The amazing benefits of green tea

Be it staying fit and keeping your weight under control or adapting a healthy ritual to cut off the extra sugar by swapping with your regular tea, green tea has made a significant place in our lives. It has a world full of goodness for your health that you can’t ignore. As the benefits of green tea range from a healthy life to gorgeous looking skin. Before exploring the variety of options available in green tea, you got to know what is the right way to prepare your green tea. Some varieties need brewing while others can be consumed by steeping the tea bags in boiling water.

Types of green tea and how they are categorized:

A wide variety and strains of green tea are cultivated throughout Asia. The natural green colour of the tea leaves and the tint it offers to the brewed tea is the reason behind the name “green tea”. The harvesting method as well as the processing method classifies the green tea into different categories. Though the plant for most teas cultivated is Camellia Sinensis, the type of tea produced depends solely on the method of harvesting and processing. Usually, green tea is cultivated from the first harvest or first flush during early to mid-Spring. These are considered the most expensive and finest quality green tea.

The drying, grinding and rolling method also influence the type of green tea strains including the amount of sun exposure post-harvest. Green tea is not like oolong or black tea as the leaves are picked and streamed raw. Whereas black and oolong tea leaves undergo the oxidation process by immediately being exposed to oxygen and initiate fermentation. Green tea leaves get steamed and roasted to prevent the oxidation process and fermentation. In addition to that, the Chinese green tea is pan-fried to dry and flatten the leaves offering them a stiff texture. Whereas Japanese green tea leaves are freshly plucked and steamed.

How green tea helps your health?

The health benefits of green tea are numerous, from weight loss to improved metabolism, you can’t ignore it anyway. Green tea is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help in combating certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer. It is also believed that green tea burns fat and enhances physical performance. Here are the major benefits of green tea consumption:

1. Green tea lowers the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood and prevents heart diseases to a great extent.
2. Regular consumption of green tea also helps in controlling blood pressure.
3. Immunity is enhanced as green tea protects your body against free radicals and oxidants.
4. If you are wondering about the benefits of green tea for the skin, then you must know it rejuvenates your skin.
5. It also improves metabolism and lowers the risk of diabetes by controlling blood glucose levels.
6. Bacteria and viruses causing throat infection get destroyed when you consume green tea.
7. The benefits of green tea in weight loss is observed by plenty of people. It helps in burning fat and thus promoting fat loss in the long run.

Let’s learn some quick tips to brew green tea for your healthy cuppa!

How to make your perfect brew?

While making your perfect cup of green tea, you need to maintain the accurate amount of green tea to water ratio as well as the temperature. Various other factors like the vessel to brew and the time of brewing also come into play. Here is a quick look at it:

Quality of water:

Always take filtered water or clean drinking water to prepare your green tea. Make sure not to use distilled water for that purpose.

The temperature of the water:

While making green tea, pay attention to the water temperature as its very vital. Always avoid too hot water for making your green tea. 85 degrees C or 170 degrees F is the perfect brewing temperature for healthy green tea that retains all the goodness.

Tea and water ratio:

When you are up for brewing your healthy cuppa, make sure to add 5 oz water to 3 grams of green tea.

Time to steep your tea:

Steeping your green tea for 2 to 3 minutes is all you need for your best brew. The taste runs bitter with over brewing.

Straining the tea:

Whether you use a tea infuser or strain with a strainer to another cup, the tea tastes as good as it is. Make sure to brew or steep for the right amount of time with the right temperature and voila! Your healthy cup of green tea is ready.

If you think, drinking green tea is boring then try exploring the varied range of flavours available in the market. From lemon to ginger, honey, jasmine, lemongrass and the list goes on. If you find it a little bitter for your taste buds, you can add a spoon of organic honey or cinnamon powder to cut the calories. To get the best out of your green tea, you must know how to drink your green tea. Enjoy your tea sip by sip, and don’t leave it too long as it might ruin the property of your green tea.

Well, these are the tips for a hot cup of green tea, if you are in for summer refreshers, you can try iced green tea as well. Get your hot brew prepared as usual and let it cool down. Once the green tea is at room temperature shift it to the refrigerator till it is cold. Pour into a tall glass, add some lemon juice and ice cubes and a dash of mint. Your iced green tea on the rocks is ready to ship in! Happy Summers! For more interesting facts on green tea, keep looking for this space.