To purify the body and maintain vitality, this green tea is particularly tasty. Its sweet taste becomes fresh in the notes of orange.
It becomes enveloping thanks to ingredients such as vanilla, cloves, coriander and pink pepper. Not only is it tasty but the infusion also promises healthy virtues, such as green tea can donate and some components enhance it.
Organic green tea, orange and vanilla: properties and benefits
The addition of orange to green tea is useful for enhancing some draining and purifying properties. We know that green tea speeds up the metabolism and gives a detox effect on the body. It is ideal for those who want to lose weight, combining a mid-morning or afternoon herbal tea with their diet; or maybe before going to sleep to avoid snacks that don't help the diet. Green tea speeds up metabolism, regulates blood sugar, and helps the body burn fat. The antioxidant compounds of green tea can give virtues that facilitate the correct metabolism and assimilation of fats.
The addition of flavors such as orange and vanilla will help you appreciate this drink, while also bringing other beneficial characteristics. Green tea, especially in its organic green tea version, is one of the healthiest drinks ever. It is rich in antioxidants and various plant compounds that can benefit your health. Furthermore, an infusion of green tea, orange and vanilla helps reduce appetite, combining nutrients that give a sense of satiety and satisfy the palate with soft, sweet and satisfying flavours.
The orange peel, which makes this tea more aromatic, has been known in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries for its beneficial properties. It provides the body with vitamin C, which is effective for boosting the immune system, and contains substances that are useful for proper digestion. The pectins contained in the orange peel help regulate cholesterol levels. These substances combine with bile acids in the liver, which are not reabsorbed in the intestine but eliminated from the body through digestion.
A combination of green tea and orange peel also enhances the natural anti-inflammatory activity of these agents. Substances such as hesperidin and some flavone antioxidants counteract digestive irritations, swelling, and help probiotic bacteria in the intestines to grow (the immune system also benefits). In addition, the orange peel contains potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure; it is known as a useful ingredient in herbal teas to help against colds, and for the well-being of the respiratory tract. The draining and purifying properties of this green tea herbal tea can also help after the after-effects of excess food and alcohol, to rebalance the body.
The vapors of this herbal tea envelop our senses also thanks to vanilla, pink pepper and cloves. Even vanilla is known for its antioxidant properties, through the agent of vanillin, and promotes psycho-physical relaxation and well-being in digestion. Its exotic and intense aroma gives a note that can improve mood and stimulate the senses; perhaps for this reason, vanilla was historically considered an aphrodisiac spice.
Origins and History of cultivation
The Sencha variety belongs to the Camellia Sinensis plant, and differs in cultivation and processing from other types of tea, giving what we consider a green tea.
The leaves del Sencha are grown in direct sunlight, and chosen from the first and second harvest, among the younger and higher quality ones. In the historical preparation of Sencha green tea, whole steamed leaves are used for less than a minute, in order to avoid their oxidation. They are then rolled up and dried to be subsequently infused. The processing makes Sencha a golden and greenish green tea, with a sweet and refreshing aroma.
It is a tea that is widespread today in Japan, where it was introduced in the 15th century by visiting Chinese Buddhist monks. It has since been highly prized by samurai elites and feudal nobles, and has been part of the Japanese tea ceremony for centuries.
As well as direct infusion, Sencha green tea is used as a base for herbal teas, for cooking and as an ingredient in cosmetic products. It has several benefits recognized in traditional medicine, including relaxing properties on the mind and body. To date, various varieties of organic Sencha green tea are grownlogical or not, known for their different flavors and effects.
A major variety, Shincha tea comes from the first harvest of sencha in spring – the freshest green tea leaves. Also known is the Kabusecha variety, a green tea grown in full shade for seven to ten days, which gives a slightly sweeter flavour. Finally, Gyokuro, similar to Kabusecha tea, which is covered in shade for twenty days. This process results in a sweeter tasting tea, and is the most expensive green tea in Japan.
To this basic ingredient, tea combines vanilla and orange peel, which have a different history as crops. The orange is a tree that we know has been cultivated for centuries for its fruit. It is one of the most cultivated plants in the world, also because it easily adapts to different environmental conditions. It seems that it was born as a hybrid between pomelo and mandarin, and has been known in China for over 4,000 years.
The vanilla, which gives one of the best known aromas in the world, is a species of orchid originally from Mexico. Its pods give the characteristic scented notes, after having undergone a precise manufacturing process. The plant, known in its habitat by the natives, was discovered by explorers; its name derives from the Spanish vania, i.e. pod, and illa which is the suffix for "small".
Vanilla was used by the native Aztecs to flavor xocoatl, the chocolate drink, and due to the aroma of its pods it was very successful when it was exported to Europe. It was in the Veracruz area that the first vanilla crops for industrial purposes originated. The pods are left to develop for about 9 months, then harvested and sent for processing, which uses different methods to obtain different aromatic nuances. Today it is used to flavor food and drinks, chocolate, sweets and ice cream, as well as in perfumery.
Plant and flowers
Green tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant, originally from East Asia. It represents a genus that includes about 250 species of evergreen trees and shrubs belonging to the Theaceae family.
Camellia sinensis (also called Thea sinensis), is a plant that can reach 9 meters in height, but is generally grown in reduced dimensions to a low bush, for ease of cultivation. The plant is often pruned to encourage the tea leaves to develop. The flowers are fragrant, yellow and about 4 cm wide.
The tree from which oranges are born is the Citrus sinensis belonging to the Rutaceae family. Orange gives sweet oranges as fruit, distinct from bitter oranges. The tree can reach up to 12 meters, displays elongated leaves, white flowers known as orange blossoms, and round fruits with a sweet pulp and an orange skin. It adapts well to temperate climates, especially in the southern Mediterranean.
The orange has a great productivity, having a dormancy of only 3 months. For this reason, flowering can often be observed together with the orange harvest. Vanilla planifolia is the most important among the 110 species of plants of the genus Vanilla, which are part of the Orchidaceae family.
Vanilla plants have a climbing stem that attaches to the trees, and roots that penetrate the ground. The flowers vary from creamy white to pale green, are numerous, open in turns and last only one day. The flowering season lasts about two months, while the fruit, a long capsule, ripens in 4-6 weeks but can take up to 9 months. Unripe pods are harvested when they turn golden at the base. We also know the Vanilla x-tahitensis, a Polynesian species with limited cultivation and the Vanilla pompona, cultivated in the West Indies. All species are thought to be derived from a single native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
Nutritional values of organic green tea, orange and vanilla
Green tea contains many antioxidants polyphenols, including the important EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate). Furthermore, it donates the chemical substances methylxanthines (caffeine, theobromine, theophylline). It makes vitamin C, vitamins of group B (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin), and minerals such as potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc. The other key ingredient, orange peel, also contains potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and B vitamins, iron, copper, phosphorus, selenium and magnesium. Other elements of this organic green tea reinforce the antioxidant content.
How to prepare green tea ar
