How To Make The Perfect CUP OF TEA

EACH DAY AN estimated five billion cups of tea are drunk around the world—and every single one of them is potentially a health booster; if made correctly.

- Helen Foster

Now you might be thinking, there’s tea, there’s water—maybe milk and sugar depending on where you live—how hard can it be to do it correctly?

Well, actually there’s a science to making tea that tastes good, and positively affects your health.

Health Benefits

According to recent studies, drinking tw to six cups a day is linked to a lowered risk of arterial changes associated with heart disease and dementia, while one cup a day reduces the risk of diabetes—and just three cups a week might lead to a longer life.

“All tea—green, black and white—comes from the Camellia sinensis plant which is full of phytochemicals with antioxidant properties that benefit health,” explains Professor Quan Vuong from the University of Newcastle in Australia. “However, the tea you choose and how you prepare it makes a difference as to how many of these phytochemicals actually end up in your cup.” He says that is one reason why the research findings about how much tea confers health benefits are so inconsistent.

If you want to make the healthiest cup of tea though, here are the steps you need to follow.

Vary Your Colours

“The difference in tea colour comes from when it's picked and how it is processed after picking,” explains Professor Vuong. The less a tea is allowed to oxidize (react with air) the more healthy compounds it contains.

“White tea is made from the buds of the tea and dried immediately to stop it oxidizing so it has the highest levels,” he says. “Green tea is heated to stop oxidation, black tea is allowed to oxidize fully and oolong is somewhere in between.” This might lead you to believe that you should only drink white tea, but, not only is that bad for the budget (it’s very expensive), “we find different polyphenols in the different teas—so, it's a better idea to vary the types you drink to ensure a mix,” says Professor Vuong.

Stick With Leaves