How much Caffeine does Tea contain?

The fact is that tea contains very little caffeine; and there are different levels of caffeine in different types of tea.  This is determined by the kind of soil in which it is grown, the altitude at which it is grown, cultivation practices, the stage at which the tea leaves are plucked, the processing that the tea leaves undergo; and even the position on the bush that the leaves are picked from (higher up on the bush or lower down).

Does the way you prepare Tea affect the amount of Caffeine?

Another major factor that affects the levels of caffeine contained in tea is the method of preparation. The amount of time that the tea is allowed to steep and the temperature of the water in which it is steeped are both important is determining how much caffeine one ends up consuming.  The higher the temperature of the water and longer it is steeped, the higher will be the caffeine content of the tea.

So is the Caffeine in Tea harmful?

The levels of caffeine in tea are variable and can range from 1.4% to 4.5% according to some estimates. Though high levels of caffeine content can indeed be detrimental, it has been seen that caffeine can in fact be beneficial:

• It stimulates the kidneys and digestive juices, so aids digestion
• It can have a positive effect on the metabolism and may help to remove toxins from the body
• Caffeine is known to increase mental alertness and improve one’s reaction time
• Some experts also claim that caffeine improves circulation and functioning of the respiratory system so that heart health improves and the brain is better oxygenated

In any case for those who are averse to caffeine for whatever reasons or if pregnant women and lactating mothers would like to be cautious about caffeine, it is easy to pick teas that are low on caffeine and are safe for anyone to consume at any time!

Tea Parties were conducted for Different Reasons

Tea parties featuring the finest and most exquisite of teas were held at the different royal halls at the palace in order to conduct a number of different royal functions. Court ceremonies, discussions on educational affairs and a number of civic matters were the subject matter of such formal tea parties. The Forbidden City, which is the name for the Imperial Palace situated in the capital city of Beijing, contained a number of different Halls such as the Qianqing Palace (which was supposed to be the Hall of Heavenly Purity), Wenhua Hall (which was understood to mean the Hall of Literary Glory), and the Chonghua Palace (understood as the Hall of Double Glory).

Serving of Tea was integral to these Gatherings

In these halls, which were the cultural heart of the Forbidden City, discussions of national import, learned lectures by the learned minds and sages such as Confucius took place and the serving of tea was an integral and indivisible part of these proceedings. No royal banquet was complete without tea either.

Many learned minds would discourse on a number of subjects, meant to educate and edify; often these would be attended by the emperors themselves. Tea was served not only with the practical purpose of quenching the thirst of the speakers, but also as a symbol of encouragement for education. Following the learned discourses as well, the select few present would partake of tea with the emperor, a great honor and this would typically be a ceremony of gravity and solemnity.

In certain historical accounts of these royal tea parties, it was not unknown for the emperor himself to pour the boiling water onto the tea leaves; gesture much valued by esteemed guests. The emperor himself would often be a tea connoisseur and the courtesy extended to valued guests would be an indication of expertise and knowledge of tea drinking and teas in general.

With such a rich history steeped in tea drinking (pun unintended), it is no wonder that tea drinking is so much a part of the national fabric of China even today, permeating each element of social intercourse.

Tea for Tired Eyes

Do you sometimes come home feeling drained with tired, droopy, itchy eyes, even sometimes achy or reddened eyes? Well for this particular problem, you don’t even need a fresh tea bag; one that has already been used will also do; just make sure that you did not add milk and sugar to that particular cup in which the tea bag was used.  Or you can use a fresh tea bag that has been moistened sufficiently. The tea bag (fresh or used) should be refrigerated and then put on closed eyes for instant relief from eye tiredness, puffiness and that awful gritty feeling that one gets at times.

Other skin irritations such as sores, rashes, sunburns, bee stings, or allergic reactions can also be soothed by using tea bags by refrigerating them and then applying them topically.

