Tea 101 Part 1 - Hot, Cold or Lukewarm?

Drinking tea has been part of tradition in many lands. In some places there are proper ways to serving tea, reasons for drinking tea and also offering tea as a gesture of friendship. For the British and Japanese, tea and the art of serving it properly, has always been of utmost importance. For us who just want a good healthy cup of tea, how should it be prepared?

First let's look at hot tea. Some of us just pick what ever we think is the healthiest tea, boil the water or use the microwave oven, make to brew and drink it. There is more to tea drinking than that.

You should never really drink "hot" tea. Yes, hot tea antioxidants are very reactive. Hot tea is fresher and therefore contains more antioxidants. But if the tea or coffee is too hot it may cause cancer of the esophagus. You should wait at least five minutes before drinking it. The longer you let the tea steep, the more the catechin, the better the tea. Drink your tea lukewarm. To cool the tea faster, try adding a little milk. Separate studies show milk in your tea will unlikely reduce the antioxidant benefits. Adding lemon can help prolong the life of antioxidants and increase the potency of the tea.
For those of you who want your tea cold might want to add lemon, apple juice or maybe red wine.

Making Sun Tea

Get a clear, gallon-sized glass jar. The glass lets the sun in better than plastic.
For black tea use 16 teabags to make one gallon, that is16 cups of sun tea.

Put the jar in a sunny spot for about three hours or more. Remove tea bags and pour over ice. Again if you want to add more catechin to your drink, add lemon, apple juice or maybe red wine.

I do not like using sugar or honey to sweeten my drinks. I found using apple juice works. When it is hot outside, try making tea ice cubes with lemon or apple juice. Children will love them. If you have an ice cream maker, tea ice cream is great.

Got puffy eyes? Do not toss used tea bags away. After you make your hot tea, take the tea bags out and ring out the liquid. Then put them in the freezer to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes, do not freeze them. Then relax and put the tea bags on your eyes for about 10 to15 minutes, turning the bags about every 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags then rinse your face with cool water to remove any tea stains.