Which one is better, herbal tea or black tea?

 Tea is Tea. It is made from the leaves of Camellia Sinensis by carefully withering, rolling, oxidising, drying and grading. When the step of withering and oxidising is not done, it is known as Green Tea. The decoction of Tea contains zero calories and is a very rich source of antioxidants and some very complex polyphenols which is not available from any other known source of food / drink. It contains caffeine too, approx 1/7th of the quantity when compared to Coffee. All other teas like “herbal teas” are known as Tisanes. These are from herbs other than Camellia Sinensis, and usually do not contain caffeine, and of course, many of the other beneficial content of Tea.

So, in a nut shell, unless you are overtly sensitive to tiny quantity of caffeine, Tea is the drink for you. Else, select your herbal infusion depending upon your need.

Which is healthier: tea or coffee?

 

Let me categorise the answer in two parts.

Curative and Preventive.

Curative: Tea and Coffee both have antioxidants and caffeine. Tea has more antioxidants and less caffeine. Coffee has more caffeine and less antioxidants. There are traces of other complex polyphenols and fluoride too, but that is almost negligible. Tea also contains a complex form of Tannin which is known to aid in protein metabolism. This is absent in Coffee. In a nutshell, the immediate curative effect of both is the cure for dizziness, fatigue, sleepiness and general lethargy and nothing much more than that. For all of these, Coffee scores over Tea due to its higher caffeine content.

Preventive: Tea scores over coffee right away due to its higher content of Antioxidants. Antioxidants are known to aid in prevention of Cancer, boosting metabolism and generally ridding the body of harmful free radicals.

End Note: Tea and Coffee are both not medicines. The take is yours. At one time consumption of Tea was also touted as a safer way to drink water! My personal take is Tea anytime, albeit, without Milk. One final difference: Coffee is soluble in water and you end up consuming it. Tea is not soluble in water hence you only consume it's decoction.

A Nice Cup of Tea By George Orwell

A Nice Cup of Tea

By George Orwell

Evening Standard, 12 January 1946.

If you look up 'tea' in the first cookery book that comes to hand you will probably find that it is unmentioned; or at most you will find a few lines of sketchy instructions which give no ruling on several of the most important points.

This is curious, not only because tea is one of the main stays of civilization in this country, as well as in Eire, Australia and New Zealand, but because the best manner of making it is the subject of violent disputes.

When I look through my own recipe for the perfect cup of tea, I find no fewer than eleven outstanding points. On perhaps two of them there would be pretty general agreement, but at least four others are acutely controversial. Here are my own eleven rules, every one of which I regard as golden:

·       First of all, one should use Indian or Ceylonese tea. China tea has virtues which are not to be despised nowadays — it is economical, and one can drink it without milk — but there is not much stimulation in it. One does not feel wiser, braver or more optimistic after drinking it. Anyone who has used that comforting phrase 'a nice cup of tea' invariably means Indian tea.

·       Secondly, tea should be made in small quantities — that is, in a teapot. Tea out of an urn is always tasteless, while army tea, made in a cauldron, tastes of grease and whitewash. The teapot should be made of china or earthenware. Silver or Britannia ware teapots produce inferior tea and enamel pots are worse; though curiously enough a pewter teapot (a rarity nowadays) is not so bad.

·       Thirdly, the pot should be warmed beforehand. This is better done by placing it on the hob than by the usual method of swilling it out with hot water.

·       Fourthly, the tea should be strong. For a pot holding a quart, if you are going to fill it nearly to the brim, six heaped teaspoons would be about right. In a time of rationing, this is not an idea that can be realized on every day of the week, but I maintain that one strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones. All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes — a fact which is recognized in the extra ration issued to old-age pensioners.

·       Fifthly, the tea should be put straight into the pot. No strainers, muslin bags or other devices to imprison the tea. In some countries teapots are fitted with little dangling baskets under the spout to catch the stray leaves, which are supposed to be harmful. Actually one can swallow tea-leaves in considerable quantities without ill effect, and if the tea is not loose in the pot it never infuses properly.

·       Sixthly, one should take the teapot to the kettle and not the other way about. The water should be actually boiling at the moment of impact, which means that one should keep it on the flame while one pours. Some people add that one should only use water that has been freshly brought to the boil, but I have never noticed that it makes any difference.

·       Seventhly, after making the tea, one should stir it, or better, give the pot a good shake, afterwards allowing the leaves to settle.

