HOW TO BREW GREEN TEA

Hi! everyone,


In this article, I am going to detail the points you need to take so that you have good hot green tea daily.


1.  Green tea  "when properly packaged", has a shelf life of about 6 months. Once opened, it is advisable to consume it within 2-3 months. Here, properly packaged means that it is vacuum packed or nitrogen packaged. However, if your green tea was not packaged properly and exposed to air, its quality will be adversely affected.


2. The best green tea comes from the first harvest usually either in  late April or early May. However, you can get this throughout the year.


3. It depends very much on the variety, for instance normal Sencha, about one teaspoon to 8-10 ounces of water. Right amount of tea leaves is important to give a good taste of tea.


4. Depending on the variety of green tea again, generally it should be brewed around 175 degrees F within 5 degrees range.


5. Generally speaking, do not steep green tea for more than 2 minutes. The tea will  taste bitter if you steep it for too long.


6. Use high quality water such as mineral water so that the tea can be resolved into water.


7. Green tea is compact. It will expand and hence needs room to open up. You are encouraged to use transparent glass to brew it.


8. You may add hot water up to 6-8 times. You may eat the tea leaves after that.


It is really simple to brew. Please give it a try and share with us your experience, via comments.


You may click at the title of this article to view video. Hope you enjoy the fun of it.


To read other related article, please check it out at the link below:-


http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4844884703605777119#editor/target=post;postID=3846764389989528580


Look forward to hearing from you,




James Oh

The Health Benefits of Green Tea Does it Inhibit HIV?

Hi! everyone,

Lately I have read about the article below and very excited to share with you:-

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

Does it Inhibit HIV?

By Mark Cichocki, R.N., About.com Guide

Updated: June 06, 2008

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board

For many years, green tea has been associated with positive health benefits. In a recent study by researchers at Purdue University, the nature of these benefits was identified. The researchers found that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), a compound found in the tea, inhibited the growth of cancer cells. A study from the University of Tokyo has shown that EGCg binds to CD4 cells, preventing HIV from binding to and destroying the cell in the process. Experts feel that the substances found in green tea, specifically EGCg, could lead to the development of new HIV medications.

How Much Green Tea Do We Need?

Green tea leaves are potent in EGCg. The study suggests that consumption of four to five cups of green tea may slow cancer. However, the studies of green tea and it's binding to CD4 used concentrations many times higher than those that could be acheived by drinking green tea. However, understanding the mechanism by which EGCg binds to the CD4 cell could point scientists in new directions when researching new drugs and treatment targets.


Understanding the HIV Life Cycle

Do Other Types of Tea Have the Same Benefits?

All tea comes from the same botanical source. Compared to other types of tea, green tea is processed differently. In green tea, the leaves are not allowed to oxidize but instead are steamed. This process allows the natural ingredients in the leaves to be preserved. Other types of tea were not nearly as successful as green tea in inhibiting the cancerous cells or HIV. In the end, green tea was approximately ten times more potent than the other types.


The scientists want to expand on these studies and determine the exact mechanism of EGCg. At this point, the scientists are beginning to understand the initial inhibitive effects of EGCg but further research is warranted to pin down the exact mechanisms and to put that mechanism to work fighting HIV.

Hope you find it interesting and benefiting.

James Oh