What not to put in tea (with alternative suggestions)

Don't put diesel fuel in your tea.

Do put water in your tea, and steep for 3-8 minutes, depending on the type and quality of your tea.

Don't put antifreeze in your tea. It may taste sweet, but it'll make you die.

Do put sugar or honey in your tea (or don't, depending on your preference).

Don't put your hand in tea you have just finished steeping. It will scald you.

Do put a spoon in your tea to stir with.

Don't put an aging hippie in your tea.

Do put your tea in an aging hippie.

Don't put abstract concepts involving quanta and probability in your tea.

Do put fruit in your tea (unless you're not into that sort of thing).

Don't put fish in your tea.

Do eat fish with your tea.

Don't put aluminum utensils in your tea (or drink from an aluminum container); it will leech into your tea and possibly contribute to a number of degenerative diseases.

Do put wooden, stainless steel, titanium, stone, ice, and silicon utensils in your tea.

And lastly, don't put anything in your tea you'd be afraid to consume or use otherwise.

Is green rooibos 100 times sexier than red rooibos?

So I was googling some stuff earlier and I happened upon this site, which states, "Green Rooibos has 100 times more antioxidants and 10 times more aspalathin than regular fermented Rooibos."

The latter statement I might buy. The former? Not so much. Green tea has more antioxidants than black tea, it's true, but not 100 times more, and I see no reason to believe that rooibos is that much different.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of conflicting information on the internet, as I've mentioned before. Some people claim green rooibos has more antioxidants than any type of infusion. Some say the green variety is 40 times as good for you as the red variety (also a very doubtful claim). It can be hard to sift through all the misinformation out there, but fortunately I found something. Not much, but something.

According to the article, green tea comes out on top, followed by green rooibos, red rooibos, semioxidized rooibos, black tea, and oolong tea.

I see two strange things here. Why would semioxidized varieties of tea and rooibos have fewer antioxidants than full oxidized varieties? I admit I'm not a scientist, but everything I've read has said oolong tea has a higher antioxidant ability than black tea.

Green rooibos is fairly new to the market, so there understandably isn't as much research on it as there is green tea. Hopefully in the next couple years this issue will be resolved, if only because it'd be nice to know where rooibos stands in comparison to tea. Until then, though, it tastes great, is good for you, and has no caffeine or tannins, so drink up.


EDIT: I caught an error as I was scanning through this just now—green tea doesn't actually have more antioxidants than black tea, it just has more powerful antioxidants. The oxidation process changes the chemical structure of the polyphenols present in green tea, but it doesn't remove them. More on this later.

Tannins

A number of years ago I went to a Chinese restaurant with a friend, and at this particular restaurant the first thing they do after bringing you a menu is bring you a pot of hot Chinese black tea. I've always loved it, and before I got into tea I thought it had to be something radically different because none of the bagged teas (which are almost always Indian tea) I'd tried tasted as smooth and non-astringent as it. Now I realize it's a rather weak, flavorless cup of tea, but I digress.

Anyway, this friend did not drink tea. He was Mormon, so that was the reason why, but he attempted to justify it by this line of logic: tea has tannins, and tannins are used to tan leather, therefore tea must tan your insides. A lot of people have this misconception, or at least the part where tea contains tannic acid, the same substance used to tan leather.

It does not. Tea does contain tannins, which are a diverse group of polyphenols, but not tannic acid, which is extracted from oak leaves and has an entirely different chemical structure. Not all polyphenols are tannins, but all tannins are polyphenols, and as we all know, the best constituents of tea are polyphenols. Basically, a tannin is any polyphenol that shrink proteins or bind them together and cause water to evaporate off them. Any chemists or biologists reading this should correct me if I'm wrong—I got that last bit off Wikipedia earlier today.

Tannins are responsible for the astringency of low-quality or oversteeped teas, basically. Most fruits or veggies that causes your mouth to pucker up and feel like it's been dried out are high in tannins. This is why tisanes like rooibos or chamomile don't succumb to this effect when you steep them for a long time: no tannins. If teas didn't have tannins, it's very likely there wouldn't be concept of second and third steepings, because we'd just steep them as long as wBlogger: Tead Off: The Tea Blog - Create Poste wanted. White tea is the exception here, as it is relatively low in tannins, though lower quality varieties will get bitter if you steep them for too long, and most will become at least a little astringent if steeped for more than 5-8 minutes.


