Tea
A Golden Beverage
Human civilization has hitherto discovered three non-alcoholic stimulating beverages, namely coffee, cocoa and tea. Tea is regarded as the most popular temperance drink. Its use as a beverage has been in vogue long before the Christian era and is deep rooted in Chinese mythology
Today, tea is virtually regarded as a universal beverage and even as a national drink of many countries.
Tea is made from the shoots of tea plant, Camellia sinensis (L) under a botanical family Theaceae. Linnaeus described tea plants in two genera, Camellia and Thea in 1737.
Tea leaves contain several chemical compounds having medicinal properties, such as, caffeine, polyphenols and alkaloids. This is the caffeine that acts as mild stimulant, while polyphenols contribute to colour and strength of liquor. Other non additive drugs, such as theobromine, theophylline, useful fluorides, volatile oils and vitamin B are also present.
Tea Horizon:
Today, Tea horizon of modern world is comprised of as much as 29 countries and seen to extend from the latitude 430N (Georgia, USSR) to 270S (Corrientes, Argentina).
