Tea as the Most Favorite Beverage Worldwide - Coursework Example

The chronological change and social dynamics of tea drinking Introduction Tea is one of the favorite drinks all over the world irrespective of the culture, race or gender. Even though normal white tea is more popular everywhere, other forms of tea like black tea, green tea etc are also common in many countries. In fact, Arabs like the black tea more than the white tea. Tea is a beverage which has an important role in the hospitality industry. Offering a cup of tea is a sign of hospitality accepted everywhere. In most of the countries, people provide tea and snacks to the guests arrived. In fact the word Tea party is common in hospitality industry. Jolliffe (2006) has mentioned that tea has much to offer, as tea services can add value to traditional meal or refreshment services in the hospitality sector. Moreover, tea, with its ability to reflect local cultures and food ways may offer an opportunity for the hospitality industry to blend new specialty products and services, with positive results for investors (Jolliffe, 2006, p.164). Tea business is probably the largest small scale business in the world. The number of tea shops all over the world may exceed any other business entity. In fact many people find their livelihood from the tea business. Even though tea is so popular across the world, medical science has expressed some concerns about the health problems associated with excessive tea intakes. Some people argue that green tea is safer than white tea whereas some others argue that the entire forms of tea are harmful to the health. This paper briefly analyses the science of tea, tea business, social and cultural influences of tea, impact of tea on health etc. Science of Tea Tea’s functional attributes circled around its polyphenol compounds known as catechins — honeycomb like chemical structures that have many phenol components integrated into the molecular backbone. Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (ECGC) is the most extensively researched constituent in tea, as well as the most abundant catechin in green tea. L-theanine, another constituent of tea, can produce a state of reduced anxiety in humans and to lower blood pressure and the anxiety-promoting effects of caffeine in animals. Caffeine is one of three constituents in tea that belong to a class of chemicals called methylxanthines. The others are theophylline and theobromine. Theophylline is marketed as a prescription bronchodilator drug in its pure form, both as a pill and liquid, for asthma. Theobromine-rich extracts of cocoa have recently been introduced as dietary supplements ingredients claiming to promote weight loss, but no published human evidence exists to support such maverick claims (Almada, 2005) From the above description, it is clear that tea consists of many ingredients which affect the human metabolic system in different ways. Some of the ingredients in tea are useful to us whereas some others are harmful to the human health. For example, the caffeine content in tea is not good for the human health. Caffeine is a substance which can cause problems like nervousness, headache, increased heart rate, anxiety, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, agitation, increased cholesterol, diarrhea, nutritional deficiencies, fatigue, depression etc (The Harmful Effects of Caffeine, n. d). At the same time many of the other ingredients of tea re useful to human health. For example, theophylline content of tea is useful in treating Asthma.  Tea Business Tea is the second largest consumed beverage in the world. The first is of course water. Because of this huge consumption of tea across the world, the prospects for tea business are bright. As mentioned earlier, Tea business is probably the easiest and the largest small scale business in the world. Anyone can start this business with a little capital. Tea business is a way of finding livelihood to millions of people across the world. The most attractive factor about tea business is the less investments and resources required. The only infrastructure required for tea business is a shop and the cooking facilities. The resources required are sugar, water, milk and tea powder. Manpower requirements are least and in short, tea business needs least investments. For some people tea business is a way of their livelihood whereas for some others it is a way of making huge profits. Tea business spreads from small tea shops to big restaurants. Most of the people prepare tea in their family once or twice regularly and many others consume tea from tea shops whenever they feel fatigue. There are many factors associated with the tea business which needs to be considered seriously by the tea business people. Te business starts from the processing of tea itself. If the processing of the tea is not adequate, the quality of the tea drink might be less. The procurement of correctly processed tea dusts and leaves are important in tea business. Customers will come to the tea shop only if the tea prepared by the shop meets the required quality. Apart from the quality of tea dust and leaves, the quantity of sugar and quality of milk used in the preparation of the tea also can affect the final quality of the tea drink prepared. In other words, only the correct blending of tea powder, sugar, milk and water will ensure maximum quality of a tea drink. Tea business people know this fact very well and they will take extreme care while preparing tea. Tea business is not a million dollar, but a billion dollar business in America. The following statistics reveals the volume of tea business in America. The Tea Association of the United States tells us that the estimated wholesale value of the U.S. tea industry has increased from $1.84 billion in 1990 to $6.16 billion in 2005. It is predicted that last year's six-billion-dollar mark represents only the beginning of a long period of industry growth.   