It may (or may not!) surprise you to learn that, aside from water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world! Nearly 5000 years old, tea was first discovered by Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung (famously known as the ‘Divine Healer’) when, as legend has it, some tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water. But the popularity of tea would spread and by the 1600’s it was gaining steam in the European and American colonies too. An all-natural and environmentally sound product, tea enthusiasts persist today all across the globe and with the health properties of tea alone who can blame them!
Essentially, tea is a beverage that can be altogether soothing, refreshing or restorative, depending on your mood, and contains no sodium, fat, carbonation, or sugar (when drunk black and sans additives of course!). Beyond this, the flavonoids found in tea often provide bioactive compounds that help to neutralize free radicals that may over time damage elements in the body and contribute to chronic disease.
Divine Healing
More than 3000 studies have explored the role that the drinking of tea may have in combatting certain kinds of cancer. One study found that tea drinkers have an approximate 42% reduced risk of colon cancer than non-tea drinkers.Beyond this, the lower caffeine levels found in tea are also linked to lower anxiety levels during times of stress. Drinking tea, studies have found, may reduce your chance of heart disease or a stroke. And it may even help you to lose the weight that seems to be hanging in there, as preliminary research suggests that the flavonoids in tea help elevate the metabolic rate, increase fat oxidation, and improve insulin activity.
If the health benefits have not already convinced you that a pot of tea may be just the way to start the day or unwind at the end, then perhaps do it for a taste of somewhere else. The Turkish, the Japanese, and of course, the Chinese are but a handful of countries rooted in a longstanding tradition of tea-drinking. Make a celebration (or, to go one up as the Japanese do, and make a ceremony!) of serving tea in your home and travel to worlds beyond four walls!
It needn’t cost you a fortune.
The flavour that can come from one humble teabag or a couple of tea leaves is more than enough for a pot. Alternatively, get a two litre jug and play around with flavour combinations (rooibos and green tea isn’t too shabby a starting block!). Fill up your cup from this throughout the day, whether warmed or served chilled when the sun is blazing. Experiment too with nature’s bounty in your own backyard.
Fresh handfuls of mint, a sliced lemon and even lemongrass can make for wonderful additions or even stand alone with some boiled water in a little teapot!The demands of city-life can be hectic to say the least. There is calm and tranquillity (not to mention the reward of healthier living!) awaiting you in a much needed tea break once in a while. So get out there, find a tea pot or jug that delights you… There is no time like the now to enjoy a fragrant cuppa tea, trust us!
Date Published: 23 March 2016
