Best Tasting Tea Brewing Tips
Weve talked about how to make loose leaf tea without an infuser, but, lets talk about some of the most common problems that can lead to tea that doesnt taste good.
- Dont pack your infuser too full. You want the loose tea to have a lot of space to expand when it is inside the infuser. Otherwise, the water cant do its job. More tea does not equal more flavor.
- Dont leave the tea in the infuser too long. In most cases, tea doesnt need to steep more than 3-5 minutes. Some herbal teas can steep longer without problem, but dont oversteep. Too much time = bitter tea. This is particularly important for green teas and white teas, which are very sensitive.
- Honey and sugar wont taste exactly the same . When sweetening your tea, honey and sugar dont do the same thing. For example, any tea with mint youll find you might love it with honey and hate it with sugar, or vice versa. Also, consider trying just a touch of sweetener first too much sweetener can have unintended consequences, while just a tiny bit of sweetener can enhance the teas flavor.
What Can You Mix With Green Tea
Some do not like green tea for its taste. That shouldnt prevent anyone from taking it. While many prefer to take it as a pure brew, it wouldnt harm you mixing a few things with it to please your taste buds.
You can add some lemon to it or some honey to sweeten it a bit. If that doesnt suffice, ginger and some mint leaves would add some flavor to encourage you to drink green tea.
For example, I prefer mixing mint and honey in my iced green tea.
Something To Drink Your Tea From
You will need a cup or a mug to drink your tea. Mugs are usually bigger than cups and dont have saucers. But there are many different types of cups toosome have handles and some dont. If you are just starting out, a regular mug or a coffee cup will be good too. Invest in a good cup or a mug that you like. It will make drinking tea really enjoyable.
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Water Critical For Every Function In Your Body
Water helps clear your body of toxins. Drinking water can also help clear away some types of illnesses by lessening congestion in your body.
Additionally, water helps your mucous membranes work, so they can trap things like dust and bacteria and prevent them from getting into your lungs.
Drinking enough water will help your body cleanse properly, allowing it to heal and get you back to feeling good again.
Especially when youre sick, drinking clean, filtered water is best.
Why Is My Tea Bitter
Your tea steeps into a bitter cup? All teas made from Camellia sinensis tea plant contain EGCg, tannins, caffeine and other compounds. All of them make tea either healthy or energizing, but unfortunately most of them are bitter. The longer you steep your tea, the more compounds you will extract. Hotter water will extract more compounds. Your tea will be bitter because you are either steeping your tea for too long or using water thats too hot for delicate tea leaves. Dont worry about not extracting all the beneficial compounds if you steep your tea for only 1-3 minutes. You can re-steep the same leaves and extract more compounds and flavors but without the bitterness.
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What Is The Best Way To Drink Green Tea
Unknown to many, there are proper ways to take green tea to reap its many benefits. The quantity and method of preparation affect the quality of your green tea.
Drinking green tea hot or cold depends on your preference. What matters most is how you prepare it. If you are using leaves, ensure the quantity you want is already in the teacup. Then, heat water and pour it into the cup.
When preparing green tea, you must give the green tea leaves enough time to diffuse nutrients into the water. The time of infusion, temperature, and water volume will vary on the type of green tea you wish to drink.
If the temperature is too high, it may not draw out some flavor components such as theanine. Too low also means astringency components such as catechins would remain in the leaf.
For example, 2g of Sencha green tea requires 80 to 90 degrees of 90 ml of 3 oz water and an immersion time of one minute at the most.
The quantity of tea leaves you need depends on the number of cups you want to brew.
On a general note, the infusion time of the leaves will vary between 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
The water type also plays a vital role in green tea preparation.
Soft water is preferable for preparing this beverage. You must also ensure it is free from chlorine odor.
Peppermint Tea Is Associated With A Healthy Digestive System
Like ginger, peppermint is known for promoting healthy digestion. Peppermint herbal tea can be a great option to help support digestion, says Al Bochi. Peppermint contains a compound called menthol that can help relax the intestinal tract and help relieve bloating.
Some studies in animal models have shown that peppermint can specifically help relax gastrointestinal tissues, a review notes. Another review found that peppermint oil is a safe and effective short-term treatment for irritable bowel syndrome , though its worth noting that peppermint oil is more highly concentrated than peppermint tea.
Other research, published in February 2019 in the journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences, shows that peppermint could ease chest pain and help people with esophagus disorders better swallow their food, potentially by helping relax smooth muscle located in the lower esophagus.
Because peppermint tea doesnt contain any caffeine, its also a great option for a soothing drink before bed.
