Which Tea Is Best For You

October 12, 2021

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Best Green Tea: The Republic Of Tea Honey Ginseng Green Tea

Which tea is best for you?

On the pricier end

The Republic of Tea Honey Ginseng Green Tea makes a tasty cup. This blend has some added flavor from ginseng and full blossom honey. The tea even provides a little pep, with just under one-fourth of the caffeine in an average cup of coffee.

This green tea comes at an affordable price and in a variety of options, including a 50-bag tin and a 250-bag bulk option. You can drink this blend hot or iced.

Form: Tea bags | Size: 6, 50, and 250 tea bags | Origin: China | Caffeinated: Yes

According to Shunan Teng, the founder and CEO of Tea Drunk, one tip for making better tea at home is to use hotter water for high-quality tea and lower-temperature water for subpar tea. “Hotter temperatures bring out the flavors in better tea,” she says, “and lower temperatures dilute the flaws in lower-quality tea. With bad tea, the bitterness and astringency would come out with higher temperatures.”

Best For Gut Health: Ginger Tea

Is your stomach feeling a bit topsy-turvy, like you just wobbled off a swooping and looping rollercoaster? The solution is a tea made from ginger, a time-tested spice that has been calming bellies since ancient times.

Studies show that ginger naturally combats nausea, making it a go-to remedy if youre dealing with morning sickness during pregnancy, notes Czerwony.

Ginger also offers proven digestive benefits by helping your body move food from your stomach to continue its digestive tract journey. Speeding up that process works to calm indigestion and ease stomach distress.

Ginger relaxes things in your gut, which can make you a lot more comfortable if youre having tummy trouble, Czerwony said.

If ginger isnt to your liking, peppermint tea also can serve as an aid against indigestion. Peppermint, however, is best for issues lower in your gut. It can actually aggravate higher-up issues such as acid reflux.

Best Of The Best Tea Gift Set

Vahdam Teas World Tea Assortment, Gift Set: available at Macy’s

Our take: This world-renowned tea brand gathers six of its best loose leaf tea in a lovely gift set.

What we like: Each variety comes in beautiful, reusable tins. It contains black, herbal and green teas.

What we dislike: Definitely more expensive than other tea gift sets, but it’s worth it.

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Best For Sickness: Peppermint Tea

Menthol packs quite the punch when it comes to fighting a cold and peppermint tea is packed with menthol. It really kicks up your immune system, says Czerwony.

Peppermint tea works well to relax sore throat muscles, relieve nasal congestion and even reduce a fever. Its also loaded with antibacterial and antiviral properties to give you a healthy boost.

Other teas to try when youre not feeling 100% include:

Echinacea.
Elderberry.

What Makes Our 2021 List Of Gifts For Tea Lovers The Best Ever

How to Choose the Best Green Tea for You

We believe these items are the best because weve personally laid down our own money and tested them ourselves. We dont accept any freebies for our gift guides. Everything on this list is something that we really love.

We try to find a good balance between big box stores and small businesses, including diverse companies. This includes products from BIPOC-owned companies, woman-owned companies, and LGBTQ+-owned companies. Happy shopping!

Note: Many of the links below are affiliate links. Meaning if you purchase through our link, we get a small kickback for referring youat no cost to you.

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What Is The Best Herbal Tea For Weight Loss

Rooibos tea is the best non-caffeinated tea for weight loss, as explained in detail in our article. However, don’t be tempted to try decaf black and green tea. Some methods to take out the caffeine in decaffeinated tea also removes much of the antioxidants and catechins that are needed to boost your weight loss efforts.

Improving Cognitive Function With Tea

Whether youre looking to study up for your next test, pull an all-nighter, or just give your brain a little boost, tea is a great way to improve cognitive functioning and mental focus. Loose leaf tea made from the camellia sinensis plant as well as herbal ingredients including peppermint, ginger, and turmeric can all help to improve memory, increase focus, and make your mind as sharp as possible. Tea can even help to keep your brain in tip-top shape into old age, helping to slow memory loss and protect against neurodegenerative diseases.

