By Katrin Geist
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
Tea is one of the oldest drinks (used for almost 50 centuries in Asia) and – after water – the most common beverage people enjoy the world over (Mandel et al. 2008). Native to China, it comes from the evergreen plantCamellia sinensis. A cup of tea contains numerous compounds in varying quantities: vitamins, polyphenols, caffeine, fluoride, sugars, amino acids, proteins, minerals, chlorophyll and others (Zhao et al. 2013). Which tea is produced (white, green, oolong or black) depends on the subsequent processing of harvested Camellia leaves. Teas can be classified as non-fermented (green and white teas), semi-fermented (oolong tea), and fermented (black tea).
