Tea and Price - Any Relation to Health Benefits?

by Øyvind
(Oslo, Norway)

Is there a correlation between the price and/or grade of a tea and the healthy ingredients/benefits?

For instance, is a Longjing grade AAA healthier than a grade A? Likewise, is a Jipin grade healthier than a grade AAA?

Is the difference in healthy ingredients only minimal and that the main reason to pay the extra price would be to get a tastier tea?

I am aware that some teas are naturally healthier than others, the Silver Needle/Baihao Yinzhen is from what I understand healthier than for instance the Longjing (or at least that's what research and the opinion seem to be).

Is it possible for you to range your teas according to healthy ingredients? Or perhaps there aren't enough studies performed on the different teas for you to be able to do that. If so, are you able to do a ranging from personal opinion?

Not that tea is all about health, but it is definitely a selling point for me. I feel a lot better spending my hard earned money on expensive teas if I in addition to great taste and a great feeling of wellbeing also can contribute to a good health.

Thank you for a very nice site, and of course the great tea you offer.

Answer:

Øyvind, this is a very good question.

I think the short answer is that high grade/price do contain more healthier ingredients and health benefits, but individuals would come up with different answers as to whether it is worth spending the extra money.

The key is to get samplers, experiment, and find your best teas for your budget.

The higher grades normally come from the earlier harvests from low yield tea gardens (those that only harvest 6 weeks a year) in high altitude.

So they will contain greater amount of theanine and antioxidants, in the right proportion - so that you get both the taste and enjoyment AND the health benefits.

(You can also safely say green and white teas that taste rich and pure, that make you feel good, definitely contains more health benefits.)

The wholesale prices are determined solely by the supply and demand, so they won't bear direct relationship to the health benefits.

Of course, in this tea shop, we aim and do succeed in keeping our to most competitive, providing greatest quality and value.

As for having greater transparency over the healthy ingredients of the tea you buy, this is easier to say than done. Tea is an agricultural product, every batch of tea will differ according to many factors:

- timing of harvest
- location of harvest
- which part of the plant has been harvested
- storage

Every tea we sell, we use taste, aroma and after-feeling to judge the quality. Performing chemical tests will be expensive and will increase the costs of our offerings.

In summary, green and white teas that taste naturally rich and make you feel good afterwards will have greater health benefits, as the same healthy ingredients (theanine, antioxidants) actually contribute to the taste and feeling.

However, the price is determined by supply and demand, so if Jipin grade cost twice as much as the A grade, it doesn't mean it is twice as good.

The important point is to try a few teas, get the samplers, and decide for yourself what works for you.

I hope this helps.

Julian