Green Tea Time

Before accidentally turned into ‘black’ during its transportation in the 17th century, tea had no color. However, despite that, green tea has a long and wonderful history. Green tea has been around for hundreds of centuries, dating back in Chinese literature as far as 5,000 years ago! It dates back to 2737 BC based on some Chinese legends, stories and some literature.

A man known as Shien Non Shei found the plant, and tasted a leaf from it. He thought it tasted fantastic, and decided to mix it with water to make a drink out of it. He also thought that the plant had medicinal properties. Another story says that the Emperor, Shen Nung, came upon the tea when a leaf from the plant fell into a cup of hot water he was drinking at the time.

The brew that can be called tea appeared around the 2nd century in China, when sun-dried green leaves were chopped and boiled as a drink, the earliest green tea. In the 7th century, the ancient Chinese began to prepare their tea into the shape of pie. Steamed, molded and baked dry, the pie was smashed by a roller and boiled at tea time. Pie tea was popular for a long period until banned by Emperor Hongwu in 1391.

Tea was introduced to Korea at the end of the 4th century along with Buddhism. In 805 AD, a returned Japanese monk brought with him the seeds of tea from Mt. Tiantai of Zhejiang Province and planted the first tea in Japan. (Japan has only green tea and tea-makers still use Chinese steaming method today).

When pie tea was replaced by loose leaf tea, roasting method replaced steaming method in Chinese tea production. There were 58 recorded well-known teas at that time. In 15 of them still in production today, 13 teas are green teas.

In 1673, England imported Chinese green tea for the first time. After the franchise of tea importing being suspended by a Chinese emperor, England started tea plantations in India.

Green tea has been used in China as a healthy, medicinal drink for approximately 5,000 years. Green tea was the drink of choice among the leaders and the wealthy. The tea leaves were used fresh from the plant for tea brewing, lightly heat processed, or even eaten right away. In ancient China, tea was a costly drink, consumed only by the rich and wealthy of the population. However, following the fall of the Mongolian Empire back in 1368 AD, the whole population of China began to experience the wonderful consumption of tea, including green tea.

Between 1405 and 1433, when China had the power of the sea, the seamen were given the necessary amount of green tea. The antioxidants in the green tea they drank fought off scurvy, which killed many Europeans sailors several years later.

Tea consumption was introduced to the United States by Europe, as a part of the worldwide tea trade, and also by Chinese immigrants who owned Chinese restaurants in the United States

There are millions of people around the world who suffer from high blood pressure. Green tea can help with high blood pressure in so many ways as scientists and researchers have found. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the most common form of heart disease and affects about 20% of the adult population in many countries. The condition is associated with stroke, heart failure, and kidney dysfunction and is a major risk factor for heart-related death.

Research shows that drinking as little as a half-cup of green tea daily can greatly reduce high blood pressure by more than fifty-percent. This study was done among Chinese tea drinkers – who have been consuming green tea for centuries. The link has also been explored in other areas of the world including the United States and the results between green tea and high blood pressure have shown much of the same results.

High blood pressure (hypertension) can be caused by a number of factors, including poor diet, lack of exercise, high stress levels, and genetic predisposition, among others. Drinking green tea, however, can help counteract the effects of high blood pressure risk factors, research suggests.

When a group of mice was exposed to stressful, overcrowded conditions, feeding them green tea kept their high blood pressure under control. The blood pressure lowering effects of green tea have been recorded in humans as well. In a study of 20,000 middle-aged adults, high blood pressure decreased as green tea consumption increased.
Researchers speculate that green tea lowers high blood pressure by causing blood vessels to relax. One study assessed 54 substances – vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, spices, and teas – for their ability to relax blood vessels; of these substances, green tea placed fifth, and relaxed blood vessel walls by as much as 91%.

People who suffer from high blood pressure should take note, however, that adding too much green tea to your diet could also cause adverse reactions. There is a certain amount of caffeine in green tea. While it is considerably less than coffee, the caffeine in green tea could still aggravate high blood pressure if too much is consumed in too little time.

There’s absolutely no doubt in the minds of those who have studied the effects of green tea on high blood pressure that drinking this beverage in moderation can significantly bring down the high blood pressure. It’s a good idea to add a little green tea to your daily diet if you suffer from high blood pressure. Just don’t overdo it!