Tea (black, green, oolong)

Camellia spp.

drink

Young leaves of a Far Eastern camellia, dried then more or less oxidised: green, oolong or black depending on oxidation. Its catechins, and in black tea its theaflavins, feed the gut flora; drunk away from meals, it lets iron through.

Origin

Yunnan (China)

Season (United States)

imported · all year round

Preparation

One teaspoon of leaves per cup: green tea in water at 70-80 °C for two to three minutes; black tea in boiling water for three to five minutes — any longer and it turns bitter. The leaves are then removed. Its tannins hold back plant iron: better away from an iron-rich meal than during it.

Molecules

Flavanols and procyanidins · Flavonols (quercetin) · ManganeseWhat slows things down Tannins (iron brake)

Did you know?

Its Latin name, Camellia sinensis, means “Chinese camellia”; the character 茶, chá, only prevailed under the Tang, in the 8th century.