Tag: green tea

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Introducing Rose Oolong Tea and Strawberry Green Tea

Two great new tea products I am promoting this month include a new green tea; Strawberry Green tea and a scented oolong; Natural Rose Oolong tea. As the names imply, both have subtle flavours with the Strawberry Green tea being a scented tea (the strawberry scent is added to the green tea) and the Rose Oolong a natural tea that has rose petals added in with the oolong tea.

Strawberry Green Tea

The packaging of both teas (which sell in 100 gm packs) is great with the Rose Oolong vacuum packed and the Strawberry Green tea loosely packaged. For anyone who likes scented or flavored teas these would be an ideal choice.

The flavouring of the green tea minimises the ‘green tea’ taste that many green teas have. While some people enjoy the more earthy flavour of green tea, many people would prefer something a little less strong. Let’s face it, lots of people drink green tea or oolong tea because they know they are a healthy drink alternative and they actually benefit a person health-wise, being full of anti-oxidants and having little to no caffeine. Still, the taste can be a little off-putting for people at first, especially those who have been drinking coffee or black tea all their lives. This green tea is lightly blended with strawberry essence to bring out the light aroma and taste–a simply delicious, healthy tea!

The Rose Oolong is a fresh, naturally cultivated tea. Rose petals are added to  premium hand-picked Jin Xuan

Rose Oolong Tea

Oolong tea. The process requires 2 to 3 days for the tea to properly absorb the aroma from the rose petals. The Jin Xuan Oolong tea used in this batch is freshly harvested spring 2012 oolong tea from the Nan Tou tea growing region in central Taiwan. While the aroma and taste add to this already excellent oolong tea, one of the things that I love about the tea is that you can see the small rose petals in the tea — it really is a very pretty tea, as well as being a healthy choice for those who like the slightly more oxidised oolong tea.

The product page will include more details regarding where the tea was grown, at which elevation, etc. I am also including photos here of the packaging and a sample of the actual Rose oolong tea in which you can see the rose petals blended with the oolong tea. Unfortunately, at present, I do not have a clear photo of the green tea however in general the leaves are unfurled which is why the packaging appears larger — it is loosely packaged as opposed to being vacuum packed. Both packs contain 100 gram of tea however.

The Rose Oolong tea is more costly than the Strawberry Green tea, mainly because the tea base is a very high grade tea.

Prices:

Rose Oolong Tea – 100 gm: $15.99
Strawberry Green Tea – 100 gm: $10

Orders for these teas will be shipped within 1 to 2 working days, with shipping to most parts of Australia only taking a couple of days.

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Green Tea Side Effects? Are There Any?

There are quite a few sources online regarding green tea and the benefits gained from drinking it regularly. However, there are relatively few sources that outline side effects from drinking green tea. From my own personal research and from years of experience living in countries where green tea and oolong tea is one of the more common beverages consumed, I have concluded that there are few, if any, green tea side effects.

As with any food or beverage there are bound to be some side effects for some people, if moderation is not used. However, the side effects are not strictly related, in this case, to green tea but rather to people’s pre-existing intolerances or other existing medical conditions. In other words, while green tea is a relatively safe beverage to consume there may be some contraindications to drinking it regularly or in too great quantities.

Photo By: Shirokazan

 

Health Benefits

First, though, let’s take a look at some of the documented benefits of green tea. It has fairly low caffeine levels making it a great drink for people wanting to avoid heavily caffeinated drinks.

All teas, especially green tea and oolong tea, are rich in antioxidants. Green tea has anti-aging benefits, is said to help decrease the risk of certain types of cancer and the antioxidants help to cleanse and rejuvenate the body.

It likewise tends to increase the body’s metabolism which lends itself toward being a great supplement when dieting or simply trying to maintain a specific weight.

The  low caffeine levels make it non-addictive, unlike many other highly caffeinated drinks.

When Not To Drink Green Tea

Low Tolerance to Caffeine: I am often asked, “is green tea caffeine free?”  In short, no, it is not. Obviously, if you have a fairly high intolerance to caffeine, which many people do, you may want to either avoid drinking green tea or at least steep and discard the first cup of green tea brewed. Regular organic green tea leaves can be used to steep up to three cups of tea before you need to discard the tea leaves and start over with a fresh batch of leaves. The second and third cups of tea will have little to no caffeine. There are also decaffeinated green teas available however the decaffeination process can sometimes use chemicals that are more harmful to the body than a little caffeine would be. Generally, health benefits derived from decaffeinated green tea or oolong tea are likewise diminished due to the additional processing the tea undergoes.