Tannins are good and bad for you. They are not poisonous like tannic acid, and there is absolutely no way you could ever tan leather using tannins from tea or any of the other foods and beverages we regularly ingest. First, the good, because that's what we all want to hear:

• Tannins cause the lining of the intestinal walls to constrict, making them a good remedy for diarrhea, in addition to a number of other inflammatory bowel conditions.
  
• They also help heal wounds by forming a protective layer around the abrasion and by helping stop bleeding.
• Tannins are anti-microbial, and have also shown antiviral and anticancer potential in tests.

And now the bad:

• Tannins inhibit the body's ability to absorb minerals such as iron. This can lead to anemia. If you eat a lot of red meat you probably don't have to worry as iron from animal sources absorbs very readily, though you should be worried about other things instead if you're a red meat freak...
• Some people may have gastro-intestinal troubles if they ingest a lot of tannins.
  
• Tannins have been linked to cancer, though tea has not been, so don't worry about this one unless you take a lot of astringent herbs

Basically, moderation is good. If you're worried about anemia or other mineral deficiencies, just don't drink tea while you eat (but if you've heard adding milk keeps the tannins at bay you've been lied to—milk does nothing and may even prevent your body from utilizing the tea's antioxidants). Or add some lemon juice or vitamin C to your tea.

In any case, the most compelling argument for tannins being either benign or benevolent is the fact that tea is the world's oldest beverage other than water, and that if it were actually harmful we'd probably know about it by now. So drink up.

Tea's Dark Side

Okay, it's not much of a dark side, I'll admit, and it's not so much the tea plant's fault as it is our own. Plants breath the air and suck nutrients out of the ground, so it's only natural that they can also such up foreign matter and toxins. For this reason you generally don't want to pick berries or harvest plants that are near roads or industrial centers. Tea, unfortunately, is no exception.

A lot of places online will tout tea's fluoride content as a positive. "Oh, it protects your teeth!" they'll say. And why? Maybe because they're stupid, maybe because they're tea fanboys/fangirls, or maybe because they're trying to sell a product. Well, it may be true that the fluoride content of tea leaves helps protect your teeth. But you are drinking that tea, not gargling and spitting it out, so any fluoride that touches your teeth is also going to run its course through your gut. Ingest too much fluoride and you run the risk of developing fluorosis, a nasty condition where bones and joints fuse together. If left untreated it will cripple you and put you in immense pain. Not to mention all the other nasty things fluoride can do to you. I won't get into the fluoridated water debate, but I will say this: many bagged teas have fluoride levels well above that of tap water. Instant tea is the worst, but I imagine if you drink that stuff you aren't reading this blog right now.

Check it out. Not so good, eh? But it's not all bad. First of all, fluoride and other toxins accumulate over time, so if you drink tea made of younger buds you will not be getting as much in your system. If your tea comes from a remote, unpolluted place, same deal. The higher quality the tea, in general, the less fluoride in it. White teas tend to have the least because they're harvested the earliest. Black teas tend to have the most because they're harvested the latest.

Most people don't experience any problems or develop fluorosis, anyway. But if you are worried (and I'm truly sorry if it's my fault), you can use non-fluoridated water when you brew your tea. I'm lucky because we don't put fluoride in our water (or much of anything—our water quality is really high), so tap water is fine for me. But if your tap water is fluoridated, use distilled water. And drink higher quality teas. Not only will it be better for you, but it'll taste better, too. I guarantee it.

It's also important to note that rooibos has considerable fluoride in it as well (as far as I know honeybush doesn't, however).

Republic of Tea - Golden Yunnan

For hardcore tea connoisseurs such as myself, Republic of Tea is not the ideal choice. Although I do drink it often at work (teabags—loose leaf tea is a pain in the ass to deal with in the break room), I don't typically drink it at home. I still don't, honestly, but this deserves special mention simply because it was my introduction to what is now my favorite black tea.

That's right, Golden Yunnan. This is a tea that catches most habitual black tea drinkers unaware upon the first sip, as most people are only familiar with Indian black teas, which tend to have a very strong taste and can go bitter easily if oversteeped. Even Darjeeling, which is considered to have a milder, more delicate taste, is pretty friggin' strong compared to most Chinese teas. But Yunnan teas are some of the very best. Yunnan province has some of the oldest tea bushes in the world and provides a number of the finest teas you can get.



