Tea and Health

/ / Published in Green Tea, Health, History, Lessons on Tea, Tea

Throughout history tea has been accepted as a healthy beverage. It is known to alleviate drowsiness and help and assist concentration – which was certainly an aid to meditating monks in monasteries.

Tea has also been used as a digestive and as a medium to take other herbal medications as well being used in ointments to soothe skin disorders.

At one time tea was said to cure almost every disease, though this might have been the sales pitch of some over zealous tea merchants, some of whom may be still around today!

In a general sense, tea contains polyphenols that act as anti oxidants in the body. These are known to  assist in combating age related diseases.

Scientific studies have also revealed that tea may reduce cholesterol and inhibit the development of some cancer cells.

Tea also contains theanine which reduces mental stress and aids relaxation.

Some teas, particularly green tea, white tea and Puerh tea are more beneficial than others.

Almost 40 years ago I realised that the quality of teas being imported into Australia were of poor quality. The proliferation of teabags and a pricing regime enforced by the major supermarket chains had led to a noticeable drop in quality. Elmstock Tea Company was born out of this background in 1979. I had started my working life at 17 in the Tea Plantation/Accounts Department of a large company in Colombo. My family had connections to the tea trade and prior to that coffee and sugar plantations in Ceylon since the 1840s – an unbroken and direct link of over six generations. Many of the plantations started by or managed by my great grandparents still produce some of the teas we buy today! After migrating to Australia in 1972 I graduated from Curtin University and qualified as an accountant (CPA). I worked and managed large public companies involved in the wool trade for many years and was also involved with the listing of public companies on the ASX. Elmstock have been wholesaling premium quality teas and herbal infusions sourced from the best plantations for almost 40 years. We decided over twenty five years ago not to deal with the major supermarket chains as we did not want to compromise tea quality and revert to the ‘mediocrity of the pack’ which is entirely price driven.

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