A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that drinking green tea may help people live longer lives. The results of this study came as no surprise to Shannon Chen, owner of a teahouse in West Des Moines called the Golden Tea Pot. Chen, who opened her store last month, touts the health benefits of drinking tea, especially the loose-leaf varieties. She believes drinking tea can help with everything from boosting immune systems to controlling blood pressure.

“My main goal is to educate people to eat healthy, drink healthy and be healthy,” Chen said. “I always feel like my body is lighter after drinking tea. That’s why I call tea the body detergent.”

Through tea education classes at the Golden Tea Pot, Chen teaches the art of making tea and the benefits of drinking it. Her two-hour classes for groups of six to 10 people cover topics such as choosing teas, heating water to the right temperature, selecting the right amount of tea leaves, rinsing the leaves and drinking the tea with the loose leaves.

Chen said customers often ask about the difference between colors of tea leaves. She said the colors result from oxidation during processing, or how long the leaves are baked. Among white, green and black teas, white has the lightest flavor, black has the strongest flavor and green is in the middle. Regardless of what color of tea a person chooses, Chen recommends making tea with loose leaves as opposed to using a tea bag.

“When you grind tea really fine to put it in tea bags, it loses taste and function,” Chen said. “The best part of tea leaf, the smell, is filtered out by the paper.”

Chen sells about 30 varieties of tea in her store, by the cup or in one-ounce bags. A little tea goes a long way, she said. She drinks a few cups a day, and a one-ounce bag lasts her about 20 days because tea leaves can be reused a few times.

“I tell people to drink it as light as possible, just so you can feel the tea scent,” she said.

For more information about tea classes, call 327-1818.