This Ain’t Your Mama’s Tea
Written By Ruth Cruz
Rumor Has It…
There are countless varieties of tea that can be found on the shelves to sample. As you dive into your search for the perfect and most beneficial tea, you’ll find that there are many claims of which is the healthiest. Advertisements may flaunt that their teas may help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Others may lay a stake that they help boost weight loss, lower cholesterol, as well as teas that have antibacterial properties and even some that bring about mental alertness. Let me try to sort out a few of these that are peddled to help identify the worthwhile and why, as many of these claims are indeed true.
The American Dietetic Association notes that there doesn’t seem to be a downside to drinking tea
[1] and offers that it is a healthy alternative to drinking coffee. While tea has less caffeine than coffee it still contains caffeine. Yet the compounds in tea, their flavonoids, are good for the heart and may reduce the risk of cancer among other benefits supporting many of the claims made.Ladies and Gentleman…The Fab-Five!
Typically “TEA” is a name granted to many brews; still tea aficionados consider true tea to be the fab-five known as green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea, and pu-erh tea and only these as the genuine article. Yet I must insist that there are more leaves worth brewing than most purists would dare tell. So while we may refer to them as teas, herbal teas really aren’t teas, yet again many have benefits worthy of a taste test no less.
Starting with the original quintet, they are all derived from the Camellia sinensis plant, a shrub native to China and India. Whereas all are derived from the same plant, each are made using a different process. Green tea and white tea are not fermented, oolong tea is partially fermented, black tea is fully fermented and pu-erh tea is post-fermented. This means pu-erh tea’s processing includes both fermentation and then prolonged storage, or “aging,” under high humidity. All contain unique antioxidants called flavonoids, the most potent of these known as EGCG
[2] may help combat free radicals that contribute to cancer, heart disease and clogged arteries.The topic of tea elicits a variety of avenues to discover, nutritionists agree any tea is good tea. Still, they prefer brewed teas over bottled to avoid the extra calories, sugars and sweeteners. While bottled teas are convenient, the consensus remains that the more processed the tea leaves, the less polyphenol content they have and would not contain as high a flavonoid level or be as beneficial as a freshly brewed batch. Oolong and black teas are oxidized or fermented, so they have lower concentrations of polyphenols than green tea, but they remain high in antioxidants. Along with a decent concentration of flavonoids ranging from 100 to 300 mg per serving, these teas all have phytonutrients including catechins, magnesium, and theanine providing a positive effect on the brain providing a heightened state of mental alertness.
Lights, Camera, Action…Drink your tea!
Drinking tea regularly promotes proper hydration, and as noted improves focus and concentration, lending itself to help the drinker maintain a positive mood throughout the day. But what are the other potential health benefits of each of the fab-five teas?
- Green tea: Made with steamed tea leaves, it has a high concentration of EGCG and has been widely studied. Some would argue that it is the healthiest tea. Green tea’s antioxidants may interfere with the growth of bladder, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers; prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat, counteract oxidative stress on the brain, reduce risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, reduce risk of stroke, and improve cholesterol levels.
- Black tea: Made with fermented tea leaves, has the highest caffeine content and forms the basis for flavored teas like chai[3], along with some instant teas. Studies have shown that black tea may protect lungs from damage caused by exposure to cigarette smoke. It also may reduce the risk of stroke.
- White tea: Others may argue that white tea is the healthiest as its uncured and unfermented base contains the most antioxidants. One study showed that white tea has the most potent anticancer properties compared to other more processed teas.
- Oolong tea: While some claim there is too little attention on studies to support Oolong’s use as a weight loss supplement, there is some evidence that it’s effects on obesity merit personal trials for those looking for a little help reducing their waistline[4]. Several studies concluded that Oolong tea may also have beneficial effects on the progression of atherosclerosis in patients with coronary artery disease as it showed significant effects on lipid panels. Ironically one study had also observed a significant reduction in blood glucose levels, which albeit unexpected was well received[5]. Additional studies had found that Oolong tea also has antioxidative properties that may prove beneficial. With half the caffeine of green tea, it’s certainly a worthwhile consideration.
- Pu-erh tea: Made from fermented and aged leaves it is considered a black tea, and its leaves are pressed into cakes. One study showed that those given pu-erh had less weight gain and reduced LDL cholesterol.
It’s recommended a person drink three or more cups of tea per day to help improve and maintain cardiovascular health. More specifically recent clinical studies have shown that drinking two to three cups of black tea per day can help maintain healthy blood pressure and promote normal blood vessel function. You can’t argue with the benefits that come with a reduced risk of heart disease or stroke.
