Introduction: Black tea, originating in China, was first known as Lapsang Souchong. Black tea belongs to the fully fermented category of teas, meticulously crafted from the buds and leaves of the tea plant through typical processes withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying. It is named black tea because the color of the dry tea and the brewed tea liquor are predominantly red. So, do you know the benefits of drinking black tea?
I. Six Major Benefits of Drinking Black Tea
1. Promoting Salivation and Reducing Heat
Drinking black tea in the summer can quench thirst and relieve summer heat. This is because polyphenols, sugars, amino acids, pectin, and other substances in the tea react chemically with saliva, stimulating saliva secretion to moisten the oral cavity. Meanwhile, caffeine acts on the hypothalamus's temperature-regulating center, helping to regulate body temperature and also stimulates the kidneys to promote heat dissipation.
2. Aiding Digestion
Black tea can cut through grease, help gastrointestinal digestion, stimulate appetite, and strengthen the heart's function. When you feel bloated, drinking more black tea can promote digestion. A heavy meal often leads to indigestion, and drinking black tea at this time can eliminate grease and contribute to better health.
3. Nourishing the Stomach
The tea polyphenols in tea have an astringent effect and can be irritating to the stomach, especially when consumed on an empty stomach. However, black tea is fermented and roasted, during which the polyphenols undergo an enzymatic oxidation reaction, reducing their content and thus their irritation to the stomach. Black tea not only does not harm the stomach but can actually nourish it. The oxidized products of tea polyphenols in black tea can promote human digestion. Drinking black tea with sugar and milk often can have anti-inflammatory effects, protect the gastric mucosa, and also help in treating ulcers.
Coconut Mango Black Tea Jelly
4. Promoting Urination
Frequent consumption of black tea, with the combined effects of caffeine and aromatic substances, helps increase blood flow to the kidneys. It improves the glomerular filtration rate, dilates the kidney's microvessels, and inhibits the reabsorption of water by the renal tubules, thereby increasing urine output. This is beneficial for expelling excess lactic acid, uric acid, and salt from the body. It can also alleviate edema caused by heart disease or nephritis.
5. Refreshing and Relieving Fatigue
Medical experiments have found that the caffeine in black tea can stimulate the cerebral cortex to excite the central nervous system, creating a refreshing effect and making thinking and reactions more acute. It also has an exciting effect on the vascular system and the heart, strengthening heartbeats and thus accelerating blood circulation to benefit metabolism.
6. Anti-inflammatory and Bactericidal
The polyphenolic compounds in black tea have anti-inflammatory effects. Experiments have found that catechins can combine with single-celled bacteria, causing their proteins to coagulate and precipitate, thereby inhibiting and eliminating pathogens. Drinking black tea is particularly beneficial for patients with bacterial dysentery and food poisoning.
Passion Fruit Black Tea
II. Two Recommended Black Tea Drinks
1. Milk Black Tea
Ingredients: 3g black tea, 100g milk, 2g salt.
Preparation:
(1) Put the black tea in a pot, add water, and simmer for 5 minutes;
(2) Strain out the tea leaves, and boil the milk in another pot;
(3) After the milk comes to a boil, add the tea and stir in the salt.
Effect: Drinking once every morning can effectively replenish qi and blood, and strengthen the body.
2. Sugarcane Black Tea
Ingredients: 500g sugarcane, 5g black tea.
Preparation: Peel and chop the sugarcane, then decoct it together with the black tea.
Effect: Reduces heat and promotes salivation, treating symptoms like a dry throat, thirst, and an itchy cough.
Lime Black Tea