Jumping into the world of tea

     Are you a fan of tea?  It's a complex world with various types and even more flavors.  White, Green, Black, Oolong, Rooibos, Herbal, and Mate are some of the various types to choose from.  I guess you can say that it mainly depends on what you're looking to get from your tea.  When you want a little caffeine, but not the same kick you receive from coffee, all of these are great ideas except for the herbal tea.  While tea doesn't have the same effect as coffee, it at one time contained more caffeine than it's equal weight in coffee.
     Most teas in fact have more caffeine per concentration in it's raw state than coffee beans.  What happens is that when coffee is brewed, some caffeine is lost but not at the rate that tea looses it's caffeine concentration.  Some believe this is why tea is more beneficial at night before trying to sleep over coffee.  Just that little bit of caffeine you receive from tea can actually help stabilize your system to calm it down.  That seems a little backwards to me and I was skeptical so I did a little research.
     For the coffee drinkers of the world, researchers have found that if you maintain the same level of coffee consumption per day, it will stabilize your blood pressure.  That doesn't necessarily mean at good levels but that's another topic.  For individuals that are addicted to caffeine, and you know who you are, if you miss your caffeine intake, do you feel slow?  Do you start to get a headache?  Do you feel like you have some weight pulling you down?  It's because your body is now dependant on that caffeine. 
     Why tea is seen as a nice substitute at night is that if you begin to crash from your caffeine intake, your body starts to react in a way that inhibits you from feeling comfortable and able to get a good nights sleep.  This is why I typically drink green tea almost every night.  It helps me calm my mind before trying to get some sleep.  Green tea has also been shown to help with weight management, which as a chef, that can always help.
      Or maybe it's all just the effects of a placebo, who knows.