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Trend and market of traditional beverages from Northeastern Asia |
Y. W. HUANG, Dept. of Food Science & Technology, Univ. of Georgia, 204 Food Science Bldg., Athens, GA 30602-7610 and C. Y. Huang, Dept. of Food Science, National I-lan Institute of Technology, I-Lan, Taiwan.
The most important traditional beverage in Northeastern Asia is tea. Originally, tea is specifically referred to one species of the shrub, Camellia sinesis, that was cultivated in China. The discovery of tea was dated to ancient China in 2737 B.C. when Emperor Shen Nung tasted it and then used it as a medicine for treating diseases. Tea was later spread to Japan and Korea. Tea can be categorized as green, oolong and black teas according to the method of processing. Green tea comes from the fresh leaves; oolong tea comes from semi-fermented leaves; and black tea comes from fully fermented leaves. The Chinese produce all three types of tea, while the Japanese and the Koreans specialize in production of green tea. In Japan, the green tea is known as the national beverage. The primary properties of tea leaves are polyphenols that yield the color and taste of a tea. It contains catechin, a potent antioxidant, that has antibacterial and anticancer properties. Many variety of Chinese tea exist in markets due to the different species of tea plant, the shape of tea leaves, the production place of tea, and the addition of flavoring with other ingredients such as flowers. Besides tea leaves, many herbs, grains and fruits have been used to produce some tea-type beverages. Among them, the famous tonic is ginseng, Panax ginseng. Ginseng is a perennial plant that grows in China, Korea and Japan. It is recognized as the
Session 26, Traditional beverages from Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and their marketability to the U.S. consumers
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