Silver needle tea/wikimedia
With names like white peony, golden moon, white cloud, and silver needle, you might think that white teas are almost too delicate and romantic to be pegged as fighters of obesity.
White tea and fat
But during a series of recent experiments on human fat cells, researchers have found evidence that white tea has anti-obesity effects. What they discovered is that when they treated human fat cells with white tea extract, the extract reduced the amount of fat incorporated into the new cells. The extract also promoted the breakdown of fat in existing, mature adipocytes.
White tea is subjected to very little processing and no fermentation. It thus contains more of the compounds methylxanthines and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which the researchers believe are responsible for the anti-obesity properties they saw in their study. It may be a bit too soon to know how effective white teas can be in helping with weight loss, but additional research is in the offing, and white teas are a pleasure to enjoy any time!
What is white tea?
Like black and green teas, white tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. The difference lies in when the leaves are harvested: white tea is collected before the leaves open fully, which is when the buds are covered with fine white hairs.
Because white tea is scarcer than other traditional types of tea, it is more expensive and sometimes more difficult to find. However, as it grows in popularity, it will become more readily available (see below). White teas are produce primarily in China and Japan, but the Darjeeling area in India also exports fine white teas.
Enjoying white teas
While green teas typically have a grassy taste, white teas are sweet and light and are best prepared when steeped in water that is below the boiling point. They have less caffeine than other teas (15 mg per serving compared to 40 mg for black and 20 gm for green).
To find white teas in the Phoenix area, you can consider these choices, or refer to the list of sources in the Phoenix area:
Chakra4Herbs, in Phoenix
Gooseberries, in Phoenix
Mandala, in Scottsdale
Souvia, in Phoenix and Scottsdale
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