PRETTY YOUNG THING

Herbal teas have a long, distinguished history, and the origins of jasmine tea stretch back to the time of the Song Dynasty in China, some 1,000 years ago. Jasmine belongs to the olive family and is a climbing vine found all over tropical areas of Asia, Africa and Europe. Its blooms are rose-like and are much prized for their delicate fragrance and their beauty.

Making the tea

There are a variety of jasmine teas, all made by blending jasmine flower leaves together with traditional tea leaves. The flowers have to remain cool until night falls and then are picked as their leaves begin to open and placed in the tea leaves, the flowers continuing to open and releasing their fragrance and aromas.

Types of tea

We all have our favorites when it comes to tea, and I find jasmine tea a delicious and invigorating blend to drink. It's often blended with green tea so the flowery aroma of jasmine can emerge and provide a sweet and refreshing taste to the palate.

Although it can be mixed with any kind of tea, I prefer Jasmine Green Tea as it gives me both health and beauty benefits.

Health benefits

Jasmine tea has a number of important benefits to health because it is high in catechins, a group of antioxidants that are very powerful. Research has shown that drinkers of jasmine tea – and other unfermented teas – were at lower risk of developing esophageal cancer than those drinking fermented black tea.

Jasmine tea also gives me a calm and relaxed feeling, and I understand that the aroma is considered to offer sedative effects. Researchers looking into the effect of jasmine tea's scent found that volunteers had significantly decreased heart rate and moods became calmer, particularly beneficial for people suffering from high blood pressure induced by stress.

Inhaling the aroma of jasmine tea can also help people with anxiety and depression and it has properties that act on the cells that cause aging in the body, slowing down the process.

Beauty benefits

As well as its range of health benefits, jasmine tea is also ideal for aspects of skin care. I've mentioned its anti-aging properties can slow up the wrinkling of the skin. Those with skin problems such as eczema and acne, as well as oily skin, will benefit as jasmine helps to reduce the production of oil and is a natural way to help nourish the skin.

Some preliminary studies have shown that drinking jasmine tea can be good for people on a diet, as its sweet taste can help individuals to cut down their calorie intake.

Enjoying the tea

I find the best way to enjoy this delicious tea is with my feet up in a relaxing chair with some soothing music in the background. It recharges my batteries and helps the real world to fade away for a time.

Having been around for centuries, jasmine tea has a long and distinguished history, a drink whose benefits to health and beauty have made it the drink of choice for increasing numbers of people.