Can you really get a good night’s sleep or lower blood pressure from a cup of tea? We are here to tell you that tea can do that and much more. What we reveal is eye-opening!
What Is The Healthiest Tea You Can Drink?
There’s an overwhelming amount of evidence-based information proving tea is THE go-to healthy beverage. Tea drinking goes back thousands upon thousands of years. Tea drinking is trending more as new research studies come out with even more data on tea benefits.
Mentions Of Teas In Research
Many of these studies use blanket tea descriptors such as “black or green” when featuring tea and its benefits.
The unfortunate thing about using generalized terms such as “black” or “green” in studies is it leaves readers stumped because there are numerous different types of black and green teas.
So, how do you know what the healthiest tea to drink is if a study mentions “black” or “green” or any other true tea or tisane (herbal tea?)
Tea Consumption And Timing
Tea is similar to coffee when it comes to the timing of consumption.
Some teas are higher in caffeine, so consuming it at bedtime isn’t a good idea. Likewise, calming teas and tisanes (herbal tea) should be reserved for the evening hours.
What Is The Healthiest Tea To Drink In The Morning?
To gain the benefits from drinking tea in the morning, it helps to understand which teas are the most potent with caffeine.
Matcha is a green tea that packs a punch with health benefits and is loaded with caffeine. Many Matcha drinkers throw back a shot of this healthy tea in the morning before going to work.
Other morning healthy teas include black teas such as English Breakfast, Assam, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Ceylon, Yunnan, or Irish Breakfast. As far as green teas go, healthy morning greens could include Sencha, Gyokuro, or green Assam.
What Is The Healthiest Tea To Drink In The Evening?
Caffeinated teas (black, green, oolong, yellow, white) can be consumed up until late afternoon.
Caffeine consumed late in the day or evening can cause difficulty in getting to sleep and staying asleep. As evening approaches, we want to reach for tisanes (herbal teas) that help calm and relax.
Things To Consider Before Consuming Tea
Although we have some wonderful teas listed, we cannot recommend consumption of any tea (true tea or tisane.)
If you have a medical condition, are taking medications (including chemotherapy or radiation,) or are pregnant or nursing, it’s best to talk to your doctor about whether or not tea is safe for you to enjoy.
Tea can worsen certain conditions, interact with medications, or cause adverse reactions.
Best Tea For Healthy Body
Now we dig into the good stuff and highlight those healthy teas and how they benefit you.
When we mentioned the “head to toe” benefit concept with tea consumption, we weren’t kidding!
How is tea healthy for your body? Different teas have a way of targeting parts of the body. We get a lot of readers asking about what the healthiest tea for weight loss is. Black and green teas aid in weight loss.
Black Tea
All black teas come from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis.) It’s how the tea is processed that makes it a unique type of black tea. Black teas are processed in different ways to produce specific flavors.
Common Types Of Black Teas
- Assam (India)
- Keemun (China)
- Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
- Nilgiri (India)
- Kenyan (Africa)
- Darjeeling (India)
- Yunnan (China)
So, let’s take a look at some of the healthiest black teas you can enjoy and what their benefits are.
Ginger Peach Tea
Benefits:
- Heart health
- Overall health
- Metabolism
- Blood pressure
- Arthritis
- Sore throat
- Digestive system
Ginger Peach tea has a black tea base (blend of Ceylon and Assam.) Ginger and peach are infused into the black tea base to give the tea the spicy element of ginger, while the sweet and fruity notes come from peach.
The maltiness of Assam and Ceylon’s sweet, honey-like flavor marries perfectly with the ginger and peach.
In the Botanics: Target Therapy Journal, a published study mentions ginger’s potential as an antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, cholesterol reducer, and blood pressure reducer. Traditional uses of ginger help to treat fever, sore throat, cold, digestive issues, and more.
Black tea comes with numerous benefits that include a reduction in the risk of heart disease, according to “Tea and Health: Studies in Humans” (another research article.)
Assam
Benefits:
- Dental health
- Inhibits bacteria
- Metabolism
- Obesity (weight loss)
Assam is one of the most consumed black teas and black tea used for blends such as English Breakfast. Its robust, malty flavor is what makes it such a hit in the tea-drinking community.
This tea acts as an antibacterial and is one that helps deter dental issues such as cavities and the biofilm that forms within the mouth.
Additionally, a study (“AMP-activated protein kinase: An Emerging Target For Ginseng”) mentions that black tea’s polyphenols cause our body to activate an enzyme that optimizes metabolism, which aids in weight loss.
Green Tea
Green teas also come from the same tea plant (Camellia sinensis) that other true teas (black, green, oolong, yellow, white) come from.
Again, what makes a tea black or green, sweet or bitter, smoky or earthy (you get the picture) is how the tea is cultivated and processed.
Green teas are known for their earthy, grassy, sweet, and herbal overtones. Infusions (fruit, spices, herbs, flowers, etc.) add layers of flavors to a green tea. Depending on the region, green tea producers may roast the tea, which makes it taste toasty.
Common Types Of Green Teas
- Green Assam (India)
- Sencha (Asia)
- Gyokuro (Asia)
- Dragonwell (China)
- Genmaicha
- Hojicha
- Lapsang Souchong
- Gunpowder
- Matcha
We have a few green teas that deliver healthy benefits and taste great!
Dragonwell
Benefits:
- Bone health
- Renal health
- Metabolism
- Heart health
Dragonwell is one of the most consumed teas in China. It’s also known as Longjing. Dragonwell green tea is a pan-fried tea. This tea has a mellow, creamy, toasty, nutty taste.
