A CUP OF TEA

The definition of cup of tea is an expression that is used to describe something you like, something you are good at or something you enjoy doing. An example of cup of tea is sewing to a seamstress or knitting to a knitter. But in this article we talk about a cup of tea in its literally meaning, a herbal drink that has powerfull health benefits, including could help reduce the risk of heart attack. It is amazing, isn't it? . Indeed, a story of a cup of tea is always astounding and never dried up or obsolete

Legends said that tea was found accidentally by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong in 2737, but Indian history attributes the discovery of tea to Prince Bodhi-Dharma. It is not easy to trace tea's original root

Whatever the legend, tracing tea’s original roots proves difficult. It is probable that the tea plant originated in regions around southwest China, Tibet, and Northern India. Chinese traders may have traveled throughout these regions often and encountered people chewing tea leaves for medicinal purposes.

Talking about medicinal purposes, there are various kind of tea with their specific health benefit. They are green tea, black tea, white tea, Oolong tea, and Pu-erh tea. Actually all of these tea are chock full of flavonoids, powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory and immune system benefits that is good for the heart and may reduce cancer. There are three reason why the flavonoids are good for the heart. One Flavonoids are catalysts for promoting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions in the body. Two Flavonoids guard against the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol, the “bad” cholesterol that can lead to heart disease. Three Flavonoids promote relaxation of the blood vessel walls, which helps to lower blood pressure.

All the various tea mentioned above derived from the same plant called Camellia sinensis, the difference is the process when they produced. The prosses make the proportion of  tea's compound slightly change so that the various tea has its specific benefit.  Here are their spesific use :  

• Green tea: Made with steamed tea leaves, it has a high concentration of EGCG (epigallotechin gallate) and has been widely studied. Green tea’s antioxidants may interfere with the growth of bladder, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers; prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat, counteract oxidative stress on the brain, reduce risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimeir's and Parkinson’s diseases, reduce risk of stroke, and improve cholesterol level,
• Black tea: Made with fermented tea leaves, black tea has the highest caffeine content and forms the basis for flavored teas like chai, along with some instant teas. Studies have shown that black tea may protect lungs from damage caused by exposure to cigarette smoke. It also may reduce the risk of stroke
• White tea: Uncured and unfermented. One study showed that white tea has the most potent anticancer properties compared to more processed teas.
• Oolong tea: Oolong tea are partially oxidized tea and undergo the most  difficult and time consuming processing method. First  the leaves are withered in direct sunlight and then shaken in bamboo baskets to lightly bruise in the edges of leaves. Next the leaves are air-dried in the shade untill the surface of leaf turns slightly yellow. In an animal study, those given antioxidants from oolong tea were found to have lower bad cholesterol levels.
• Pu-erh tea: Made from fermented and aged leaves. Considered a black tea, its leaves are pressed into cakes. One animal study showed that animals given pu-erh had less weight gain and reduced LDL cholesterol. 

All these teas also have caffeine and theanine, which affect the brain and seem to heighten mental alertness. Caffeine increase alertness because it prevent the sedative adenosine from working as a receptor. It means caffeine able to blocking sedative effect of adenosine so that increase central stimulation, raise the activity of the central nervous system.  That is why you feel fresh and enthusiastic after drink a cup of tea. Tea is a perfect drink to start the day! So come to prepare a cup of tea to cheer up your day.

What is the best way to brew tea so that we can gain the benefit optimally? There are five things you should consider when brewing tea. They are the water, the temperature, duration of infusion,material of teapot. Always use freshly drawn, cold water to prepare tea and do not use pre-heated water. The pre-heated water, from example, water that you get from the faucet, has mostly likely been overheated, thereby losing oxygen content. This kind of water also possibly contains harmful substances from the water pipes. Temperature is critical in making good tea. Same its variety, the tea also needs different range of temperature. Because of its more delicate processing, green tea often needs a cooler temperature to bring out the right flavor. Conversely, black tea, which has been fully oxidized, needs much hotter water to bring out its characteristic baked sweetness. The optimal length of infusion time is also various depend on the type of tea. Delicate teas such as green tea need to be brewed for shorter times, while heartier black teas and earthy, fermented pu-erh teas benefit from longer infusions. Of course, the duration of the infusion varies with culture and personal preference.While seemingly unimportant at first, the material of the teapot being used also affects the quality of the infusion. When considering a teapot, it is important to consider the variety of tea and the temperature at which it is prepared. Materials like iron or Chinese yixing ware are excellent at retaining heat over long periods of time, while glass or porcelain are more likely to release that heat. Therefore, iron and similarly heavy materials are better for teas that need to be prepared at high temperatures, such as black tea or yixing. A teapot made from iron would keep the water hot enough to extract the teas full flavor. Green and white teas, on the other hand, needs a vessel that stays cooler, such as porcelain.