Double, Double Toil And Trouble, Fire Burn, And Cauldron Bubble…
Brewing the perfect cup of tea can be a little more complicated if you’re using fresh tea leaves. Try following these simple steps provided by the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Division
[6] on brewing the perfect cup of tea.It’s important to brew your tea for the appropriate time as noted for each of the different teas, in order to bring out the beneficial polyphenols.
- Begin with fresh, cold good-tasting water. Filtered is best because the process removes chemical tastes. Distilled may be too purified and produce a flat taste. Chlorine in tap water can lower antioxidant levels if it is not brought to a boil first.
- In a tea kettle, bring water just to a boil to properly oxygenate it. Over-boiling drives off oxygen.
- Pour some of the hot water into the teapot to warm it, discard the water. Its okay to use hot tap water for preheating. Water temperature may drop several degrees if poured into a cold cup/teapot and decrease the flavor extraction from the tea. You can use your saucer to cover the cup to retain the heat while brewing.
- Add tea leaves to a pot, or use an infuser. How much tea is a matter of taste, but a good rule of thumb is about 1tsp per 1cup tea plus one for the pot. Pour hot water over the tea leaves immediately for black tea or let it cool to proper temp for other types of tea.
- Let the leaves steep. Watch the clock not the color.
- Oolong tea needs just 1-2 minutes at between 185-195°F
- Green tea needs only to be steeped 2-3 minutes at 165°-180°F. Lower temperature helps protect against bitter taste. However, longer steeping will extract more antioxidants.
- Black teas should be steeped right at boiling (212°F) for 3-5 minutes.
- The longer you steep, the more bitter your tea will be. Never steep more than 5 minutes except for white tea, which can be infused for 5-7 minutes and herbal teas, which requires 10-20 minutes to extract flavor. Add more tea leaves for a stronger brew.
- When using loose tea leaves, make sure your leaves have room to unfurl.
Curiously some English tea traditions do follow serving tea with lemon. This actually would be favorable as it has been documented that drinking tea with lemon enhances its antioxidative properties. The citrus juices enable the antioxidants to remain after digestion making pairing even healthier than originally believed.
- A Simple British Tradition notes the following for serving tea with lemon: When serving lemon with tea, lemon slices are preferable not wedges. Either provide a small fork or lemon fork for your guests, or have the tea server neatly place a slice in the tea-cup after the tea has been poured. Be sure to never add lemon with milk as the lemon’s citric acid will cause the proteins in the milk to curdle.
- They also note: Do not use your tea to wash down food. Sip, don’t slurp, your tea and swallow before eating.
Ice, Ice Baby…Too Cold?If you’re not a big fan of the conventional hot tea in a tea cup you can also try brewing tea and drinking it cold. Tea can be drank cold throughout the day as a great way to get in those obligatory 8 glasses of water to be ideally consumed.
Where as pre-made bottled teas are convenient and a delicious way to keep your fluid consumption up, do be careful of the amount of sugars that you’ll take in along with it. Research
[7] also indicates that bottled iced tea contains fewer polyphenols than brewed green or black tea, zeroing out the true value of drinking tea. But if you take the time to brew your own tea and chill it yourself while being conscientious of how much sweetener or sugar you’re adding, you might just have a great way to meet your daily fluid quota. I personally enjoy brewing and keeping hibiscus tea and black or green tea ready to drink in my ’fridge. Over ice, hibiscus tea with stevia reminds me of Kool-Aid[8] and fills the void when I’m looking for a sweet treat.Poor Man’s Truth Serum: Caffeine And Sugar – Decaf or not?
As noted earlier tea has less caffeine than coffee, however if you’re being conscientious of your caffeine consumption you may be considering drinking decaf tea. This leaves us to wonder if decaffeinated tea has the same value as regular tea.
A cup of tea contains about 30 to 60 mg of caffeine. This amount is low compared to the estimated 120 mg of caffeine present in a cup of home-brewed coffee. A few studies found that decaf tea contains less flavonol than regular tea. The lower ORAC
[9] values from decaf tea also support the findings of less flavonol content. A 2003 UCLA study found that the ORAC values of decaf tea ranged from 507 to 845 trolox[10] equivalents per gram. On the other hand regular tea was measured to have ORAC values of 728 to 1686. We suspect that the process of removing caffeine may also remove some of the beneficial flavonol antioxidants.Based of these findings, nutritionists recommend sticking to regular tea. Keep in mind that your average cola soft drink has between 35-40 mg of caffeine when sizing up the normal volume of caffeine you drink. Personally, I switch it up. I keep freshly brewed hibiscus, green or black, and some decaf tea chilled and ready to drink. I’ll drink a bit of regular throughout the day, as I save my caffeine for my coffee fix, and switch to decaf tea with lemon in between.
