TEA

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Why do some people drink tea?

1. TEA IS ENERGETIC
• Tea is abundantly filled by nutrients, which defend you against oxidative
stress, of all the many beneficial effects of tea. This will help you improve
your immunological process and make you look and feel awesome and
great.
2. TEA CAN REHYDRATE
Tea is a fermented drink that is great to know in a cooler environment to
your liquid intake of tea.
• Healthy enzymes that allow us to eliminate obstacles and concentrate on
the work, like writing articles.
• It acts on the nervous system to hold us conscious but still calm.

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3. TEA ASSISTS TO MAINTAIN CALORIES
• It is a good alternative for glucose-packed soft drugs as a virtually
cholesterol-free drink.
• Certain teas, like herbal tea, may help individuals’ burn fat and
spontaneously accelerate their digestion.
4. TEA PROVIDES A STRONG ANTIOXIDANT DOSAGE
• Tea is a significant supply of plant compounds called Flavonoids.
Through making the bloodstream channels ‘ versatile’ so that the
blood rushes quickly, Flavonoids protect the cardiovascular valves
safely. It helps to strengthen our biological system of protection and
slows down the aging process.

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5. TEA IS WEAK IN CAFFEINE
• Tea helps people to reduce total caffeine and they sleep well for a
wonderful night. It does not make the heart pound or disturb the appetite
or keep people sleeping, but they want a small amount of caffeine.

6. TEA IS THE IDEAL SOURCE IN A CONVERSATION

• We gladly discuss a cup of tea among colleagues. If you are looking to host
a fun brunch session or exchange secrets with your good mate, drinking
tea is a good way to get along with others. Conversation over the tea is to
satisfy the circle.

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• In the preharvest stage of tea leaves, the stress exposure including
drought, cold, light, and insect, could promote the good taste of tea.
• In the postharvest stage of tea leaves, the stress exposure including
wounding, drying, and low-temperature, could promote the good
aroma of tea.
• Environmental stress can greatly influence the accumulation of
primary and secondary metabolites in tea leaves, thereby affecting
tea quality.

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• As environmental stress conditions and tea manufacturing have
similar effects on leaves, tea manufacturing was considered as an
exposure to multiple stress factors during tea production.

• Tea leaves may be purposely exposed to controlled stress conditions

during tea manufacturing as a novel strategy for scientifically
improving tea quality.

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• All teas are a product of the Camellia sinensis plant but are
distinguished and categorized by their level of oxidation and
production.

• Tea leaf processing can be summarized in four steps: withering,

rolling, oxidation, and drying. The actual production of tea, however,
is a complex process with multiple steps to each phase. Also, note
that production steps are also sometimes interchanged and repeated
in treatments. Tea gardens closely guard the precise methods of their
processing technique, like a chef’s secret recipe.

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Harvesting

• Tea harvesting is a delicate process that is difficult to do quickly for

fear of damaging the tea leaves.
• The majority of tea is still harvested by hand but mechanical picking
can also be done depending on the tea variety.
• Manual harvesting allows for discrimination in selection where
priority is placed on the younger leaf shoots, as they are the highest
in caffeine and antioxidants. This is also the derivation of the saying
“two and a bud.”

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• Manual harvesting (by hand) is the preferred method for many
cultivators; however, others prefer the large scale production that
comes with mechanized harvesting.

• It’s an issue of quantity versus quality. The scale made possible by

mechanical harvesting is often used for teas with which there is much
room for error, imperfection, or damaging of tea leaves and absolute
quality isn’t a consideration.

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Withering - Reduction of water content

• The goal of all tea undergoing withering is to reduce water content by

50-70%, allow for amino acid degradation, and the development of
antioxidants.

• The leaves can be withered in a variety of ways, such as outdoors in

sunlight or in dark, hot rooms. Teas withered in the sun dehydrate
faster than those dried indoors because chlorophyll still active in the
leaves metabolizes and exhausts the water supply.

