I'm pregnant can I drink tea?
Yes, in moderation. According to Nawrot, (2003) the safe maximum daily intake of caffeine for pregnant women is 300 mg (400 mg for the rest of us). In a typical cup of black tea (235 ml, 2 grams of dried tea) there are 40 mg of caffeine or 17 mg/100 ml FSA (2004).
Are there any calories in tea?
There are no calories in tea! However, there are calories in the sugar and milk that you may chose to add to your tea.
Does green tea contain caffiene?
Yes, it does but not too much. The average cup of green tea contains 30 m.g. of caffeine, black tea around 50mg and coffee 115-175mg. The general rule is that the darker the leaves the more caffeine is in the tea. For example sencha has more caffeine than Dragon Well, although there are exceptions to this and this rule is only useful for comparing teas or similar type - for example, greens with other greens and oolongs with oolongs. Caffeine content in tea is affected by the strength of brew, growing conditions processing methods and more. