Over thousands of years trying and testing plants, the ancient Chinese found tea not just refreshing but an effective remedy as well. Widely used as medicine even then, tea is now recognized as a way of maintaining health and correcting mild complaints, such as sleeplessness, coughing or fatigue.

Tea is usually divided into six categories: green tea, black tea, dark tea, oolong tea, white tea and flower tea - each has its own properties for health.

Green tea

Green tea includes the famous Longjing from Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province; Biluochun from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province; and Maofeng from Yellow Mountain in Anhui Province - it is a favorite for many Chinese.

Green tea is rich in vitamin C. It is now widely recognized as an antioxidant that can delay the aging process and help prevent cancer. But it can do much more than that.

Cold yin green tea can help improve the metabolic system for urination, it may dispel excessive internal heat and relieve indigestion and diarrhea. Green tea also helps people refresh themselves though black tea and coffee are the choice of most when they feel sleepy.

Black tea

Black tea which is popular in the West is fermented tea which is "warm." It can help relieve stomach pains.

Recent research shows that drinking black tea can also help prevent or relieve thickened arteries or veins that can cause strokes or heart disease. Crusted black tea can help relieve chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma.

The most well-known Chinese black teas come from Qimen in Anhui Province, which is called as Qihong. There are also popular Chinese black teas in the provinces of Yunnan, Jiangsu, Hunan, Sichuan and Guangdong.

Dark tea

Dark tea - typically Pu'er tea - is also a fermented tea. It is usually made into hard dry bricks to preserve it.

In the plateau areas where there is a lack of vegetables and fruits and coarse grains comprise much of the fare, black tea helps people maintain a balanced diet.

Pu'er is "warm" tea that can help relieve ailments in the stomach. Surprisingly it can also help decrease blood fat and blood pressure, prevent hardening of the arteries and help weight loss. Yunnan Province is the home of Pu'er.

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