Anyone need a good cuppa tea?

The kettle has boiled, you pour the hot water over the tea bag in your favourite pink mug with one & a half sugars, the colour of the water darkens, you give it a little stir no milk is needed. You sit back, relax with your feet up and enjoy a good cuppa tea and for those few minutes whilst you sip from your cup of tea, all your daily stresses disappear. Tea has a magical wand which waves away any anger, stress, unhappiness or frustration whilst you drink it, whether it be at the office, at home whilst you catch up on reading, whilst you are downloading emails or whether you are sharing a cuppa with your ladies catching up on their lives. Tea just has this amazing, unspoken about ability to take away negative feelings for several minutes and it helps you to compose yourself, assess the situation and realise that you can accomplish the task at hand.

What is tea exactly? According to Wikipedia "Tea is a beverage made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush (Camellia sinensis) in hot water for a few minutes. The processing can include oxidation, heating, drying, and the addition of other herbs, flowers, spices, and fruits."

There are a number of different types of tea however the most popular are:

1. Oolong Tea - traditional chinese tea
2. Black Tea - It is a variety of tea that is more oxidized than the oolong, green, and white varieties.  Black tea is generally stronger in flavour and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas.
3. Green Tea- It is tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East.
4. White Tea - is a tea made with leaves that are processed in a manner to let them wilt slightly and lose the "grassy" taste of green tea, while undergoing minimal oxidation.

An interesting fact about herbal tea which has been growing in popularity is that herbal tea refers to an infusion of leaves, flowers, fruit, herbs or other plant material that contains no Camellia sinensis. Thus it contains no elements of the tea bush.

According to the Tea Appreciation Society, yes there truly is a society purely dedicated to tea, state a few interesrting health facts about tea:

1. Approximately 40% of the nation’s fluid intake today will be tea.
2. Tea without milk has no calories. Using semi-skimmed milk adds around 13 calories per cup, but you also benefit from valuable minerals and calcium.
3. Tea with milk provides 16% of daily calcium requirement in 4 cups. Tea contains some zinc and folic acid.
4. Tea with milk contains Vitamin B6, Riboflavin B2 and Thiamin B1.
5. Tea is a rich source of minerals manganese, essential for bone growth and body development, and potassium, vital for maintaining body fluid levels.
6. The average cup of tea contains less than half the level of caffeine than coffee. One cup contains only 50mg per 190ml cup
7. Tea is a natural source of fluoride and delivers 45% of your daily requirement if you take 3 or 4 cups per day.

Next time you are having a bad day, have a cup of tea, with milk or without add an extra teaspoon of sugar, sit back, relax and just allow the tea to put a magical spell on you for a few minutes, after which you will be ready to take on the world.

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