Enlighten Yourself About Black Tea and Its Benefits!

Black tea is diverse and distinctive from another type of teas because it is more oxidized than even oolong, white and green teas. The black tea benefits and special characteristic of black tea is that they retain more flavour in them than other types of tea. All types of black teas are made from camellia Sinensis. The two species extensively used for this purpose are-

• Sinensis (Chinese plant with small leaves)
• Assamica (large Assamese plant)

However, Assamica is the plant that was traditionally used for the preparation of black tea but nowadays it is also used in the making of white and green teas. This article answers the question like “what does black tea do for you?”, “what does black tea taste like?” and “is black tea good for you?”.

Varieties of Black Teas

Usually, the black teas are named on the basis of the region they are grown.  They each have different characteristic flavours. Some of the popular varieties in India which you might hear of are –

• Darjeeling
• Munnar
• Assam
• Nilgiri

Black Tea Types Based on The Blend

The black tea is often blended with other plants from various places in order to create a tea with well-balanced flavours that might brighten your day in a single sip. They types of blends available are –

• Earl grey tea
• English breakfast tea
• English afternoon tea
• Irish breakfast tea
• Masala chai

Grades of Black Tea

Black tea generally has four types of scale quality for the measurement of grades. Choose your grade according to your budget but only the best grades give an authentic taste. The grades are –

• Whole tea leaves
• Broken leaves
• Fannings
• Dust

The three main producers of black tea all over the world are Unilever, associated British foods, and TATA global beverages. The brand names of these companies are Lipton, Twinings, and Tetley respectively which most of us might have seen in the ads.

Manufacturing Process

After the black tea leaves are harvested they are withered by blowing air to make it lose its moisture and then they are processed.

The tea is manufactured either by CTC (crush, tear, curl) process or orthodox.  The CTC process is used for the processing low grades like fannings and dust sometimes the broken leaves. Usually, tea bags are made using this process. The orthodox process is can be made by using machines or by hand. It used for producing high-quality black teas.

Most people prefer black tea because of its health benefits and nutritional value. Because of it’s highly oxidized quality they have more flavour. The best part of black tea benefits is they can retain the flavour for a longer period of time than any other type of tea.

Brewing of Black Tea

It is a very simple process which you need to know if you are going to use black tea. The standard procedure for the brewing is too steep black tea in water that has the temperature of 90 to 95 °C. For every 200 ml of water 4g of tea is needed. Usually, tea is steeped for about 3 to 5 minutes. The exact steep time is based on the type of tea you use. Note that the cold teapot can reduce the steep temperature; hence the teapot should be washed with hot water of temperature between 90 to 95 °C. The longer you steep the more bitter it becomes.

Black Tea Benefits For Health

The black tea benefits includes

• Oral hygiene
• Stress reprieve
• Hike in energy level
• Healthy heart
• Exceptional immune system
• Lower possibility of diabetes
• Cancer prevention
• Aids digestive tracts
• Other benefits

1. Oral Hygiene

It is proposed in a research financed by the Tea Trade Health Research Association that the presence of polyphenols helps in a killing of cavity-causing bacteria and prohibits tooth decay. It prevents the formation of plaque by obstructing the growth of certain enzymes that are responsible for binding the plaque to the teeth. The antioxidants present in the black tea helps in avoidance of oral cancer and the fluorides present will fight bad breath and destroys bacteria formation. You can basically save your teeth with black tea.

2. Stress Reprieve

The growing problem in the present generation is stress. The studies have shown that the intake of black tea on a regular basis can give calming effects and can help you to concentrate better because of the presence of amino acid L-theanine. It also reduces the level of stress hormone cortisol being produced in the body which results in the increase of relaxing effects. Lead the stress-free life with black tea.

3. Hike in Energy Level

The intake of caffeine usually increase the energy level of humans but black tea contains an only low amount of caffeine which increases energy by enhancing the flow of blood but prevents over-stimulation of the heart. Get pumped up for your work.

4. Healthy Heart

In a research paper published in 2009, it is proven that people who consume 2 or more cups of black tea have 21 percent lower risk of stroke than the people who consume only one cup of black tea on regular basis regardless of their place of origin.  The black tea can prevent many coronary heart diseases. The consumption prevents blood clots and damage to the bloodstream, improving coronary vasodilatation.

5. Exceptional Immune System

The alkylamine antigens present in the black tea helps in the boosting of the immune systems. Further, it also contains tannins which protect from viruses eventually preventing you from certain viral infections like influenza, cold, flu etc. It also said to suppress tumors and eradicates pathogens which are harmful to the human body.

6. Lowers Possibility of Diabetes

Having diabetes 2 means giving up almost all of your favourite foods but stay on the safe side with black tea. In the studies conducted on people, it is shown that the people who take 1 to 2 cups of black tea on a regular basis have shown 70 percent less chance of developing the type 2 diabetes than people who don’t consume black tea.

7. Cancer Prevention

Research over the years has shown that the presence of antioxidants like polyphenols and catechins prevents some types of cancers like ovarian cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, etc by eradicating the potential carcinogens present in the body and also inhibits the growth of tumours in the human body.

8. Aids Digestive Tracts

The black tea benefits improve the health of the digestive tract. The tannins present in the digestive tracts have remedial effects on gastric and intestinal illness.

9. Other Benefits of Black Tea

The free radicals present in the body which cause various cell damages can be eliminated by the intake of black tea. It is said to stimulate the brain and the nervous system. The phytochemicals present in the black tea will help in the strengthening of bones and the connective tissues. The black tea is also considered to benefit the skin due to the presence of vitamins like vitamin B2, vitamin C and vitamin E. The caffeine in black tea will kill oral viruses which help prevent skin infection, blemishes, etc and decrease the secretion of the hormone DHT, responsible for the hair loss. It also acts as a natural dyeing agent.  It also assists weight loss and lowers cholesterol.

The nutritional value of the black tea is because of the presence of –

• Caffeine
• Amino acids
• Proteins
• Potassium
• Polyphenols
• Tannin
• Catechins

There are many black tea benefits for health but it should be taken in moderate amount. Consuming a large amount of the black tea can cause side effects like insomnia, acidity, palpitations, etc.  The black tea benefits for health are much more when compared to the green and white teas. Enjoy the long lasting flavour of black tea and improve your health along with it.