‘Tea is very susceptible
to the environment. It needs optimal conditions to survive,’ she says.
Ultimately, however, the
differences in tea types come down to chemistry, and this chemistry is
influenced by cultivation, environment, weather and, importantly, processing.
‘From the chemistry perspective, tea is the ultimate mystery and challenge to
food and analytical chemists,’ says Nikolai Kuhnert, a chemist at Jacobs
University in Bremen, Germany. ‘No food material is more fascinating and
chemically diverse and complex.’
Tea contains a complex mixture
of chemical compounds.. Around 40% of the dry weight of the leaf is polyphenols
and rests are amino acids,enzymes, methylxanthines
such as caffeine, minerals and vitamins and more than 700 aroma compounds in
trace amounts.
Tea is well known for its antioxidant boosting properties as well as for its stimulant properties.
- Polyphenol
- Cafeine
Science behind how tea Balances Relaxation and Stimulation
Tea contains many complex
compounds. You may wonder how tea helps to balance rela
Caffieine ,one of the chemical
components ,which tea leaves contain between 1% and 6% of dry weight. The
caffeine content in a cup of tea ranges between 20 to 70mg per 170ml from
around 2.5g of tea leaves, but strongly depends on infusion time and the type
of tea. A cup of coffee, in comparison, has 40–155mg of caffeine per 170ml.
But Caffeine is not the only
stimulant present in Tea. The amino acid theanine comprises about 1% of tea’s
dry weight,Which is unique to tea.
caffeine and theanine
together have the ‘synergistic and balancing effect of stimulating and
relaxing’. Where caffeine stimulates and wards off drowsiness, theanine induces
a relaxed alertness that reduces mental anxiety and creates a sense of
wellbeing by increasing the brain’s production of gamma-amino butyric acid and
promoting alpha brainwave activity. ‘This is why theanine balances the
excitation caused by caffeine
