Green Tea and its Benefits

I have always loved tea. At least four cups of tea a day has been a part of my routine for many years now. During my NIT (REC) days (1999 - 2003) we, a group of close friends, frequented the 'mini-canteen' and 'Katangal' for our daily doses of milk tea and lemon tea, sometimes even at 2 or 3 AM. After REC, my intake of tea increased when I was in Poland and London (2004 - 2006). In my workplace pantry in Poland, I had easy access to soothing cups of herbal tea containing tulasi (basil) and ginger.

My first exposure to green tea was when I arrived in Singapore in 2006 for my Masters. I purchased a small box of chinese green tea bags (I think it was Oolong) from the NTU supermarket. I started off by repeatedly pouring hot water onto the tea bags and consuming it continuously (immediate refill after every empty cup!) throughout the day. I loved its taste! That got started me to explore more varieties teas, particularly green tea. I tried different varieties of tea - from Green to Oolong to Guanyin (the Iron Buddha tea, a form of Oolong) to Pu-erh tea and also flavoured ones like blackcurrent tea, jasmine tea, chrysanthemum tea (which is actually a tisane and not tea), mint tea and lemon-ginger tea. Luckily Singapore has many shops selling traditional Chinese green tea. During my NUS days (2008 - 2012), I might have easily consumed close to 60 boxes of tea (approx. 25 bags in each box) though I did not really keep a count of it. Apart from the dip-bags, I even tried several varieties of whole leaf teas which my Chinese friends got for me from China.

As my consumption of green tea increased, so did my curiosity to read and know more about it and its benefits. Here I would like to share with you some of the benefits of drinking green tea. Tea for Enternitea!

• Overview
• Treatment of diseases and disorders
• The plant and constituents
• How to prepare it
• Precautions
• References