I’ve grown to love green tea over the years. There are so many varieties of green tea, ranging from the bolder sencha to the more floral jasmine green. If you’re not a fan of green tea, you just may not have tried the one for you yet.
It goes without saying that green tea is renowned for its health benefits.
- It has a low-moderate amount of caffeine, depending on the type of green tea you’re having. It also generally has a more balanced impact for people who are caffeine-sensitive (like me).
- Probably the most-studied constituent of green tea – aside from caffeine – is epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG for short. ECGC is a fantastic antioxidant, which means it helps clean up damage like that from daily wear-and-tear or potentially the effects of illness in the body.
A few green tea options:
- The most potent green tea – you may have guessed it – is matcha. Matcha is a very concentrated powder (literally dried green tea leaves crushed up) and packs a closer caffeine level to that of regular coffee. It’s traditionally made with hot (not boiling) water, but today you can find it in lattes, lemonades, baked goods, and more.
- One of my favorite types of green tea is jasmine – and even this type varies depending on the brand you buy. Generally, it’s a lighter, more floral-tasting tea. Avoid steeping it for more than 2-3 minutes, or you’ll have a bitter brew.
- Genmaicha is a popular green tea that includes popped brown rice, giving the tea a nuttier flavor. I’m not a big fan of the taste, but many people love it and find it easier to drink than other greens.
- If you have an herbal tea you like, you could combine it with green tea too. Any kind of berry/fruity tea can go well here – think mango green, passion tea green, etc. (Nothing wrong with steeping two different bags, just consider adding more water so it’s not super strong-tasting.)
Lastly, green tea is so much better is you steep it at water around 180 degrees F rather than full-on boiling (tip if you’re using a kettle without a thermometer: approximate this by filling a third of your mug with water that’s cool/room temp on top of the hot). Bonus: it’s ready to sip sooner 🙂
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