My first experience was heavenly. I bought this canister on a whim when I saw it in the clearance section (though it still cost more than most of the other Republic of Tea varieties). I took it home, and the honeymoon lasted about a week. It only ended because I ran out of tea, of course.

Basically, Golden Yunnan tea doesn't become bitter or astringent if you oversteep it, and I certainly did a few times. It has an unoffensive and complex flavor, and while I've read that it often has a slightly peppery taste to it, I've never gotten that. Maybe the crops from the last couple of years have been subpar or something. I have gotten a somewhat tangy, lively cup of tea, however, and Republic of Tea may be a little overpriced and overhyped, but it's still good tea. Just as a side note, this tea is also known as "Golden Needle Tea," and we all know how coveted Silver Needles white tea is... As a rule, if a tea has the word "needle" in its name anywhere, it's a pretty badass tea.

Now I have two very large canisters from Adagio: one of their Yunnan Jig, which is similar to what the Republic's Golden Yunnan is, and one of actual Golden Yunnan, which is made up entirely of the golden tips of the tea buds. Obviously that one fetches a premium over the former. The Jig has a stronger flavor more in line with that of stronger Chinese blacks, while the Golden is milder but more complex. They're still very similar, and it took me a while to really figure out the difference between them, but once I did I set the Jig aside for entertaining guests (or drinking first thing in the morning if I don't feel like Darjeeling).

So in conclusion, thank you, Republic of Tea, for introducing me to a tea I should never have gone without.

Oxidation vs. Fermentation

Just a quick note and nit: when people talk about black or oolong teas being "fermented," they are using the wrong word. There is no fermentation in the production of tea. Fermentation is used in alcohol production and anything else where energy is produced in anaerobic conditions (like in your muscles or compost heap). Tea does not undergo a process like this at all. Tea is oxidized, where essentially oxygen is allowed to change the molecular structure of the leaves and produce black and oolong teas (and even white teas, sometimes).

I just thought I'd clear the air on this. It's been bothering me lately. I received a catalog in the mail for an herb company I often buy from, and they also sell some tea products. They had a jasmine green tea and said the jasmine leaves were fermented with the tea leaves. First of all, green tea isn't oxidized, but since I like the company I can forgive them that specific offense. But the usage of the term "fermentation" is a crime committed by many a tea retailer, and I will not stand for it!

Green Tea Extracts

You probably shouldn't take them. For several reasons.

1) The tea used in green tea extracts is of the lowest quality. Yes, you'll get considerable amounts of antioxidants, and yes, the taste doesn't matter when you're swallowing a pill. But the lowest quality tea also has the highest level of toxins, such as fluoride, aluminum, and whatever else the soil has been exposed to.

2) Taking a pill every morning isn't as effective as drinking several cups of tea over the course of the day. Most of the antioxidants in tea get flushed out of your system, so drinking 6 cups of tea over the course of 12 hours will keep more antioxidants in your system for a longer time than taking one pill with the equivalent of 6 cups of tea once a day.

3) Too much of a good thing is bad. Your kidneys and liver filter the polyphenols in tea out of your bloodstream. I could explain why your body does this, but that would take research I don't feel like doing right now, so I'll post on it later. Anyway, there's an upper limit to how much of these antioxidants are good for you. Some green tea extracts are equivalent to ten, twenty, forty, fifty, or more cups of tea, and that is not good.

Check it out.

It's partly our culture that decrees if something is good, then more of it must be better. I haven't found any studies that have shown liver or kidney damage can be caused by drinking tea alone, so it may just be that the supplements do this by introducing too many polyphenols into the body at one time, but then I doubt there is anyone who's ever drank 50 cups of green tea a day on a regular basis.

I've found several websites that sell these supplements, and they tend to say things along the line of, "there's no such thing as 'too much' when it comes to green tea." If you see one of these ridiculous bullshit claims, just remember that they are trying to sell you a product, not make you live longer.

Ditch the supplements and just drink tea. Or if you're savvy with herbal rememedies and like the convenience of supplements, make your own extracts! Just boil the tea in a pot like you normally would, remove the tea leaves and let the tea sit on low heat for several hours, and wait for all the water to evaporate off. The powdery residue on the bottom of the pot is your extract. Just remember how much tea you put into the pot in the first place so you don't accidentally megadose on green tea extract and make yourself sick.