Lao Tzu (600–517 BCE)
Many myths surround the discovery of tea as a beverage. In the earliest myth (c. 2737 BCE), several leaves of Camellia sinensis fell into Shen Nung’s pot of boiling water. This mythical emperor of China was impressed by the taste and stimulating properties of his newly discovered beverage, which his attributed writings claim were beneficial for the treatment of tumors, bladder problems, abscesses, and lethargy. The founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, viewed tea an essential ingredient in the elixir of life. The Chinese custom of offering tea to guests was predicated on the belief that it improved health and extended life.
Over the centuries, the pleasures of tea drinking spread throughout the East and reached Europe in 1610, when green tea leaves were brought to Amsterdam. The seventeenth century saw the taste for tea spread throughout Europe, including England in 1660, where it became the national drink by 1750.
There are three primary varieties of tea—green, black, and oolong—which differ based on how the leaves are processed. Tea leaves contain some 700 chemicals, the most important of which are polyphenols, caffeine, and theophylline. Greatest attention has been focused the polyphenols—in particular, catechins, which are antioxidants. Antioxidants can reduce free radicals that may play a role in heart disease and cancer. Green tea has the highest concentrations of catechins.
The results of studies on the health benefits of green tea are not clear, consistent, or convincing. The risk of colorectal cancer and cancers of the breast, stomach, and prostate are reduced in many tea studies but not in all. Green tea may prevent stroke, but it is far more inconsistent in its ability to reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure or decrease the risk of diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease.
Why the contradictory results? Many studies testing green tea were conducted in the East, where lifestyles and diets differ significantly from the West. In addition, an excessive number of cups of tea must be consumed to obtain the reported results.
SEE ALSO Alchemy (c. 5000 BCE), Coffee (c. 800), Caffeine (1819), Theophylline (1888).
There are some 3,000 varieties of tea worldwide, in six general categories: white, green, oolong, black, pu-erh, and flavored. The taste of tea depends on where it is grown and how it is harvested, dried, and processed.