A non-alcoholic beverage is a beverage that contains no alcohol.

Such drinks are generally drunk for

refreshment, or to quench people's thirst.

Non-alcoholic mixed drinks (including punches, "virgin cocktails", or "mocktails") are often
consumed by children, people whose religion restricts alcohol consumption, recovering alcoholics, and
anyone wishing to enjoy flavorful drinks without alcohol. Examples include Shirley Temples, Virgin
Marys, and virgin-style Piña Coladas. Non-alcoholic beer can,
in fact, contain a small amount of alcohol (the exact percentage varies by country). Thus purchasers of
non-alcoholic beer in many U.S. states must be at least 21.
Non-alcoholic beverages contain no more than .5 percent alcohol by volume. The category includes
drinks that traditionally have no trace of alcohol such as sodas, juices, and sparkling ciders. It also
includes drinks that have undergone an alcohol removal process such as non-alcoholic beers and de-
alcoholized wines. Non-
alcoholic drinks account for the vast majority of the beverage market. These drinks are generally
chosen for refreshment purposes, to quench people's thirsts. Non-alcoholic drinks include carbonated
drinks, dairy and yogurt-based beverages, juices, energy drinks, teas, coffees, and enhanced waters.
With the increased market focus on health and wellness, it is likely that the non-alcoholic beverage
market will be a source of growth and development in the coming years.
Growing markets in both coffee and tea beverages are currently leading the non-alcoholic market.
Studies have shown that coffee may posses healthy benefits. These same benefits are being
investigated in tea beverages as well.

Water

The human body can last weeks without food, but only days without water. The body is made up of 55
to 75 per cent water. Mature adults are about 70% water; this drops to about 60% in the elderly and
continues to drop into very old age. Water forms the basis of blood, digestive juices, urine and
perspiration. The water content of the body breaks down along these lines:
· 80 per cent of blood is made up of water
· 73 per cent of lean muscle (including brain tissue) is water
· 25 per cent of fat is water
· 22 per cent of those solid-looking bones are water.

The body is unable to store water for any length of time and needs fresh supplies every day due to
losses from lungs and skin, accounting for 50% of water loss; losses from urine and faeces account for
the rest of the total losses. The amount we need depends on our metabolism, the weather, the food we
eat and our activity levels. Heavy or obese people carry less body water than people of a healthy
weight. As fat content increases, lean tissue decreases, leading to an overall decline in total body
water. Body water is higher in men than in women and falls in both with age. Most mature adults lose
about 2.5 litres (women) to 3 litres (men) per day and the elderly lose about 2 litres per day. This water
loss needs to be replaced through food and beverages. Foods provide about 1 litre of fluid and the
remainder must be obtained from beverages.

Water is needed in the body to:

1. Maintain the health and integrity of every cell in the body.
2.Keep the bloodstream liquid enough to flow through blood vessels.
3.·Help to eliminate toxins (such as those found in tea, coffee, alcohol, refined foods and soft drinks)
through urine and faeces.
4.Regulate body temperature through sweating.
5.Keep mucous membranes moist, such as those of the lungs and mouth.
6.Lubricate and cushion joints.
7.Reduce the risk of cystitis by keeping the bladder clear of bacteria.
8.Aid digestion and prevent constipation.
9.Work as a moisturiser to improve the skin's texture and appearance.
10.Carry nutrients and oxygen to cells.
11.Serve as a shock absorber inside the eyes, spinal cord and in the amniotic sac surrounding the
foetus in pregnancy.

Chronic mild dehydration and poor fluid intake can:

1.Increase the risk of kidney stones and 4.Increase the risk of childhood obesity
constipation 5.Diminish physical and mental performance
2.Increase the risk of urinary tract cancers 6.Diminish salivary gland function
3.Increase the risk of breast and colon cancers

On a normal day, the body loses 2.4 litres of water (or 10 cups) and this figure is higher on warmer
days, or when exercising. When the water content of the body drops below optimal levels, the result is
dehydration. This is easily remedied by increasing fluid intake. Mild dehydration is often observed
because many people do not consume enough fluids. About 30-40% of Australians were having less
than 6-8 cups of fluid on the day of the Nutrition survey conducted in 1995.