Best Tea For An Energy Boost: Yerba Mate

The most widely consumed drink in Argentina, yerba mate is making its way to the U.S. Made from the leaves of the Argentinian yerba mate tree, this tea has been consumed in South America for centuries. The leaves are rich in tannins, which give the tea a slightly bitter and earthy flavor. For anyone looking for an energy boost, yerba mate may be your new best friend. It has more caffeine than practically any other tea, with 78 milligrams in eight ounces. To put that into perspective, a cup of joe has about 85 milligrams per eight ounces, so yerba mate comes in a close second. For those looking to move away from coffee but still want their caffeine fix, yerba mate may be the next best thing.

Can Coffee Trigger Headaches Study Reveals Surprising Link

Which is the best green tea for you? LONG JING vs. BILUOCHUN.

The results suggest habitual tea consumption may be considered “as an overall health-promoting lifestyle behavior,” wrote Vanessa Bianconi, a researcher at the University of Perugia in Italy and lead author of an editorial accompanying the new research.

Tea’s ability to lower blood pressure may be why it could reduce a person’s risk of dying of a stroke, the editorial noted.

Tea, especially green tea, is a rich source of flavonoids, bioactive compounds that can lessen oxidative stress, relieve inflammation, and provide other health benefits, the study authors noted. They cautioned more research was needed to see whether the results in Chinese adults would also apply to people outside east Asia.

Tielka: Best Organic Tea

One sip of Tielkas beautiful organic tea collection will whisk you away to sun-soaked Australia.

Founded in 2009, Australias most awarded organic tea brand has gone from strength to strength, with their passion for glorious tea transmitting into each steaming cup. Theyre card-carrying champions of all things sustainable and ethical, with their fine ingredients sourced both from expert growers in their homeland and the rest of the globe at harvest.

Youll find Tasmanian pepper berries, Victorian-grown lavender, and fragrant Italian bergamot oil in Tielkas delectable infusions. Each blend is meticulously crafted with thoughtful flavour combinations, offering exquisite, complex notes for the sophisticated sipper and newbie tea-lover alike. Herbal, Green, Black, White, Oolong Tielkas collection is a kaleidoscope of refined tastes.

But the treat begins before you even boil the kettle presented in luxurious packaging, Tielka is a delight from the get-go.

Certified organic and fairtrade, Tielka dont put a foot wrong. Even their tea bags are crafted from plant-based fabrictruly, this brand embodies all-round goodness to a T.. If thats not an invitation to indulge more in the finest tea, were not sure what is.

Our favourite tea blend: Lady Betty Black Tea Loose Leaf Blend

We adore Tielkas best-kept secret : the Lady Betty Black Tea Loose Leaf Blend.

Price $$

What Are The Different Varieties Of Green Tea

The difference between green and black tea results from the manufacturing process.
Black tea undergoes fermentation which transforms its colour and flavour, whereas green tea remains unprocessed and retains its colour.
Green tea is grown in higher altitudes, more specifically the mountainous regions of East Asia.
Some green tea is still picked by hand, and it is thought that handpicked teas are less bitter and yield a sweeter, more robust taste. Other factors such as the climate and soil can also affect the flavour.
Sencha is the most popular of Japans green teas. There are numerous grades which can affect the price and quality. Sencha leaves are first steamed and then shaped. Sencha tea produces a clear yellow/green tea with a sweet, grassy but slightly astringent flavour.
Matcha is made from green tea leaves grown in the shade. The leaves have a higher chlorophyll content which makes them a vibrant green colour. To make matcha, the entire leaf is ground down into a powder. The powder is mixed with boiling water and gently whisked before being served. The flavour is light and sweet and so is now added to desserts and sweet drinks.

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Relaxation And Stress Relief

The best teas for relaxation are ones infused with jasmine. The essence of the jasmine flower has been shown to have additional calming effects on top of those already provided by tea.

A lot of herbal teas are also great for relaxation and helping you sleep. Our article on the best tea for sleep aid has more.