·       Eighthly, one should drink out of a good breakfast cup — that is, the cylindrical type of cup, not the flat, shallow type. The breakfast cup holds more, and with the other kind one's tea is always half cold before one has well started on it.

·       Ninthly, one should pour the cream off the milk before using it for tea. Milk that is too creamy always gives tea a sickly taste.

·       Tenthly, one should pour tea into the cup first. This is one of the most controversial points of all; indeed in every family in Britain there are probably two schools of thought on the subject. The milk-first school can bring forward some fairly strong arguments, but I maintain that my own argument is unanswerable. This is that, by putting the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round.

·       Lastly, tea — unless one is drinking it in the Russian style — should be drunk without sugar. I know very well that I am in a minority here. But still, how can you call yourself a true tealover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by putting sugar in it? It would be equally reasonable to put in pepper or salt. Tea is meant to be bitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter. If you sweeten it, you are no longer tasting the tea, you are merely tasting the sugar; you could make a very similar drink by dissolving sugar in plain hot water.

Some people would answer that they don't like tea in itself, that they only drink it in order to be warmed and stimulated, and they need sugar to take the taste away. To those misguided people I would say: Try drinking tea without sugar for, say, a fortnight and it is very unlikely that you will ever want to ruin your tea by sweetening it again.

These are not the only controversial points to arise in connexion with tea drinking, but they are sufficient to show how subtilized the whole business has become. There is also the mysterious social etiquette surrounding the teapot (why is it considered vulgar to drink out of your saucer, for instance?) and much might be written about the subsidiary uses of tealeaves, such as telling fortunes, predicting the arrival of visitors, feeding rabbits, healing burns and sweeping the carpet. It is worth paying attention to such details as warming the pot and using water that is really boiling, so as to make quite sure of wringing out of one's ration the twenty good, strong cups of that two ounces, properly handled, ought to represent.

(taken from The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, Volume 3, 1943-45, Penguin ISBN, 0-14-00-3153-7)

Truth about Pesticides in Tea

Here, I post an article from http://teabizblog.wordpress.com/2014/01/30/truth-tea-pesticides, verbatim, as I think this useful article should get the maximum possible readership.

Uncovering the Truth: Tea is Full of Pesticides?

Truth or Fiction: Tea is Full of Pesticides
Most days the news is full of stories about the health benefits of tea. As tea sellers and buyers we are in the position of trying to weigh the value of the information. Is there strong science behind the article or are sweeping assumptions being promoted in the name of making sales? But what happens when the news instead puts tea in a negative light? How do we respond to customers who are now fearful of consuming your tea?
Earlier this month, the Care2 blog resurrected a Food Babe blog article from last summer claiming that tea was laden with toxic pesticides and that product from several major companies contained banned substances. (The article also made questionable claims about genetically modified organisms (GMO), artificial flavorings, BPA, and other topics we’ll examine in the future.)  The tea community reacted strongly, either voicing outrage about the lack of substance behind the claims or panicking over potential consumer reactions. The Tea Biz team wanted to look behind these blog posts, to consider the claims, and provide the tea community with a fuller picture of the concerns.
Claim 1: Tea is not washed when it is processed and packaged. Therefore, any pesticides on the leaves will be transferred into your cup when steeped.

Our take: The argument makes sense on its surface. A paper published in the journal Food Additives & Contaminants in 1991 examined the solubility of pesticides in tea and found that depending on the solubility of the chemical, significant transfer is possible. Given that tea is grown in a monoculture and often subject to attack by insects and other pests, pesticide use is not uncommon.
But is this cause for panic? A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2001 looked at thirteen pesticides that are frequently used in growing tea. They found that the chemical transfer was actually very small because the most commonly used chemicals are not highly soluble. Highly water soluble pesticides are not ideal because they would be quickly removed with every rainfall. It has also been shown that certain tea types transfer lower chemical levels possibly because of the leaf’s lipid content, although further study is needed.
It is also noteworthy that in many of the pesticide studies, powdered tea is used that has been “fortified” with the pest-fighting chemicals. It is important that further studies examine the transfer from tea that has been processed in the traditional way. For example, an article in the Journal of Environmental Science and Health in 2009 demonstrates that roasting of teas during manufacturing causes dissipation of some chemicals. Roasting at high temperature for a long period actually caused complete dissipation of two chemicals. Solar withering reduced pesticide residues by 25-40% for two common pesticides. This study was done with oolong tea but others have shown similar results for green tea and black tea. Additional studies published in Food Additives & Contaminants in 2013 also confirmed that some of the applied pesticides were removed by the withering and drying process.
Claim 2: “A recent third-party analysis by Glaucus Research found that 91 percent of Celestial Seasonings tea tested had pesticide residues exceeding the U.S. limits.” “Teavana tea was tested by an independent lab and 100 percent of it was found to contain pesticides.”

