By Veronica De Lira, Arizona State University Nutrition Student
Green tea the king of beverages as it can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. You may have heard people drink green tea everyday or seen it on your local Starbucks menu. But what you may not know is green tea has been around for years and does wonders for your health.
Background
The origin story of how green tea came to be in as interesting as the benefits of green tea itself. According to verdanttea.com it was Emperor Shen Nong who came across green tea by accident, the emperor was in his garden boiling water, when some leaves fell into the boiling water, it was than that the emperor noticed and ended up tasting the water only to find that the water had a delicious taste to it, thus leading to what we enjoy as tea today. 1
Health Benefits and characteristics of Green Tea
According to verdanttea.com green tea has a variety of health benefits such as 1
- Keeps you alert
- Help with headaches
- Good for digestion
- Stress reliever
- Antioxidant
According to myessential.com green tea has many beneficial antioxidants that aid in the body’s health such as EGCG’s and Catechins both of which are known to produce positive benefits to aid is disease recovery. 2
How do you make green tea?
Step 1: Fill your saucepan or teakettle and fill it with water. Fill at least half way use your own judgment for how many teas you plan on making.
Step 2: Place tea bag or fresh tea inside cup.
Step 3: Once your water comes to a boil, pour water into cup let steep for 3-5 minutes.
Step 4: Enjoy! You can add flavoring of your choice my favorite is honey.
Recipe to try
Here is a delicious green tea recipe to try by IrvineHousewife from allrecipes.com. 3
Ingredients
1 (2 inch) piece lemon zest, cut into thin slivers
- 2 teaspoons boiling water
- 2 teaspoons green tea powder
- Lipton green tea bags
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
Put lemon zest into a large cup or mug. Cover with 2 teaspoons boiling water and let steep for about 3 minutes. Stir in the green tea powder and hot water. Add the grapefruit juice, lemon juice and honey. Mix well and serve.
Reference:
1. Duckler, David. “Verdant Tea.” All About Green Tea. 8 Aug. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2015. https://verdanttea.com/what-is-green-tea/
2. Gomez, Stefanie. “Battle of the Teas! Green Tea vs Oolong Tea, Which Is Better?” Essentia. 24 June 2013. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. http://www.myessentia.com/blog/oolong-tea-green-tea-which-is-better-for-you/
3. “Citrus-Honey Green Tea Recipe.” Allrecipes. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/162897/citrus-honey-green-tea/
Veronica De Lira is currently a student at Arizona State University and is majoring in Nutrition Communication. She enjoys cooking and trying out recipe modifications, as she is an enthusiastic foodie. When not in the kitchen you an find her cheering on her favorite sports teams, going for walks, or catching up on her favorite shows.
