History of Green Tea

For centuries millions of people have used green tea for it’s health benefits. Where’d it come from? Where was it primarily used and by whom?

Archeological evidence tends to sugest that people have consumed tea leaves steeped in boiling water as far back as 500,000 years ago. Botanical evidence suggests that India and China were some of the first countries to cultivate the tea.

Fast forward to today where millions of people drink the tea around the world with studies suggesting that Camellia sinesis, or green, have many specific health benefits. There are a few different types of tea — gree, oolong, and black. The difference between the tea is in their processing. The most beneficial tea is green tea, made from unfermented leaves and contains reportedly the most powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are important because they hunt and destroy free radicals, harmful compounds that do damage to our body’s cells.

Green tea has been consumed over the past several decades and centuries in many locations throughout the globe including India, China, Japan, and Thailand. In Chinese and Indian medicine, medical practitioners used green tea as a stimulant, astringent, and diuretic (promoting the excretion of urine). It also was used to promote heart health.