Lapsang Souchong Black Tea - Caffeine Content, Smokiness, Reviews, Etc

Lapsang souchong, widely known as a "smoky tea" or "smoked tea", is a Chinese black tea, originating in the Wuyi mountains, which is dried over pine smoke. The pine smoke imparts a unique smoky quality to the aroma of the tea, which, in its smokier incarnations, is described as having an aroma similar to campfire smoke. The traditional lapsang souchongs, however, are considerably more subtle in their smoky aromas, and more closely resemble other high-quality Chinese black teas, such as Keemun.

This article explores several topics related to Lapsang souchong, including the levels of caffeine, and varying levels of smokiness. The article concludes with a brief summary of some of my personal reviews.

Caffeine content:

"Souchong", written in modern Chinese as "Xiaozhong", is a grade of tea used to describe a wide variety of black teas. Souchongs, denoted in the standard grading system by an (S), are actually somewhat of a low grade, consisting of larger, tougher, more mature leaves from the tea plant than the standard orange pekoe (OP) grade. The tips and smaller, younger leaves of the tea plant are higher in caffeine than the larger, more mature leaves, so souchongs, including lapsang souchong, are considerably lower in caffeine than other standard grades of black tea (and lower than a number of green and white teas as well).

Smokiness: traditional (subtly smoky) vs. intensely smoky:

Although there is a broad range of qualities in Lapsang souchong teas, these teas can be roughly divided into two types: the more intensely smoky style, most well-known in the west, especially in British tea culture, and the traditional style, which have a subtly smoke aroma, and are more similar in overall character to other Chinese black teas, like a high-grade Keemun.

Because a lot of people object to the intense smoky quality of the British style of Lapsang Souchong, and because these teas tend to be low in both caffeine and bitterness, these teas are often blended with other, stronger teas, creating a blend which has both a more moderated smoky quality, and more of a kick.

My reviews:

I personally am a huge fan of the traditional style of Lapsang souchong. I would recommend one that I sampled from the small tea company, Life in Teacup, recently. This tea had chocolatey nuances and a pleasing roasted quality. For a more strongly smoky variety, in tea bags, I would recommend looking at Twinings, which is widely available, and for loose-leaf, Upton Tea Imports, which sells an organic version of this tea (ZS85). These teas were both good, even though they were in the more intense style that I do not prefer.

If you want to learn more about these teas, my recommendation is to try them for yourself. If you have not yet tried the traditional style, and are intimidated by the overwhelming smokiness of some Lapsang souchong, I recommend getting your hands on some of the traditional stuff from a company specializing in Chinese teas.

Keemun Black Tea From China - Caffeine Content, Health Benefits, And Other Properties

Keemun is a type of Chinese black tea, originating in Qimen county of Anhui Province, China. This article gives an overview of the caffeine content, health benefits, and other properties of Keemun.

Keemun is primarily produced in Anhui province, but teas in this style have also begun to be produced in nearby Hubei, as well as in Jiangxi, and even in Taiwan. Keemun is usually described as having an earthy aroma, and its overall character is quite different from Indian and Ceylon teas. My personal perspective is that Keemun has a richer, warmer quality, often reminiscent of dried fruit, and in higher grades, a pleasing hint of wood or wood smoke. These teas are rich and full-bodied, and are among my favorite black teas.

Caffeine content:

Although you may be looking for more concrete information, it is hard to generalize about the caffeine content of Keemun. Even though it originates primarily in one region and shares certain aspects of production, Keemun is fairly diverse, coming in different grades. As a general rule though, Keemun is often in the moderate to high end of caffeine content, among teas, which means that it still has considerably less caffeine than a typical cup of coffee. Keemun has historically been used in breakfast blends, where strongly caffeinated teas were desired

Health benefits:

Keemun has actually been the subject of direct scientific study., in association with weight loss in animal studies. There is only a small amount of research referring specifically to this variety of tea, however, so most of what can be said about Keemun must be inferred from general studies about black tea.

Although green tea has a stronger association with supposed "health benefits" in the public consciousness in the United States, this association may be skewed by historical factors. Much of the early research on tea and health was conducted in Japan, where tea is synonymous with green tea. Subsequent research has found substantial evidence that black tea is healthy as well. In the absence of more reserach specifically looking at Keemun, it seems reasonable to conclude that Keemun is likely to have a similar amonut of health benefits to black tea.

