It’s official: Green tea is good for you. There’s a new study every few days confirming, yet again, the benefits of green tea and everyone from Oprah to Courtney Love is sipping this ancient brew.
Yes, even Courtney Love.
But for some, the promise of all these great green tea benefits just isn’t enough – when it comes to their mug of tea, they want to be in control of their flavonoid destiny.
We completely understand this mentality so instead of boring you with just how good green tea is for you, we’ll instead answer a very important question: What can you do make green tea even good-er?
So glad you asked ’cause there are some extra lengths you can go to, to really squeeze the most out of every cup. Here’s exactly how you can make the healthiest green tea ever!
Hotness matters…
Heat is a huge factor when it comes to brewing your tea (regardless of whether you’re using a teabag or loose leaves, for the moment).
Without getting into hugely technical territory, the gist is that the higher the temperature of your water is, then the more antioxidants and EGCG will seep into your beverage.
Generally, most people would brew their tea with boiling water, anyway – but in the event that you prefer a lukewarm brew, you may be missing out on some of those helpful ingredients.
How long to steep?
Time allocated for the bag or leaves to steep and brew can also have a significant effect on how much green tea goodness makes its way into your drink.
The shorter the time, the less these elements are going to have a chance to activate and properly brew. A good rule of thumb seems to be somewhere between four and five minutes for a cup packed with nutrients (although, interestingly, powdered variations don’t seem to care how long you brew for).
What type of green tea?
Type of tea, of course, can alter the richness of the beverage. You remember the different forms of green tea you can indulge in?
Well, of those – loose tea leaves and powdered green tea, aka matcha, are the best whereas teabags actually lose some of their antioxidant/EGCG potency.
This could, simply, be because the loose leaves are generally less adulterated or interfered with as the teabags and the powdered forms are more heavily concentrated and compacted.
Some even believe the actual fabric of the teabag, itself, may hinder the EGCG.
Add in extras?
As for adding in extras to your tea (sweeteners, milk etc.); some will argue ardently that contaminating a pure brew with a foreign ingredient will hamper the healthy benefits, whereas others will claim it holds no sway whatsoever.
A handy rule of thumb is to allow the tea to steep/brew for the ideal amount of time, allowing all the good stuff to make its way into the water, and then add any personal touches afterwards.
Skip the pesticides…
With each sip of green tea, you’re getting flavonoids, catechins…and pesticides?
An icky topic, to be sure, but we can’t talk about brewing the healthiest cup of green tea without mentioning the danger of pesticides in teas. Sometimes, being healthy is simply about avoiding the dangerous.
There have been numerous reports, in recent years, which highlight high levels of harmful chemicals and pesticides in teas grown and distributed around the world – it’s definitely worth looking into.
And don’t be fooled into assuming that dangerous or unlawful levels of residual pesticide in your tea will only occur in far flung corners of the planet, either. Huge worldwide tea conglomerate Lipton was found to be one of the worst offenders for having pesticide riddled tea on the mass market.
Go organic so you can get the all the many health and skin perks this beverage has to offer – without the pesticides.
…And beware the fluoride
It doesn’t stop with pesticides either. According to NaturalSociety.com, many cheaper teabag options found in UK supermarkets were found to contain inordinately high degrees of fluoride, to the point that simply drinking a cup of the stuff could push the average person well over their daily limit.
Too much fluoride, over time, can lead to bone and dental health conditions – the very opposite of some of green tea’s benefits!
So, with all that said; although green tea has the ability to boast some really fantastic health benefits and dietary advantages, it’s a smart move to shop around and find organically grown options when you’re stocking up on the good stuff.
How much is best?
Now that you know how to brew the healthiest green tea ever – you might be wondering how much you should be drinking?
Well, it varies…pretty much every expert has a different answer.
Dr. Zuo Feng Zhang, a cancer researcher at UCLA and the University of Maryland Medical Center recommends just 2 to 3 cups a day (teacups, not mugs). At the same time, his research shows that 4 to 5 cups of green tea can decrease the risk for stomach cancer.
And if you’re after green tea’s weight loss benefits – it gets trickier. A study found drinking 7 cups a day showed the best results for boosting metabolism and losing weight (although this study was done on mice, not humans).
To add to the confusion, other medical studies have shown that more is better, with greater green tea consumption simply translating to greater benefits – 10 cups are still the upper limit, though.
So how much green tea are you supposed to drink?!
If you’re pregnant, it’s best to stick to 2 cups per day, maximum, since too much caffeine has been linked with instances of miscarriage and can have detrimental effects over a woman’s natural breast milk production.
For the rest of us – 2 to 3 cups seems like the safest bet. Although, generally speaking, there’s no need for alarm if you’re prone to the extra cup or three, here and there – just pay attention to how your body feels and try not to over do it!
Lastly, add a grain of salt…
You just brewed a delicious cup of green tea and it is teeming with health benefits that are backed up by both scientific and anecdotal evidence.
That being said, there is no evidence to suggest that this simple tea is enough to take the place of any other, more robust form of modern medication, nor will these effects have any real life-changing powers if not coupled with a generally healthy and active lifestyle.
Perhaps the best piece of advice would be to enjoy your green tea, brew it properly and reap the benefits, but take it all with a pinch of salt.
Not literally, of course. Who’d drink salty tea?