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Other notable tea's offer exceptional benefits as well. For example Pu-erh tea in a French Study lowered cholesterol levels as much as the leading prescription drug without any side affects.
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Silver Needle White hair Tea . Reputed to impart the most health benefits of teas |
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This special tea is high in antioxidants and consists totally of young buds that are covered with white down. A complex and subtle light sweet taste This rare tea consists of only singular tender buds picked in Spring before they open and laid out on mats and air dried. The reason for the name, "White Down Silver Needles," is quite apparent with one glance at the buds. The prominence of the delicate white hairs on the buds is quite striking. Tea brewed from these buds have a pale yellow hue with a light honey-sweet scent. Its taste is delicate with a clean mellow sweetness. The aftertaste is fresh and sweet
For kombucha brewing Silver Needle Benefits from a long infusion at water temperature well below boiling. This tea will not become bitter from over steeping and is naturally low in caffeine. Use about 1/2 ounce to one full ounce of tea per gallon size brew. A steeping time of about 10-15 minutes with more or less time recommended depending on desired concentration. The longer the seep time the higher the caffeine and tannins. Although most of the caffeine is extracted within the first 30 seconds of seeping. As a rough guide, the higher the temperature of the water or the greater the amount of leaves used, the quicker the steeping time should be.
The water used to steep this tea should be about 160-180°F or 70-80°C. Use about 2 teaspoons (3 grams) of tea leaves for about every 6-8 ounces (180-240 ml) of water. Produces an excellent Kombucha Tea. Our Shu Mee is closer to the traditional green teas and follow the same seeping suggestions. Seep only briefly 2-3 minutes in water just under boiling.
White tea may help fight cancer
SAN FRANCISCO, Mar 30 (Reuters Health) -- It's not everyone's cup of tea -- at least not yet --but white tea appears to have more potent anticancer qualities than green tea, according to studies performed at the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University in Corvallis. The researchers tested the tea to determine whether it could help prevent genetic mutations in bacteria, and colon and rectal cancer in cancer-prone rats. The rats were offered white tea -- at a strength equivalent to steeping a tea bag in a cup for 5 minutes -- instead of water for 8 weeks. In both experiments, white tea was shown to have a strong protective effect, said Dr. Gilberto Santana-Rios, who described his work at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society. By some measures, white tea offered twice the protection of water alone, and significantly more protection than green tea, he said." I was surprised by the potency. We were not expecting that much of a good result," Santana-Rios told Reuters Health. Although all teas are made from the same type of plant, they differ in which parts of the plant are collected and how they are processed. The most common tea in North America and much of Europe, black tea, is also the most heavily processed. For black tea the leaves are withered, rolled, roasted and dried, and when steeped they produce a characteristic dark beverage. For white tea, the leaves and white-colored buds of the plant are merely steamed and dried, leaving a mixture that looks like dried basil flecked with small white buds. When steeped in hot water, the result is a pale liquid with a taste reminiscent of green tea. "We still don't know what it is about the white tea -- we haven't found it yet," Santana-Rios commented. But the researchers have ruled out the buds, which are not used in other teas, by showing that the leaves alone produce the identical effects.
Santana-Rios suspects that processing destroys certain anticancer substances found naturally in the tea plant. Many of these chemicals have yet to be discovered, but they may include polyphenols, or catechins, which help give tea its bitter taste. White tea also has more caffeine than other teas, and caffeine is known to have anticancer properties, Santana-Rios pointed out. Reuters Health, 3/31/00
White Tea Wards Off Colon Cancer "Medicine on line" regarding white tea. http://www.meds.com/archive/mol-cancer/2000/03/msg02480.html
White tea, considered the creme de la creme in teas, appears to protect the body from colon cancer, based on animal studies. Numerous other studies have found healthy benefits from drinking black and green teas. Now, scientists at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University in Corvallis found that rats who consumed white tea had significantly fewer pre-cancerous tumors than rats who drank plain water. Both groups of rats were fed substances containing cell changes that are often found on cooked meats. Research has shown that cooking meat at high temperatures, such as grilling or frying, can produce cancer-causing substances on the meat surface. These carcinogenic substances can trigger cell changes, and changes in cells can lead to cell overgrowth, or cancer. White tea appears to contain antioxidants called catechins, which are also found in other teas and protect cells from damage. The more that teas are processed, the more antioxidants they may lose. White tea, which is almost entirely produced in the Fukien Province in China, is reputed to be harvested only two days a year and does not undergo as much processing as other teas. Unlike green tea, which is primarily tea leaves, white tea includes tea leaves and the buds that are quickly steamed and dried and retain a great deal of their freshness. Oolong and black teas often undergo even more processing than green tea.
Many health experts and researchers say tea is a healthy alternative to other beverages, such as soda. Tea has been gaining more popularity among Westerners, but it's been a staple of Eastern lifestyles for thousands of years. The white tea research was presented this week at the American Chemical Society annual meeting in San Francisco. --By Katrina Woznicki
Abstract Number: 010701 Potent antimutagenic activity of white tea in comparison with green tea in the Salmonella assay Santana-Rios G; Orner GA; Amantana A; Provost C; Wu S; Dashwood RH Linus
Pauling Institute, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology,
Oregon State University, 571 Weniger Hall, 97331-6512, Corvallis, OR, USA.
Medicinal herbal teas are medicine.
Ed Kasper LAc
Acupuncture Herbs Homeopathy |
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