Tea as a Deodorant

Does your microwave oven smell rather like that fish you recently steamed? Or does it perhaps have a lingering smell of garlic from the last exotic meal that you rustled up? Well a tea bag can help here as well. Take water in a cup and add a tea bag, and then heat it for a couple of minutes. Let it stand in the oven without opening the microwave, and let the fumes permeate inside. You can also use teabags inside the fridge, where it acts as a sort of odor-eater. Flavored tea bags (vanilla, cinnamon, lime etc) work even better.

Tea Leaves as Manure

If you use loose leaf tea, you can of course use them as manure. You can even leave your used tea bags to steep some more in water and then pour that water into your potted greens, which seems to encourage their growth and causes them to thrive.

Tea can act as a natural antiseptic for the body and is soothing for a number of common ailments as well.

A Tea Ball or Tea Infuser

These are the kind of esoteric gifts that only a real tea lover would like. The tea ball, a small, mesh container designed to hold loose tea leaves while they are being steeped is a great idea, as is a tea infuser.  It makes the whole process of making tea more involved and enjoyable, and makes tea making and tea drinking that much more pleasurable for the tea lover.

Tea Pots and Flasks

There are simply an enormous array of tea pots, kettles and other accessories to choose from. Amazon stocks a wide variety to choose from and at La Cafetiere, there are a number beautiful tea pots available along with attractive box packaging. A thermal glass teapot with a lid filter may also be a great idea for the contemporary tea lover in your midst.

Tea Cozies

If ever there was a comforting image of a tea drinking era gone past, it would have to be that of grandma’s tea cozy. That beautiful throwback to a gentler age, where tea drinking was a genteel, unhurried process that lasted long enough for you to need to keep that tea pot warm. Amazon stocks a number of beautiful tea cozies, including a Chinese tea cozy in rattan, or the more traditional pattered ones, some among them with cut outs for the handle, and the spout. You may also think of one with the Seasons Greeting motifs.

Tea Party Gifts

And who says a tea lover will enjoy only tea and tea accessories; some of the delicious things that go along with tea may also be greatly appreciated. Victorian House Scones for instance, sells things like scone mixes, biscuit and cookies mixes that offer an authentic taste of homemade!

Teas from our Store

And if you are looking for a variety of delicious teas to choose from you need look no further than our very own tea store, for black, green, white and oolong tea samplers to choose from, and even flavored gourmet teas available. You can choose from among tea chests, tea sets, etc. as well.

You can also browse through some of our previous posts such as Tea Accessories that will give you some great ideas for unusual and innovative gifts for any tea lover you may want to say Happy Holidays to!

Green Tea and Stress

According to a large scale Japan based study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, green tea has been linked with stress reduction. The study was conducted using over 42 thousand subjects and the findings of the study were that drinking requisite quantities of green tea was seen to actually increase and improve psychological wellbeing.

It was found that those who drank five cups of green tea per day showed considerably less psychological distress than those who drank less than a cup a day. Green tea is known to contain polyphenols which are a kind of antioxidant that is known to lower stress connected with neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases.

Green Tea and Mouth Ulcers

According to another report, this time published in the Cancer Prevention Research, green tea is shown to be good for mouth ulcers. According to the study, it was found that those who had precancerous lesions in the mouth were able to slow the progression of the disease by intake of green tea. It was also found that green tea extracts administered to some of those with such lesions, made the lesions disappear altogether!

In the study conducted on 41 leukoplakia (a condition that manifests itself in patchy, scaly splotches inside the mouth) patients, it was found that those taking the highest dose of the green tea extract, saw a lessening or disappearing of the lesions in 60 percent of the participants.

Green Tea and Cancer

Green tea also contains epigallocatechin gallate also known as EGCG, which is an antioxidant that is thought to protect against cancerous cells. While it is not clear whether it is possible to actually cure a cancer with green tea, it is possible to use green tea to improve your overall health and wellbeing as well as resistance to diseases including but not restricted to cancer.

So be aware the next time that you sip a fragrant and delicious cup of green tea that you are, along with the beverage, sipping good health and wellbeing as well!