Symptoms for dehydration include headaches, lethargy, mood changes and slow responses, as well as
dry nasal passages, and dry or cracked lips. Other symptoms of dehydration include dark-coloured
urine, weakness, tiredness, confusion and hallucinations. Eventually urination stops, the kidneys fail
and toxic waste products can't be removed by the body. In extreme cases, this may result in death.

The various causes of dehydration include:

1. Increased sweating due to hot weather/humidity, exercise, fever
2. Lack of drinking water
3. Insufficient signalling mechanisms in the elderly; sometimes they do not feel thirsty even though
may be dehydrated
4. Increased output of urine due to a deficiency of pituitary or adrenal hormones, diabetes, kidney
disease, or medications that increase the output of urine like diuretic drugs for the treatment of high
blood pressure.
5. Increased output of faeces (diarrhoea) or vomiting due to illness such as cholera, dysentery, food
poisoning
6 . Recovering from burns

People at most risk of dehydration are the elderly and children. It can also be an issue for people
travelling on aeroplanes. A traveller can lose approximately 1.5 litres of water during a three hour
flight.

Elderly
Kidney function can decline as part of the normal ageing process with decrease in kidney mass. This
together with hormonal changes and factors such as decreased thirst perception, medication, cognitive
changes, limited mobility, and increased use of diuretics and laxatives can increase their risk of
dehydration or decrease their requirement for fluid. It is estimated that 6 household glasses or cups (at
least 150millilitres each) in combination with an adequate intake of food will provide more than the
required 2 litres a day in a temperate climate. Although healthy older Australians living independently
appear to drink sufficient fluid their risk of dehydration increases with medication use, chronic illness
and frailty.

Juices

Juice is a liquid naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue. Juice is prepared by mechanically
squeezing or macerating fresh fruits or vegetables without the application of heat or solvents. For
example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree. Juice may be prepared in the
home from fresh fruits and vegetables using variety of hand or electric juicers. Many commercial
juices are filtered to remove fiber or pulp, but high pulp fresh orange juice is marketed as an
alternative. Juice may be marketed in concentrate form, sometimes frozen, requiring the user to add
water to reconstitute the liquid back to its "original state". (Generally, concentrates have a noticeably
different taste than their comparable "fresh-squeezed" versions). Other juices are reconstituted before
packaging for retail sale. Common methods for preservation and processing of fruit juices include
canning, pasteurization, freezing, evaporation and spray drying.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT FRUIT JUICE

All juices are not created equal – some are nutritional gems while others are sugar water. Consider
these tips as you make juice part of your child’s diet.

• Be label savvy. Buy juice labeled “100 percent fruit juice."

o Beware of words like “drink,” “punch,” “cocktail,” “beverage” and “ade.” These are
not 100 percent juice – they’re junk fruit beverages.
o Many “junk fruit beverages” are nutrient-void beverages, commonly masked as fruit
“juice,” “drinks” or “cocktails.” Most contain 10 percent or less of pure fruit juice, and
lots of water, sugar and additives. Junk fruit beverages have little or no nutritional
value.
o Avoid junk fruit beverages that are disguised as juice “blends” that contain small
amounts of various fruits like grape, apple and pear. Ounce for ounce, these juices don’t
have the natural levels of vital nutrients that 100 percent pure juices like orange juice
provide. Plus, they usually contain added sugars.
• Examine the ingredients. Avoid fruit-flavored beverages that have added fructose corn
syrup. They shape a child’s taste toward sweet cravings.
• Look at the juice. Generally, the cloudier the juice, the more nutritious it is. If you can see
through it, you’re buying mostly water. Picture a tall glass of 100 percent pure orange juice
with pulp. There should be some sediment at the bottom, which is a reminder of the juice’s
origins.
• Go with citrus juices. Orange juice is a morning favorite and one of the most nutritious
beverages available. An excellent source of vitamin C and potassium, orange juice also is a
good source of folate and thiamin. Compared to other juices, orange juice is higher in protein,
vitamin A, B-vitamins, vitamin C (it contains more than 10 times as much vitamin C as apple
juice), calcium, iron and potassium, making it a heavyweight among fruit juices. Drinking an
8-ounce glass counts as one of your five necessary fruit and vegetable servings for the day.
• Check if it’s pasteurized. Commercial juices now are required to say if it’s pasteurized on the
label. The new law is a result of non-pasteurized juice-borne bacterial illnesses that are
especially harmful to people with weakened immune systems (such as children, pregnant
women or the elderly). No need to worry, though. A new high-pressure pasteurization method
increases the shelf life and significantly reduces the bacteria count. And, it reportedly does not
 affect the flavor or vitamin and mineral content of the juice. The key is to make sure the label
on your juice says it’s pasteurized.
• Consider Juice Variety. Another beneficial juice in addition to orange juice is nectar juice.
Nectar usually has more calories, but more nutrients are preserved during processing nectar
than other juices. Apricot nectar is especially healthy, containing a lot of beta-carotene, almost
a gram of protein per 8-ounce glass, and it’s higher than most juices in vitamin A, vitamin B-6
and iron. Other nutritious nectars come from the “P” fruits – peaches, pears and prunes.

