Editorial Office

Abstract

Voluminous literature exists on health effects of "green tea" based chiefly on the work carried out in Japan, China
and USA. Contrary to this, not much information is available on health benefits of "black tea" despite the fact that it
is produced and consumed on a much larger scale, all over the world. This special issue, originally intended to be on
"BLACK TEA and HUMAN HEALTH", is a continuation of the initiative by the International Society of Tea Science
(ISTS) which commenced with Volume 2(1), 2002 of InternationalJournal of Tea Science (UTS), as a special issue
on "Tea and Health". The Society continued its edeavour by conducting a special session on Tea and Health, with the
participation of eminent scientists, at the International Conference, Kolkata (2003). It culminated in the publication
of Book-2 of ISTS, a monograph on "Protective Effects on Human Health'' by CABI (2006). But, most of the work
reported therein was on health effects of green tea. The Society, therefore, planned to publish a special issue of UTS
on "Black Tea and Human Health" as a fore-runner to Book-3, to remedy the situation by providing as much literature
as possible, on the subject.