Healthier Brew for You?

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Healthier Brew for You?

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1HolmesGirl
Juil 30, 2012, 1:14 pm

There are so many herbal teas to chose from now, that with people being so health conscious they are giving up our favourite brew. Would you succumb to green tea forsaking your PG Tips or whichever brand you have loved for so long?

2edwinbcn
Juil 30, 2012, 1:23 pm

>1 HolmesGirl:,

Green tea is not a herbal tea.

Herbal teas do not contain "tea leaves".

I love various herbal teas, but would not give up tea. Tea will always come first.

3HolmesGirl
Juil 30, 2012, 3:17 pm

I never knew this. I know green tea has many antioxidants known to be very good for us. But apparently, so does our most popular cuppa. I have only just started 'experimenting' with various teas and learning about them.

4halo_star
Juil 30, 2012, 5:39 pm

I love green tea, I love "regular" tea. I drink whatever I am in the mood for.

5emperatrix
Juil 30, 2012, 5:48 pm

I have a collection of teas and herbals at work and home. I brew whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

6Osbaldistone
Juil 30, 2012, 8:08 pm

>1 HolmesGirl:
I refuse to accept the existence of 'herbal tea'. Tea is an infusion from leaves of the tea plant. What is mislabeled as 'herbal tea' is an infusion of some other organic material, and should rightfully (and accurately) be called 'herbal infusions' or 'tisanes' (false advertising in the marketplace!!! as a local comedian is wont to say).

BTW - being 'herbal' doesn't mean healthier. For that matter, tea is herbal, if, by herbal, you mean made from plants. So are strychnine and curare, I suppose.

But, if you're asking what to drink to avoid the caffiene, green teas tend to have less, and there are a few acceptable decaffienated teas out there. I prefer Tea Embassy's decaf ginger peach, myself.

Os.

7HolmesGirl
Juil 31, 2012, 6:54 pm

This is what I have been told, that 'herbal teas' are much healthier for us. But is there any actual scientific proof for this? Chamomile and Valerian (I think) are meant to be soothing and aiding restful sleep. But I have changed to decaff and am enjoying some of the varied flavours available in teas. As for any health benefits, these remain to be seen, but organic has to be, I imagine at least, the best choice to make.

8Teacup_
Juil 31, 2012, 8:21 pm

I'm a bit weary with Valerian. Didn't give me "pleasant" effects. I drink Chamomile a lot but keeping it under control since I have low blood pressure. Green tea is another no-no for me; it gives me heart palpitations.

I like herbal "infusions" only because I enjoy drinking warm water flavored with citrus or floral plants. My favorite currently is a mixture of Rooibos & Lavender. I also like Jasmine buds (plain without green tea).

I try to make sure my loose tea is always organic but I had a chat with a tea specialist/collector recently and she told me most poor countries do not afford to buy chemicals anyway so in its purest sense their leaves could pass as "organic".

I just recently also started introducing normal tea back into my system but I only dunk it once and I prefer Breakfast or Cylon.

9Osbaldistone
Août 1, 2012, 2:13 am

>7 HolmesGirl: but organic has to be, I imagine at least, the best choice to make.

Depends on what you mean by 'organic'. The pedant in me can't resist noting that petroleum is organic, as is DDT. 'organic: relating to or derived from living matter. In chemistry, relating to or denoting compounds containing carbon and chiefly or ultimately of biological origin.

But if you mean some defined method of raising crops without the use of pesticides - organic (there is that word again - organo-chlorine and organo-phosphate pesticides are quite 'in' these days) or 'inorganic' (meaning arsenic, for example) - I would agree with you. But, as noted above, most tea producing countries find labor much cheaper than man-made pesticides for pest control, so de-facto organic (produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers or other artificial chemicals) is probably the norm.

Os.

10CliffordDorset
Août 12, 2012, 5:03 am

The word 'organic' these days is simply a synonym for 'over-priced', but for some obscure reason people prefer to use it. As the knowledgeable Os implies, there's rarely a way of proving a product is 'organic', except a test based on the detection of specific inorganic chemicals.

Humans have been using fertilisers for millennia, and some of these are based on animal waste. How do you ensure the animal concerned had good taste?

Incidentally, is water (99+% of brewed tea) organic? Last time I looked it was just made of hydrogen and oxygen atoms - no carbon at all!

11jaqdhawkins
Sep 14, 2012, 2:14 am

I will occasionally drink an herbal tea or green tea, but not instead of real tea. It's a different drink. Morrisons used to make the most wonderful Cherry tea!