Iced Green Tea Health Benefits

by Marybeth
(Green Bay, WI, USA)

I read somewhere that a good idea is to steep 3 green tea bags in 24 oz. of water for 10 min., then drink it throughout the day. I usually wait for it to cool, then add it to a glass of ice. Am I still getting the antioxidant benefits? Or should I drink the steeped tea within one hour?

Answer:

Marybeth, the ratio of one tea bag (about 3 gram) to 8 ounce of water looks about right. So the question is about steeping time and whether tea bags do contain enough antioxidants.

How long can you store brewed green tea without losing the antioxidants benefits?

I believe, the answer is a few hours, up to half a day, but it really depends.

If you ice the tea, fridge it in an airtight container it may keep longer, the most important thing is to learn to read the signs of the quality of tea.

This question has been asked many times before, so it is best you scan through the following article:

Cold Tea Vs Hot Tea Health Benefits
- How Long Can You Keep or Steep

As for the second question - I don't believe tea bags contain much antioxidants (so yes, you can store them for a long time, because it hasn't got much antioxidants to start with!).

There are two reasons.

First, they are made of very low grade tea leaves.

Second, the leaves have been chopped into pieces - any antioxidants would have oxidized.

I hope this helps.

Julian

PS: By the way, today the 2009 harvest Biluochun green tea has just gone live!

Biluochun Tea (Piluochun)

Brew Green Tea - Better To Leave Overnight?

by Ami
(Singapore)

I have just started drinking green tea after reading about its health benefits but wasn't sure of how to make it. Is it better to keep the leaves overnight in water and then drink it in the morning? Could you also let me know of the amount of water and green tea leaves to use each time?

Answer:

Ami, there have been a lot of readers writing to me asking about leaving green tea overnight. Most of them are based in America, where people enjoy drinking iced green tea in the summer. The idea is to steep the tea, then leave to cool in the fridge before drinking.

In Asia, we tend to drink green tea hot, and not leave overnight. The scientific reason is because green tea antioxidants are extremely reactive, and therefore vulnerable to environmental degradation. You can see that when you see the tea liquor turns brown after a while - it is called oxidation - just like apples turning brown. The effect is more marked on the high grade which contains high level of antioxidants.

So to conclude, best to drink green tea fresh, especially when you are drinking a high grade.

Start with 2 to 5 grams per 250 millimetres (8 ounce). Start with less first, then gradually increase to your taste. It is harder to get it wrong with less leaves. Good quality tea leaves can steep more than 3 times.

Further information about brewing green tea can found at

How To Make Green Tea - Brewing Secrets FAQ Guide

I hope this helps.

Julian

Tea Antioxidants in Thermos - How Long Do They Keep?

by Greg
(Oregon)

Does tea loose its antioxidants and other benefits if left out for say 8 or 10 hours?

I make tea in the morning and keep it in a thermos.

I'll still drink cups of it in the evening I wondered if it is still high in benefits even after that long.

I read somewhere that Gunpowder tea has the lowest caffeine content. Is there a green tea that has more caffeine than the rest?

Sorry seems like a weird question but even a genius ask questions. Thanks.

Answer:

Greg, tea antioxidants do not tend to keep long. If you brew a high quality tea and keep it in ambient for a few hours, you will notice that the tea liquor turns brown.

This "browning" effects is oxidation.

I suspect when you store you hot tea in thermos, this oxidation effects is somewhat mitigated.

To check if your green tea antioxidants is still intact, pour your tea into a glass and check its colour and taste.

But first, you should test your tea by leaving it in ambient for a few hours.

If you are drinking a quality tea which is high in benefits, you will notice the difference that browning makes to the quality.

Green Tea Caffeine

It may be true that gunpowder green tea contains less caffeine, as they are less likely to be made of tender tea buds, which often contain higher levels of caffeine.

Tea caffeine levels does not correlate with quality. The highest quality green tea often has the highest caffeine level, but its caffeine is being more than offset by the presence of another compound: theanine.

The result is that high quality green tea is more soothing to drink that other so called low caffeine variety.

It may sound radical, but it is true. Check out the story here:

Green Tea Caffeine

Further links along the way will lead you to another article explaining why moderate levels of caffeine is highly beneficial to health.

In fact, tea antioxidants EGCG and caffeine are highly synergistic - they function much more effectively together than separately.

Hope my answer helps.

Does Time After Brewing Cause Tea To Lose Its Efficacy?

by Chris
(Greenfield, WI, USA)

I was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years ago. I drink green tea daily. I recently read a short article that stated green tea loses its effectiveness as far as ECGC and polyphenols are concerned shortly after brewing (he stated 2 hours).

