The Varieties and Uses of Tea

Specific Purpose: To inform audience of the benefits of tea.

Central idea: The different types of tea can help you prevent obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and
cancer.

INTRODUCTION
A. (Attention Getter) How many of you like black tea or green tea? What if I told you that there are
actually many varieties of each type of tea? According to the Tea Association of the USA, tea is
the second most-consumed drink in the world, next to water. However, the vast majority of
people in the US know very little about it.
B. (Credibility-Relevancy Statement) As a former, trained teashop barista and lifelong tea lover, I
feel it is my duty to spread information about the many lesser-known varieties of tea, and their
use in different aspects of health and well-being. Its been scientifically proven that people with
high intakes of tea are generally healthier and live longer than those who dont. In his article
Green Tea And Theanine: Health Benefits, Raymond Cooper claims that countries with high
intakes of tea, such as China, have very low cancer rates.
C.

(Preview) By the end of this speech, you will know of the different varieties of teas and how
these can help prevent very dangerous diseases.

TRANSITION But before we can discuss the benefits of tea, we first must know what tea is.

BODY
A. The first thing we need to understand is that all teas come from the same plant: Camellia
Sinensis.
a. By processing Camellia Sinensis, all six types of tea are born. These are: white tea,
green tea, yellow tea, oolong tea, pu-erh tea, and black tea.
i. Teas can have additives, such as natural oils, flower petals, aromatic herbs,
seeds, or even fruit slices.
ii. Each type of tea has an endless amount of blends, and in the language of tea,
blend stands for flavor.
1. Passion fruit green, Love in Paris green, grapefruit oolong, raspberry
champagne white, etc.

TRANSITION So, now we understand tea is an infusion of Camellia Sinensis, in any of its six
basic forms. Now that thats out of the way, lets discuss how tea can help you prevent several dangerous
diseases.
B. Thanks to the many chemical components of tea, it can help you prevent obesity,
cardiovascular diseases, and even cancer.
a. Many of the active components of tea can help either prevent or treat obesity.
i. Ruxton writes in his paper called Emerging Evidence For Tea Benefits, that
drinking green and oolong teas reduce glucose levels.
ii. In Medicinal Benefits Of Green Tea, which is a paper in the Journal Of
Alternative & Complementary Medicine, it is said that the caffeine and
antioxidants found in tea, aids with weight loss by increasing the generation
of body heat. It also burns fat and protects muscle mass.
1. This is why many nutritionists recommend green or black tea in
peoples daily diets.
b. Tea is most successful at preventing cardiovascular diseases.
i. Sinija and Mishra, authors of the paper Green Tea: Health Benefits, mention
that in Japan, green tea consumption is much more common in people
without coronary artery disease.
ii. Additionally, in an eleven-year-long research experiment lead by Kuriyama
Shinichi, it was found that people who drank a minimum of three cups of tea
per day, were 26% less likely to die of a cardiovascular disease.
c. Tea also helps prevent cancer thanks to its antioxidants.
i. Li Na-Na wrote a heavily researched paper, which demonstrated that teas
with high amounts of antioxidants help prevent ultraviolet radiation-induced
skin disorders, including cancer. This happens because antioxidants prevent
the cells from reproducing incorrectly, which is precisely how tumors are
born.
ii. According to the previously mentioned paper, Green Tea: Health Benefits,
cancer cells were transplanted into mice that had been fed green tea, and only
50% of the tumors took hold.
TRANSITION Thats a lot of information to take in in such little time, I know, so Im gonna do a
quick recap so that you can think about it and process it, and maybe do a little research of your own.

CONCLUSION

(Summary Statement) In the last seven minutes, you learned where tea comes from and the six
different types of tea. You also learned how its daily intake could prevent diseases such as obesity,
cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.
(Closing Statement) It must be said, though, that however scientific and medical this speech was, its
important to remember that, at the end of the day, tea is nothing more than a cultural, enjoyable tradition
thats been around for millennia. It just so happens to be one of the healthiest traditions in the world, and,
just like new knowledge, good health should never be unwelcome.

WORKS CITED
Journals
1. Sinija, VR, and HN Mishra. Green Tea: Health Benefits. Journal Of
Nutritional & Environmental Medicine 17.4 (2008): 232-242. CINAHL with
Full Text. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
2. Cooper, R, DJ Morr, and DM Morr. Medicinal Benefits Of Green Tea: Part
I. Review Of Noncancer Health Benefits. Journal Of Alternative &
Complementary Medicine 11.3 (2005): 521-528. CINAHL with Full Text.
Web. 8 Oct. 2014.

Articles
1. Ruxton, C. Emerging Evidence For Tea Benefits. Nutrition Bulletin 38.3
(2013): 287-301. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
2. Na-Na, Li, et al. Photoprotective Effect Of Tea And Its Extracts Against
Ultraviolet

Radiation-Induced

Pharmaceutical

Research 13.3

Skin

Disorders.

(2014):

Tropical

Journal

475-483. Academic

Of

Search

Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.

3. Shinichi, Kuriyama. The Relation Between Green Tea Consumption And
Cardiovascular Disease As Evidenced By Epidemiological Studies. Journal
Of Nutrition 138.8 (2008): 1548S. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
4. Cooper,
Raymond.
"Green
Tea
And
Theanine:
Health
Benefits." International Journal Of Food Sciences & Nutrition 63.(2012):
90-97. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
5. Chinchole, A. S., et al. "Green Tea As A Wonderful And Grateful Drink For
Promoting Health." Pharma Science Monitor 5.1 (2014): 1-9. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.

Web Pages
1. Choice Organic Teas
http://www.choiceorganicteas.com/caffeineintea.php
2. The Tea Association of the USA
http://www.teausa.com/14655/tea-fact-sheet
3. Tea Class, by Adagio Teas
http://www.teaclass.com/