Herbal, black or green tea: Nutrition experts explain the healthiest choices. Photo / 123rf
With different blends capable of boosting everything from heart health to digestion, here’s how to reap the benefits.
You have probably heard the good news that tea is healthy, but much of the rigorous research into its benefits – and there is a lot of it – has looked into the tea consumption habits of people in east Asia, where green tea is the go-to.
The issue is that we often love to put lashings of milk and sugar in our mugs, whereas people in other countries tend to drink teas of all kinds, green, black or otherwise, with hot water only. Drinking three cups of tea with milk and sugar can every day can, on average, sneak a hundred extra calories into your diet, and increase the potential for tooth rot and Type 2 diabetes.
Thanks to the flavonoids in green tea, many of which are also found in black tea, this beverage has a reputation for improving metabolism, lowering cholesterol and even improving blood pressure. Some experts believe that the casein in milk binds to the flavonoids in black tea and prevents them from working as effectively, hence why green tea has a much more health-friendly image.
But the jury is still out on whether this actually happens when tea is mixed with milk – and the black tea we prefer is actually an oxidised version of green tea, hailing from the same ordinary bushes, and as such is still very healthy.
“People assume that green tea is much healthier than black tea, but really there’s very little difference between them chemically,” says Alex Probyn, a master tea blender, and founder of the bespoke tea company Blends For Friends. Indeed, you can enjoy “up to four or five cups of black tea a day” and see benefits to your health so long as it’s sugar-free, says Sam Rice, The Telegraph’s nutritionist.
You can drink an unlimited amount of herbal tea every day, Rice adds, given that these are not made with tea leaves but rather from different herbs or dried fruit peels, and so are naturally caffeine-free. Many people looking to lose weight switch to herbal, too, to suppress their appetites and cut calories without having to opt for the horror of black tea without milk. Sales of herbal teas have climbed every year since 2016, figures show, with chamomile, peppermint and rooibos among the most popular.
But should you make the swap? While nothing quite measures up to “real” tea when it comes to boosting our health, the array of herbal teas that are now found on supermarket shelves (and flying off them at an increasing speed) have their own benefits too: for sleep, anxiety and digestion. We asked the experts which ones are best for our ailments.
Good for: Your heart
Brew at: 100C
Black tea contains the highest concentration of flavonoids when it comes to traditional teas, research suggests. Its dark colour is a dead giveaway, and it’s the fermentation process that gives black tea this special health boost.
Flavonoids have a number of medicinal benefits, including anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. Some have also been shown to have neuroprotective and cardio-protective effects. Other foods rich in flavonoids include dark chocolate and blackberries.
Black tea is best brewed piping hot, as soon as the kettle has boiled, and left to steep for at least three minutes to extract the maximum amount of these beneficial compounds from the tea leaves.
It typically contains the most caffeine, though the difference may not be so stark in comparison to green tea as we are used to hearing, “because the process used is so similar,” Probyn says. “It might be that the leaves used to manufacture some kinds of black tea are actually older, and so contain more caffeine than younger leaves, but the overall caffeine content is not very different.”
A cup of black tea contains around 47mg of caffeine, while a cup of green tea contains about 33mg of caffeine (a can of Diet Coke, by comparison, contains 46mg of caffeine). Consumption of anything up to 400mg of caffeine per day – equivalent to about eight cups of black tea – is considered to be safe. Black tea also contains a significant amount of L-Theanine, an amino acid that can make some people feel more calm and relaxed without having a sedative effect.
While research on the health benefits of black tea is less abundant than that on green tea, the existing science provides much hope for our nation’s prized beverage. Black tea specifically can lower blood pressure, one study suggests. “The compounds in black tea make it especially good for cardiovascular health and for lowering cholesterol,” Rice says.
There are a number of different black teas found in supermarkets, such as English Breakfast, which is usually made from a blend from different regions, or Earl Grey, made from a mix of tea and bergamot, which has a citrus taste and contains antioxidants of its own (such as naringin, which some studies suggest may lower cholesterol when consumed regularly).