Green teas are known for their elevated levels of a constituent known as polyphenols (phenols.) Phenols reduce our risk of developing cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke, according to Pharmacy Times. Furthermore, another article (“Beneficial Effects Of Green Tea: A Literature Review”) notes that green tea helps to promote bone and renal health.
Matcha
Benefits:
- Antioxidant
- Chronic inflammatory conditions
Matcha is perhaps a leading green tea to consider because of its powerhouse of benefits. The beneficial prowess of this tea is reflected in Molecules Journal, which lists Matcha tea as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory due to considerable levels of catechins.
By regularly drinking Matcha tea, the body and mind greatly benefit. Furthermore, this tea is highlighted as the “highest quality tea” among teas and may be the healthiest green tea!
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea is one of the most aromatic, graceful true teas. Its tea leaves slowly unfurl while steeping in warm water, somewhat like an underwater ballet of sorts. Oolongs are towards the middle of the true tea spectrum and are neither overpowering as robust black teas are or mild as the white teas. As far as benefits, oolong delivers just as potent a punch of benefits as green or black teas do.
Tieguanyin
Benefits:
- Cholesterol levels
This lovely oolong tea has a beautiful floral aroma, yet the taste is quite subtle, with hints of sweet flowers. For those of you who struggle with cholesterol, this tea is a must-try. In the British Journal Of Nutrition, it was reported that consuming a mere 10 ounces of this tea weekly, LDL (bad cholesterol) was significantly reduced.
Ginseng Oolong
Benefits:
- Relaxing
- Adaptogenic
Oolong tea infused with ginseng provides you with the benefits of oolong while delivering added benefits of ginseng. Ginseng was the center of a study by the Journal of Ginseng Research, which notes this herb as being adaptogenic. It also acts as a vasorelaxant.
Tisanes (Herbal Teas)
Tisanes are known as herbal teas in the tea industry and tea drinking community. These teas are not considered true teas because they do not come from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) but rather from parts of other plants (flowers, leaves, stems, or roots.) Tisanes are a common form of treatment in traditional medicine to treat certain ailments and conditions.
Turmeric Ginger
Benefits:
- Chronic inflammatory conditions
- Antioxidant
- Inhibits bacteria
- Helps colds, flu, viruses
Turmeric is an Asian spice known as a powerful anti-inflammatory. The University of Utah backs up the fact that this spice is very useful for chronic inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. When paired up with ginger’s antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial abilities, a turmeric ginger tea becomes a cup full of natural treatment for colds, flu, viruses, etc.
Ginger
Benefits:
- Digestive system
Ginger tea is often the tisane (herbal tea) one reaches for to help alleviate digestive upset. McCormick Science Institute confirms ginger’s ability to help queasy stomachs. Many of us may recall times when nauseated and vomiting that our mothers broke out the ginger ale. Now you know why!
Best Tea For Healthy Mind
Teas have a significant impact on the brain physiologically and psychologically. They act to reduce neurological degeneration, keep us on our toes cognitively, and help to calm and relax.
So, what is the healthiest tea for your brain and mental well-being?
Black
Black teas (that include Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, Yunnan, Kenyan, Nilgiri, or Keemun) are highly capable of providing beneficial effects on the brain. In fact, those benefits are featured in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. Black tea improves peripheral vascular function while positively influencing the flow of cerebral blood. Regulating this flow is vital to maintaining brain health and vascular tone.
Chocolate Black Tea
Benefits:
- Elevates mood
- Brain health
Chocolate just makes us happy and has the power somehow to elevate our mood. According to the same article mentioned above (Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism), chocolate is chocked full of valuable flavonoids, which also helps to improve cerebral blood flow.
Green
Green teas (that include Assam, Gyokuro, Dragonwell, Genmaicha, Hojicha, and so on) reduce our risk of Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s, as reported in “Beneficial Effects Of Green Tea: A Literature Review.” Through the consumption of teas with antioxidant bioactivity (green tea,) the odds of developing a neurodegenerative disease are decreased.
Some lovely green teas that perk up the mind through the aroma, such as peppermint and spearmint teas, are worth enjoying on days when we become mentally bogged down. Likewise, a green tea such as Pinhead Gunpowder also livens us up with the boost of caffeine it provides.
Tisanes (Herbal Teas)
Benefits:
- Anti-anxiety
- Anticonvulsant
- Antidepressant
- Sleep disorders
Two widely recognized tisanes that are known to help us relax (especially in the evening or at bedtime) include Lavender and Chamomile teas. A study done on Lavender (“Lavender and the Nervous System”) notes this aromatic herb as being an anticonvulsant, antidepressant, and anti-anxiety. Additionally, Lavender is found to be sedating and calming.
A research report on Chamomile (“Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future”) highlights the potential of this herb in helping insomnia because of its sedating effects. Its sedating effect comes from apigenin (a flavonoid) which binds to certain receptors in our brains.
What Is The Healthiest Tea In The World?
All true teas (black, green, oolong, yellow, and white) have merit when it comes to health benefits.
However, narrowing it down to which tea is the healthiest is challenging at best. Many tea aficionados will tell you green tea is hands down the healthiest tea.
We have presented you with 17 of the healthiest teas in the world, so you decide which you prefer and how it meets your specific health needs. Then you have the answer of what the healthiest tea is for you!
Finding Your Fav Healthy Tea
There are hundreds of other tea options out there to try. We have only provided you with a snapshot of just how healthy tea really is. Carve out a few moments of your day to treat yourself to some seriously healthy teas!
After all, “It’s Never Not Tea Time!”
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
Itsnevernotteatime.com cannot and does not contain medical/health advice. The medical/health information is provided for general and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice.
