Learn About Tea
About Tea
Tea is one the world's oldest drinks at over 3,200 years old! It's today's most popular drink, next to water. With such popularity, let's take a look at what tea is and how it's made. Tea comes from the wonderful plant called Camellia sinensis. The plant is grown in tropical, subtropical, and marine climates. All tea variations start off with the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Their names and colors come during the oxidation, wilting, and fermentation processes. This takes a great amount of attention to temperature and time to get the best results. You may find different variations of tea such as spirals, pellets, balls, and other elaborate shapes. These are all done by the hands of the tea artisan. It is truly an art!
Health Benefits
Tea leaves contain an abundance of benefits. These all stem from a variety of polyphenols, flavonoids, epigallocatechin gallate (aka EGCG) and other catechins. Tea is also so rich in antioxidants.
There are many articles that can inform you on the health benefits of tea. Some of the benefits include: increase in cardiovascular health, cancer risk reduction, increase in neurological health, metabolism and body composition, diabetes and blood sugar control, immune function, oral health, reduced risk of kidney stones and osteoporosis, just to name a few. To read more in detail, check out the link at TeaUSA.com.
Healthy Caffeine Alternative
If you're one of those people trying to cut back on the caffeine, tea is a great alternative! Tea, in general, has lower amounts of caffeine compared to coffee. As you shop our website, you will even find several blends that are caffeine free.
Why Loose Leaf Tea?
Loose leaf tea has an abundance of pros when it compares to over-the-counter tea beverages. The lack of extra materials used including bags (and for some other companies, strings, tags, and plastic) lowers your cost on tea and saves the planet. Though we recommend using a perfect tea spoon, you can also add as much or as little tea as you want to your infuser or teapot. This makes loose leaf tea economical, environmentally friendly, and you can gear it to your liking.
Quality
It's all in the leaf! The bigger the leaf, the better the tea. When the leaf is cut or shredded, it loses its powerful antioxidants and polyphenols that assist in providing the health benefits mentioned above. Also, bagged tea, aka grocery tea, can sit on shelves for months to years. The longer it sits, the more it loses its flavor, aroma, color, and freshness.