As for whether you can have real tea at your child’s tea party, it is something one may want to clear with the other parents, but really there is no reason why children should not drink tea. It is a healthy and health giving drink and many parents choose to give that to their children rather than the zero nutrition, sugar packed, obesity inducing fizzy drinks that everyone seems to have at arm’s length these days.

Certainly most parents will agree that as a beverage, they would be more willing for their child to take regular sips out of their cup of green tea than a cup of coffee! Many small children don’t go for the taste of tea, which can develop over some years for many. However for those children who do like the taste and fancy having a cup, many parents think it prudent to have decaffeinated tea in the house so that children can have it without any issues. In any case fizzy drinks have far more caffeine and sugar in them than your average cup of tea, so really that is less of an issue that one may think.

Some parents admit to letting their one and a half year old take sips from their cup of tea, and others claim that their children drink tea from age 7 to 8 on. Some parents even say that they have been giving their children tea in their little sippy cups right from babyhood.

Many cultures believe in giving children black tea from fairly early on and believe that black tea (without milk) is actually very helpful in soothing a baby’s upset tummy.

So the rule of thumb should be, if your child does demonstrate interest in tea, there is no reason for forbidding the beverage to the child. The parent is the best judge of what is the right age for their child to start having tea. So if your little girl does want that fancy little tea party, there is no reason why you should not indulge her! Remember tea is a far better habit for kids to have than sodas and sweetened fizzy drinks!

Pregnancy Tea is Herbal Tea

Pregnancy tea is not really tea in the sense that it is not made from the tea plant that all tea comes from whether it is black tea, green tea, white tea or oolong tea. It is in fact made from several different herbs that for a long time have been thought to be good for pregnant women.  They are thought to ease morning sickness, combat sleeplessness and also help in shortening labor. However these herbal or pregnancy teas should be approached with caution because they are composed of a number of herbs, the effect of some of which is not yet fully understood.

Potential Problems with Herbal Tea

Though herbal teas are not, in general thought to be harmful either to a mother or to her baby, it is generally advised that women should avoid them during the first three months or the first trimester of the pregnancy.

Some herbal teas contain herbs like feverfew, tansy, goldenseal, bloodroot, broom, mandrake, and barberry. These are considered to be strong and bitter herbs which are not suitable for having during pregnancy. Some herbal teas also contain laxative herbs, like senna and cascara which are not suitable for drinking during pregnancy either. Some medical practitioners and herbalists also caution against the use of other ingredients like Peruvian bark, poke, cotton root, and male fern.

What about regular tea then?

Most medical practitioners agree that tea is quite safe to take during pregnancy as long as it is taken in moderation. Tea does contain small amounts of caffeine, however the level of caffeine increases with the increase in oxidation of the tea. This is to say that green tea, which undergoes less oxidation than black tea, contains less caffeine and therefore is safer to drink.

Concerns are sometimes raised that green tea may affect folic acid levels in the body, however there is not enough evidence to actually substantiate this claim. The reason that tea should be drunk in moderation is that it may make the absorption of iron difficult.

However since green tea is seen to assist in oral health, bone strength, your ability to fight bacterial and viral infections, it is thought to be beneficial and may be beneficial even during pregnancy.

The Fresh Lime and Honey tea recipe is a simple one involving as is obvious, honey and lime, a way to give a slightly Columbian twist to the tea.

Green Tea Collins offers you a unique cocktail recipe using green tea, lemon juice, fresh grated ginger, syrup and yes vodka! This one requires a shaker; it needs to be shaken and not stirred! Vodka and green tea are not exactly a classic combination, but don’t know until you’ve tried!

This herbal iced tea recipe uses lemon and red zinger tea bags, but that is not the interesting part of the recipe; the interesting part is the third ingredient: which is apple juice! Sounds delicious?