Locating high-quality Keemun:

My recommendation, if you want to buy the best Keemun, is to buy exclusively loose-leaf. My experience is that the best Keemun is usually sold by companies that specialize in Chinese tea. Because they store relatively well, Chinese black teas, even those of considerably high quality, tend to be relatively inexpensive, with all but the highest grades (Keemun Hao Ya A and B, and Keemun Mao Feng) costing well under $10 for about 1/4 pound or about 100-125 grams. A few companies, including Rishi Tea, Arbor Teas, and Little Red Cup, sell fair trade certified Keemun, produced in Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces, respectively.

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Ceylon Black Tea - Caffeine Content, Health Benefits, And Other Properties

Ceylon black tea, often called just "Ceylon", refers to black tea that has been grown in Sri Lanka. "Ceylon" is simply an old name for Sri Lanka that has remained in use in the tea world, but fallen out of use elsewhere.

Ceylon is a mainstay of British culture, where it is frequently consumed on its own, as well as one ingredient among many in the classic English Breakfast blends. Ceylon comes in a wide variety of different grades; the standard grade is orange pekoe. Most people are familiar with the tea bags for sale in mainstream supermarkets, but single region and single estate loose-leaf Ceylon tea is popular among connoisseurs, as well as cost-conscious shoppers looking to save money, as loose tea can offer considerable savings. Because they tend to be reasonably priced, these single-harvest teas, grown in small batches from particular gardens can be an affordable luxury good.

Caffeine content:

Although this may come as somewhat of a dismay to readers, there is little that can be said about the caffeine content of Ceylon black teas. Because Ceylon refers to a growing region, and not a varietal or grade, tea sold under the Ceylon label can come from a wide variety of grades and cultivars.

As a general rule, however, an overwhelming majority of Ceylon tea is of a standard or average grade, orange pekoe, which tends to have a fairly typical caffeine content among teas (often around 60mg per cup, contrasting with the 85-135mg per typical cup of coffee). Tippy ceylon, containing a higher portion of leaf bud, common in higher grades of tea, will tend to have a higher caffeine content. Stronger-tasting Ceylon tea does not necessarily contain more caffeine: some of the higher grades of tea have a lighter flavor, but can actually contain more caffeine. If you are especially concerned with the caffeine content of a particular batch, you need to verify this information with the company selling your tea.

Health benefits:

Although green tea has gotten the lion's share of the attention when it comes to the topic of health benefits, there is a growing body of evidence that black tea is healthy as well. There have been few studies comparing Ceylon teas to teas produced in other regions, but as Ceylons are typical among black teas, and span a wide range of grades, until any research suggests otherwise, there is little reason to assume that the health benefits of teas produced in Sri Lanka differ substantially as a general rule from other standard black teas.

Learn more:

The best way to learn about Ceylon black tea is to sample it from yourself. My personal recommendation is to buy single-estate, loose-leaf Ceylon tea from companies that specialize in high-end, British-style teas.

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Why Drinking Tea Is Beneficial

No doubt that tea had also conquered the modern world today. The concept of tea drinking started several thousand years ago in China when a few leaves of a Camellia plant accidentally fell into boiling water. Chinese Emperor Shen Nung right away fell in love with this new found beverage and thought that people can use this beverage in their everyday life.

This has led to tea drinking evolving and becoming embraced by different countries around the world. Tea is perhaps the most famous beverage nowadays. In fact, tea is commonly used in most countries in the absence of coffee and sodas.

Since time immemorial tea drinking and coffee drinking has always been put against each other by many people. Although coffee has been deemed to have anti-oxidants that can help a person regenerate cells easily, tea drinkers would contend that it the caffeine content can do more harm than good.

There are even studies that would indicate that too much consumption of caffeine could lead to insomnia. Too much caffeine may also affect the flow of the blood to the brain as it reduces the rate of flow by 10 to 20 percent. All of these is aside from the fact that taking too much caffeine can also cause nervousness, jitters, and rapid heartbeat which could lead to serious health problems.

On the other hand, many people consider drinking tea as quite beneficial because it has fluoride and tannins that drive the plaque away. Tannin is also a quite popular deterrent of the negative effects of monosodium glutamate. Depending on the type of tea that you use, you might even get to experience some weight loss tea benefits.

