Unrevealed Facts about Tea

1. Adding Milk to Tea Reduces Health Benefits – Tea Knowledge

While it’s well-known that drinking tea can promote health, combining it with milk diminishes its antioxidant properties. Studies show that adding milk reduces the antioxidant factors in black tea, and the effect is more pronounced when using full-fat milk. Although adding milk to tea is a long-standing tea consumption method, if you want to fully enjoy the benefits of tea, remember to drink it plain next time.

2. Decaffeinated Tea Isn’t Completely Caffeine-Free – Tea Knowledge

Many people buy decaffeinated tea thinking it’s caffeine-free, but even decaffeinated tea contains some caffeine. Decaffeinated tea undergoes a process to remove caffeine, but not all caffeine is eliminated during manufacturing.

According to some countries’ regulations, caffeine-free tea must contain less than 2.5% of its original caffeine. On average, a cup of decaffeinated tea still contains about 2 milligrams of caffeine. If you want to completely avoid caffeine, consider herbal tea; herbal tea is caffeine-free.

⚑ Further Reading ⚑
Top 5 Recommended Decaffeinated Teas! Can Pregnant Women and Children Drink Them?

3. L-Theanine Relieves Stress and Anxiety – Tea Knowledge

We all know that tea is beneficial to health, but what component allows tea drinkers to alleviate stress and relax? The answer is: L-theanine. L-theanine is an amino acid found in tea that helps calm the brain and nervous system, aiding in stress and anxiety relief and promoting better sleep.

While L-theanine in tea can help with sleep, it’s recommended not to drink tea before bedtime due to the simultaneous presence of caffeine, which may make it difficult to fall asleep.

⚑ Further Reading ⚑
[Six Major Tea Types] Chinese Tea Culture – The Origin of World Tea?

4. Tea May Contain Microplastics – Tea Knowledge

This issue arises with the brewing of tea bags. Tea bags are not made purely from natural materials, and in the manufacturing process, some companies use polypropylene to seal paper tea bags.

When brewing these tea bags, trace amounts of microplastics and nanoplastic particles are released. This includes all types of tea bags, and even the common pyramid-shaped tea bags cannot avoid the use of plastic materials in their production.

Of course, not all tea bags are made the same way. In recent years, many tea brands have been working to improve the use of plastic in their tea bag production. However, tea bags containing plastic still exist on the market. Whether this is harmful to the human body is still under research. It is advisable not to brew tea bags in too hot water or soak them for too long to avoid leaching of these microplastics.

⚑ Read More ⚑
Pyramid Tea Bags vs. Loose Leaf: Benefits Compared

5. Tea Can Reduce Cholesterol – Tea Knowledge

Cholesterol, stay away! Scientific research indicates that regularly drinking oolong tea and green tea helps reduce harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. This is because of the catechins in tea. Studies suggest that continuous tea consumption for about a month and a half can lower blood lipid levels and increase the concentration of good cholesterol.

However, as the fermentation time of tea leaves increases, catechin content decreases. So, if you want to lower cholesterol through tea, it’s best to choose lightly fermented tea leaves for brewing. Highly recommended are Taiwan’s high-mountain oolong tea and Japanese green tea.

6. Tea Contributes to Dental Health – Tea Knowledge

Tea contains a large amount of antioxidants, beneficial not only for health but also for maintaining dental health. The original history of tea was for its anti-inflammatory and healing properties, serving as one of the earliest herbal medicines.

Scientific research has discovered anti-inflammatory compounds in tea that, when passing through the oral cavity, can attack harmful bacteria causing gum disease and tooth decay. Tea helps purify the oral cavity, whether it’s black tea, green tea, or oolong tea; they all contribute to fighting the formation of dental plaque.

However, because tea is a colored beverage, drinking too much dark-colored tea can still cause staining on teeth. It is recommended to drink water or rinse your mouth after consuming dark-colored tea to remove the pigments from the teeth.

⚑ Read More ⚑
【Tea Ceremony Etiquette】Japan / China / Taiwan

7. Green Tea Contains More Antioxidants Than Black Tea – Tea Knowledge

While all tea beverages are beneficial to health, did you know that green tea contains more beneficial antioxidants than black tea? This doesn’t mean black tea is not good, but if you want to get more antioxidants from tea, you should drink more green tea than black tea.

Antioxidants, most directly, help us maintain a youthful appearance. Additionally, antioxidants can slow down atherosclerosis and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. If you want to reap these benefits from tea, choose low-fermented teas such as green tea.

8. Tea Affects the Absorption of Vitamins and Minerals – Tea Knowledge

In Western countries, people often choose to pair a good meal with a glass of wine rather than a cup of tea. The main reason is that Western tea is usually dominated by black or heavily fermented tea leaves, and drinking tea with meals can affect the absorption of iron, minerals, and vitamins.

Therefore, it is less suitable to drink tea with meals. On the contrary, in Chinese-style dim sum, tea is considered to have a refreshing effect.

The main reason is that Chinese tea selection mainly uses lightly fermented oolong tea. As Chinese dishes usually contain higher amounts of fat, tea can be used to neutralize the greasiness. However, the combination of tea leaves and meals does affect absorption.

If you have anemia or are pregnant, it is important to remember this. It is best to drink tea about an hour after a meal. Vegetarians, who cannot obtain iron from meat, should also pay attention to this to avoid anemia.

⚑ Read More ⚑
How to Brew Tea? 5 Steps & Essential Tools for Brewing Tea

9. Tea Can Repel Mosquitoes – Tea Knowledge

Tea is a natural insect repellent, and research has confirmed this. Tea can repel mosquitoes commonly seen in daily life. Just place used slightly damp leaves in a certain area, and you will find that there are fewer mosquitoes in that area compared to others.

⚑ Read More ⚑
How to Brew Tea? The Encounter of Taiwanese Tea and Exquisite Tea
[2024] Top 6 Premium Herbal Teas | A Box of Premium Herbal Teas

Where to Buy Premium Tea Leaves? ABoxTik of Premium Tea for the Finest Tea Series

After reading this article, do you feel more informed about tea? We encourage you to leave a message to share with us. ABoxTik specialises in selling high-quality tea gift boxes from Taiwan, including caffeine-infused single origin tea series and caffeine-free stress-relieving herbal tea series in a wide range of flavours. For an impeccably designed tea gift box, visit ABoxTik! Welcome to the ABoxTik official website!