When you hear the term Green tea, which word comes to your mind next to that? It is “Health” for sure! But did you know that green tea carried a little secret from its inception?
When we look at the past, it is obvious that our ancestors' take on green tea was surprisingly logical. They took it as a medicine rather than just a beverage, and here’s what legends say about its origin.
During the Sheng Dynasty (2737BC), the legendary emperor Sheng-non discovered tea for the first time. It is said that few tea leaves were blown into the water that was boiled for the emperor, changing the color and flavor of the water after a while. This magical transformation and its impact amazed the emperor, and the habit of tea drinking began since then. By looking at this widely accepted origin story, it is said that Green tea was the first discovered tea as a result of this happy accident.
Back then, green tea was widely recognized as a medicine, and it was used to cure overall body discomforts while boosting people’s mood and calming mental state. But what would have been the secret behind these amazing properties? Thanks to the advancements of science and technology, the chemical composition of green tea is completely recognized today and many researchers suggest that the “Catechins” in green tea are responsible for many of its health benefits. Catechins are a compound that acts as a strong antioxidant, and this helps to neutralize the harmful free radicals within our body. This act leads to many favorable health benefits such as cancer prevention, anti-aging, and improved overall body health. Apart from that, “Caffeine” in green tea helps to improve our mood through its stimulating properties on our central nervous system. “Theanine” on the other hand is a compound you cannot find anywhere other than in tea; it works together with Caffeine to induce a calming state, focus, and alertness on our mind. Theanine is the very reason why you don’t get Caffeine high as it is in Coffee.