Caffeine customarily gets a bad rep, so let me shed a few positive streaks of light on caffeine.
- Studies have shown that regular consumption of caffeine can reduce the chance of developing Parkinson’s disease.
- Caffeine has been linked to protecting the body against gallstones and improving alertness.
- It appears to enhance mood, temporarily improve physical stamina, and relieve headaches.
What Do Captains Drink? A Spot of Tea Shall We…
“Now what about those other flavors I see on market shelves?” you may ask.
Teas like Earl Grey is a black tea infused with bergamot, which has a citrus flavor. This tea blend is the result of the addition of the oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange, a fragrant citrus fruit. For those Star Trek fans, this was Picard’s favorite, although Kirk was a coffee drinker and was typically not identified by his choice in beverage.
English breakfast tea is a black tea blend usually described as full-bodied, robust, rich and blended to go well with milk and sugar, in a style traditionally associated with a hearty English breakfast. Note the English use milk not cream in their tea.
Irish breakfast tea is a blend of several black teas, most often Assam teas (from Assam, India), and is a maltier and stronger breakfast tea, consisting of small-sized Assam tea leaves.
Darjeeling tea is a tea from the Darjeeling district in West Bengal, India. Although Darjeeling teas are marketed commercially as “black teas”, almost all of them have incomplete oxidation (<90%), so they are technically more like Oolong than Black tea.
Jasmine tea is scented with aroma from jasmine blossoms to make a scented tea. Typically, jasmine tea starts with green tea as the base; however, white tea and black tea are also used. The resulting flavor of jasmine tea is subtly sweet and highly fragrant. It is the most famous scented tea from China.
Earth Laughs in Flowers – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Herbal teas have a lower concentration of antioxidants than green, white, black or oolong varieties, their chemical compositions vary widely depending on the plant used. While the fab-five are recognized as the tea hierarchy, there are other herbal and brewed varieties that may not share their antioxidative properties yet hold their own positive qualities that serve different purposes. So let’s just call the following varieties “teas” even though technically we agree they are not.
Chamomile tea is the steeped/brewed version of chamomile plants. Widely used for relaxation, it also contains antioxidants that may help prevent complications from diabetes and may help stunt the growth of cancer cells. It should be noted that if you suffer from allergies to ragweed or pollen you may not be able to drink Chamomile tea. IMPORTANT: It is also documented that women who are pregnant should not drink Chamomile tea as it has been linked to miscarriage in various stages of pregnancy.
Dandelion root is saluted as a powerful detox for the liver. Along with its other benefits[12] that may help improve digestion, aid weight loss, ease congestion of the liver, help purify the bladder and kidneys, and reduce the risk of urinary tract infections. It can also help ease bloating and aching joints, yet as with any new regiment one should proceed with caution and try a small amount to start. Often with treatment targeted for the digestive system, one might feel discomfort before feeling any positive effects.
Lemongrass is another herb that when brewed can be enjoyed for its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, and antifungal properties. It too has been known to relieve digestive ailments and help reduce fluid retention, while it improves blood circulation, and may help to dilate blood vessels.
Hibiscus tea has been touted to maintain a healthy heart as it contains flavonoids and anthocyanins with their antioxidant properties that are responsible for helping to support heart health. Research indicates that drinking three cups of hibiscus tea daily can lower blood pressure in people with modestly elevated levels, as well as help lower cholesterol levels. While studies indicate it may help lower systolic levels no reduction was noted in diastolic pressure. Its positive effects of reducing blood viscosity indicated a direct effect in the reduction of cholesterol levels
[13].
- Hibiscus tea has also been used traditionally to treat a cough, as it possesses antibacterial and antifungal properties. Drinking hibiscus tea can help relax the smooth muscle of the intestine and may help with digestive disorders such as an upset stomach. It has also been used as a remedy for poor appetite.
- Yerba mate has other xanthines besides caffeine, which have been shown to reduce the negative effects of consuming too much caffeine. Most likely why it is also been used to reduce stress and help relieve insomnia.