Compounds on the surface of the leaf and in the interior cells damaged by processing will diffuse into the surrounding liquid until the compounds in both the leaf and the water reach equilibrium. In other words, if given enough time to steep, the liquid in your mug will become just as concentrated with tea compounds as the liquid in your tea leaves, and the ratio will stay that way.
Osmotic diffusion doesn't happen all at once—different compounds enter the water at different rates based on their molecular weight. The light, volatile chemicals that contribute to tea's aroma and flavor profile dissolve the fastest, which is why the smell from a bag of tea leaves becomes more potent the moment you dunk it in water. The next group of compounds to infuse with the water includes the micronutrients flavanols and polyphenols, which are antioxidants, and caffeine.
They're followed by heavier flavanols and polyphenols such as tannins , which are the compounds responsible for tea's bitter flavor. They're also what make your mouth feel dry after drinking a glass of wine. Tea also has amino acids like theanine , which can offset the sharpness of tannins. Water temperature is another factor to take into consideration when steeping your tea.
High water temperature creates more kinetic energy, which encourages the compounds to dissolve. Osmotic diffusion takes place whether you use loose leaves or tea bags, but there are some notable differences between the two. When given room to expand , loose tea leaves swell to their full capacity, creating more room for water to flow in and extract all those desirable compounds.
Tea that comes prepackaged in a bag, on the other hand, only has so much room to grow, and the quality suffers as a result. This is why some tea companies have started selling tea in roomier, pyramid-shaped bags, though the size matters more than the shape. But even before the tea touches the water, there's a difference in quality. Loose leaf tea usually consists of whole leaves, while most teabags are filled with broken pieces of tea leaves called dust or fannings, which have less-nuanced flavors and infuse fewer antioxidants than whole leaves, no matter how long you let them steep.
So if you have a choice, go with loose leaf. But if tea bags are all you have on hand, don't bother adjusting your brewing method: The difference in taste and antioxidants isn't something that can be fixed with a few extra minutes, and according to Sang, you should follow the same steeping times for both tea bags and loose leaf.
To calculate the perfect brew times for what's in your mug, first consider what you want most out of your drink. Tea leaves are packed with beneficial compounds.
Research indicates that flavanols such as catechins and epicatechins, found in both green and black teas, help suppress inflammation and curb plaque build-up in arteries. Drinking tea may improve vascular reactivity , which dictates how well blood vessels adjust to stress. According an analysis of multiple tea-related studies published in the European Journal of Epidemiology in , drinking three cups of tea a day reduces your risk of coronary heart disease by 27 percent, cardiac death by 26 percent, and total mortality by 24 percent.
Polyphenolic antioxidants in tea may also protect against diabetes , depression , and liver disease. Past research has shown that it takes to seconds to extract half the polyphenol content from green and black tea leaves.
According to a study published in in the journal Beverages , you can get more polyphenols into your drink if you allow the leaves more time to steep. However, the returns may not be worth the extra effort: Most of the compounds the researchers measured after 10 minutes of steeping were extracted in the first 5 minutes. Sang makes another argument for not waiting too long to drink your tea. Antioxidants are slightly unstable, which means they will eventually break down and lose their healthy properties after infusing with water.
So if you brew it in the morning, then you drink it in the afternoon, that's not good. Though less potent than its rival coffee, a properly brewed cup of tea packs a caffeine punch. According to a study published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology [ PDF ], letting your tea brew for at least a few minutes has a big impact on the caffeine content. The study found that after brewing for one minute, a cup of regular Lipton black tea had 17 milligrams of caffeine per 6 ounces of water, 38 milligrams per 6 ounces after three minutes, and 47 milligrams per 6 ounces after five.
The nutritional information for Lipton black tea says a serving contains 55 milligrams of caffeine per 8 ounces, so it's pretty accurate. Some people may use those numbers as an excuse to steep their tea past the five-minute mark in an attempt to reach percent dissolution.
Use multiple cup-size tea bags for your sweet tea; you can get away with just one or two pitcher-size bags, depending on how strong you want your tea. You can doctor your sweet tea by adding fruit juice, lemon slices, berries and even seltzer water. Nutrition Beverages Tea. Lisa Maloney, CPT. Lisa is a retired personal trainer with more than 4, hours of hands-on experience working with a variety of clients, from sports teams to weight loss and post-rehab populations.
She's also a professional writer. Video of the Day. Hot Brew. Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. Step 4. Step 5. Cold Brew. Place two to three glass-size tea bags, or one pitcher-size tea bag, in your iced-tea pitcher.
Pour cold water over the tea bags.
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