Benefits of Green Tea
Bubble Tea drinks are often made with green tea or black tea. Green tea is used more than black tea though because of the health benefits associated with it. Now you can enjoy your favorite bubble tea drinks and feel good because green tea can do a body good! Green tea with bubble tea, please!
Green tea is made from the leaves of the plant species Camellia sinensis. It originated in China but is associated with many cultures throughout Asia. Green tea is now widely accepted in the West that traditionally consumed black tea.
Green tea and black tea both originate from the same exact species Camellia sinensis but the variety of the tea plant and how the leaves are processed differentiate the green from the black. Green tea comes from the smaller-leafed variety native to China – Camellia sinensis sinensis – that thrives in sunny regions with dry, cool climates. The variety has high tolerance for cold and thrives in mountainous regions.
Green Tea Processing
In order to produce green tea, the tea leaves from the Camellia sinensis plants are harvested and quickly heated, by fan firing or steaming, and dried to prevent the occurrence of too much oxidation that would turn the green leaves brown and change the fresh-picked flavor that is characteristic of green tea.
Brewed green tea is typically green, yellow, or light brown in color. The flavor profile of green tea ranges from grass-like when toasted to vegetal, sweet, and seaweed-like when steamed. Green tea is typically light in color and mildly astringent.
Benefits of Green Tea
Green Tea is regarded as one of the healthiest beverage on the planet. It is loaded with nutrients and antioxidants that have beneficial effects on the human body. Some benefits of green tea are as follows:
- It carries polyphenols such as flavonoids and catechins which significantly slow down the formation of free radicals in the body. These substances protect the cells and molecules from damages.
- Green tea has powerful medicinal properties because of the presence of the antioxidant Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) which has been proven to be effective treatment to various illnesses.
- Green tea aids in weight loss. It is believed to increase the metabolic process. The polyphenol found in green tea works to increase the oxidation of fat and the rate the body burns calories.
- Green tea helps control the glucose levels among diabetic people. It helps slow down the rise of blood sugar after eating, preventing insulin spikes and fat storage.
- Green tea is believed by health professionals to keep the lining of the blood vessels relaxed and better able to withstand changes in blood pressure. It also helps protect against the formation of blood clots which are responsible for heart attacks. Regular consumption of green tea reduces the risk of high blood pressure.
- Green tea reduces the risk of esophageal cancer and other forms of cancer. It is believed that green tea helps kill cancer cells without posing any danger on the healthy tissues around them.
- Green tea has also been known to lower bad cholesterol as well as improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.
- Green tea is believed to delay the deterioration brought by Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Studies involving mice showed that green tea prolonged the life of the brain cells and restored damaged brain cells.
- Green tea contains theanine, an amino acid that provides relaxing and tranquilizing effect. Regular consumption of green tea is believed to combat depression.
Drinking green tea has a host of other beneficial effects. People who regularly consume green tea live longer and healthier compared with non-green tea drinkers. Next time you order a bubble tea drink from your favorite shop, be sure to ask for green tea to be added in – ask for bubble tea with green tea!