HOW MUCH YOU OFFER COUNTS

Juice can be a tasty alternative to water, but consuming too much juice may take the place of other
nutritious foods the child would normally eat. The following chart explains how much juice is
appropriate for a child up to 12 years of age:

Age Amount
6 – 12 months 4 ounces per day
1 – 4 years 6 ounces per day
4 – 12 years 8 ounces per day

JUICE CONSUMPTION 101

• Offer 100-percent juice at mealtimes or as snacks as an alternative to soda or junk juices.

Serve orange juice at breakfast, and pack a carton in your child’s lunch box for lunch or as a
daytime snack.
• If a child usually consumes more than the daily-recommended amount of juice,dilute the juice
with water. The water has the sweet taste of juice while allowing the appropriate amount of
juice intake throughout the day.
• If a child asks for carbonated soda, add seltzer to a glass of 100 percent pure orange juice to
add ‘a bubbly sensation’.
• Don’t let toddlers walk around or fall asleep with a baby bottle filled with juice. It can cause
tooth decay. The juice bathes the teeth, which may contribute to bacterial growth, plaque and
eventual decay (a condition called the “juice bottle syndrome”).

VITAMIN C TIPS

• Orange and grapefruit juices contain more natural vitamin C than any other fruit juice. They’re
great juices for your children – and for you.
• The vitamin C content of canned juices may deteriorate upon exposure to air, so be sure to
refrigerate and tightly seal opened containers.
• Freshly squeezed juice contains more vitamin C than “made from concentrate” canned or
frozen juices.
• Adding ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, to juice allows manufacturers to claim that the drink will
give your child “100 percent vitamin C.” This health claim, however, can mask its sugary
content and hides the fact that other essential nutrients are not included.

AVOIDING TUMMY-ACHES
Juices with a high fructose-to-glucose ratio and that contain sorbitol can aggravate the intestines,
especially those already sensitive by irritation or infection.
 • Recommended Juices: Citrus juices and some other juices (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry
and white grape juice) do not contain sorbitol and are recommended by the American Academy
of Pediatrics’ Committee on Nutrition for use during intestinal illnesses.
• Fructose-to-Glucose Ratio: A high fructose-to-glucose ratio may cause diarrhea or abdominal
pain because the excess fructose ferments in the large intestine. Orange juice is a
recommended juice because it contains equal amounts of glucose and fructose and no sorbitol.
• Infants and Children: Because their immature intestines allow more unabsorbed sugar to reach
the colon where it ferments, infants and children are particularly prone to gas and diarrhea
from excessive juice.

FAVORITE 100% PURE FRUIT JUICE FACTS

• Orange – The juice with the highest amount of vitamin C and potassium and a good source of
folate and thiamin. It also contains cancer-fighting phytochemicals.
• Grapefruit – The juice with the second highest amount of vitamin C.
• Apricot Nectar – This juice is high in vitamin A and contains a small amount of iron and zinc.
• Prune – The juice highest in iron, zinc, fiber and niacin.
• White Grape – A juice high in vitamin C, and the best juice for healing the intestines.
• Apple – This juice has no nutritional advantage over other juices, but is good for flavoring
water because it dilutes well.