Looking at the U. S. hot drinks retail market as a whole, we see that during 2004 the market value grew by 2%. Meanwhile, the market volume grew by 1%. Tea sales in specific increased during that year, even as sales of other hot drinks, such as hot chocolate and malt-based beverages, declined. (Tea House Owner, 2009) Even though recession hit drastically on most of the industrial sector, tea industry in America is one industry which escaped from the global financial crisis without many damages. It is difficult for the public to cut down their spending on tea even in the recession period because of the essentiality of tea in public life at present. It is a fact that the workload of the public increased a lot because of the increased social, professional and family commitments. People get tired and experience fatigue when they try to do many things at a time. Taking a cup of tea is a temporary solution for such busy people in order to calm down the mind and stimulate energy to the body. In short, the prospects of tea industry are bright considering the increased influence of tea drinking on social life. Social and cultural influences of tea from 19 th century onwards Offering of a cup of tea to the guests is a universal sign of hospitality which is followed even from the ancient periods. White tea is the most common tea drink across the world. But black tea is the favorite drink of the Arabs. Green tea is more popular in China because of the health benefits associated with it. Compared to white tea, green tea preserves the nutrients useful for preventing severe diseases like cancer, coronary problems etc. Tea party is a common thing across cultures whenever people celebrate some occasion, tea is an essential commodity is celebrations like birth day parties, wedding parties, and all forms of celebrations which involve food and beverages. Jolliffe, (2006) has mentioned that cross-cultural adaptation of tea cultures and traditions in lodging food services is reflected by the hotels around the world that offer the afternoon tea service that has its origins in Britain. Moreover, both large and small hotel properties are now adopting the afternoon tea service as a lure for diverse clienteles that include corporate groups and cruise passengers. The advantages of providing tea services in hospitality industry are many; It can increase guest satisfaction by providing added service It can create a positive guest experience It can develop additional products to attract guests It can add and alter services to retain market share It can utilize existing property facilities to create added revenue for the business It can contribute to the generation of profits (Jolliffe, 2006, p.166) Huang and Deng, (2008) have mentioned that tea drinking was a striking local activity that was considered important for social contact and that represented a sense of leisure and affluence (Huang and Deng, 2008). The figure given below explains the various social parameters associated with tea drinking. (Huang and Deng, 2008) People use the tea drinking occasions for socialization purposes. For example, India is a heavily populated country in which small tea shops are located in each corners. In fact in every 200 to 400 meter range, a tea shop can be located in India. The villagers and the locals assemble in these tea shops, daily morning and evening and spend some time, exchanging the local news. In fact the locals get proper awareness about the external world through these kinds of gatherings at tea shops. Locals enjoy a cup of tea during their stay at the tea shops. In Middle East also, Arabs spend their leisure time at tea shops. Arabs are interested more in black tea rather than white tea. In fact they take small quantity of tea, but they take too much time to consume it, literally enjoying the taste of every single drop of the tea they consume. Impacts of Tea on health Even though tea is most popular beverage in the world, medical science has raised certain concerns about the safety of using tea more than a certain limit. As mentioned earlier, tea and some of its contents believed to be causing certain serious health issues. At the same time, many studies have shown that tea can fight against cancer and some coronary problems. Dummert, (2006) has mentioned study recognized by the American Institute for Cancer Research, in which a substance in green tea has been found to halt a specific stage in the cancer process more effectively than current cancer drugs. Moreover, in studies of liver, skin, and stomach cancer, green and black teas were shown to decrease the size of tumors and either slow or completely prevent breast, colon, and prostate cancers (Dummert, 2006) Cancer is one of the serious diseases of the current world. Even though many drugs and treatments claimed success in the treatment of cancer, none of them seem to be 100% effective. Millions of people are losing their lives every year because of different types of cancers. The fact that tea can fight against cancer more effectively than any other drugs seems to be a blessing for the people who were afraid of this serious disease. Green tea seems to be more effective in the treatment of cancer. Ovarian cancer can be prevented if the people use green or white tea quiet regularly. Even though many of the findings till now argues in favor of tea usages for cancer prevention, medical science already started its researches to find out the effectiveness of tea contents for the cancer treatment. Women seem to be more benefitted than men from their tea usages. The common cancer diseases occur to females like ovary cancer and breast cancer can be prevented if the females use tea quiet regularly. The utility of tea is not limited to cancer prevention alone. Many studies have shown that tea consumption can reduce the risks associated with cardiovascular problems considerably. Vita (2003) has written an article in Journal of nutrition in which he has explained the effectiveness of tea in preventing cardiovascular problems. In his opinion, it has become apparent that the endothelium plays a central role in the regulation of vascular homeostasis and that endothelial dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis and clinical expression of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, a study which included several of the negative studies, suggests an overall reduction of 11% in cardiovascular disease risk for consumption of three cups of tea per day (Vita, 2003) Lee and Lee, (2002) have mentioned that the total antioxidant capacity of tea is not related to a particular kind of polyphenol but to the combined activity of diverse antioxidants, including phenolic acids and polyphenols (Lee and Lee, 2002). Moreover, Heller (2009) has quoted a new study published in American Society of Nutrition which explained that the antioxidant compounds in green tea could help promote exercise-induced abdominal fat loss. Catechins, the major ingredient in Green tea is beneficial in reducing the risk of various diseases, including Alzheimer's, certain