Beljanski® ingredient
OnkoTea®
Four Teas. One Handwritten Note. Twenty Years in a Box.
By Sylvie BeljanskiCEO, Maison Beljanski. Daughter of Mirko Beljanski, PhD.
OnkoTea® is Maison Beljanski’s organic green tea blend of four teas, Ceylon Green, Bi Luo Chun, Gunpowder and Dragonwell, selected from Mirko Beljanski’s 1985 laboratory notes and blended by Sylvie Beljanski in 2016. It is sold as a tea and used as an ingredient in Womabel® and Beljanskin®.
The story of OnkoTea® began in 1985, during a scientific trip to China.
Molecular biologist Mirko Beljanski, PhD, and his wife Monique had been invited to Beijing by Professor M.C. Niu for a scientific collaboration. Before they left, Professor Niu gave them a large box filled with fine Chinese teas.
Back in his laboratory, Mirko tested the teas individually using his Oncotest.
On a single sheet of paper, he wrote down the names of four teas. Beside them, in his handwriting:
“très très anti-C”“Very, very anti-C” — his shorthand for “very, very anti-cancer.”
Then history intervened.
- Four organic green teas, one blend
- Selected from Mirko Beljanski’s 1985 laboratory screening
- Blended by Sylvie Beljanski in 2016
- Compared with commercial green teas at the University of Kansas Medical Center
The story
Twenty Years in a Box
When Mirko’s laboratory was destroyed in 1996, his longtime assistant Gilda gathered miscellaneous documents that had survived and stored them in her garage.
Twenty years later, in 2016, Gilda decided to clear out the garage and sent me a box of miscellaneous papers.
Inside was my father’s handwritten tea note.
There was:
- No recipe.
- No proportions.
- No instructions.
Just the names of four teas — and those intriguing words: “Very, very anti-C.”
I didn’t doubt my father’s findings. But I wanted to know: how much is “very, very”?
I sourced organic versions of the four teas, created an optimized blend, and asked researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center to compare it with other commercially available green teas.
That blend became OnkoTea®.
The blend
Four Organic Green Teas
One Distinctive Blend
OnkoTea® combines the four green teas Mirko Beljanski singled out in his original laboratory screening:
- Ceylon Green Sri Lanka · unoxidized green tea from the island’s highlands
- Bi Luo Chun Jiangsu, China · tender leaves rolled into small spirals
- Gunpowder China · leaves rolled into tight pellets
- Dragonwell Longjing · Hangzhou, China · pan-fired flat leaves
All four come from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. But “green tea” doesn’t mean that every tea has the same chemical composition.
Independent researchers have documented substantial differences in catechin and phenolic profiles among commercially available green teas.
Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin found wide variation in catechin content among seven commercial green-tea products.
More recently, a 2023 study of 15 commercial green teas found significant differences in catechin composition, phenolic content and antioxidant properties.
Which green tea you choose can matter.
So, How Much Is “Very, Very”?
We Asked Researchers to Compare Green Teas
Researchers Ping Chen and Qi Chen at the University of Kansas Medical Center compared OnkoTea® with three other commercially available green teas under standardized laboratory conditions.
The researchers prepared the tea samples under the same conditions before comparing their effects. And importantly, they did not look at just one cell line.
The different green teas did not behave the same way.
At higher concentrations, the researchers reported that OnkoTea generally demonstrated the strongest inhibitory activity among the four green-tea preparations across the cancer cell models studied.
Mirko had written “very, very.” The modern comparison gave us a way to measure the difference.
This was laboratory research conducted in cultured cancer cells. It does not establish that drinking OnkoTea® treats, prevents or cures cancer, or that the laboratory findings translate into clinical effects in humans.
- Breast cancer cells
- Metastatic breast cancer cells
- Bladder cancer cells
- Several further cell lines
Beljanskin® skincare
The Same Four Teas, Now for Your Skin
OnkoTea® is one of the two Beljanski® botanicals in the Beljanskin® skincare line, bottled with Golden Leaf Ginkgo to bring the goodness of both directly to the skin.
