Explore the tea culture: Yeo
Published on: Sunday, August 02, 2009
Kota Kinabalu: City Hall Director-General Yeo Boon Hai urged the city community to explore the world of tea culture.Calling on the people to drink more tea, he said the tea culture has been playing a vital role in the social, economic and cultural development of mankind.He said in many cultures tea is regarded as a high-class social event, such as afternoon tea and the tea party.
ADVERTISEMENT
"In Arab culture, tea is a focal point for social gatherings. Moreover, the history of tea in Iran, in the Persian culture, is another to explore. One source cited that the first thing you will be offered as a guest at an Iranian home is tea."There are tea ceremonies that have arisen in different cultures, with Japan's complex, formal and serene one being one of the most well-known. Other examples are the Chinese tea ceremony which uses some traditional ways of brewing tea."One form of Chinese tea ceremony is the Gongfu tea ceremony which typically uses small Yixing clay teapots and oolong tea," Yeo said when opening the Sabah International Tea Cultural Expo 2009 at 1Borneo Hypermall here, Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said he found, through his research on tea, that tea-leaves contain more than 700 chemicals, among which the compounds closely related to human health are flavanoides, amino acids, vitamin C, E and K, caffeine and polysaccharides.Moreover, he said tea drinking has recently proven to be associated with cell-mediated immune function of the human body.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Tea plays an important role in improving beneficial intestinal microflora, as well as providing immunity against intestinal disorders and in protecting cell membranes from oxidative damage."Tea also prevents dental caries due to the presence of fluorine. The role of tea is well established in normalising blood pressure, lipid depressing activity, prevention of coronary heart diseases and diabetes by reducing the blood glucose activity," Yeo said.He added that tea also possesses germicidal and germistatic activities against various gram-positive and gram-negative human pathogenic bacteria. He also said both green and black tea infusions contain a number of antioxidants, mainly catechins that have anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic and anti-tumoric properties.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