Coffee

The coffee plant attracted human interest and consumption as early as 800 A.D. in the Kaffe region of
Ethiopia. By the fifteenth century the plant was cultivated in Yemen and a beverage made from its
beans was sold in Arabian coffeehouses. Constantinople's first coffeehouses had opened by the middle
of the sixteenth century. The beverage spread eastward to India and via Mocha on the Arabian
Peninsula back to Holland. Venice had a coffeehouse by 1645. The students of Oxford soon follow
suit, discovering by 1650 the academic advantages of a beverage that sharpens the wits. Before 1800
much of Europe had coffeehouses and also had witnessed governmental attempts to close them as
sources of sedition. Those same governments soon taxed rather than prohibited coffee consumption.
Coffeehouses became social and business centers where merchants and shippers gathered to exchange
information and make deals. By the late 1660s coffee consumption had spread to North America; New
York City's first coffeehouse, The King's Arms, opened in 1696.

Arab coffee cultivators and merchants attempted to monopolize the trade by preventing export of the
coffee plant, but by the seventeenth century, the Dutch had acquired coffee plants that they planted in
Ceylon. Other Europeans planted coffee in East Asian and, later, Latin American colonies. In the early
twenty-first century, milder arabica beans are grown primarily in Latin American and the Caribbean,
while more bitter robust a beans come primarily from African and Asian producing countries. Green
coffee beans are among the highest-value commodities legally traded in today's world. The Green
Coffee Association of New York City formed in 1923 to encourage standard contracts. Much of the
product is traded on the Coffee, Sugar, and Cocoa Exchange, now a subset of the New York Board of
Trade, and on the London, Tokyo and Brazilian commodity exchanges.

New processing techniques eased preparation of the beverage in the field during the U.S. Civil War.
Military demand again hastened easy preparation when Maxwell Coffee developed an instant beverage
in 1941, building on Swiss producer Nestle's Nescafe, which that the company had created for
Brazilian growers in 1938. In modern production, the exported green beans are precisely roasted and
blended in importing countries to produce the flavor that consumers desire; because oxidation causes
bitter flavor, the processed coffee must be used quickly or packaged carefully.
Price inelasticity of demand for coffee leads to sharp price fluctuations. To counter these fluctuations,
producing countries established the International Coffee Association in 1963 primarily to control price
through export quotas; price stability, however, has not been achieved.
With economies of scale in production and distribution, a few firms and their brands dominated U.S.
and world production of roasted coffee in the second half of the twentieth century. These companies
have distributed their brands primarily through grocery stores. Per capita consumption has fallen in
traditional coffee markets, but is rising in such nontraditional markets as Japan and, more recently,
China and South Korea; there, as in Great Britain, instant coffee is making inroads into the tea market.
In the 1970s specialty coffee producers began to challenge the preeminence in traditional markets of
the multinationals and have constituted the most rapidly growing segment of the coffee market in
mature economies. These specialty forms of coffee, sold primarily through coffeehouses and gourmet
shops, are relatively expensive, differentiated blends processed on a smaller scale. This development
echoes the early days of coffee consumption; an increasingly affluent middle class is willing to spend
on luxury beverages consumed in inviting shops.

Coffee is a widely-consumed stimulant beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee
beans, of the coffee plant. Coffee was first consumed in the 9th century, when it was discovered in the
highlands of Ethiopia.[1] From there, it spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century had
reached Armenia, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy,
then to the rest of Europe, Indonesia and the Americas.[2] Today, coffee is one of the most popular
beverages worldwide.[3]

Coffee berries, which contain the coffee bean, are produced by several species of small evergreen bush
of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown species are Coffea canephora (also known as
Coffea robusta) and Coffea arabica. These are cultivated in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted, undergoing
several physical and chemical changes. They are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired
flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a
variety of ways. Coffee has played an important role in
many societies throughout modern history. In Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies.
As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of
Ethiopia.[4] It was banned in Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century for political reasons, and was
associated with rebellious political activities in Europe. Coffee is an important export
commodity. In 2004, coffee was the top agricultural export for 12 countries,[5] and in 2005, it was the
world's seventh largest legal agricultural export by value.[6]
Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Many
studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain medical conditions;
whether the effects of coffee are positive or negative is still disputed

