Black Tea

Black tea, white and green tea are made from plant Tea /Camellia sinensis/. The three types of tea are selected from different parts of the plant during different periods of time. It is also allowed to ferment for different periods of time. For white tea, the very young parts of the plant are not subjected to fermentation. For green tea, all parts of the plant are used and its fermentation is interrupted quickly.

During this oxidation process, the leaves change color from green to black. Black tea undergoes full fermentation. After this, the tea is packaged and given a trademark. In recent years, black tea has become one of the most popular drinks - whether hot or cold.

In recent years, new emphasis is placed above the therapeutic benefits of drinking tea. Of course, there are many different types of tea, which you can choose from, but unless you studied the issue, you can not distinguish between the different varieties.

If you know nothing about black tea, you are not alone. Many people are not familiar with this unique calming drink. But once you learn about it, black tea can easily replace your morning coffee. Let's look at what's so special about it.

To truly understand the phenomenon of black tea, you should know a little geography. Black tea is grown at high altitudes, such as the Himalayan Blue Mountains. Assam, whose cultivation involved more than 800 estates, is among the largest producers of tea in the world.

This black tea can be mixed with African and Ceylon teas to produce English and Irish teas. This blend is common in European cities such as Hamburg and Amsterdam. Unblended teas are also very popular, called "single estate teas".

Composition of black tea

Black tea contains many valuable ingredients, shown to improve our health. There is a large amount of caffeine, vitamins C and E in it. Black tea is a very powerful antioxidant. Other ingredients that can be found in it are polyphenols, theophylline and theobromine, fluorine, many trace elements, catechins and essential oils.

One cup of black tea contains 45 mg of caffeine.

Preparation of Black Tea

If you want to cook a nice cup of black tea, use about 2 grams of leaves, or 1 teaspoon, add very hot water / 90-95 degrees / brew for about 5 minutes, then strain the mixture.

Black tea has a bitter, even slightly haunting taste. First few sips are not pleasant to most people, but after drinking several cups, connoisseurs fall in love with it. It can be combined with milk, sugar or honey.

Benefits of black tea

One of the key reasons for the phenomenal popularity of black tea is its soothing nature. Anecdotally, some have jokingly been saying that this drink causes steady nerves, but now there is research proving this thesis.

Scientists from University College in London have found that black tea can reduce levels of cortisol - a stress hormone. Research has shown that the stress levels of tea drinkers fall faster than those who do not drink it.

The study examined 75 young men, who were divided into two groups and monitored for six weeks. One group drank caffeinated tea flavored with fruit and made from ingredients found in black tea. The other group received a placebo containing caffeine and tea flavor, but did not contain real tea.

Both groups were subjected to stressful situations - the possibility of unemployment, an accusation of shoplifting or a nursing home incident. Group members then had to give an oral response to substantiate their claims before the camera. Meanwhile, researchers measured their blood pressure and cortisol levels.

Scientists have discovered that these situations resulted in significant increases in blood pressure in both groups. But about an hour after that, in those who drank tea, cortisol levels dropped by almost 50%, while in those consuming placebo, the levels decreased only by 27%.

Researcher Andrew Steptoe said: "Traditionally, it is believed that drinking tea is associated with calming and many people believe that drinking tea will help them cope with the stress of living. Although it does not reduce the actual levels of stress, tea does seem to have a greater effect in bringing stress level hormones back to normal. "

Steptoe adds: "This has important health implications, because slow recovery following acute stress is associated with increased risk of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease".

Black tea is known for its therapeutic abilities. In China, it’s fans claim to have minimal risk of cancer and some other diseases. It is, however, clear that they have less health problems than those who do not consume tea.

Black tea has a toning effect on the body, due to the high content of caffeine in its composition. It has exciting action, similar to that of coffee. Another ingredient of tea - caffeine, is an antioxidant for the body.

It would be wrong to call black tea a miracle cure. Drinking a beverage does not guarantee that it will prevent serious diseases. It has been shown that regular consumption of black tea has numerous therapeutic benefits and if drinking this tea is a habit, you are better protected against heart disease, cancer and stress-related illnesses.

As a result, you might consider trying black tea. Drinking it is associated to almost no side effects, while there is a lot of evidence to suggest it is a healthy alternative to other beverages.

Weight Loss with black tea

Drinking clean black tea Regularly can significantly improve your weight and get rid of excess weight.

Black tea contains valuable substances, which reduce the level of bad cholesterol in the blood and reduce to a minimum intake of fat from the body. The drink has a slimming effect to it, if you do not add additives such as sugar, milk, cream and others.

Dangers of black tea

It is important to know that the tea should not be consumed in larger quantities than 2-3 cups a day, because it can cause insomnia and digestive disorders.