Typically a brewed green tea is either green, yellow, or light brown in color, and its flavor ranges from grass-like and toasted to vegetal, sweet, and seaweed-like. If brewed correctly, most green teas are quite light in color and only mildly astringent.
What does green tea really taste like?
Green tea hails from many different parts of the world and is processed in many ways. So how the green tea you’re brewing tastes will depend on many factors, including where it was grown, how it was processed, and how it was brewed.
However, there are some common traits used to describe the overall flavor of green tea. It may give off a vegetal, grassy, earthy, sweet, buttery, nutty, toasty, seaweed-like, or brothy, flavor. It is definitely an acquired taste. If you’re having green tea for the first time, or if you can look back to your first taste of it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
What are the different types of green tea available? Which brand is the best?
There are several variants of green tea available nowadays. So if you’re just starting, you have far more options than just plain green tea. Each variant has its own unique flavor. Popular varieties include tulsi, jasmine, Moroccan mint, elaichi, rose, chamomile, lemon, pomegranate, cranberry, mint, ginger, matcha, orange, passion fruit, etc.
There are several brands available, each offering different flavors. It’s really more of a personal choice.
Which green tea should you buy? How do you properly store green tea?
While green tea won’t ever really go bad, it can get stale which will alter its smell and taste. It is possible for those who don’t like the taste of green tea could probably be consuming either stale or low-quality green tea.
To ensure you’re getting quality green tea worth sipping, make sure you purchase it from a reputable company that discloses when and how the tea was processed and packaged. It’s ideal to follow the manufacturer’s directions to brew the tea, at least when you’re starting out. Once you get used to the taste, you can modify your brewing methods as per your wishes.
Since green tea is less oxidized than black tea, it is technically fresher and more delicate, so it should be consumed more quickly for maximum flavor. Green tea is best consumed within 6 months to a year of purchase. You should store your green tea in a cool, dark place, away from light, oxygen, moisture, and fragrant pantry companions like coffee or strong spices.
What is the caffeine content in green tea? Is it better than black tea or coffee perhaps?
Green tea generally has lower caffeine content per cup than black tea and a much lower caffeine content than coffee. Like all drinks cultivated from caffeinated plants, there is a small level of caffeine per cup of green tea. You can calculate the caffeine content based on your green tea serving size here.
So how do you brew green tea at home?
Most varieties of green tea have different brewing temperatures and steeping time instructions. However here are a few general tea-brewing tips to keep in mind:
- Use fresh, pure, cold filtered water.
- Typically, most green teas are brewed in short infusions at around 160 to 180 degrees.
- Never burn or over brew your tea! If the water is too hot, your tea will release more bitterness and astringency, thereby ruining the taste.
- Allow the boiling water to rest before pouring it over your green tea leaves.
- On average, use about 2 grams of loose-leaf tea per 250 ml of water as a safe bet. If your tea package has specific recommendations for steeping, definitely use those.
- Always cover your steeping tea to keep the heat in the steeping vessel.
- Green tea should steep from 30 – 60 seconds for early harvest or more delicate teas, and for 2 to 3 minutes for regular harvest or more robust teas.
- Adding milk to green tea is optional, but not recommended. The flavor of green tea is generally quite light which may be masked with the addition of milk and/or sugar, and you’ll also be adding calories, so it’s best to avoid. You may add honey initially if you want until you acquire the taste.
What are the health benefits of green tea? Is there any scientific backing to them?
You would have probably heard green tea fanatics go, “green tea is the healthiest beverage on the planet”. Well, while that’s a bold claim, it does have some credibility to it.
Green tea has plenty of antioxidants and nutrients that have powerful effects on the body.
Some of the more notable benefits include:
1. Green tea contains major bioactive compounds that improve overall health: Green tea is rich in polyphenols that reduce inflammation and help fight cancer. It also includes large amounts of a catechin called EGCG. Catechins are natural antioxidants that help prevent cell damage and provide other benefits too like reducing the formation of free radicals in the body, and protecting cells and molecules from damage. These free radicals are known to play a role in aging and other diseases.