- Green tea polyphenols, prized in skincare for their antioxidant and soothing qualities, from the same organic four-tea blend you can drink.
- Made for very sensitive skin: free of parabens, synthetic preservatives and added fragrance, with every ingredient chosen to soothe and nourish.
- Glass bottles with pump dispensers, so nothing leaches into the formula and each dose stays clean.
From a Piece of Paper to Maison Beljanski
The discovery of my father’s handwritten note didn’t only lead to OnkoTea®, it also helped inspire something larger.
In 2017, I opened Maison Beljanski as a tea room in New York — a place where science, nature, conversation and the ritual of tea could come together.
The story later became the epilogue of Winning the War on Cancer.
In the book, I describe finally sitting quietly with a cup of the newly created blend. As I poured the golden liquid and reflected on the extraordinary journey that had brought those four teas back into my life, a name came to me:
Maison Beljanski.
That connection between the tea and the Maison is preserved in the closing pages of the book.
Discover OnkoTea®
Four Organic Green Teas. One Remarkable Journey.
Ceylon Green · Bi Luo Chun · Gunpowder · Dragonwell
- Selected from Mirko Beljanski’s original laboratory observations.
- Blended by Sylvie Beljanski after the rediscovery of his handwritten note.
- Compared with other commercial green teas in university laboratory research.
Are all green teas basically the same?
No. All true green teas come from Camellia sinensis, but their chemical profiles can differ according to factors such as variety, origin, growing conditions, leaf selection and processing. Independent analyses have found significant differences in catechin and phenolic content among commercial green teas.
Is OnkoTea® one type of green tea?
No. OnkoTea® is a blend of four organic green teas selected following Mirko Beljanski’s original laboratory screening and later combined by Sylvie Beljanski.
Which green tea is best?
There is no single best green tea. Independent studies show that catechin and phenolic content vary widely from one commercial green tea to another, so the tea you choose can matter. OnkoTea® takes a different route: it blends the four green teas Mirko Beljanski singled out in his own laboratory screening, and the blend was later compared with other commercial green teas in university research.
Does OnkoTea® contain caffeine?
Yes, in modest amounts. Green tea naturally contains caffeine (sometimes called theine), and OnkoTea® is made only of green teas. If you are sensitive to caffeine, you may prefer to drink it earlier in the day.
Is OnkoTea® organic?
Yes. Sylvie Beljanski sourced organic versions of all four teas when she created the blend.
Where can I buy OnkoTea®?
OnkoTea® is sold directly by Maison Beljanski at maisonbeljanski.com. The blend is also an ingredient in Womabel® and in selected Beljanskin® skincare formulations.
Independent research
Independent Research & Sources
Show the three sources
Commercial Green Teas Can Differ
Manning J, Roberts JC. Analysis of Catechin Content of Commercial Green Tea Products.
Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin documented substantial variation in catechin content among seven commercial green-tea products.
Read on PubMed PMID 152770542019OnkoTea® Comparison
Chen P, Chen Q. Effects of Different Tea Products on the Growth of Cancer Cells. EC Nutrition. 2019;14(12):1–13.
University of Kansas Medical Center compared the four-tea blend with three other commercial green teas under standardized laboratory conditions.
Read the article PDF2023Green Tea Composition
Meyer BR, White HM, McCormack JD, Niemeyer ED. Catechin Composition, Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Properties of Commercially-Available Bagged, Gunpowder, and Matcha Green Teas.
Compared 15 commercial green teas and found measurable differences in catechin profiles, phenolic content and antioxidant properties.
Read on PubMed PMID 37923855Four Teas. One Remarkable Journey.
- 1985A box of teas from China.
- Mirko’s laboratoryThe teas are individually screened with the Oncotest.
- 1996Miscellaneous papers survive the destruction of the laboratory.
- 20 yearsIn Gilda’s garage.
- 2016A box of miscellaneous documents arrives. Inside: four tea names. “Very, very anti-C.”
- The question“How much is very, very?”
- The blendSylvie creates the blend.
- University researchOnkoTea® is compared with other green teas.
- OnkoTea®
Sometimes the preparation matters — even with something as familiar as tea.
Discover OnkoTea®*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