Good for: Your brain
Brew at: 80C
Green tea is the real superstar when it comes to teas: it contains an enormous range of catechins, a kind of polyphenol known to be especially good for protecting your heart and boosting your brain health, and a number of studies suggest that drinking copious amounts of green tea can offer some protection against a range of cancers. The most potent of the catechins in green tea is known as EGCG, and some research indicates that a diet rich in it could ward off both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Matcha, a powdered form of green tea, has become a trendy superfood in the last few years. “It’s a form of green tea that’s particularly high in antioxidants,” says Rice. “If you’re trying to maximise the amount you consume through tea, then matcha might be best.”
Green tea contains less caffeine than black tea on average “as it’s typically made with younger tea leaves”, Probyn explains, but research also suggests that it contains more L-Theanine than black tea, making it a more calming beverage and less likely to cause caffeine jitters. Overall, “green tea does typically seem to contain more antioxidants than black tea on average, so you’re getting more bang for your buck”, Rice says, but black tea is very similar in terms of its health benefits.
Many people are convinced that green tea is also a helpful weight loss aid, as it acts as an appetite suppressant. Some animal studies suggest that green tea really could prevent weight gain. In humans, though, any significant weight changes that result from drinking green tea, may only be a side-effect of drinking fewer sugary, milky black tea or frothy lattes as a result, as it’s traditionally served without milk (and certainly does not taste very nice when served with it).
Green tea is best served at 80C, as “water that’s too hot essentially burns the tea and leads to a bitter taste”, says Probyn. Green teas from around the world will have different taste profiles, so if you brew it in the traditional way and still don’t get on with the flavour, it might be worth giving a different type a go. “Teas from Japan will taste more grassy than teas from China,” Probyn says.
Yellow tea and white tea are made from the same leaves as green tea and are both very similar in that they are both unoxidised, “but yellow tea is tea that changes colour a little bit during the drying process”, says Probyn, by being wrapped up and heated while damp in a process called “yellowing”. “It’s very rare, though some green teas are sold as yellow teas just because they look yellow in colour.” Yellow tea will taste more mellow than green tea, but comes with very similar health benefits.
White tea meanwhile “is just air dried leaves with no other processing”, typically picked at the youngest stage of a tea leaf’s life, as a bud, and dried and packaged without being rolled and cut. Being more bespoke, these teas are usually made of better quality tea leaves that contain more polyphenols and antioxidants, “but that isn’t necessarily the case”, Probyn warns.
It might be worth giving white or yellow tea a whirl if you’ve never gotten on with green tea. If you do dabble in them, you should use water that has been left to cool for at least a few minutes, as yellow and white teas are very prone to scalding.
Good for: Blood sugar
Brew at: 90C
Oolong tea, sometimes referred to as “blue” tea for its blue-green colour after drying, is “somewhere between green and black tea” in terms of the manufacturing process, Probyn says. “It’s semi-oxidised, for somewhere between 15 and 45 minutes, depending on the manufacturer and the specific kind of oolong they want to make.” This means that it might be seen as “the best of both worlds” when it comes to taste and health benefits. “It’s highly underrated,” Probyn says. “If someone doesn’t enjoy the bitterness of green tea, or the richness of black tea, then oolong can be a great alternative to either.” It’s best brewed with water, that’s slightly less hot, to preserve the nuanced taste of the tea, which can be quite expensive.
Some research suggests that drinking oolong tea regularly may promote better heart health, and can even protect your teeth and bones. One study even suggests that people with Type 2 diabetes who drink six cups of oolong tea a day for 30 days may find their blood sugar levels reduced. Oolong tea still contains a fairly high amount of caffeine, however, possibly even more than standard black tea, depending on the brand and how it is brewed, so it might be best to keep to just a cup or two if you aren’t a tea drinker already.