2. Compounds in green tea can improve brain function: The key active ingredient caffeine, a known stimulant, although in much lesser amounts than in coffee, is potent enough to stimulate the body without causing the jittery effects associated with too much caffeine. It also has the amino acid L-theanine, which helps with anxiety.
3. Helps in burning fat and improves general physical performance: Green tea has been known to increase fat burning and boost the metabolic rate, in human-controlled trials. However, some studies on green tea don’t show any increase in metabolism, so the effects may vary from individual to individual.
4. Antioxidants in green tea may lower the risk of some types of cancer: Green tea is an excellent source of powerful antioxidants, and hence there are claims that it could reduce the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer.
5. Green tea may lower the risk of Type 2 Diabetes or help in its management: Studies show that green tea can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels.
6. Green tea may lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases and disorders: Studies show that green tea can improve some of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, like heart disease and stroke. Green tea has also been shown to lower total and LDL cholesterol, as well as protect the LDL particles from oxidation. Observational studies have shown that green tea drinkers have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
7. Green tea can help with weight reduction and further lower the risk of obesity: As green tea can boost the metabolic rate in the short term, it may aid in weight loss. Several studies have shown, green tea helps decrease body fat, especially in the abdominal area. However, some studies contradict a positive correlation between weight loss and green tea, so the claim of weight loss with green tea needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
8. Treats Down Syndrome: The EGCG in green tea, as per studies, can potentially improve the quality of life for people who have Down Syndrome. It protects the body from further cell damage that can contribute to complications in individuals with Down Syndrome. This chemical may also improve cognitive function in the affected individuals.
What are the potential side effects of green tea? Is there a limit to how much green tea you can have at a time?
There are little to no known side effects of drinking green tea for adults. However, precautions and safety measures, like consulting your doctor, must be practiced in the following case:
- Caffeine sensitivity: Those with severe caffeine sensitivities could experience insomnia, anxiety, irritability, nausea, or diarrhea.
- Blood thinners: Persons on blood thinners (anticoagulant drugs) should drink green tea with caution due to its high vitamin K content. It’s also recommended to avoid green tea and aspirin, as they both are known to reduce the clotting effectiveness of platelets.
- Other stimulants: When taken with stimulant drugs, green tea could increase blood pressure and heart rate.
- Green tea overdose: Drinking excessive green tea (more than 4-6 cups a day) can lead to headaches, nervousness, sleep issues, vomiting, irregular heartbeat, dizziness, and convulsions. The side effects are in response to excessive caffeine.
- During pregnancy and breastfeeding: Drinking more than 2 cups of green tea per day during pregnancy or breastfeeding can be harmful. It is best to consult your doctor.
- Bleeding disorders: Excessive caffeine from green tea can increase bleeding and hence should be avoided by people with bleeding disorders.
What are green tea supplements? Is there any risk involved with these supplements? Can you replace green tea with its supplements?
Green tea extract is its concentrated form, where just one capsule contains the same amount of active ingredients as an average cup of green tea. Like green tea, green tea extract is also a great source of antioxidants. and claims to have the same range of health benefits. There have, however, been contradictory studies on its efficacy as the same as green tea.
As green tea supplements contain high levels of active substances they can trigger side effects by interacting with other herbs, supplements, or medications. Green tea supplements are unregulated by the FDA and may also contain other substances, which may be unsafe. It is highly recommended to check with a doctor before starting any such supplements.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women, with either heart problems or high blood pressure, kidney or liver problems, stomach ulcers, or anxiety disorders should avoid green tea supplements or extracts. Liver disease may also be aggravated in response to green tea extracts.
It is not ideal to replace green tea with its supplement, as the former is natural and the latter a synthetic preserved substance, and also the efficacy of the supplements is still questionable.
Bottom Line: Green tea can work wonders for your health. Its effects depend upon person-to-person. Just try for yourself.
No comments:
Post a Comment