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Green Tea |
Yoga for Beginners (Home) > Green Tea > Types of Green Tea Types of Green TeaThe wonders of green tea abounds. It no wonder more people are turning their heads in the direction of it. The properties of green tea show benefits from healthier hair and scalp to treating medical conditions such as heart and cancer disease to even dental health. The benefits seem to be endless with these leaves from a shrub.Are all the green teas on the market created equal? Are there different varieties that carry more beneficial traits than others or can a certain type of green tea be superior in a certain treatment over others? There are many varieties of green tea, some green teas are different from one another merely based on the area in which it is grown and others on the process by which it is readied for use. There are five main categories of green tea varieties and within those are many other varieties. The main five types of green tea are the Chinese, Japanese, Asian, Decaf and Herbal green teas. Chinese green tea plants dates back in time thousands and thousands of years. Fifty percent of all green teas available for purchase come from China, within it's tea growing provinces, which make up the different Chinese varieties which are named after each province the variety is grown in. There are dozens of Chinese varieties including Dragon Pearls, Dragon Well, Jade Spring and Chinese Gunpowder Tea. These Chinese green teas range from sweet in flavor to a full-bodied, almost bitter taste. Japanese green tea was introduced to Japan by China. Nearly the only tea produced and consumed in Japan is green tea. Japanese tea varieties are divided by three grades: Gyokuro, Sencha and Bancha. In these grades are many varieties to choose from. The generally most popular ones include Gyokuro, Sencha, Bancha, Houjicha, Genmaicha and Matcha. Some of these green teas are sweet, the everyday tea, full flavored, a fried or roasted tea, blended with rice or used for the well known and beautiful Japanese tradition, the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Asian teas include green teas grown in Korea, Sri Lanka and also Vietnamese teas. Korean teas are more rare and expensive thanother green tea varieties. Sri Lanka owes its large tea industry thanks to Thomas Lipton who started the industry there in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Vietnamese tea is grown in the midland areas of Vietnam, and is working to provide tea soon on a global level. Decaf tea is any of the other varieties of green tea that has undergone a process to remove most of the caffeine in the leaves through a ethyl acetate solvent or a carbon dioxide and water treatment. A regular cup of green tea contains approximately 40mg of caffeine while after the decaffeinated process is complete, it will contain only 10mg. Although not entirely a natural tea after this process, the decaf green tea is said to contain a higher concentration of antioxidants - 95% through carbon dioxide and water while ethyl acetate treated tea contains 30%. Herbal green tea is simply a green tea variety with the added bonus of another herb to add a specialized boost in the area the herb is known for providing relief to or it may be used to add another dimension of flavor to the green tea. While all the green teas are relatively comparable for their beneficial properties, Chinese and Japanese green teas have been the varieties most commonly used, especially in research and studies conducted to prove the benefits of green tea. Avoiding the supermarket green tea already bagged up may be sound advice, since it will not tell you on the package where the tea has come from, it is actually green tea or a blendor how long it has been sitting there. Try a health foods store, an ethnic store for best results or even a reputable store online.
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