I noticed this tea is approaching its expiration date so I decided to concentrate on drinking it down. I have a LOT of it because it was soooo good and then I got distracted by other teas and let it languish. Time to fix that.
I had a very weird lunch of leftover barbeque (NC vinegar style from CookOut) and waffles with maple syrup. I told you it was weird. I had the bbq first and then made the tea and waffles.
My first sip reminded me why I bought so much all at once. Even though this is nearing its expiry date, it is still good. Tea needs to “cut through” the thick sweetness of the syrup for me, and this one did. Keemun does it by its raspy cocoa dryness, but this one was silky and sweet, with enough flavor contrast to make itself known through the maple.
I think it paired awesomely.
Has anyone seen this article? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1142193/
It was about SARS which is a coronavirus, but basically what it says is that black and puerh tea did have an inhibitory effect on the virus by disrupting an enzyme, 3CL protease. Green and oolong not so much, as the tannins and theaflavin were the helpful bits! Well, any excuse to drink more tea, plus I am hoping the heat of the beverage makes my throat a less hospitable environment for viruses in general!
There are no confirmed cases in our county yet, though there are some in our state. Not worried too much about getting sick as we are taking reasonable precautions, but wondering how supplies of food and other necessaries will hold out with people hoarding.
Praying for all our steepsterites to stay healthy and well fed!
Sorry! Forgot to paste link first time around! It has been added.
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Thanks for the link
You’re welcome! I don’t know enough chemistry to truly interpret, but the tl:dr seems to be that components in black and puerh tea are good at bashing coronaviruses. They also acknowledge that the catechins in green tea are also great antioxidants, but not as effective against viruses as the theaflavin and tannins.
Those are in vitro studies. Most of them do not translate well into clinical findings. However, the antiviral effects of tea have been documented in both clinical trials and epidemiological studies.
Given that and the fact that I am about to receive a package with four pounds of pu-erh I am going to take your study as gospel and act accordingly.
Interesting study! Honestly I don’t really think it can help too much, but a little can be better than none.
At least it won´t do any harm, especially when having a common cold (also from corona family)…and it´s a good excuse to drink more tea! As a matter of fact, I´m in quarantine (in Madrid since 4 days), and it´s a unique opportunity to drink more tea and empty the shelves a bit.
Oh good, another excuse for me to drink my puerh and black teas. :D
Exactly tea-sipper!
Thanks for the link
You’re welcome! I don’t know enough chemistry to truly interpret, but the tl:dr seems to be that components in black and puerh tea are good at bashing coronaviruses. They also acknowledge that the catechins in green tea are also great antioxidants, but not as effective against viruses as the theaflavin and tannins.
Those are in vitro studies. Most of them do not translate well into clinical findings. However, the antiviral effects of tea have been documented in both clinical trials and epidemiological studies.
Given that and the fact that I am about to receive a package with four pounds of pu-erh I am going to take your study as gospel and act accordingly.
Interesting study! Honestly I don’t really think it can help too much, but a little can be better than none.
At least it won´t do any harm, especially when having a common cold (also from corona family)…and it´s a good excuse to drink more tea! As a matter of fact, I´m in quarantine (in Madrid since 4 days), and it´s a unique opportunity to drink more tea and empty the shelves a bit.
Oh good, another excuse for me to drink my puerh and black teas. :D
Exactly tea-sipper!