by Rachel Liao
Are you on a diet but still swallow drinks with lots of artificial color and sugar? Do you dislike coffee but don’t know what to sip on cold days? Then how about tea? According to medical research, tea can help people keep fit and even fight cancer. So throw away those unhealthy beverages and let tea be your first choice. Tea was originally a medicine, and it became a popular drink in the Tang Dynasty. Thereafter, drinking tea became the most important part of the culture in China. Other Asians started to drink tea because of China’s influence; an example is Japan’s “Tea Ceremony.” In 1636, the Dutch imported tea from Amoy to Taiwan. Hence, people started to plant tea here too. The northern part of Taiwan, such as the Wenshan area, is noted for its Pao-Chung tea. And southern Taiwan is famous for Oolong tea. You may ask, what’s the difference between Pao-Chung, Oolong, and Tieh-Kuan-Yin? Do they really have different tastes? Actually, tea leaves can be made into various kinds of tea due to the different extent of fermentation. For example, green tea is not fermented at all, but black tea is 100% fermented. Pao Chung tea is fermented lightly, so it keeps its smell. On the contrary, Tieh-Kuan-Yin is stronger since it’s highly fermented. Tea is considered healthy because it contains catechin (兒茶素), which naturally dissolves fat. Medical research has proven that frequent tea drinkers have less body fat than other people. In addition, tea can keep us from getting chronic diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension. By the way, green tea has more antioxidants than other kinds of tea. Doctors say that drinking green tea can help us look young, and most important of all, prevent cancer. Though drinking tea benefits your health, pay attention to the timing. If your stomach is not strong enough, don’t drink tea before meals. And unless you want to stay up all night, remember not to drink tea at night. You can easily get bottled tea at 7-11, but why not try to make tea yourself? Some experts suggest that winter or spring tea is best for this. Make sure you put at least half a pot of tea leaves into the teapot and fill it with hot water, around 85 to 90 degrees. After infusing tea leaves for about 25 seconds, pour out the tea. If you infuse tea leaves too long, theophylline (茶鹼) will be released, which really hurts your stomach. You may also want to know what we can do with the used tea leaves. Tea leaves are good fertilizer, so you can bury them in the soil to fertilize your plants. Besides, they are a natural deodorant, so why not put some dry tea leaves in your fridge or bookcase to give them a pleasant smell? Tea not only helps you lose weight painlessly but it is also extremely healthy. Whether you are a weight watcher or not, drink more tea! a
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May 2024
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