Jasmine Silver Needle Tea highest quality jasmine tea made from the famous White Hair Silver Needle white tea wonderful jasmine aroma with a sweet and mellow flavor
Jasmine Green Teas jasmine infused green teas give you a wide range of options, from expensive and high quality to cheap and average

Best Organic Tea To Help You Sleep

The Tea Spot Lights Out

Price: $$
Key ingredients: Hibiscus, peppermint, licorice, lavender, chamomile, and valerian root
Type: Bagged or loose

Another blend of valerian root and chamomile, this organic tea also features the bright tang of hibiscus, licorice for sweetness, and lavender for a dose of calm.

Hibiscus, an antioxidant-rich plant , offers plenty of its own health benefits. So, choosing a bedtime tea with hibiscus could improve more than just the quality of your sleep.

In general, reviewers praise this tea. People say it has plenty of flavor and a wonderful fragrance. If you dont care for licorice, dont worry a few reviewers note the taste is barely noticeable. People tend to notice the hibiscus more than anything else, but most reviewers enjoy the taste.

As for effectiveness, reviewers say this tea really does seem to put the lights out. People say they love the tea for winding down and relaxing before bedtime, and a few even say it made sleeping pills unnecessary.

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Best Loose Leaf: Thrive Market Organic Darjeeling Green Loose Leaf Tea

Distinct but not overpowering taste
Ethically sourced

Available in just one size
Only sold by Thrive Market

If you prefer loose-leaf green tea over bagged options, Thrive Markets Organic Darjeeling Green Loose Leaf Tea is our top pick. Not only is the tea organic, but the leaves are handpicked and ethically sourced from local farmers, so each package helps support small communities in the Himalayas, from where the tea is harvested. And since the only ingredient is organic Darjeeling green tea leaves, the natural floral sweetness and smooth finish really shine through with each brewed cup.

Form: Loose leaf | Caffeine: 20 milligrams | Steep Time: 2 minutes, 30 seconds | Ingredients: Organic Darjeeling green tea leaves

“The number one thing to improve tea at home is to stop covering it. This is essential for green and yellow teas. For other kinds, if the tea isn’t very good quality then leaving it open will increase the taste.” Shunan Teng, Founder and CEO of Tea Drunk

One way to brew tea openly is by using a fairness pitcher , which is common in Gong Fu brewinga traditional Chinese style of tea preparation.

Health Benefits Of Tea: Herbal Teas

Made from herbs, fruits, seeds, or roots steeped in hot water, herbal teas have lower concentrations of antioxidants than green, white, black, and oolong teas. Their chemical compositions vary widely depending on the plant used.

Varieties include ginger, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, hibiscus, jasmine, rosehip, mint, rooibos , chamomile, and echinacea.

Limited research has been done on the health benefits of herbal teas, but claims that they help to shed pounds, stave off colds, and bring on restful sleep are largely unsupported.

Here are some findings:

Chamomile tea: Its antioxidants may help prevent complications from diabetes, like loss of vision and nerve and kidney damage, and stunt the growth of cancer cells.
Echinacea: Often touted as a way to fight the common cold, the research on echinacea has been inconclusive.
Hibiscus: A small study found that drinking three cups of hibiscus tea daily lowered blood pressure in people with modestly elevated levels.
Rooibos : A South African herb that is fermented. Although it has flavonoids with cancer-fighting properties, medical studies have been limited.

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Health Benefits Of Polyphenols

Foods that are highest in polyphenols include:

spices: cloves, peppermint, star anise, oregano, sage, ginger
cocoa powder and dark chocolate
black, green, yellow, white, oolong tea
berries: elderberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries
red wine
nuts
olive oil

Youve probably seen tea along with these other foods on lists of foods with tremendous health benefits. Interestingly, theyre all part of the Mediterranean diet too.

The polyphenols in tea and all of these foods help protect cells from oxidative damage. They also help reduce inflammation in your body, blood vessels, and brain.

Eating more polyphenol-rich foods is linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure.