Sensitive Digestive System: Although I disagree that green tea should be singled out as being harmful for people suffering from indigestion or those who have problems with bloating or nausea, it may not be the best choice of drink for those with such problems. However, it goes without saying that people with sensitive digestion should also avoid a myriad of other food and drink–not just green tea.  Some people find that oolong tea is easier on the digestion than green tea.

Do Not Drink When Pregnant Or Give to Children: In this instance I would say moderation was of prime importance.  The low levels of caffeine should not harm either pregnant women or children. Incidentally, there are much higher levels of caffeine in many carbonated drinks children regularly consume than are found in green tea.

Remember, in some cultures women have been drinking green tea for centuries and have not been harmed at all by doing so.  Some may argue that the health benefits of green tea far outweigh the issue of small amounts of caffeine being consumed when drinking green tea.

In Summary: While some people may find that green tea does have some side effects that they would prefer not to experience, most people are able to safely drink and profit from the health benefits found in green tea. Does green tea have caffeine?  Yes, but so do many other beverages. Overall, many people consume products on a daily basis that pose a  much greater threat to their health and overall well being than a cup or two of green tea would. Personally I feel that the health benefits far outweigh any green tea side effects or green tea extract side effects for most people.

 

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Is Green Tea Caffeine Free?

While green tea is not totally caffeine free, it has much less caffeine in it than black tea for example. Still, it does have some caffeine.

Black tea, green tea and oolong tea all come from the same plant. The difference between the teas is the amount of oxidation they undergo and the type of processing the tea leaves undergo. Black tea is the most oxidized, green tea the least oxidized.  How does this affect the caffeine levels in tea? The more oxidation the tea leaves receive, the greater the amount of caffeine they produce. Thus, out of all of the different types of teas made from the Camellia sinensis plant, green tea has the least amount of caffeine.  Oolong has slightly more, but not as much as regular black tea has.

One regular sized cup of green tea has between fifteen to forty mg. of caffeine. A comparable cup of drip coffee contains over one hundreg mg. of caffeine.

Photo By: Mariela M.

Unless you have no tolerance at all to caffeine or you have a medical condition which precludes your having any caffeine, you may find that a little caffeine such as exists in green tea is actually beneficial to your body.  Recent studies have shown that not only does a small amount of caffeine help increase a person’s alertness and energy levels. There also may be some links between caffeine content and the anti-cancer polyphenols present in green tea.  If you are trying to lose weight and are thinking about including green tea in your diet program, you may want to consider the fact that the combination of caffeine (remember, caffeine levels in green tea are very minimal) and catechins in green tea help reduce abdominal fat.

Decaffeinated Green Tea

If you really do not want any caffeine at all, you could opt for drinking Decaffeinated Green Tea. There are many different types available, however did you know that decaffeinated drinks may not be that good for you because of the processes they go through?

First of all, it strips out a lot of the good antioxidants found in natural green and oolong teas. In fact, some studies have shown that decaffeinated Green Tea has only around half the amount of antioxidants that regular green tea has.  There are different methods for decaffeinating tea. The carbon dioxide process is the best method of decaffeination in that tea undergoing this process retains higher levels of antioxidants. Another natural method of decaffeination using Ethylene acetate, strips both antioxidants and lessens the flavor of the tea.  Another method which uses Methylene chloride during the process is actually restricted in some countries and it may be damaging to your health to drink teas decaffeinated using this process.

It’s All In The Brewing

You can lessen the amount of caffeine in your green tea by:

  • using less leaves when brewing your tea
  • letting it steep for a shorter amount of time
  • tipping out the first brewed cup without drinking it (whole leaf teas can be steeped several times using the same leaves.)

In Summary

So, does green tea have caffeine?  Yes. Green tea is not caffeine free unless you specifically buy decaffeinated green tea. However, even though it does contain small amounts of caffeine it is much less than you will find in coffee, black or even oolong tea. You can lessen the amount of caffeine by changing the way you brew your tea.  It is thought, too, that the small amount of caffeine in green tea actually aids the antioxidants contained naturally in green tea. In contrast, decaffeinated green tea may not be as healthy for you as regular green tea.  Will you experience any green tea side effects relating to the amount of caffeine in a cup of green tea? Probably not, unless you have an intolerance towards caffeine in general.