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Teas Are Seasonal Too
Just like coffee drinkers go for cold-brew in the Summer and pumpkin-spice in the Fall, there are also ideal times of the year to drink certain teas.
According to the tenets of traditional Chinese herbalism , many foods and flavors can be classified by their warming or cooling properties.
Balancing coolness and warmth is a focal point of TCM, which posits that radiant health can be achieved by maintaining a neutral state in the body .
Interestingly, this classification has NOTHING to do with the physical temperature of food. It has to do with the warming or cooling effect created within your body when you consume that food. In other words, its NOT the case that hot tea is always warming and iced tea is always cooling.
Sound confusing? Weve got a cheat sheet for you below!
Teas To Drink For A Healthier Body And Mind
From black and green to hibiscus and chamomile, tea may help you stave off disease, manage a healthy weight, ease physical discomfort, and more.
Do you love sipping an energizing cup of green tea when you rise or a calming cup of chamomile before bedtime? Youre in luck: Tea is not just a refreshing drink it may offer a host of health benefits.
Tea is a plant-based beverage that has been shown to have many nourishing properties, says Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN, the Chicago-based author of The Essential Guide to Healthy Healing Foods. As a soothing warm or cold beverage, tea contains plant compounds called polyphenols, which are antioxidants that give tea its medicinal benefits.
For example, phytochemicals the plant-based polyphenols in tea may play a role in preventing or delaying cell damage and in protecting cells from cancer-causing substances, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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Also, a small study published in June 2019 in the journal Aging found that, compared with those who didnt drink tea, older adults who regularly drank tea had better organized brain regions, which is associated with healthier cognitive function.
Keep in mind, though, that not all studies look at tea in liquid form some research uses capsules or tablets, which may provide study participants with a more potent dose.
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Coffee Lovers Moving To Tea In The Morning
Heres some advice for the coffee lovers among us that are looking to switch to tea.
If its the caffeine boost you need to wake you up, then to lessen the impact of the change to tea in the morning, perhaps start with high caffeine and work down from there.
Id recommend starting with a Breakfast black tea, or perhaps even a Yerba mate in the morning.
Chamomile Tea May Aid Sleep And Support Immunity
If youre feeling wired at bedtime, consider sipping a cup of chamomile tea to wind down. Since chamomile tea is an herbal tea that contains no caffeine, it can be a calming beverage before bed, says Retelny.
Chamomile is in the daisy family and is widely used all over the world, explains Retelny. Its one of the oldest documented medicinal plants with a variety of healing properties.
Thats not all, though. Chamomile tea may support immune health, which we could all use right about now, says Retelny. A review suggests that chamomile tea may help stimulate the immune system, but the researchers do suggest that more clinical trials need to be done.
Drinking chamomile tea may also be beneficial for women experiencing premenstrual syndrome, according to a review published in December 2019 in the Journal of Pharmacopuncture. Researchers noted the teas anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety properties.
More research suggested that drinking chamomile tea was associated with a decreased mortality risk in Hispanic women over 65.
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Im New To Tea Drinking What Tea Should I Use
If you are new to tea, get ready to be amazed. There are thousands of different flavors to explore. The best teas to try for new loose leaf tea drinkers are those that are easy to make. They include traditional blends such as breakfast teas, Earl Grey teas, green teas that are not bitter such as Genmaicha and herbal blends, especially rooibos.
Fennel Tea May Ease Menopause Symptoms
Another tea that helps with digestion? Fennel. Fennel also relaxes digestive muscles to help with bowel regularity, says Al Bonchi. A review published in the Arabian Journal of Chemistry in November 2016 says that fennel, which has long been known as a medicinal plant, is widely used for treating digestive issues as well as IBS. The review cites polyphenols as one reason for fennels antioxidant properties.
Furthermore, fennel may help ease menopause symptoms in postmenopausal women without serious side effects, according to a small study using fennel in capsule form, which was published in September 2017 in the journal Menopause.
Interested in trying fennel tea? You can buy fennel tea in tea bags or crush fennel seeds and steep for a few minutes in a tea ball.
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Important Notes About Some Of These Healing Beverages
- When drinking hot drinksbe careful they arent too hot. Drinking very hot beverages has been found to be probably carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization. What is too hot? A CNN article says, Its hotter than water coming out of sink faucets but not as hot as boiling water. It also mentions that beverages are not usually served this hot in Europe and North America, but are commonly served this hot in regions such as South America, the Middle East, and East Africa.
- Sour beverages, like lemon water, hibiscus, and rosehip teas, can damage your teeth if you dont take the proper steps. To protect your teeth from erosion, be sure to rinse your mouth with plain water after you finish. Or sip through a reusable straw.
