Dark Tea
What is Dark Tea
Dark tea is called so because of its black appearance, being one of the six major teas. The post-fermented tea is mainly produced in Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Anhui and other provinces. Traditional dark tea is made with highly-matured raw dark green tea which is a major raw material for compressed teas.
Generally, dark tea making process involves four steps, namely water removing, rolling, piling and drying. Geographically, dark tea is mainly classified into Hunan Dark Tea (Fu Tea, Qianliang Tea, Black Brick Tea, Sanjian Tea, etc.), Hubei Green Brick Tea, Sichuan Tibet Tea (Border-selling Tea), Anhui Guyi Dark Tea (An Tea), Yunnan Dark Tea (Pu’er fermented tea), Guangxi Liubao Tea and Shaanxi Dark Tea (Fu Tea).
Medical effects
- Resisting bacteria and flu
Dark tea contains theaflavin and thearubigin, which ensure the medical effects of dark tea. Relevant researches prove that not only is theaflavin an effective free-radical scavenger and antioxidant, it also has apparent effects on resisting bacteria including clostridium botulinum, enteric bacilli, staphylococcus aureus, bacillus capsulatus and bacillus cereus.
2.Helping digest and cleansing palate
Dark tea contains caffeine, vitamins, amino acid and phospholipid, which help digest and regulate fat metabolism, and caffeine can also stimulate to increase secretion volume of gastric juice, thus promoting appetite and helping digest.
3. Losing weight and lowering blood fat
Dark tea contains a large amount of tea polysaccharide which has medical effects on lowering blood fat and activity of peroxide in blood, and frequent drinking can also remove grease in body, thus preventing obesity.
4.Resisting cancer and lowering blood pressure
Relevant researches prove that dark tea can apparently inhibit cancer cells, and that its tea leaves can lower blood pressure. Theanine, peculiar to tea leaves, can activate dopaminergic neuron, and further inhibit rising of blood pressure.
5.Dispelling effects of alcohol and detoxifying
Caffeine in dark tea can induce urine by promoting water leaching rate in urine. Meanwhile, caffeine can stimulate bladder, which helps induce urine, and dispel alcohol effect and toxin.
Taboos in frequent drinking:
- Not suitable for people suffering neurasthenia
Caffeine contained in dark tea can excite nerve center, and drinking strong dark tea can cause insomnia to people suffering neurasthenia, especially in afternoon and at evening, and further aggravate the disease.
2.Not suitable for pregnant women
It is not suitable for pregnant women, especially for strong tea, for it contains a large amount of tea polyphenol and caffeine which cause many adverse effects to fetus growth in mother’s womb, and further influence intelligence development of fetus. To avoid the excessive stimulation to fetus from caffeine, pregnant women shall have less or no tea.
3.Not suitable for people having a fever
Caffeine contained in tea leaves cannot only raise body temperature, but influence pharmaceutical effect.
4.Not suitable for people suffering liver diseases
Caffeine and most other substances contained in tea leaves are metabolized in liver, and excessive drinking for people with liver diseases can cause damage to liver tissues, for the tea cannot be metabolized by liver.