WHAT ARE THE WONDERS OF TEA

It’s been called the plant of Heaven.
For 4,000 years, it’s been valued both as a medicine and a drink for pleasure.

Tea
Originally, tea referred to one species of shrub that was cultivated in China— Camellia sinensis—known as the black tea shrub.

A charming legend tells how this ordinary plant became the first natural wonder in the world of herbal teas. The story takes us back to ancient China in 2737 B.C. when one day, Emperor Shen Nung was kneeling before a fire, heating water. Suddenly a wind stirred. Leaves fluttered down from a branch over his head and fell into the boiling water. The aroma captivated Shen Nung and he decided to taste the brew.

Where did these aromatic leaves come from? An ancient wild species of the black tea shrub. When the leaves are fermented, they produce oolong or black tea, but when they are brewed fresh, as in Shen Nung’s tea, they yield the refreshing green tea, which contains the potent antioxidant catechin, a bioflavonoid with antibacterial and anticancer properties.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN PURCHASING ESSENTIAL OILS

At this point, you know that in order to reap the full benefits of truly natural oils, you should shop for the most natural botanical matter available. A general starting point when purchasing essential oils is to look for pure, undiluted, 100 percent oils.

The following tips should help you have a pleasant shopping experience:

• Keep in mind that because the term “essential oils” is overused in aromatherapy, poor quality oils extracted from poor quality plants and flowers, or oils that are stored poorly and for too long, can still be labeled as essential oils. It is always a good idea to avoid oils stored in clear glass bottles that allow in light, because light is a known enemy to essential oils.
• Essential oil retailers are very common and some are driven only by the need to turn a quick profit — regardless of the effect these oils can have on you and your health. You should be wary of retailers that advertise that they sell to the food and beverage or perfume industries, which require consistent aromas. Consistent aromas can only be created in a laboratory, rendering them non-essential and less therapeutic.
• Do not be overly impressed with words such as perfume oil, fragrance oil, or nature-identical oil because these are most often synthetic oils that are created in a lab and blended with varied but small essential oil amounts. One such retailer, Aloha Bay of Lower Lake, California, has stopped using the label “nature identical” because the company found it to be misleading. The company now prefers to label these oils “nature-identical synthetic scents blended with essential oils” because that is, after all, what they are.

WHAT ARE THE PRECAUTIONS WHEN USING ESSENTIAL OILS

You should make sure to exercise appropriate caution when working with concentrated essential oils. Aromatherapy experts recommend that before attempting essential oil extraction or use, you should have basic knowledge of the oil’s qualities, including its scent. Knowing the oil’s qualities can help protect children, pregnant or lactating women, and those with underlying illnesses or sensitive skin.

There are a number of “never dos” to observe with essential oils:

• Never use them undiluted.
Using undiluted essential oils can cause permanent skin sensitization, which means becoming allergic to that particular essential oil. In the book Essential Oils and Aromatics: A Step-by-Step Guide for Use in Massage and Aromatherapy, Marge Clark, an author and aromatherapy expert who is well quoted in aromatherapy and herbal media stories, shares a personal experience that serves as a great cautionary tale. She shares how she used undiluted lavender oil on broken skin and now suffers from contact dermatitis, a skin sensitivity reaction, if she comes into contact with any form of lavender.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SYNTHETIC AND PURE ESSENTIAL OILS

The pure essential oils discussed in this book vary greatly in chemical structure from synthetic essential oils. Pure essential oils come exclusively from plant matter with naturally occurring properties, but synthetic oils contain animal matter, synthetically created oil properties, and naturally occurring oil properties. Using chemical solvents like alcohol is a popular way to create synthetic oil properties. Once chemical solvents have been introduced to plant matter such as leaves or flowers in the extraction process, the occurring oil is called an absolute and is not really considered essential oil anymore even though it still possesses some therapeutic qualities. Aromatherapy experts say
that even the minutest synthetic component in otherwise pure oil renders it completely synthetic albeit still useful in aromatherapy.

Extraction Methods

Distillation
This is the most common extraction method for essential oils and can include steam distillation, hydrodistillation, or a combination of the two, called water and steam distillation. Water is the common denominator in distillation, but heat plays an important role as well.

WHAT EXACTLY IS AN ESSENTIAL OIL?

Think of a few dozen fresh green leaves from a blooming coriander plant in the palm of your hand. When you squeeze those leaves hard enough, a green, juicy substance will ooze onto your hand. That juicy substance is your basic, undiluted essential oil. The squeeze method of extraction, however, is not one of the methods this book will cover, because it is much more time consuming than any other method featured here. From allspice to lavender and ylang-ylang, everyday and exotic plants are the bearers of essential oils, which, despite their name, do not feel oily. They are called oils because they contain oil-soluble chemicals derived from plant matter.

The term essential oil may vary according to each user, the term refers only to the essence — the concentrated and aromatic oils derived from plants and flowers long identified for aromatherapy
uses. These oils come from plant leaves, fruits, stems, and roots and are used for a variety of purposes, including therapeutic. You may encounter warnings whenever the therapeutic qualities of essential oils are discussed, advising you not to rely on essential oils to treat serious medical conditions and to seek professional medical care in such cases.

It is probably a good idea to follow these well meant pieces of advice while also keeping in mind that essential oils make up the immune systems of some plants, helping them fight infection and repel pests. Imagine then what they can do for you.