Health and pharmacology

Scientific studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and an array of medical
conditions. Most studies are contradictory as to whether coffee has any specific health benefits, and
results are similarly conflicting regarding negative effects of coffee consumption.[7]
Coffee appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, diabetes
mellitus type 2, cirrhosis of the liver,[53] and gout. Some health effects are due to the caffeine content of
coffee, as the benefits are only observed in those who drink caffeinated coffee, while others appear to
be due to other components.[54] For example, the antioxidants in coffee prevent free radicals from
causing cell damage.[55]
Coffee's negative health effects are mostly due to its caffeine content. Research suggests that drinking
caffeinated coffee can cause a temporary increase in the stiffening of arterial walls.[56] Excess coffee
consumption may lead to a magnesium deficiency or hypomagnesemia.[57] Some studies suggest that it
may have a mixed effect on short-term memory, by improving it when the information to be recalled is
related to the current train of thought, but making it more difficult to recall unrelated information.[58]
Nevertheless, the mainstream view of medical experts is that drinking three 8-ounce cups of coffee per
day (considered average or moderate consumption) does not have significant health risks for adults.[59]

Caffeine content

Depending on the type of coffee and method of preparation, the caffeine content of a single serving
can vary greatly. On average, a single cup of coffee of about 207 milliliters (7 fluid ounces) or a single
shot of espresso of about 30 mL (1oz) can be expected to contain the following amounts of
caffeine:[60][43][61]

• Drip coffee: 115–175 mg • Instant: 65–100 mg

• Espresso: 100 mg • Decaf, brewed: 3–4 mg
• Brewed/Pressed: 80–135 mg • Decaf, instant: 2–3 m

Economics

Coffee ingestion on average is about a third of that of tap water in most of North America and
Europe.[3] Worldwide, 6.7 million metric tons of coffee were produced annually in 1998–2000, and the
forecast is a rise to 7 million metric tons annually by 2010.[62]

Brazil remains the largest coffee exporting nation, but in recent years Vietnam has become a major
producer of robusta beans.[63] Robusta coffees, traded in London at much lower prices than New York's
arabica, are preferred by large industrial clients, such as multinational roasters and instant coffee
producers, because of the lower cost. Four single roaster companies buy more than 50 percent of all of
the annual production: Kraft, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, and Sara Lee.[64] The preference of the "Big
Four" coffee companies for cheap robusta is believed by many to have been a major contributing
factor to the crash in coffee prices,[65] and the demand for high-quality arabica beans is only slowly
recovering. Many experts believe the giant influx of cheap green coffee after the collapse of the
International Coffee Agreement of 1975–1989 led to the prolonged price crisis from 1989 to 2004.[66]
In 1997 the price of coffee in New York broke US$3.00/lb, but by late 2001 it had fallen to
US$0.43/lb.[67]

The Dutch certification system "Max Havelaar" started the concept of fair trade labeling, which
guarantees coffee growers a negotiated pre-harvest price.[68] In 2004, 24,222 metric tons out of
7,050,000 produced worldwide were fair trade; in 2005, 33,991 metric tons out of 6,685,000 were fair
trade, an increase from 0.34 percent to 0.51 percent.[69][70] A number of studies have shown that fair
trade coffee has a positive impact on the communities that grow it. A study in 2002 found that fair
trade strengthened producer organizations, improved returns to small producers, and positively
affected their quality of life.[71] A 2003 study concluded that fair trade has "greatly improved the well-
being of small-scale coffee farmers and their families"[72] by providing access to credit and external
development funding[73] and greater access to training, giving them the ability to improve the quality of
their coffee.[74] The families of fair trade producers were also more stable than those who were not
involved in fair trade, and their children had better access to education.[75] A 2005 study of Bolivian
coffee producers concluded that Fairtrade certification has had a positive impact on local coffee prices,
economically benefiting all coffee producers, Fairtrade certified or not.[76

TEA

Tea is an infusion made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush, Camellia
sinensis, in hot water for several minutes, after which it is drank.