- For any herbs, especially if you plan to use them medicinally for an extended time or if you are taking any medications, you may want to check with your healthcare professional. Herbs can be powerful and should be treated with respect.
- For those who are pregnant or nursing, thyme and sage shouldnt be taken medicinally, though they can be used as culinary spices.
Best For Travel: Pique Tea Organic Jasmine Green Tea
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Can make hot or iced tea
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Expensive per serving
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Designed for small servings
Pique is an innovator in the tea world, creating travel-friendly tea crystals that are soluble in both hot and cold water. Each box of Organic Jasmine Green Tea contains 14 individual packets that you can mix with hot water or pour right into bottled water and shake for iced tea, making it ideal for anyone consistently on the go.
So, what exactly are tea crystals? Pique’s unique innovation takes loose-leaf tea and brews it in low-temperature water for eight hours until it becomes a fast-dissolving powder. The brand says its gentle extraction process creates a sort of tea concentrate that preserves up to 12 times more antioxidants than comparable tea brands. Its not just convenient, though. The Organic Jasmine Green Tea has a fresh flavor that makes each sip smooth and enjoyable.
Form: Tea crystals | Caffeine: 22 to 33 milligrams | Steep Time: N/A | Ingredients: Organic green tea and spearmint
“Mistakes with brewing tea usually involve time, temperature, or water-to-tea ratio. This means brewing for too long or too short using an incorrect temperature or using too much or too little tea. Being mindful of all three factors will help people develop their tea-brewing techniques.” Shunan Teng
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You Dont Have To Stick To One Tea In The Morning
Its easy to get stuck into a routine with your morning beverage, we all often fall into that same morning comfort. But it doesnt have to be like that.
Theres a good argument for taking different teas, and exploring different types of teas, either on different days or at different times during the morning.
Tea varieties that you can take in the morning can all vary in their properties and benefits, so why not make the most of a variety of drinks and take on board a wealth of health and wellbeing benefits.
The Best Hydration Drinks
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Curious to see which beverages are the best for keeping enough fluid in you? The first three are hands-down your best hydrating choices the rest are nice supplements.
Water
Surprised? Plain water is the best way to hydrate, no second guessing necessary. And this stylish water bottle makes it easy to drink enough.
Milk
Because its so much thicker than water, you might think that milk could dehydrate, but thats not the case. In addition to calcium and vitamin D, milk contains protein to keep you fueled on even the hottest of days, another thing water cant do. Milk: Its not just for kids. Should you be buying organic milk? We found out.
Fruit-infused water
If its hard for you to drink plain water all day, infusing your water with fruit is a healthy way to add flavor without adding sugar. Our favorite combinations? Try adding lime and basil, cucumber with mint or any of these other infused water ideas. Bonus: You can flavor your own water with this handy infuser water bottle.
Fruit juice
Fruit juice contains about 85 percent water, which makes it super hydrating . The vitamins within natural fruits are also healthy. Be mindful of the sugar content, though, as juices can be packed with added sugars, which can inhibit hydration. If youre drinking a lot of fruit juice, water it down. And for a special treat, why not freeze juice pops? Heres a cantaloupe ice pop recipe with minimal sugar.
Watermelon
Sports drinks
Tea
Coconut water
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Take Action For Your Health And Get Well Asap
If you want, you can combine many of these beverage ideas like green tea brewed with ginger and a squeeze of lemon. Or hot chocolate made with brewed astragalus.
Whatever steps you take, remember to hold yourself with care. Being sick is no fun and being mean to yourself only adds insult to injury.
You deserve love and care all the time and especially when youre feeling low. So snuggle up, sip something healthy, and with any luck, youll be feeling better soon.
Best Time To Drink Green Tea
Green tea if not the best, then is one of the best and popular tea in the world. It has an enviable reputation of being a curative tea with vast benefits.
Unlike other beverages, green tea is good for all seasons be it summer or winter. However, even though you can drink green tea all year round, and any time of the day, you will agree with me that there is the best time to drink it.
But Is it before or after a meal? Is it in the morning or at night? Or immediately after you wake up from bed? Not to worry, here are the answers to all your questions. So, read on!
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Best Teas To Drink In The Morning
If youre new to tea and want to begin drinking tea in the morning, then combining this list with my best teas for beginners will also help ease you into the tea head habit. If youre trying to get into tea drinking then heres my advice on how to become a tea drinker.
Ok, youve seen my complete list straight off the bat. So there are no secrets between us now! But why do these make my list?
Well, lets get into the details of each choice starting with Caffeinated tea options.