Best Bang For Your Buck Tea Gift Set

Which is best for You? | MILK Tea or BLACK Tea or GREEN Tea | Tea Explanation | Best Tea

Pukka Luxury Gift Box, Collection of Organic, Herbal Teas: available at

Our take: If you’re looking for an affordable assortment of herbal teas, this is a great option.

What we like: These 45 individually wrapped tea bags come in a pretty cardboard box. It’s great for people who love tea and try to avoid caffeine.

What we dislike: Some people don’t like the taste of licorice, and a few teas include this flavor.

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Cultural Influence And History Of Tea

For every country, tea is served with a different flavour in a different manner. This only means that the best tea in the world by country is actually different.

Discovered in China around 30th Century BC 21st Century BC, tea has become part of Chinas daily customs. There are several stories on how the tea was discovered. However, the most popular amongst them is the one with Emperor Shen Nung and his soldiers.

It is said that theyre taking some rest under a tree while boiling some water. After a while, the wind blew and some leaves fall in the boiling water. Since then, tea has become one of the well-loved drink not only in China but in the rest of the world.

Tea is served differently in every country.

In Japan, for instance, tea is not just a simple beverage. The country even has The Japanese Tea Ceremony where a lady wearing kimono will be the one serving the tea with a ritual that dates back to more than a hundred years ago.

Although the Chinese way is quite similar to the Japanese, serving tea is greater than any other drinks in China because its considered as a way to communicate with other people.

In Western countries, specifically in the United Kingdom, theres a British Way of having your tea. Have you ever heard of the afternoon tea? Popularized back in 1840 by Anna Duchess of Bedford, the tradition of drinking tea at 4 oclock is a must-try for travellers.

Best Rated Tea To Help You Sleep

Adagio Teas 40 Winks

Key ingredients: Valerian root, honeybush tea, chamomile, spearmint, and lavender
Type: Bagged or loose

Adagio Teas signature sleepytime blend, 40 Winks, has an average rating of 96 from 835 reviews a good sign this tea really may promote restful sleep.

You can probably thank the valerian root for that. Valerian root is widely used to promote relaxation and restful sleep, and some people say it also helps relieve anxiety and stress. While research on the effectiveness of valerian root remains inconclusive, plenty of people swear by the herb as a bedtime sleep aid.

In testing, we liked the crisp herbal scent of this tea. The fragrance of spearmint stood out, although, when we sipped the tea, we tasted chamomile more than anything else. 40 Winks has a light, clean flavor thats not fruity or floral but rather distinctly herbal. We found it refreshing and calming, with just a bit of tartness.

Reviewers mostly love the flavor of this tea. People who enjoy the benefits of valerian, but not the herbs strong taste, say this tea blends other ingredients well enough that the valerian doesnt take over. Most importantly, they say this tea works well for better relaxation, less stress, and relief from insomnia.

The family-owned company, sources their teas directly from farmers around the world and partners with South Pole to reduce their carbon footprint.

Oolong Tea May Contribute To Healthier Cholesterol Levels

Have you always opted for green tea? Consider giving its cousin oolong a try. Oolong tea is a partially oxidized tea, in between black and green tea, and its concentration of polyphenols offers many health benefits, says Rahaf Al Bochi, RDN, the Atlanta-based owner of Olive Tree Nutrition and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Take, for example, oolongs potential heart health perks. One study found that drinking more than 2.5 cups of oolong tea daily was associated with lower LDL cholesterol levels, as well as a reduced risk of dyslipidemia . Other research supports oolongs impact on the heart, suggesting that drinking oolong or green tea regularly was linked to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Drinking oolong also shows promise in helping people maintain or achieve a healthy weight. Another small study suggested that oolong tea extract could help reduce body fat and may help prevent obesity. However, more studies on the connection between oolong tea and weight are needed.

The research in the journal Aging shows a link between oolong tea and brain health.

If green tea is a little too mild for you, consider giving oolong a try because of the extra oxidization, it has a more robust flavor.