我喜歡喝茶

Yeah, I'm surprised too.

It turns out I have to admit, 我喜歡喝茶 or "I like drinking tea" for those of you wondering.

In particular I like green tea (绿茶) especially with lemon. Maybe it's just a phase and will pass now that my sore throat and headache are gone, but I don't think so. And to my delight, green tea is actually quite good for you. The citrus from lemons supposedly even enhances the bioavailability of the catechins in green tea. That's technobabble for citrus makes it even better for you.

There are all sorts of anecdotal benefits of tea that have been around as long as tea itself. Which is pretty long since the experts at Wikipedia claim that tea is about as old as Chinese history (4000-5000 years give or take a century or two). Nowadays the big label on the box has to do with lots of antioxidants. The jury here is still out on the whole antioxidant craze, so for now I'm content to enjoy the anecdotes and--believe it or not--the scientific literature discussing the benefits of tea.

Perhaps more to come on the current antioxidant obsession in a later post, but for now it's tea time.

Green tea and varieties of green tea are the most common in China and is generally their beverage of choice over the black tea which has gained the most popularity among the tea people in the West (i.e. almost everywhere besides Asia). Although, Oolong (烏龍) tea which means "black dragon" tea, is also rather prominent. Let's face it all kinds of tea are popular in Asia. The phrase "all the tea in China" didn't just appear out of nowhere.

***A brief tea lesson. White Tea, Green Tea, Oolong and Black Tea are all technically the same thing. Sort of. They all come from the same plant, Camelia sinensis. They just represent different levels of processing or oxidation. The least processed being White Tea which is actually often made from buds of the tea plant and the most processed being Black Tea which is used in English Breakfast tea, Earl Gray etc.***

For me, though, I'm content to stay with the green stuff for now. Surprising, even to me, considering that some of my first experiences with green tea had me convinced that I was being fed grass clippings from the last time the lawn was mowed.

Green tea is a good middle of the road tea. It has half the caffeine of black tea and the most beneficial components because the level of processing is enough to bring them out without destroying them. Some of the purported benefits of green tea include: increased metabolic rate, a boost in mental alertness, a boost in the immune system, decreased cognitive decline in the elderly, and even an antidepressant effect. All of this coupled with the fact that a little caffeine comes in handy on study days makes it brain food that I can enjoy.

Now, obviously I don't know if all of that is true, BUT when it comes down to it tea isn't going to hurt me (unless it gives me kidney stones...which would hurt...a lot...). Regardless, it could help, so why not give it a try? It's an easy drink to make at home, costs about 12 cents per tea bag which can be used 1-3 times and has no calories. Except for the 15 calories that come from a tsp of sugar to sweeten it I'm not adding lots of extra fluff to my daily intake. Cool, huh?

That's my cup of tea. Enjoy!