Fresh Cup

OCT 2011

Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.

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ago, Buddhist monks took tea plants with them as they trav- eled and built new monasteries. They touted its effectiveness in improving their spiritual practice, claiming it helped them stay awake during long meditations. They also marveled at its ability to help deepen their sense of peace. Modern science shows why: Fatigue. The caffeine in tea helps increase alertness and clarity. Different teas have different levels of caffeine: It's accepted that black tea generally has 50 to 60 milligrams per cup, green tea has 25 to 30, oolong teas have 35 to 40 and white teas have 10 to 15. In comparison, a cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams. While caffeine is effective in reducing fatigue and increasing focus, too much of it also can cause jitters and heart palpitations. Dr. Low Dog recommends that people ingest less than 300 milligrams per day to avoid these types of side effects. Anxiety and stress. One of tea's main sive results, some studies indicate that L-theanine may have the additional effect of protecting the brain from degenerative brain disorders such as schizophrenia. Those Chinese Buddhist monks perhaps discovered the BEYOND THE PAGE Author Manish Shah has more on tea and health in his podcast, "Steeping Around," which can be found at steepingaround.com. components is an amazing amino acid called L-theanine. Plenty of compounds can enter the blood stream, but very few can cross the blood-brain barrier and have an impact on brain chemistry. The body protects the brain from most everything, but certain things (alcohol and nicotine, for example) can jump the protective moat. L-theanine's ability to boost levels of serotonin has been shown to boost feelings of ease, calm and well being. While it's too early to have conclu- greatest benefit of tea: the fact that the beverage can open the door to a deeper understanding of one's own spirit. This cannot be proven in purely scientific terms, but literature and anecdotal evidence have often explained how the ritual of making tea—the boiling of the water, preparation of the brewing vessels, careful steeping and conscious savoring of the liquor—is much like a moving meditation or a form of yoga. Making a cup of tea requires that one takes a moment to slow down. And sitting in a quiet space savoring your brew allows for the possibility of seeing yourself in a deeper way. Camellia sinensis is a gift from the natu- ral world. Within its leaves is a true power to improve the human condition. Tea's ability to heal our challenges of body, mind and spirit are perhaps unri- valed by any other plant. Dr. Low Dog is most succinct: "If you're looking at … I want a long healthy life, I want to give myself an edge against chronic disease, I want to keep my heart healthy, my bones healthy, keep my teeth in place, I want my blood sugar normal, I want a good healthy brain, I want to feel calm, alert and focused … drink tea!" freshcup.com October 2011 41

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