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• The range of withering times for different teas is rather large
due to the initial water content of the leaves and the desired
flavor development.
• For example, the chlorophyll content falls as withering time
increases. Chlorophyll is associated with the vegetal, earthy
flavor in many teas and is the source of “green” in green tea.

• Withering times for different teas:

• White: 12-36 hours
• Yellow: 2-4 hours
• Chinese Green: 2-4 hours
• Japanese Green: 30-60 min*
• Oolong: 30 min - 2 hours
• Black: 4-18 hours
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Enzyme Kill - Reduction of enzyme activity
• The goal of the enzyme kill stage is to halt oxidative enzyme
activity from the previous stages of tea processing. This is
performed by exposing the leaves to high levels of heat for a
very short amount of time (60 seconds or less), similar to
blanching vegetables.

• This step is especially important in preserving the desired

aromatic and antioxidant compounds of tea. There are four
popular methods of enzyme kill: baking, steaming, pan-
frying, and GABA.
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• Baking: Tea leaves are arranged in a thin layer on a conveyer
belt where they are baked as they pass through an oven
(similar to a pizza oven).

• Steaming: Tea leaves will be rotated through a metal cylinder

where they will be flushed with steam. This process is the
most effective in preserving the green color and vitamin
content in the leaves.

• Pan-frying: Tea leaves are tossed around in a dry, hot wok by

hand, where the tea processor must fry them until they give
back just the right amount of “bounce.” The skill of tea gurus
really shines through in pan-frying, as they must not allow
the leaves to burn. 27
 GABA: Enzyme fixation by nitrogen
In 1987, Japanese researchers developed a new technique for the
enzyme kill stage, instead of the traditional heat treatment, the tea
was given a nitrogen treatment. In doing so, they increased gamma-
Aminobutyric acid (GABA); therefore, some teas have gained the
acronymed prefix “GABA” (i.e. GABA oolong, GABA green, etc.).

GABA is naturally found in the brain and functions as

neurotransmitter, stimulating mental activity as well as regulating
muscle tone. GABA also creates an interesting purple hue on oolong
leaves. 28
Leaf Maceration - Physical breakage of leaves
• The following four stages are different methods of leaf maceration.
They differ in their intensity of maceration, but all of them similarly
induce the release of oxidative enzymes by physical means. This
results in biochemical changes within the leaves and the creation of
new flavors.
• Leaf Bruising (oolong and sometimes black teas) - Leaf maceration
The goal of leaf bruising is to create tears in the leaf epidermis, re-
instigating oxidation enzymes. Leaf bruising is done by shaking the
leaves in a bamboo basket or by machinery, which kneads and tears the
leaves (just a little). The bruising can be likened to bruising a fruit,
causing the leaves to brown.

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• Rolling-Shaping - A gentle form of leaf maceration
In this stage, the leaves are shaped into fashionable tea leaf shapes,
such as the needle and pearl. Rolling-shaping also brings about a light
breakage in cell structure and instigates enzymes, re-starting and
promoting the oxidation process. Traditionally speaking, all tea leaves
were manually rolled-shaped; however, machines are now most oftenly
used to economically create more tea shape varieties.

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• Crushing - A strong form of leaf maceration
• Crushing is another leaf maceration technique in which the leaves are
bluntly cut into smaller pieces, usually by machine, triggering a
greater release of oxidative enzymes. Crushing, unfortunately, also
results in the exposure of a leaf’s essential oils, which hold many of
the antioxidants, vitamins, and other nutraceuticals found in tea.
Exposure of these oils to oxygen may potentially lead to oxidative
damage subsequently neutralizing these health compounds.

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• Crush, Tear, and Curl (CTC) - An intense form of leaf maceration
• CTC was a developed in the 1930’s as a means to reduce the amount
of tea leaves required for a cup of tea; however, it could easily be
argued that this sacrificed quality for quantity.
• The leaves are literally crushed, torn, and curled by a machine. This
intense maceration technique increases the exposed surface area of
the leaves, thus reducing the amount of tea required for brewing.