Our take: The source of this information was “third-party analysis by Glaucus Research.” Glaucus Research is what is known as a short seller. This means that Glaucus makes money if stocks fall. At the time Teavana was the most shorted stock on the New York Stock Exchange. In this case, they stood to reap significant financial reward if Celestial Seasonings and Teavana took a hit. This note was printed at the beginning of the Teavana report: “We are short Teavana and therefore stand to realize significant gains in the event that the price of stock declines.” Does this make the information false on its face? Not necessarily, but it is critical to note the conflict of this organization being presented as an independent, unbiased source.
Celestial Seasonings responded strongly to the allegations, posting a statement of Product Safety Assurance on their website. Following the Glaucus report and subsequent re-posting of the information they submitted their products for testing at the National Food Lab (NFL). NFL did not detect any pesticides and gave assurances that the products meet industry standards and are safe. Celestial Seasonings also cited their  protocols for testing all of their product ingredients for pesticides, herbicides and insecticides and its industry audits for Safe Quality Foods (SQF) certifications.
Teavana also noted its ongoing program of third-party testing and its adherence to standards set by organizations including the European Union which is known to be particularly stringent. They were quick to note Glaucus’s conflict of interest and it was notable that the report was released as Teavana was preparing to be sold to Starbucks.
Claim 3: Buying organic is the only safe way to purchase tea.

Our take: Choosing organic seems a reasonable strategy, but it is important to acknowledge what organic actually means. Organic does not signify that chemicals are not used. Pesticide use is still permitted in organic growing strategies, but the pesticides must come from natural sources, not synthetic. While studies have shown that half of synthetic pesticides are potentially carcinogenic, research shows that many of the “natural” chemicals are also potentially carcinogenic or otherwise damaging to health. In addition, because many of the natural pesticides are less effective, application rates and frequency may actually be higher than with conventional chemicals.
Does this mean we are arguing against the value of organic farming? Absolutely not. Organic farming strategies make use of a number of approaches that are healthier for plants and for the environment in terms of crop rotations, green fertilizers, and more. What we would suggest instead is that knowing your growers and the strategies employed can help you best assess the safety of any food you consume.
What does this mean for tea? This means that as a retailer you should know your farmers and tea sources. If you are a customer, ask questions of your retailers about sourcing. If you are a wholesaler and importer, visiting the farms and meeting the farmers is always valuable. The European Union, Japan, and others have been active in establishing maximum residues levels (MRLs) for many pesticides which also will help guide purchasing decisions.
The pesticide problem cuts across our entire food supply. Tea is neither more at risk nor more protected from it.
— Katrina Ávila Munichiello, Tea Biz

Is Organic Tea safer than Conventional Tea?

Is Tea free from Pesticides?
Is Organic Tea safer then Conventional Tea?
My submission is that all agricultural produce need to be protected with pesticides, at various stages of cultivation / harvest / post harvest.

Tea too is an agricultural product, and is not an exception.

Tea Plantations are nurtured by highly skilled workers, and vigilant managers, and all the activities are done in the most scientific manner, supported by scientific bodies, supported by respective Governments.

An organic farm will not use anything synthetic or chemical, but will surely need to use biological pesticides / formulations. Organic Teas are relatively safe, but can you be sure about the water or the sugar or the milk in your cup of tea?

Its all subjective, and a matter of debate, but the bottom line is:-

Tea is safer than water.

Brew it fresh, and sip in leisure.

Jayesh.

Twist in the Tale : Modern incarnation of the ancient Brew

Twist in the Tale : Modern incarnation of the ancient Brew

It has been a long journey for our favorite beverage “Tea” since its accidental discovery by a Chinese King many centuries ago. Or, was it the great herbalist who left this world and took along with him the knowledge of nearly 21000 medicinal herbs, that was known only to him? On his grave, it is believed, grew a strange new plant – camellia sinensis. Our very own tea Plant.

In the early times, The plant was considered to be so sacred, that its commercial cultivation could not even be thought about. In Japan, Tea consumption is considered a ceremony. A ceremony of bonhomie and contentment.