Weight Loss By Drinking Tea

Many people are in to many diet plans just to get the figure that they want. Not many of them, however, are sold to the idea that tea can actually help you lose weight. In truth, however, you can get weight loss tea benefits from it. Forget all the latest South Beach diet and exercise trends and try to consider drinking tea on your diet plans.

One of the benefits that you can enjoy is the lowering of your bad cholesterol level. With the help of the chemical called catechin, which is present in most teas, the latter is able to reduce cholesterol levels in two ways - on, it promotes the removal of plasma LDL in the liver; and two, the catechin in tea inhibits the absorption and re-absorption of cholesterol in your intestine.

Aside from that, one of the tea benefits that you might be interested in would be the slow release of carbohydrates in your body system, preventing an abrupt increase in blood-insulin levels. This, in turn, may help you burn excess body fat easily.

In order to take advantage of the various weight loss tea benefits, you must consider drinking tea at least three times a day. The extract of the tea, compared to placebo and caffeine, can produce 4% increase in your 24-hour energy spending. This will take place if you consume 2,000 calories per day and you weren't able to gain or lose weight. Slimming tea benefits also include the increasing effect of the metabolism of fats by the liver or commonly called the thermogenic effect.

Another benefits that you can take advantage of is the inhibition of the lipase or the fat absorption enzyme in the digestive tract of every people. It also provides a feeling of satiety and fullness to most tea drinkers. To sum it all up, weight loss tea benefits includes the boosting of your metabolic rate, regulation of your blood sugar, and the suppression of your appetite to give the feeling of fullness.

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Why Tea Has Caffeine

Why tea has caffeine: plants do not waste energy producing chemicals they do not need - that would be an evolutionary blind alley - so there must a good reason why tea has caffeine. In 1984, Dr. James A. Nathanson, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School, published the first evidence in Science. Dr. Nathanson discovered that caffeine, a purine alkaloid, is a potent natural insecticide which, at significant concentrations, kills numerous insects within hours or a few days at most. Caffeine altered behavior, reduced food consumption, and interfered with reproduction in tobacco hornworms, milkweed bugs, meal worms, butterfly larvae and mosquito larvae. Dr. Nathanson said this natural insecticide works by inhibiting an enzyme called phosphodiesterase in insects' nervous systems. Phosphodiesterase breaks down a substance called cyclic AMP which nerve cells use for signaling. Without phosphodiesterase, cyclic AMP builds up in insects' nerve cells to concentrations that interfere with the cells' functions.

Caffeine can accumulate in significant concentrations in insects' bodies because they lack the complex suite of enzymes present in the human liver that readily break it down. A typical insect will have principally the enzymes needed to digest its food and few insects can detoxify caffeine fast enough to survive ingesting very much of it.

Tea plants, Camellia sinensis, are preyed upon by 1,031 different insect pests worldwide, so defense against them is the principal reason why tea has caffeine. Thankfully for tea drinkers, the caffeine produced by the Camellia Sinensis plant interferes with eating in these insect pests and paralyzes them.

The most vulnerable parts of the tea plant are new leaves and buds. It should be no surprise that caffeine is concentrated there. The many teas made from those tender, young leaves and buds naturally tend to have more caffeine than those made from mature leaves lower down on the plants. The mature leaves are more challenging for insects to attack: their stronger structures are harder to bite and chew, so they can survive with less of the insecticide in them.

Research has also shown that injury to a C. sinensis plant, whether from insect attack or a fungus infection, will induce the plant to produce a lot more caffeine at the site of the injury anywhere on the plant. So, defense against disease may be another reason why tea has caffeine.

It is clear that C. sinensis does not have caffeine in order to provide people with a pleasant stimulant in their morning cups of tea. We are just lucky that we get a boost in alertness, energy, and the ability to concentrate and to focus from tea plants' defensive system. We get the benefits of this stimulant and the antioxidants and other beneficial chemicals in tea at very little cost without being one of the reasons why tea has caffeine.

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Can Green Tea Be Harmful?

To answer this question we have to understand that like anything in life, too much of something, is not good. Green Tea is thought to be a healthy and beneficial hot beverage that can increase your life quality and make you generally healthier, although this seems to be generally right, consuming it in large quantities can also mean consuming a large amount of caffeine, although it contain only quarter of the amount found in a regular cup of coffee drinking 4-5 cups a day might cause some side effects - especially for those who are sensitive to caffeine. The tea should be drank only freshly brewed out of fresh leaves - Drinking any other kind of tea (like instant tea from powder) can be harmful because industrial processing can remove the nutrients and increase the amount of metal particles like aluminium and manganese that the plant's leaves naturally store.

