Green Tea

Why is tea so good for your skin?

Tea is widely known to be rich in a particular group of antioxidants called Polyphenols.
Tea polyphenols, possess natural anti-oxidant properties and are chemical compounds such as flavanoids and tannins that are found naturally in tea. Depending on how the tea is harvested, handled, processed,and brewed, the polyphenol level in the tea can vary.  As polyphenols are antioxidants that fight free radicals, they not only help to combat aging skin but they are known to be able to combat developing coronary artery disease and a number of other health problems.
Nowadays, tea is an important ingredient in good skincare products as well as being considered a super food. Whether it’s black, green, white, oolong or the latest talked about tea in skincare, the South African rooibos tea, the Polyphenols in teas detoxify cell-damaging free radicals in the body.

Cultivation and harvesting

Camellia sinensis is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in tropical and subtropical climates. Some varieties can also tolerate marine climates and are cultivated as far north as Pembrokeshire in the British mainland and Washington in the United States.

Tea plants are propagated from seed and by cutting; it takes about 4 to 12 years for a tea plant to bear seed, and about three years before a new plant is ready for harvesting. In addition to a zone 8 climate or warmer, tea plants require at least 127 cm (50 inches) of rainfall a year and prefer acidic soils. Many high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level: at these heights, the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavor.
Only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called "flushes".A plant will grow a new flush every seven to 15 days during the growing season, and leaves that are slow in development always produce better-flavored teas^.
A tea plant will grow into a tree of up to 16 m (52 ft) if left undisturbed but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking^.
Two principal varieties are used: the China plant (C. s. sinensis), used for most Chinese, Formosan and Japanese teas (but not Pu-erh); and the clonal Assam tea plant (C. s. assamica), used in most Indian and other teas (but not Darjeeling)^. Within these botanical varieties, there are many strains and modern Indian clonal varieties. Leaf size is the chief criterion for the classification of tea plants, with three primary classifications being:  type, characterized by the largest leaves; China type, characterized by the smallest leaves; and Cambod, characterized by leaves of intermediate size.

Storage

Tea shelf life varies with storage conditions and type of tea. Black tea has a longer shelf life than green tea. An exception, pu-erh tea, improves with age. Tea stays freshest when stored in a dry, cool, dark place in an air-tight container. Black tea stored in a bag inside a sealed opaque canister may keep for two years. Green tea loses its freshness more quickly, usually in less than a year. Gunpowder tea, its leaves being tightly rolled, keeps longer than the more open-leafed Chun Mee tea. Storage life for all teas can be extended by using desiccant packets, oxygen-absorbing packets, vacuum sealing or store tea in closed containers in a refrigerator.
When storing green tea, discreet use of refrigeration or freezing is recommended. In particular, drinkers need to take precautions against temperature variation.
Improperly stored tea may lose flavor, acquire disagreeable flavors or odors from other foods, or become moldy.