Believe it or not, black, oolong and green teas come from the same tea plant! It is just the processing that makes the distinction between these three.

Tea plant only comes from two (2) principal varieties and they are:

From these two variants, Camellia Sinensis and Assam Sinensis, tea bred to more or less 1,600 varieties.  And to be able to process a flavorful and stimulating tea, expert tasters blended 20 or more varieties to produce the best quality for people with discriminating taste. Among these varieties are:

Western people prefer tea to coffee.  But there should also be caution in how much tea one intakes, especially for people with high blood pressure. Tea gives fast stimulating effect because of alkaloid caffeine. 

Alkaloid caffeine contains caffeine that range from 1 to 5% of the tea itself. Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, heart, lungs, and promote urine production.

Alkaloid caffeine content is also present in coffee, colas, mate tea (Paraguariensis), and cacao in chocolate. Chocolate has minimal content though. One ounce (28.3grams) of chocolate contains only 10-20mg of alkaloid caffeine.

Tea as a beverage prides itself of a long history, useful discoveries and commerce that we are benefitting now. Check out the timeline below!

I am lucky to have a tea tree, which, in my research, belong to the Assam plant variety. Here's an up-close picture of its leaf. 

After boiling for 15 minutes, the tea was, indeed, green and yellow and slightly bitter. The part of the plant used for tea are the buds and the first two young leaves for best results, although the other leaves can also be used. 

Tea drinking has been passed on for generations and its long history shows how challenges of their time brought breakthroughs that we are now enjoying!

With that said, have a great tea break time!

EM-EM

The Herbal & Herbs Gardener, MBA

Sources:

Compto’s Encylopedia 23, Tea p. 44, Encyclopedia Brittanica 1991 Edition

Micropedia 2, Tea p. 764, Encyclopedia Brittanica, 1992                                                                  

 Micropedia 11, Tea p. 596, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1992

Micropedia  13,  Theales  p.  6s45, Encylopedia Britannica, 1992

Micropedia 14, Tea p.  75 5, Encyclopedia Brittanica, 1992

Cal Orey, Chocolate Compounds (Caffeine), The Healing Powers of Chocolate, 2010,  p. 38, New York, Kensington Publishing Corp.

Ingfried Hobert & Harald Tietze, Final Remark from Harald, Guava Medicine for Modern Diseases, 2009,  pp. 82- 83, New Delhi, India, B. Jain Publishers(P) Ltd.

About twenty years ago, in one of our visits to my mother-in-law, Serafina, at Tigbauan, Iloilo (Island of Visayas), I overheard her cough overnight.  The next day, I asked her for a herbal that can relieve her cough.  She gave me leaves she called Babana.  Every night, I boiled some leaves into tea which she drunk before sleeping.  She slept soundly while we were there.

Babana in Ilonggo comes from the Spanish word Guabana.  It is also commonly called Guyabano in the Philippines.  Its scientific name is Anona Muricata and internationally known as Graviola Tree.

The fruit of the Guyabano is very rich in Vitamin C.  Aside from lots of fiber, it is also rich in Vitamins B1, B2 and K.  The fruit and juice are good for the liver and even works against worms.  While the crushed fresh leaves can be boiled and used as compress for swollen feet and inflammations or can be made into poultice for rheumatism.

In the internet article, Natural Cancer Cell Killer, it is said to increase immune system to protect the body from heart and liver disease, asthma, arthritis and cancer of the colon, breast, prostate and pancreas.  For healing, they also recommend the 30- DAY PROTOCOL or drinking the tea three times a day for 30 days.

  

Many have shared with me the good effects manifested by the healing power of Guyabano but it should be taken the right way to prevent adverse reactions.  For it is common for Filipinos to drink herbal tea as agua tiempo or as a substitute for water.

But Dr. Ramiah of Healing Powers of Water says that “Tea, coffee, aerated drinks and alcohol contain substances that dehydrate”.  As the saying goes “Too much of everything is bad.”  Thus, Guyabano Tea should be taken as follows:

5 leaves per glass of 8 oz.

3 x a day for 30 days                                                                                  

30 minutes before meals or 1 ½ hours after meals

REST for 10 days -   reduce little by little before stopping

Remember:

Em-Em

Herbal Gardener, MBA

Sources:

http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-292627553/guyabano-miracle-cure-for-cancer

http://www.foodrecap.net/health/guyabano-against-cancer-and-other-diseases/

http://guyabano.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soursop