The four basic types of true tea are black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea.
The term "herbal tea" usually refers to infusions or tisane of fruit or herbs that contain no Camellia
sinensis.[1] Tea is one of the
most widely-consumed beverages in the world, second only to water.[2] It has a cooling, slightly bitter,
astringent flavor.[3] It has almost no carbohydrates, fat, or protein. Tea is a natural source of the amino
acid theanine, methylxanthines such as caffeine and theobromine,[4] and polyphenolic antioxidant
catechins[3] (often referred to as tannins).
The word tea came into the English language from the Chinese word for tea (茶), which is pronounced
tê in the Min Nan spoken variant. The British English slang word "char" for "tea" arose from its
Mandarin Chinese pronunciation "cha" with its spelling affected by British English arhotic dialect
pronunciation.[5]

The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, Shen Nung, an
early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. His far-sighted edicts
required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer
day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his
ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the near by bush fell
into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was
interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. And so, according to legend, tea
was created. (This myth maintains such a practical narrative, that many mythologists believe it may
relate closely to the actual events, now lost in ancient history.)

The Chinese Influence

Tea consumption spread throughout the Chinese culture reaching into every aspect of the society. In
800 A.D. Lu Yu wrote the first definitive book on tea, the Ch'a Ching. This amazing man was
orphaned as a child and raised by scholarly Buddhist monks in one of China's finest monasteries.
However, as a young man, he rebelled against the discipline of priestly training which had made him a
skilled observer. His fame as a performer increased with each year, but he felt his life lacked meaning.
Finally, in mid-life, he retired for five years into seclusion. Drawing from his vast memory of observed
events and places, he codified the various methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China.
The vast definitive nature of his work, projected him into near sainthood within his own lifetime.
Patronized by the Emperor himself, his work clearly showed the Zen Buddhist philosophy to which he
was exposed as a child. It was this form of tea service that Zen Buddhist missionaries would later
introduce to imperial Japan.

The Japanese Influence

The first tea seeds were brought to Japan by the returning Buddhist priest Yeisei, who had seen the
value of tea in China in enhancing religious mediation. As a result, he is known as the "Father of Tea"
in Japan. Because of this early association, tea in Japan has always been associated with Zen
Buddhism. Tea received almost instant imperial sponsorship and spread rapidly from the royal court
and monasteries to the other sections of Japanese society.

Tea was elevated to an art form resulting in the creation of the Japanese Tea Ceremony ("Cha-no-yu"
or "the hot water for tea"). The best description of this complex art form was probably written by the
Irish-Greek journalist-historian Lafcadio Hearn, one of the few foreigners ever to be granted Japanese
citizenship during this era. He wrote from personal observation, "The Tea ceremony requires years of
training and practice to graduate in art...yet the whole of this art, as to its detail, signifies no more than
the making and serving of a cup of tea. The supremely important matter is that the act be performed in
the most perfect, most polite, most graceful, most charming manner possible".

Such a purity of form, of expression prompted the creation of supportive arts and services. A special
form of architecture (chaseki) developed for "tea houses", based on the duplication of the simplicity of
a forest cottage. The cultural/artistic hostesses of Japan, the Geishi, began to specialize in the
presentation of the tea ceremony. As more and more people became involved in the excitement
surrounding tea, the purity of the original Zen concept was lost. The tea ceremony became corrupted,
boisterous and highly embellished. "Tea Tournaments" were held among the wealthy where nobles
competed among each other for rich prizes in naming various tea blends. Rewarding winners with gifts
of silk, armor, and jewelry was totally alien to the original Zen attitude of the ceremony.