Is this true? I usually brew several cups and store in "fridge" to drink throughout the day. Am I losing the benefits?

Answer:

Chris, I am sorry to hear about your breast cancer diagnosis. I hope you get well soon.

Brewed green tea does lose its antioxidant potential over time, but how quickly this takes place is a subject of contention, and is likely to vary from tea to tea.

This is a question that I have answered many times before, so I will direct you to some links below.

The bottom line is to judge the quality of the tea by the color (degree of browning) and taste (freshness versus staleness). From personal experience, half a day or so at room temperature is okay. The best thing to do, of course, is to drink your tea hot - a Chinese grandmother advice. But there is a degree of tolerance.

How To Store Iced Green Tea

Brew Green Tea - Better To Leave Overnight?

Tea Antioxidants in Thermos - How Long Do They Keep?

On a related note, there is an inspiring story about Essiac tea and breast cancer that you may find useful:

Essiac and Breast Cancer - A Testimony

I hope this helps.

Julian

How To Store Iced Green Tea

by Tina
(Greece)

I have read that oxidization lessens the benefits of green tea. Is it ok to boil and brew tea as done for hot tea and then chill it in fridge to drink all day?

Also, is it REALLY wrong to toss tea bags into boiling water? i find this makes it extra strong and i really like the taste. Does this decrease heath benefits?

Answer:

Tina, thank you for asking these superb questions.

It is fine to brew and chill the green tea as you suggested. To be sure you are indeed minimising the oxidation, this is what I suggest:

- Try brewing your green tea in a glass. In this way, you can detect any oxidation through the browning effects.

- Now chill your tea as you suggested. If the tea hasn't browned or deteriorate in taste, then it is fine!

As for teabags, the reason experts recommend brewing at low temperature is because they turn bitter at high temperature.

There is nothing wrong with brewing your tea at high temperature.

But usually you will find that only high quality teas can withstand high temperature brewing without turning tannic.

If you like to drink your tea tannic, there is nothing wrong with that too.

However, I will recommend that you drink more of loose tea than teabags.

Here is why:

Loose Green Tea

Also, the higher quality green tea is more sweet and delicate rather than tannic.

Best Green Tea


I hope this helps. Please let me know if there is anything I can help.

Steep Green Tea For Long Time - Safe To Drink?

by Suzy

I would like to know if I make a few brews of green tea, and then leave the third brew to steep at room temperature for most of the day - is it still safe to drink?

Sometimes the leaves stay in the water as I forget to take them out - so they soak all day - is this ok?

Answer:

Suzy, leaving green tea for a few hours is fine. You may observe some browning, as the antioxidants oxidise and contain few health benefits. But up to half a day at room temperature is okay. The biggest worry is bacteria, as they thrive in the tea solution. But they take a few days to emerge. I regularly leave my leftover tea for half a day, and still find them okay to drink later. It is fine. Not ideal, but safe.

I hope this helps. My apology for my late reply.

Julian

Cold Brew Tea for Maximum Antioxidants?

by Ann
(US)

Hi, my younger sister (44) has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I drink green tea already, but only can drink it cold.

Does that defeat the whole purpose of health benefits (which I really need as I am high risk)?

Can you tell me best way what's the best way to prepare it cold to preserve them?

Also, confused about how to buy it so that antioxidants are preserved. I guess Lipton's won't cut it but can't afford $$$ on wasted money if not necessary.

Can you help?

Answer:

Hey Ann, there is no evidence that brewing tea cold will help preserve the antioxidants. The amount of antioxidants depend on a few factors:

- leaf age - normally young tea buds contain more antioxidants

- storage - need to be air-sealed and kept at low temperature

- brewing - drink while it is fresh - don't leave for more than 7 hours.

Cold Tea Vs Hot Tea Health Benefits

Brewing temperature needs to be tailored to the type of tea. Generally speaking, Chinese green teas are better at withstanding high temperature compared to Japanese green tea.

If the water is too hot, the tea becomes bitter - which is not very nice.

This has to be with the method the tea has been made (steaming, roasting, ovening etc) and how small the leaves are. I don't think it has any direct relationship with antioxidants.

For maximum value of money, and for a soothing cup of fresh green tea with lots of antioxidants, I highly recommend this Maofeng tea. It has obtained very good feedback this year:

Huangshan Maofeng Everyday Organic

The teas have been packed into air-tight bags and kept in freezer for maximum freshness.

Finally, for breast cancer, as far as I am aware, green tea and essiac tea would help:

Green Tea and Breast Cancer - EGCG Show Anti-Cancer Promise

Essiac and Breast Cancer - A Testimony

I hope this helps.

Julian