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Sweating and Heaping - A rise in
thermal enzymatic activity
• In various stages and styles of processing, tea leaves are heaped into
piles to increase thermal activity and, subsequently, enzymatic
activity.
• The heat created is a byproduct of the metabolic and enzymatic
activity within the leaves and is highest in the center of the heap.
• Tea processors carefully observe temperatures and turn the leaves so
they sweat equally throughout.

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Oxidation - A chemical reaction involving
oxygen
• In tea and food, this reaction results not only in a physical browning of the
substance (like a banana peel) but also in the creation and unlocking of
new compounds at a molecular level.
• Passive Oxidation
This is a natural oxidation lacking an outside stimulus, such as the greening of
copper or the rusting of metal. This process is excruciatingly slow in
comparison to active oxidation.
In regards to tea, the moment the leaf is plucked, the oxidase (oxidative
enzymes) are activated, resulting in passive oxidation. During this passive
oxidation/withering stage, aromatic compounds especially are likely to
develop. This method of oxidation continues throughout withering until it is
halted by the enzyme kill stage, where the tea leaves are briefly flashed with
heat.

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What is oxidation in tea leaves?
• Oxidation is a process through which tea leaves are exposed to the
air in order to dry and darken, contributing to the flavor, aroma, and
strength of different teas. ... Tea leaves which are fully oxidized will
turn brown and black, while tea leaves that are not oxidized at all will
remain green

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Controlled Oxidation

• Controlled oxidation is where the conditions for oxidation have been

manipulated by raising room temperature, humidity, and physically
breaking the leaf epidermis. The degree of oxidation can be measured
in various parameters.
• For example, in black tea, this process is usually controlled to
maintain a specific ratio of theaflavins to thearubigins (usually around
1:10 to 1:12*).

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Drying - Reduction of water content to 3-6%
• The goal of the last step is to reduce the water content of the tea
leaves down to 3-6%. This will cease all enzymatic activity and
preserve the chemical and flavor compounds for the tea’s shelf life.
• Drying occurs in oven-like rooms where the leaves are laid out in thin
layers and dried at 100-120°C. The exact time of drying varies
depending on the water content of the leaves prior to drying.
• For example, Taiwanese-styled oolong tea requires only 5-10 minutes
of drying while Indian black teas require up to 20-30 minutes.

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Aged Tea -Post-Fermentation and Post-Oxidation

• These two techniques are used for the creation of pu’erh and
sometimes oolong teas, and involve exposing tea for months to years.
Traditionally, these teas would ferment as they picked up
microorganisms from exposure on the Silk Road.
• In modern times, however the tea is stored in dark, humid rooms,
conditions which are conducive to microbiological activity and
oxidation.
• Researchers and tea growers continually experiment with new
bacterial inoculations to create new pu-erh flavors. Some popular
organisms include Aspergillus, Blastobotrys, and Streptomyces*.

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• Tea from the leaves and buds of the plant Camellia sinensis is one of
the most popular beverages. Green, oolong, and black tea are all
obtained from the leaves through full non-fermentation, semi-
fermentation, and fermentation, respectively .
• Catechins and theaflavins are important metabolites contributing to
tea function and quality.
• Catechins are known to transform into theaflavins during the tea
manufacturing process, but the same transformation in preharvest
tea leaves is unknown.

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• shade treatment (dark), an agronomic practise widely used in tea
cultivation, reduced the contents of most catechins, but increased the
theaflavin contents, in preharvest tea leaves
• This was attributed to the activation of polyphenoloxidase (PPO)
activity in darkness

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 Green Tea Composition

Green tea contains several poly-phenolic compounds, including flavan

and flavanol derivatives. Catechins are the most frequent and
abundant poly-phenolic compounds

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