Three great Zen priests restored tea to its original place in Japanese society:

1. Ikkyu (1394-1481)-a prince who became a priest and was successful in guiding the nobles away
from their corruption of the tea ceremony.
2. Murata Shuko (1422-1502)-the student of Ikkyu and very influential in re-introducing the Tea
ceremony into Japanese society.
3. Sen-no Rikkyu (1521-1591)-priest who set the rigid standards for the ceremony, largely used intact
today. Rikyo was successful in influencing the Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became Japan's
greatest patron of the "art of tea". A brilliant general, strategist, poet, and artist this unique leader
facilitated the final and complete integration of tea into the pattern of Japanese life. So complete
was this acceptance, that tea was viewed as the ultimate gift, and warlords paused for tea before
battles

All tea comes from the "Camellia sinensis", an evergreen shrub that may grow up to 60 feet in the
wild. When cultivated for harvest the tea bushes are kept to a height of about three feet. There are over
3000 varieties of tea each with its own specific characteristics. The naming and growing of teas has
many similarities to wine. Just as Bordeaux wine is named after the Bordeaux region in France, Assam
is named after the Assam region in India, and Keemun is named after the Keemun region of China.
Like wine, tea comes from one bush, and where the tea is grown, the climate, soil conditions, and how
the tea is processed, determines the flavor characteristics of the tea.

Tea is harvested after each flush - the sprouting of the top two leaves and bud. The top two leaves and
bud are hand plucked and then processed into any of the four types of tea, which are Black, Green,
Oolong, and White.

Black tea is withered, fully oxidized and dried. Black tea yields a hearty, amber-colored brew. Some
of the popular black teas include English Breakfast, and Darjeeling.

Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It is simply withered and then dried. It has a more delicate taste
and is pale green / golden in color.
Oolong tea, popular in China, is withered, partially oxidized, and dried. Oolong is a cross between
black and green tea in color and taste.

White tea is the least processed. A very rare tea from China, White tea is not oxidized or rolled, but
simply withered and dried by steaming. The main chemical substances in tea are essential oils,
caffeine, and polyphenols (mistakenly known by many people as tannins). The essential oils give us
the aroma of the tea, the caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, and the polyphenols account
for the much publicized antioxidant and anti-disease properties.

Tea is not to be confused with herbal infusions. Herbal infusions are packaged like tea, infused like
tea, and enjoyed like tea, however the herbs do not come from the camellia sinensis bush and therefore
are not teas. Herbal infusions are made of grasses like lemongrass, barks like cinnamon, fruits like
orange peel, flowers like chamomile and hibiscus, and many other botanicals.
BLACK TEAS AND OOLONG
Darjeeling
Refers to tea grown in this mountain area of India. The mountain altitude and gentle misting rains of
the region, produce a unique full bodied but light flavor with a subtly lingering aroma reminiscent of
Muscatel. Reserved for afternoon use, it is traditionally offered to guests plain. One might take a
lemon with it, if the Darjeeling were of the highest grade, but never milk. (Milk would "bury" the very
qualities that make it unique.)
Oolong
The elegant tea is sometimes known as the "champagne of teas". Originally grown in the Fukien
province of China, it was first imported to England in 1869 by John Dodd. Today, the highest grade
Oolongs (Formosa Oolongs) are grown in Taiwan. A cross between green and black teas, it is
fermented to achieve a delicious fruity taste that makes milk, lemon, and sugar unthinkable. With such
clarity, it is perfect for afternoon use with such tea fare as cucumber sandwiches and madelaines.
GREEN TEAS
Makes up only ten percent of the world's produced tea. The Japanese tea ceremony (in which green
tea is used), is an art form. Green tea is not generally part of the afternoon tea tradition as appropriate
to hotel use. More about green tea. WHITE TEAS
White tea is a very rare, expensive connoisseurs tea that is mainly produced in China in Fukien
(Fujian) Province. Once harvested, white tea is not oxidized or rolled, but simply withered and dried
by steaming. White tea requires an experienced palate already initiated into the exquisite, subtle
flavors of green and oolong teas. Its name, a literal translation from the Chinese, probably comes from
the very pale color of its liquor. This tea has a very mellow taste and a hint of sweetness. CHINA
TEAS
Keemun
Is the most famous of China's black teas. Because of its subtle and complex nature, it is considered
the "burgundy of teas". It is a mellow tea that will stand alone as well as support sugar and/or milk.
Because of its "wine-like" quality, lemon should not be offered as the combined tastes