to do if you want to drink tea without caffeine, and in your arsenal just a regular black or green tea? Many people believe that there is a simple solution - remove the caffeine alone. To do this, just need to pour boiling water over tea at 30 seconds, discard the tea leaves and brew the tea again. But, as it turned out, so just do not get rid of caffeine.

The researchers decided to calculate how much time it takes to remove the caffeine from the tea bag. It turned out to get rid of 90% of the caffeine, you need to brew a bag of good 10 minutes or so. That is, will have to wait longer, but it is a good tea can be brewed several times.

Soy lecithin
"Celestial Seasonings," one of the most famous tea brands, became the target of attack for the content of soya lecithin. Of course, the company argues that uses non-GMO soybeans, and only for the best combination of ingredients. However, for people with allergies to soy, it is an entire issue to the remaining soy poses no threat.

Lecithin itself has been widely studied, and although the results of his study are not conclusive, it is believed that it has a positive effect on health. In the studies described lecithin as an effective tool in the fight with ulcerative colitis, also known as inflammatory bowel disease. Presumably it can be used to treat a range of other diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and bipolar disorder.

L-Theanine
Caffeine contained in tea, has a stimulating effect, but not so strong as caffeine in coffee. The reason for this - L-Theanine, is rather curious effect on the brain.
Studies have shown that L-Theanine has beneficial effects on brain activity. It is valued for its ability to enter into a meditative state of man, ie, you relax, but do not fall asleep. It was also found that this substance improves memory, reduces anxiety and is well suited to deal with stress.

Chai Masala
In the US, there is a drink that was borrowed from the Indian culture, which is called «chai» or chai latte. This drink is prepared by mixing black tea with spices: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, anise, black pepper and vanilla. Drink is served with milk and honey. Or it is used in a hot or a cold.

However, it can get pretty funny situation, if you order this type of tea in most Asian countries. In India, Russia and other countries, the word «chai» means "tea". Literally goes "chai tea", that you will agree, it sounds pretty stupid. If you want to order this drink in India, it would be true to say "tea Masala", which translates as "tea with spices».

Pickled tea
We believe that the tea - is that you can only drink, and in most countries it is. Despite this, Burma otherwise consume tea, namely pickled. Burmese call this tea «lephet». To prepare a tea, tea leaves are softened and then cooled, rolled tightly and allowed to ripen under the ground. In Burma lephet present in all important ceremonies and is considered a delicacy. Burmese served this tea on a tray, with a side dish: shrimp, sesame seeds, garlic, peanuts or pea pods. While Burma is the only country that uses tea in the food, the people in this country also drink tea in liquid form.

"Pollution" tea
To ensure that the tea leaves do not contain anything harmful to health, studies have been conducted. It was found that in both black and green tea contains large amounts of aluminum and fluorine. According to the study, the amount of aluminum is less than the norm, but the amount of fluoride is so great that it can cause fluorosis child. Of course, to encounter this issue, you need to drink excessive amounts of tea.

Aluminum compound and fluorine enter the tea through the soil and, more often found in tea brick color, which is often of poor quality. Some scientists believe that the content of aluminum in tea contributes to the development of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, one important task of scientists is to identify ways to minimize the amount of harmful substances in tea.

Guessing on tea
Tea has become so popular drink, that some countries have found it rather strange application, namely, guessing the remaining tea leaves in a cup. This form of divination is deeply rooted in ancient China, although it was probably popularized by gypsies. In times of persecution for witchcraft divination on tea was quite popular, since the components required for this ritual, do not arouse suspicion.

To carry out the ritual is necessary to prepare tea with special inserts and give drink it the person to whom you wonder. When it finishes, you must rotate what's left in the cup 3 times counterclockwise, while making sure that the handle is looking in the right direction. Then you can proceed to the predictions by the pattern that eventually you end up with.

Attention to health
Originally tea was a health tonic drink and it is not surprising that the key to his healing properties pay special attention. Unfortunately, the results of these searches are quite controversial.

One study, conducted among several thousand people for 37 years, found that those who consumed large amounts of tea per day, more often suffered from cancer of the prostate. However, another experiment demonstrated the result is exactly the opposite.

The control group was tested men with a predisposition to prostate cancer. It was found that catechins, which came in their body with green tea, gave a positive effect. Despite this other tests carried out in this field, does not give any result. Of course, in order to understand how this affects the health drink, it is necessary to continue research in this exciting area.