The Green Tea origin brings us back to around 4000 years ago when all the regions in east Asia like China and Japan began to drink this hot beverage, and besides drinking it they started using it as a medicine for everything from a light stomach ache to treating wounded after battle. Green Tea has many uses in the eastern culture and is revered. In eastern cultures it is not uncommon to see rituals that have been developed around drinking tea over the years.

Green Tea benefits are abounded, here are some of the benefits you will enjoy if you start consuming it on a regular basis. Studies show that consuming it regularly will reduce you chance for a heart disease, your blood pressure and blood sugars will change for the better and has shown to have an effect on weight loss and dental health also there are claims that believe it can be used as a treatment for cancer and for multiple sclerosis. If drinking the tea leaves is not to your taste you can always look for the alternatives in the market like it's products and like green tea extract.

In conclusion, drinking around four cups of freshly brewed green tea daily can improve your overall health and life quality, although there are some harmful effects if consumed too much, especially for those who are sensitive to caffeine, the benefits are greater than the drawbacks.

Drink, enjoy this beverage in moderation and enjoy all the health benefits in brings you.

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Hibiscus Tea For Your Health

Hibiscus tea, an herbal infusion made from the calyces of the Hibiscus sabdariffa flower, has actually been shown to lower blood pressure as reported throughout the years by people who practice traditional medicine or herbal medicine. There is also evidence that it helps in the efforts to lower cholesterol. Such evidence makes it clear that its daily consumption is beneficial to ones health.

Hibiscus is also known as sorrel, roselle, karkade and flor de Jamaica, depending on the region. In early 2008 there was a study that showed hibiscus tea actually reduces blood pressure almost equal to some prescription strength medications; the "how" it works is not quite clear. It was clear however that Hibiscus tea certainly appeared to beneficially lower the blood pressure in people with pre-hypertension or mild hypertension.

In another study, hibiscus tea was compared with black tea in relation to blood pressure; it was really no surprise that hibiscus tea came out the winner. One very interesting result is that the group that drank black tea actually had an increase in blood pressure.

I found a study on how Hibiscus tea also affects cholesterol which was published by the Journal of alternative and complementary medicine; this one appears to be quite valid. The study consisted of 60 patients with type II diabetes which were randomly divided into two groups. One group was provided black tea and the other hibiscus tea. The participants were told to drink one glass equal to 1 tea bag steeped for 20-30 minutes twice a day for 30 days. The hibiscus test group realized several improvements to their cholesterol levels. The total cholesterol count went down from 236.2 to 218.6 mg/dL. HDL (your good cholesterol) increased from 48.2 to 56.1 mg/dL, while LDL (your bad cholesterol) decreased from 137.5 to 128 mg/dL. Triglycerides - a type of lipid (fat) circulating in the blood which accounts for almost 95% of the fat in the body went down rather dramatically from 246.1 to 209.2 mg/dL. A count less than 150mg/dL is considered normal but was not expected to be achieved in this study because of the existence of the diabetes. Also within this study the reference to other studies were made depicting similar results in humans and even animals. One study consisted of a group of healthy men and women taking a Hibiscus extract. This group also showed a reduction in LDL cholesterol levels with no significant differences notated between each sex. This comparison between the diabetes group and healthy subject group provide for a sound premise that consuming Hibiscus tea is beneficial whether you are seemingly healthy or are a diabetic patient.

The group which consumed the black tea did not show any significant improvement in any of the measured parameters. None of the changes in total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides and lipoprotein were statistically significant to notate.

Hibiscus flowers have a lot of different fido chemicals which provides the dark red color; they also have a lot of antioxidants thus they may have some other health benefits like preventing certain forms of cancer. They also help with your overall health including cardiac functions, your blood flow and blood vessel flexibility to mention a few.

The conclusion here is that the healthy benefits of herbal teas is no longer just a theory. Evidence is clear that all this data showing the blood pressure lowering effects and the cholesterol improving abilities of hibiscus tea supports the benefits of its daily enjoyment. Who thought some efforts to maintain a healthy being could actually taste so good and be as easy as having a cool glass of Hibiscus tea!

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