Tea: From Historical Documents to Modern Technology

Tea is among the most important beverages globally. The spread of tea from the East to West has not only affected lifestyles, but also promoted the exchange of exchange between the East and West. Tea processing, which is critical for the development of tea flavor, includes multiple steps, such as withering, deactivation, rolling, fermentation (enzymatic oxidation) and post-fermentation. With the development of mechanical processing, tea has now become widely produced, both by hand-crafting and mechanical processing. Multiple components of tea, such as tea polyphenols, theanine, tea pigments and caffeine, have also been acquired by modern separation techniques. In traditional Chinese medicine, tea has long been documented as beneficial to health. Modern medical and nutritional studies have demonstrated that tea has many health benefits, acting to lower blood lipids, blood sugars, anti-inflammation, and anti-oxidation. To some extent, the activities of tea verified by modern medicine are consistent with the recordings in traditional medicine. Interdisciplinary theories, methods and techniques will contribute bridging knowledge contained within historical documents on tea and modern technology and science.