Tea - The Magic Bullet
“If you are cold, tea will warm you, if you are heated, it will cool you, if you are depressed, it will cheer you, if you are excited, it will calm you.” – William Gladstone (Four-time Prime Minister of Great Britain)
Or so I read in the 'Scientist' journal. Titled ‘Tea Tonic’, the article surely made a tea drinker, albeit an irregular one, out of me. From being anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-allergic, anti-diabetic to cardio-protective, anti-carcinogenic and having a beneficial effect on the ageing process, I wonder why I shied away from it all these years. Since ancient times, it has been used as a stimulant, astringent, diuretic and to improve human health in Central African, West Indian, Chinese and Indian folk medicine.
Black tea consists of fully fermented leaves unlike green tea and regular drinkers of the latter have been found to have a very low incidence of coronary heart disease. Fresh picked green tea leaves contain 75-80% moisture and 20-25% solids. Carotene, Vitamin B, C & E, amino acids, polysaccharides, caffeine (much less than what is present in coffee) along with anti-oxidants and flavonols. Bet you didn’t know that there is more Vitamin C in one cup of tea than in an orange!
Doesn’t all this seem too good to be true? Well, it has been found that tea can cause insomnia and nervousness in sensitive and over-indulgent individuals. Though not covered in the article, I wish to add that like all great things in the past (read paper, compass, gunpowder et al), tea also made its way to the west and led to the horrific slave and indenture labour system.
An especially useful bit on making tea: Put one teaspoon of tea leaves per 8 ounce cup of water and pour milk first because if it is poured into a cup of piping hot tea, its proteins tend to degrade or ‘denature’, producing a slightly stale taste.
As I finished the article, I was reminded of the ubiquitous presence of tea in our social milieu and was bemused as I sang: Shaayad meri shaadi ka khayal dil mei aaya hai, isiliye mammi ne meri tume chai pe bulaya hai…
That is, Maybe the idea of my marriage has come in my mommy’s mind because she has invited you for tea..
Or so I read in the 'Scientist' journal. Titled ‘Tea Tonic’, the article surely made a tea drinker, albeit an irregular one, out of me. From being anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-allergic, anti-diabetic to cardio-protective, anti-carcinogenic and having a beneficial effect on the ageing process, I wonder why I shied away from it all these years. Since ancient times, it has been used as a stimulant, astringent, diuretic and to improve human health in Central African, West Indian, Chinese and Indian folk medicine.
Black tea consists of fully fermented leaves unlike green tea and regular drinkers of the latter have been found to have a very low incidence of coronary heart disease. Fresh picked green tea leaves contain 75-80% moisture and 20-25% solids. Carotene, Vitamin B, C & E, amino acids, polysaccharides, caffeine (much less than what is present in coffee) along with anti-oxidants and flavonols. Bet you didn’t know that there is more Vitamin C in one cup of tea than in an orange!
Doesn’t all this seem too good to be true? Well, it has been found that tea can cause insomnia and nervousness in sensitive and over-indulgent individuals. Though not covered in the article, I wish to add that like all great things in the past (read paper, compass, gunpowder et al), tea also made its way to the west and led to the horrific slave and indenture labour system.
An especially useful bit on making tea: Put one teaspoon of tea leaves per 8 ounce cup of water and pour milk first because if it is poured into a cup of piping hot tea, its proteins tend to degrade or ‘denature’, producing a slightly stale taste.
As I finished the article, I was reminded of the ubiquitous presence of tea in our social milieu and was bemused as I sang: Shaayad meri shaadi ka khayal dil mei aaya hai, isiliye mammi ne meri tume chai pe bulaya hai…
That is, Maybe the idea of my marriage has come in my mommy’s mind because she has invited you for tea..
posted by optimism at 12:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home