Green tea have become increasingly common on the market today. Used for
thousands of years in both China and Japan, green tea is reputed to
provide major health benefits.
Green tea comes from a tea plant native to Asia called Camellia sinensis. Black tea
also comes from this same plant. What makes green tea different, and
green, is not the plant used to make the tea, but how the plant is
processed. Green teas are the least processed of commercial teas and
the method used preserves more of the nutrients and health benefits.
Green
tea leaves are picked and then immediately fired, a tea processing term
which means the leaves are either steamed or heated. The tea leaves
are then dried and prepared for either sale or further processing.
Other teas are picked, dried by a process commonly called "withering",
rolled or broken which induces oxidation, and then dried. Oxidation
removes most of the necessary nutritional values from the tea and then
the leaves are dried to halt oxidation. Oxidized teas are called black
teas and most of the tea we drink in the Western hemisphere is
considered black tea. Because of the process used to make black tea,
most of the antioxidants that are proven to provide health benefits are removed which is why green tea, still antioxidant rich, is considered healthier.
Black teas have the characteristic brown color when brewed
that many associate with tea. Green tea, however, has a much lighter
hue and flavor due to the minimal processing.
According to many
weight loss gurus, feelings of hunger can be suppressed by drinking
weight loss tea.
Weight loss tea is sold in many different varieties. These
teas include
green teas, herbal
teas, Chinese
teas and even the Oolong
tea that is sponsored by Oprah.
Gingseng is known to boost one's energy without any caffeine
and is believed to help assuage stress. Blended to make ginseng
green tea,
these two ingredients offer a number of health benefits. They also
deliver an energy boost that won't leave the drinker as jittery as a
shot of espresso might.