Black tea and health 

Tea is one of the most ancient and popular beverages consumed around the 

world. Black tea is more widely consumed than green tea worldwide. India is 

the largest producer of black tea and hence  it is necessary to focus attention on 

black tea with respect to its health promoting attributes.

 What  is Black tea ?

Black Tea is more oxidized than green tea The black tea making process 

involves and additional step of aeration of the cut, withering leaves for several  hours which oxidises the flavonoids as well as darkening the leaves' colour.  

Health benefits  Until recently, tea research has focused more on green tea. However, recent  studies indicate the compounds contained in black tea -  theaflavins and 

thearubigens – not only  contribute to the dark color and distinctive flavor but they  represent potential molecules with therapeutic implication. 

Polyphenolic compounds present in black tea can protect cells and tissues from  oxidative stress  by scavenging free radicals. Synergistic interactions amongst  black tea constituents play a major role in the beneficial effect of tea.   Number of  studies with black tea have demonstrated that plasma antioxidant capacity gets  enhanced, ∼1 h after consumption of moderate amounts of tea. 

Neurological  disease  Reports suggest that Black tea could lower the incidence of Parkinsons disease,  Theanine present in black tea  increases alpha brain wave activity resulting in  calmer state of mind and  it  also reduces stress

Shorn of all beautiful myths and legends, we get the first authentic references to tea and tea drinking in China in the fourth century A.D. The first person to drink tea was a man named, Shen Nung, who one day took his wife and children mountain climbing. During the climb Shien Non Shei became quite thirsty and while he was feeling thirsty a leaf drifted onto his foot. He picked this leaf up and twisted the leaf with his fingers. The juice of the leaf went on to his fingers and he tasted the juice with his tongue. The taste of the juice was quite bitter, so Shien Non Shei felt that this leaf could have medicinal properties and could help quench thirst, when brewed. Thus, according to legend he was the first individual to drink tea.

The first written reference of tea made and consumed appeared in **0 A.D. Kuo P’o’ updated an old Chinese dictionary to include the description of tea as “a beverage made from boiled leaves.” Tea during this time was made of leaves boiled in water with ginger, orange or other produce added to it. Although tea was mostly consumed for medicinal purposes to treat digestive and nervous conditions, people living in the interior part of China pressed tea into brick “currency” to barter with other tribes. From **0 to **0 A.D., the demand for tea dramatically increased and outstripped the supply of wild tea trees. Farmers began to grow tea plants in the Szechwan district, but soon tea cultivation had spread throughout China.

In the western world tea was brought first to the notice of the Europeans in the mid of the *6th century by Ramusio, the famous Venetian writer on travels and voyages. The first public sale of tea in England was conducted by one Thomas Garway in ***7.

To describe the history of tea cultivation in India around ***4 Warren Hastings sent a selection of China seeds to George Bogle, the then British emissary in Bhutan for planting the same in Bhutan. But nothing seemed to have come out of this experiment. In ***6, Sir Joseph Banks, the great English Botanist, was asked to prepare a series of notes and it was recommended by him to undertake the cultivation of tea in India. In ***0, Robert Kyd experimented with tea cultivation in India with seeds, the consignment of which was stated to have arrived from China. A few decades later it was Robrt Bruce in ***3 discovered tea plants growing wild in Upper Brahmaputra valley. In May ***8 the first Indian tea from Assam was sent to England for public sale.

In India, there are three distinctly different tea growing regions. These regions are geographically separated, thereby producing three entirely different teas both in style and in taste/flavor. The three regions are: Darjeeling (North-Eastern India), Assam (far North-East India) and Nilgiri (South India).

 

DARJEELING

Nestling in the foothills of the snow-covered Himalayan range, Darjeeling grows this exclusive tea at altitudes ranging from **0 to 2,**0 meters. The cool and moist climate, the soil, the rainfall and the sloping terrain all combine to give Darjeeling its unique "Muscatel" flavor and exquisite bouquet. The combination of natural factors that gives Darjeeling tea its unique distinction is not found anywhere else in the world, hence this finest and most delicately flavored of all teas has over the years acquired such reputation as "Champagne enjoys amongst wine"

ASSAM

The land of the Tiger and the one-horned Rhino. The land through which the mighty river, the Brahmaputra, winds its majestic course. Assam - rich in nature's bounty and a rainfall ranging from **0 to **0 inches per year - a bounty that ensures a very special place for the teas grown here. These teas are referred to simply as "Assam" and offer rich, full-bodied, bright tea liquor. For those who favor a bright, strong cup of tea, Assam is "your cup of tea." Assam is the single largest contiguous tea growing area in the world.

NILGIRI

The Blue Mountains or the Nilgiris are situated in South India. They are a picturesque range of undulating hilly landscapes where tea is grown at elevations ranging from 1,**0 meters to 2,**0 meters. Rainfall varies from *0 inches to *0 inches annually. These conditions favor the fine, elegant flavor and brisk liquor of Nilgiri teas. The combination of fragrance and briskness makes Nilgiri a truly unique tea, the like of which can be found nowhere else in the world. If you like a fragrant tea with good body and superlative flavor, Nilgiri should be the one for you.

 

Apart from the above three distinct tea growing regions tea is also grown in Kerala, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Orissa, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram & Meghalaya and in the adjacent plain areas of Dooars and Terai of West Bengal.