cancers, cardiovascular and oral health. Moreover, catechins may promote weight loss and according to a study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, consuming a beverage containing green tea catechins (625mg/d) may enhance exercise-induced loss of abdominal fat and improve triglyceride levels (Heller, 2009). Henderson (2009) also mentioned similar results. In his opinion, daily consumption of tea containing 690 mg catechins for 12 weeks may reduce body fat, which suggests that catechins might be useful in obesity related problems (Henderson, 2009) In short, tea and its contents seem to be an easy way to prevent cardiovascular problems. Some people believe that green tea has more health benefits than ordinary tea. Green tea is prepared from the leaves of the tea plant which undergoes minimum oxidation during the processing and hence the ingredients will be preserved. On the other hand, conventional tea powder undergoes several processes before packing and many of the valuable health beneficial ingredients will be lost. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study in 1994, indicated that Chinese men and women were able to reduce the risk of cancer by 60% by drinking green tea. Moreover, University of Purdue researchers have underlined the efficacy of green tea in preventing cancer. Another research has shown that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol (The Miracle of Green Tea, 2010). Therefore, we can safely conclude that green tea has more health benefits compared to the normal tea. So far we have discussed the merits of tea drinking in the preservation of health. But there are certain drawbacks also associate with tea drinking. This paper may not be a completed one if I fail to mention at least some of the drawbacks also about the tea drinking. Weight loss is one of the major characteristics associated with tea drinking. Even though weight loss is a blessing for the obese people, it may not be so for the thin or lean people. Most of the people consume tea with sugar and the increased content of sugar in tea drink may cause diabetics. People normally use plastic containers for supplying tea in tea shops and dispose it here and there and thereby causing environmental problems. It is fact that plastic is one of the major villains in causing problems to the environment and the excessive usage of plastic materials for supplying tea may indirectly affect the environment. Caffeine is one of the major content of tea and there are many concerns about the increased threats caffeine caused to human health. Kathleen Doheny (2010) has mentioned that too much caffeine can set you up for high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and decreased bone density and jangled nerves (Doheny 2010). In short, tea drinking create certain problems also in this world. Conclusions Tea is one of the favorite drinks across the world, irrespective differences in culture, race, religion, rich or poor. It is difficult to find a substitute for tea. Tea has its place in hospitality historically. People welcome their guests with the help of a tea even from the ancient periods. In fact, even though many of the traditions diminished from the current world, the traditional concept of providing a tea to the guests are still prevalent everywhere. Tea business is one of the oldest and largest businesses in the world. In America it is a multibillion dollar business. The major advantage of tea business is that anyone with least resources and investments can start it without much headache. The only basic knowledge required to start a small tea shop is the correct knowledge in blending the ingredients of tea. Tea drinking has lot of social and cultural aspects. In Arab world, people like black tea more than white tea whereas in countries like India or America, people like white tea more than other forms of tea. In China people like green tea more than anything else because of their awareness about the increased advantage of green tea over other teas. In India like countries, villagers use small tea shops; morning and evening to assemble and to communicate with each other. In short, tea drinking has many social and cultural signs associated with it. Even though white tea is the most popular drink among the different tea products like, black tea, herbal tea green tea etc, medical science has proved that green tea has significant advantage over white tea in preventing certain diseases like cancer and cardiovascular problems. Women are more benefited from tea use because of the abilities of tea in fighting against the ovary cancer and breast cancer. The processing of green tea is in such a way that the oxidation is minimized as much as possible to conserve the ingredients useful to the health. References 1. Almada A, (2005), Leveraging the science behind tea, Retrieved on 23 May 2010 from http://www.functionalingredientsmag.com/article/Business-Strategies/leveraging-the-science-behind-tea.aspx 2. Doheny K(2010), Pros and Cons of the Caffeine Craze, Retrieved on 23 May 2010 from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=77214 3. Dummert Erin RD, CD (2006), The Cancer Fighting Benefits Of Tea, Retrieved on 23 May 2010 from http://www.thedietchannel.com/Cancer-Fighting-Benefits-of-Tea.htm 4. Heller L (2009), Green tea catechins linked to weight loss: Study, Retrieved on 23 May 2010 from http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Green-tea-catechins-linked-to-weight-loss-Study 5. Henderson M (2009), Thermogenesis and Calorie Burners, Retrieved on 23 May 2010 from http://weight-loss-methods.suite101.com/article.cfm/thermogenesis_and_calorie_burners 6. Huang K and Deng Y, (2008), Social Interaction Design in Cultural Context, Retrieved on 23 May 2010 from http://www.ijdesign.org/ojs/index.php/IJDesign/article/view/341/168 7. Jolliffe L, (2006), VIEWPOINT Tea and hospitality: more than a cuppa, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 18 No. 2, 2006, pp. 164-168, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Retrieved on 23 May 2010 from https://classshares.student.usp.ac.fj/TS302/TS302%20Assignment%202%20resources/Tea%20and%20hospitality%20more%20than%20a%20cuppa.pdf 8. Lee KW and Lee HJ (2002), Antioxidant Activity of Black Tea vs. Green Tea 2002, The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr. 132:785, 2002, Retrieved on 23 May 2010 from http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/short/132/4/785 9. 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