This unusual recipe for Tea Poached Tilapia is from Bob Greene’s Best Life Diet. It involves orange and spice flavored tea bags which are brewed for a period and then after addition of other favors, the poaching of fish in the mixture! Suggested serving with some brown rice or soba noodles.

This Iced tea fruit punch has two variants, for adults as well as for non adults. The former has rum and champagne while the latter has sparkling water with a lot of real fruit ingredients.  It is a delicious, even refreshing, drink!

This spinach and sencha tea recipe uses sencha which is a nutrient-packed green tea that gives the lift of caffeine without the edginess. Get a bright, fragrant burst when steeped with orange zest.

Singer Sarah McLachlan and her husband, Ash are said to have worked on this Chai recipe for a long time, and this one involves a lot of spices, tea bags and whole milk!

Fox Sweet tea includes a whole lot of ingredients and flavors such as kaffir lime leaves, mint, lemongrass, and lots of citrus fruit.

So lots of excuses there to indulge one’s love for tea, as Oprah so obviously and clearly does hers!

And so it is no wonder that some of the most beautiful and scenic tea estates in the world are to be found in China, where jaded travelers and curious tourists alike may find a holiday experience like no other. We have spoken before about the tea estate as a possible holiday destination; let’s talk some more about this:

The Long Jing Tea Plantation Area in Hangzhou

Close to Shanghai, it is a classic example of the beautiful tea estates of China. Hangzhou is one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China and is also well-known for its beautiful natural scenery, with the West Lake and the Long Jing tea growing regions.

The world famous Longjing tea is produced here.  Long Jing roughly translates as Dragon Well. According to one famous story, the emperor once stayed in this area while in disguise. He had a dream that the surrounding area of hills and valleys was actually a giant dragon in slumber. Supposedly the dragon spoke to the emperor in the dream and foretold a wonderful future, which is why the area was known as Dragon well.

It is the special mineral rich water of this area that is said to imbue the tea with a very particular flavor.  There are several tea estates in the Long Jing area which offer tea-tastings, tours of their facilities, and various educational lectures about tea.

You can even enjoy a weekend getaway visiting the tea plantations.  For cycling enthusiasts, the winding lanes criss-crossing the tea estates make for a marvelous experience where it is also possible to see the harvesting and processing of the tea.

The Meijiawu Tea Plantation

This is a family owned enterprise. It offers tourists the chance to tour the facilities, experience some tea tasting and even try their hand at some tea picking.

Not only is it a relaxing and educative experience, you get the chance to buy tea directly from the sellers; a product as authentic as can be. They also make for great gifts to carry back.

Morning Time is Great

Many will swear by the fact that the first thing is the morning is the best time to drink a cup of tea. Many people find that drinking tea in the morning gives a boost to the metabolism and is therefore beneficial.

Tea does contain some small amounts of caffeine, so it is advised by many that tea is best not taken later in the evening or at night, since it can interfere with sleep. Some advise taking tea no later than 5 pm in the evening if such interference with night sleep is detected. Tea however does not contain such significant amounts of caffeine as, say, coffee, so many may find that tea causes no such sleep interference.

As an Accompaniment to a Meal

Chinese restaurants, often offer little cups of fragrant jasmine tea along with the regulation chopsticks to accompany a meal. Generally speaking however, the Chinese do not drink tea along with their meals; but rather after their meal. Since tea drinking is so integral to the Chinese way of life and such a daily necessity, it is in fact part of the Chinese dining experience; which however, comes as the end of the meal. The Chinese are known to drink their cup of tea after a meal, (particularly a big one) to ‘wash away the oil’ and also to aid digestion.

Tea is also known to be a palliative when one is feeling a bit sick or uneasy in the stomach. At such times tea can soothe and aid digestion.

Summer Time

Iced tea can, of course, be a marvelous cooling, refreshing drink at any time during the summer months. It can be taken any time during the day and 3 or 4 glasses a day will not have any ill effects either!

So while on a balance you can say that tea is best taken in the morning, any time of the day is good enough, as long as it works well for the drinker.