Good for: Nausea and IBS
Brew at: 100C
Peppermint tea is drunk even by people who don’t bother with herbal teas very often. Spearmint tea, a less popular form of mint tea, is sometimes blended into teabags with its more popular cousin, along with lemon balm, a citrus-y mint leaf. Mint teas of any kind “have been used for a long time to support digestive health”, Rice says. “There are some studies to show that peppermint tea in particular can give relief from indigestion and nausea, though they’re usually carried out with peppermint oil rather than peppermint tea itself.” Mint teas can be brewed with fresh leaves, as well as dried leaves in tea bags. There will not be a notable difference in the health benefits of one method versus another.
Anecdotally, many people with IBS report that peppermint tea especially can calm their symptoms. Being naturally caffeine-free, it is certainly easier for people with sensitive stomachs to tolerate than traditional teas.
Good for: Warding off a cold
Brew at: 100C
Ginger and lemon tea is often consumed by people who suspect that they have a cold coming on. Ginger has “potentially antiviral properties”, says Probyn, and the lemon involved comes with a hit of vitamin C too, which helps support the immune system (however, lemon tea contains very limited amounts). You can also add honey which has been proven to help soothe sore throats.
There is also some evidence to suggest that ginger tea on its own can alleviate nausea, osteoarthritis pain and menstrual cramps, and can also support blood sugar control.
Good for: Improving sleep
Brew at: 100C
Chamomile tea “may be seen as a natural barbiturate [a type of sedative]”, says Probyn. It acts as a mild sedative by working on the brain’s benzodiazepine receptors, which is why many people drink it before bed to help them sleep. Some research shows that it may be especially helpful for older adults who struggle to get enough rest at night. A recent review of studies found that chamomile tea has been shown multiple times to help people get to sleep, and stay asleep too.
Good for: Cutting down on caffeine
Brew at: 100C
Rooibos has a reddish-brown colour, like black tea, but comes from a different shrub that grows in Africa. “It tastes pretty similar to many people when they drink it with milk,” Probyn says. It can therefore be a good stand-in for people who are looking to cut down on their caffeine consumption, or a helpful option for those who like to have tea after dinner in the evenings. It also contains a powerful antioxidant called astaxanthin, meaning that it even comes with some of the health superpowers of the black tea we know and love.
Whether it’s green or black – or indeed oolong, yellow or white – all tea that’s actually “tea” comes from the camellia sinensis tea plant. The shrub has been cultivated and grown across the entire world, but is native to parts of East Asia such as Japan, China and South Korea. Tea leaves are naturally caffeinated.
“Tea has been commonly drunk in China for the best part of the last 5,000 years at least,” says Probyn. By contrast, Britain only got hooked on tea about four centuries ago, when Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese wife of King Charles II, introduced it in court in 1662 and made it a sought-after status symbol. Just two years later, the East India Company placed its first tea order, for 100 pounds of China tea, to be shipped over from Indonesia. That increased to an annual order of nearly 5 million pounds by 1750.
The process used to produce the black tea we know and love has not changed much since then. “The tea leaves are plucked from the bush and then the first step is that they’re left to wither, on a rack for 20 to 24 hours,” Probyn explains. “Then the leaves are either rolled up or chopped and left to oxidise or ferment, which is where they get darker, for around an hour. After that they’re cooked at roughly 120C to stop the decomposition process, and that makes it into tea as we know it.” Green tea is made in almost exactly the same way, except that it is not allowed to turn black – they are cooked straight after they are chopped.
The two should not be brewed in the same way, however. “Black tea can be brewed at a very high temperature, but other teas need to be brewed at a lower temperature, and for a shorter period, for the best taste,” says Probyn. The temperature of the water used in your tea shouldn’t impact the health benefits you get from drinking it, as long as you steep it for long enough.
Because of the differences in processing, “green and black tea have slightly different compositions, leading to slightly different health benefits due to changes in antioxidants,” says Rice. The difference is not all that great, but consuming a mix of different teas could provide you with a broader range of health benefits.
Herbal teas are made through much the same process as green and black tea. The raw ingredients used in each type, such as peppermint leaves or ginger root, “are dried and then chopped up so that they can be brewed in much the same way as a conventional tea,” says Probyn. For this reason, herbal teas are naturally caffeine free (unless blended with tea leaves into a tea bag).