However, the British and the Dutch saw tremendous potential in this “elixir of the east” which gave “glowing health and longevity” to the people and started its organized commercial cultivation in China. Later it expanded to India, Sri Lanka and Kenya, among several other smaller countries.

Since then, there has been no looking back. Our brew has made the journey through green to oolong to white to black. From Orthodox to Legg-Cut to CTC to Instant Tea to Premix... From “natural” to “commercial” and now back to “organic”.

Along the path have been innumerable changes, value additions and improvements in the fields of cultivation, manufacture, blending as well as packaging. The art of making tea is now largely standardized.

Vegetatively propagated clones, bi clonal and poly clonal seeds, and region specific planting material is now available to choose from. Agrochemicals used in the fields are approved by scientists. Equipments used are such so as to minimize wastage and conserve the environment. Wood and Coal is now being phased out by Natural Gas and Oil. Machinery and processes are computer controlled. Stalk and Fiber in tea is a thing of the past, with the advent of high tech machines. The traditional wooden Tea Chests have been replaced with multi walled paper sacks. State of art, Ergonomically designed, StainlessSteel Blenders are used to blend delicate teas without bruising them. Silk cloth wrappings have been replaced with staple free tea bags made out of filter paper of natural origin, bleached with liquid oxygen.

While we may think that our brew has completed its journey, the latest scientific research has opened a new door to exciting possibilities and opportunities.

The magic of tea comes from the tiny amount of caffeine, which is a mild stimulant and from the antioxidants in the form of polyphenols, mainly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin. Tea is the richest source of such antioxidants and works towards its extraction for fortification of other food products has been a field of research by the scientists since many years.

A breakthrough has been reported by the Israel Institute of Technology, who have presented a paper reporting “nano-encapsulation of EGCG intended for food application. It is apparently the first EGCG nanoencapsulation method based on natural ingredients only. Moreover, the extremely small nanoparticles developed (<50nm>, opens up unlimited possibility of addition of EGCG to mineral water, ready-to-drink tea beverages, soft drinks, fruit juices, and dairy beverages. In addition, sport drinks would be a great application for this technology, as many of them are also enriched with protein, particularly whey proteins.

All things come a full circle, but our beverage, it seems has quite a large circle to complete. Yet, Tea remains the drink of choice for the majority of humankind. The most unpretentious and safe beverage in the world. Its method of preparation purifies the water too!

Tata, Unilever Launch Tea 2030 Project

Please read on ... following is indeed a positive development for the industry:-
Tata Global Beverages, Unilever, Yorkshire Tea and Finlays have joined a coalition of businesses and organizations to address sustainability issues within the tea industry.
The Tea 2030 project will be facilitated and managed by global sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future. Other participants include the Ethical Tea Partnership, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade International.
The project aims to understand and develop solutions to the key challenges facing the sector to 2030. For instance, the market for tea is rapidly changing. Currently it is not traded in the same way as other commodities, but some experts think it could be by 2030. This would increase market transparency, but also possibly lead to speculation and thus the volatility seen in other markets in the past few years.
Competition for land and climate change is a another major concern that could result in tea plantations being converted to other uses. Between 2005 and 2010, 13,000 hectares of land in Indonesia have been converted from tea to other purposes such as growing rubber, palm oil and fruit.
Tea 2030 said it also wants to respond to growing opportunities for responsible products in developing markets such as Brazil, China and India. According to the recent Regeneration Roadmap study, consumer in these markets are more than twice as likely as those in developed markets to buy products because of social and environment benefits (51% to 22% respectively), and pay more for sustainable products (60% to 26%).
“It is critical that the industry responds innovatively to these trends and challenges — yet many require collaborative action as they are too big for one organisation to tackle alone,” the group said in a release. “Tea 2030 has been designed to bring the power of the entire tea sector together to do this.”
Tea 2030 intends to share its insight and vision widely — including the key trends affecting the industry and agreed ‘innovation platforms’ that will be launched in September 2013.
Dr. Sally Uren, Deputy Chief Executive of Forum for the Future, said: “Through our past projects in sectors as diverse as tourism and shipping, we have seen how exploration of different possible futures can be a powerful way of generating a shared understanding of sustainability issues throughout entire value chains. In turn, this shared understanding can generate new solutions to systemic problems that are just too big for one organization to tackle alone. We have high hopes that Tea 2030 will deliver practical action that will secure a sustainable and successful future for the global tea industry.”
Courtsey - Bart King, freelance writer.