Tea- Pu-erh tea
Historically, the Japanese have always begun to use plants to exploit their aromatic, food and medicinal characteristics and for ritual activities. In this way, formidable experiences and knowledge have been accumulated that reach, for example, to this day in the tea ceremony, where medicine, spirituality, and aesthetic sense come together.Tea in general is becoming increasingly popular in many countries because of health constituents, such as catechins, which appear to help with vascular diseases, as antioxidants, and in type II diabetes.
Today, the Japanese medical system has a new direction, which integrates traditional medicine with Western and complementary medicine. A volume of scientific data is constantly being collected because the synergies between the two medicinal systems for integrative medicine are proving to be very significant. Tea is the second most widely used beverage in the world after water. Almost all teas are made from the Camellia sinensis plant and differ fundamentally from the procedures used to treat its leaves. The variety we use in our products is Pu-erh, which undergoes a unique fermentation process. It has been cultivated for centuries mainly in one region, Yunnan and a few other neighboring areas.
The history of Pu-erh is very interesting, in fact it was used early on as a medicine and only later as a common beverage. Traditionally, it was considered essential in ethnomedical contexts for its ability to strengthen the immune system, improve circulation, balance the body's heat and cold levels, detoxify the blood, treat rheumatism and stones, as a remedy in headaches, relieve stress and treat stomach problems. The tea leaves from which Pu-erh is obtained belong to about 12 varieties of tea due to the presence in mountain environments of wild and native varieties as well. All this biodiversity creates a very interesting variety in terms of sensory profiles and phytochemical variations. The various indigenous peoples of Yunnan, who constitute genuine socio-linguistic groups have always been involved in the cultivation and production of Pu-erh by alternating between actual cultivated fields, native growth in forests to what are called gushu cha yuen the ancient forest tea gardens.
Pu-erh tea is obtained from the young terminal buds and adjacent leaves of tea plants harvested mostly by hand from mid-March until mid-May. During the winter season farmers may occasionally collect old tea leaves for the preparation of tea tonics or "winter tea." Pu-erh can be processed into a black, green or post-fermented tea, loose or compressed. After harvesting, the leaves are processed into a loose, green, sun-dried tea that is the raw material for pressed green pu-erh, pressed green pu-erh nvecchiato, or post-fermented black pressed pu-erh.
Pu-erh, is a source of polyphenols, alkaloids, proteins and amino acids, as well as carbohydrates, pigments, lipids, minerals, vitamins and aromatic compounds. Consumption of polyphenols, the most important constituents of Pu-erh leaves, is associated with a decrease in the incidence of chronic diseases. Catechins, a group of gallate-derived polyphenolic monomers, are the primary polyphenols responsible for positive health-related claims along with theobromine, theophylline, caffeine, amino acids and their derivatives such as theanine, proanthocyanidins, gallic acid, coumarins and caffeic acids. Post-fermented black Pu-erhs differ from all other types of black tea because of the deactivation of leaf enzymes during the natural fermentation process by the action of the microorganisms involved. In such a situation the polyphenols called into play in the enzymatic oxidation and degradation of catechin compounds lead to the formation of new chemical constituents including statins as also theobromine concentrations increase.
This unique process gives us a product that is a true medicated tea, with a range of health-protective effects, including anti-atherosclerotic, anti-allergic anti-oxidant, anti-fibrotic, hypo-lipidemic, hypocholesterolemic, anti-obesity, anti-viral, anti-microbial, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic and neuro-protective effects.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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