Green Tea Essay

Green tea is an essential part of people’s everyday life around the world; it is tasty and healthy but is that all there is to it? Most people in Europe and Asia prefer green tea over other beverages as it is light and energizing. China, where tea came from, is the center of green culture; Chinese people have much higher life expectancy due to living healthy and drinking green tea. As many people know â€Å"the history of green tea began in China† (Learn all about the History of Green Tea). Some sources claim that there are references to green tea as far as 5000 year ago. It can be true because many ancient Chinese artists portrayed wealthy people drinking tea (Painting). Also tea in ancient China was a treat for the wealthy so it could’ve taken some time to develop. There are two legends about where tea came from circulating the world. First one says â€Å"an old man accidently stepped on a fallen tea leaf and tasted its juices, he thought it tasted great and had some special properties† (Learn all about the History of Green Tea). Second one tells that an â€Å"Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea when a blossom fell in his cup† (Learn all about the History of Green Tea). With time tea became more than just a drink but a part of the Chinese culture. Drinking tea wasn’t just about the tea, a whole new â€Å"tea art† was developed. â€Å"Tea and tea wares should match surrounding elements such as breeze, pines, bamboo, plums and snow. All there show harmony of human and nature† (Tea Culture). It is easy to understand why tea is so important once you come across a tea ceremony or read one if the many books about it. In the painting you can see that wealthy people were drinking tea and the peasants were making it. The reason why only people of high class could afford tea is because the ceremony was a very complex practice which required pricy equipment and skilled laborers. A proper tea ceremony requires extensive training and spiritual discipline. Over time many people realized that pure green tea is a great far oxidizer, even too great, drinking pure green tea dangerously burned fat away, Chinese had to find a solution. â€Å"They switched to oolong tea which contained less fat oxidizing agents† (Learn all about the History of Green Tea). Oolong tea was the reasonable solution and now it is the most popular tea in China. All around the world tea is tea but that same tea carries different meaning in each part of the world. For example â€Å"in Japan, the rigorous tea ceremony reflects the nation’s character; in the West tea is made with milk and sugar to create romantic atmosphere and in every different part of China different people all have appeal to their own kind of tea which makes them unique† (Tea Culture). Now we can rule out that people love tea but why? Tea is a worldwide beverage whether it’s green or black, hot or cold, it’s healthy and thirst quenching drink that people around the world consume in numerous amounts to refuel their Becky). Many people replace coffee with tea to avoid crashes and coffee addiction. Antioxidants and flavonoids found only in green tea has shown that tea is very effective in improving mental alertness, reducing cholesterol levels and preventing low blood pressure. To get the full benefit from green tea you have to make your own tea at home, bottled tea isn’t natural and does not come with all the nutrients. As you can see green tea is very good for your body but as with every beverage there are some minor side effects. Green tea contains caffeine, which in excess can cause restlessness, irritability and sleeping problems (Green Tea Side Effects Warnings). It is safe to drink no more than 5 cups of tea a day; furthermore, one should not drink it during mealtime because green tea can reduce absorption of iron and folic acid. With that said, green tea is a healthy drink that came from ancient China. It does have some bad things to it but the benefits shadows them. History of green tea continues on even now, being number two most popular drink after crystal clear water, even more popular than Coca Cola and beer. Works Cited Ancient Chinese drinking tea. Sldinter. 18 Jan 2013. http://sldinter.com/upload_news/tea%20hist.jpg. â€Å"Green Tea Side Effects Warnings!† Amazing-green-tea. 20 Jan 2013. http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/green-tea-side-effects.html. Hand, Becky. â€Å"The Truth About Green Tea.† Sparkpeople. 20 Jan 2013. http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=107. â€Å"Learn all about the History of Green Tea† Green-teas-guide. 20 Jan 2013. http://www.green-teas-guide.com/history-of-green-tea.html. â€Å"Tea Culture.†. Travel china guide. 20 Jan 2013 http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/cuisine_drink/tea/culture.htm.