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Are you are drinking green tea to enjoy its health benefits? If so, you should always get the most from your green tea, without sacrificing the flavor. Here’s how to maximize the green tea benefits in every cup.

Green tea benefits

First, let’s talk about the benefits. Green tea may provide dozens of benefits, but just like any other drink or food in this world, it won’t do miracles. However, there are things you can do to increase the benefits.

There are countless studies about what green tea may do for you, and most of them focus on two or three compounds. Some of the most beneficial compounds in green tea are catechins, L-theanine and caffeine. There are many others, including vitamins, many minerals, chlorophyl, other amino-acids and other compounds.

However, studies suggest that the first three mentioned compounds may provide the most important potential benefits:

• Antioxidant boost
• Energy boost
• Anti-inflammatory properties

Green tea may be helpful in preventing and treating diseases such as Chron’s disease arthritis, different cancers and metabolic syndrome, including Type II diabetes and even delay collagen aging [1].

Read more:

• Best tea for Chron’s diseas
• Is green tea good for diabetic
• Can tea cure cance
• Is green tea good for arthritis

The potential of green tea has been known for a long time, but there’s no clear blueprint on how to make your tea to maximize the benefits and which types are the most beneficial. Many of these benefits still require an extensive research as well.

But what you can do it follow guidelines based on already published studies and enjoy green tea that is likely to have the best properties.

How to do it?

5 ways to increase benefits of green tea

1. Choose the right brewing method

The way you brew your tea will have a huge impact on the extraction of catechins, caffeine and other compounds. Some of the most popular ways of making green tea are hot brewing and cold brewing.

Hot brewing will give a stronger and deeper flavor and extract more caffeine, while cold brewing will give a fresher and lighter tea, with less caffeine. However, one interesting study showed that cold-brewed green tea may potentially have a higher free radical scavenging potential than hot brewed tea [2].

Another study showed that using less leaves and cold brewing them for 12 hours may extract more EGCG than using hot water and more tea leaves [3].

However, if you prefer to drink hot tea, to enjoy the best flavor and benefits, follow brewing recommendations. Where possible, use slightly hotter rather than cooler water (for example, 176°F rather than 167 °F, etc.).

2. Store your tea properly

Over time, tea will deteriorate and provide fewer benefits. Some green teas will lose its potency sooner, such as matcha, and some may stay fresh longer. But in each green tea, catechins will start decreasing after some time. Studies suggest that green tea may be best used within one month, although it will keep most of its compounds even after 6 months [4].

3. Drink different types

Without testing each type of green tea, it’s not possible to say how much catechins or other compounds it contains. However, we can draw quite good conclusions from many other studies. For example, the previously mentioned study included 6 different tea types, and showed that Dragon Well has 10 times more EGCG than kukicha, a tea that’s also low in caffeine.

That’s why it’s a good idea to drink different types and maximize the potential benefits. Different green teas will have different amounts of EGCG, L-theanine, and caffeine.

4. Drink it daily

Most studies about the potential benefits of green tea usually mention the importance of daily drinking. Think of it as an exercise. If you do one session, you may feel better, but won’t see long-term benefits. A cup of hot green tea may make you happy, but unless it becomes a habit, it won’t do much in terms of benefits.

5. Add functional ingredients

You can add different functional ingredients to your tea and increase the potential benefits. Green tea goes well with many herbs and spices, including ginger, mint, rosemary, thyme, beetroot, and adaptogens such as tulsi. Blend them before steeping and follow brewing instructions for green tea. If you are a matcha drinker, you can blend it with other powders can also blend matcha powder with other powders, for example ashwagandha, maca or chlorella.

Final thoughts on how to increase green tea benefits

Green tea is one of the most amazing drinks in the world, even if you are not interested in potential benefits. However, benefits make green tea even more interesting and definitely worth a try. To get the most out of green tea, experimenting with brewing methods and different tea types will pay off, and eventually, help you create a new habit of drinking green tea daily.

To learn how to get the best flavor out of green tea leaves, check our guide on brewing the best cup of organic green tea here. And to explore different types, this green tea sampler has 3 most popular green tea types.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and it’s not intended to replace a professional opinion, diagnosis or treatment plan.

Sources

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3561737/

[2] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308718817_Ten_different_brewing_methods_of_green_tea_comparative_antioxidant_study

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4648929/

[4] https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/33165/PDF