Tea House History

A tea nutrient is an interesting subject. We all have heard of the health benefits of tea. But what substances do tea leaves contain?

After being processed, most of the natural compounds are still reserved in tea leaves. The amount of these helpful tea nutrients depend on the extent which the leaves are processed. The more processed are the leaves, the less natural chemicals retained in the tea. Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world. So what are the nutrients in tea to gain this drink such popularity? We will try to answer these intriguing questions.

There are 3 main components that make up the nutrients of tea:
Polyphenols
Vitamins - minerals - amino acids
Caffeine

1st of tea nutrients: polyphenols...

First, let's talk about Polyphenols- for they play very important roles in the medicinal benefits of tea. Polyphenols are chemical molecules that exist naturally in plants. These molecules are responsible for the antioxidant properties of the tea.

The amount of polyphenols decreases as the oxidation time increases. For this reason, tea that is least processed like green tea and white tea contains more polyphenols than oolong tea and black tea. Extract green tea contains even more of these antioxidants since it didn't go through any processing.
Polyphenols make up about 1/3 of all of the chemical components of the tea leaves. There are 4 types of polyphenols (sometimes they are called the Catechin group)

Epicatechin (EC)
Epigallocatechin (EGC)
Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG)
Epicatechin (ECG)

Each of the tea leaves contains different amount of each of the antioxidants above. But, often, the EGCG exists in highest amount while EC exists in smallest amount. Since tea leaves contain so much EGCG, these specific antioxidants mostly contribute to the health benefits of tea.

Recent studies have shown that EGCG molecules have the abilities to kill viruses, reduce the risk of plaque formation in the arteries, slow the spreading of cancer, and regulate the amount of sugar in the blood- which is very helpful for people who are suffering from diabetes.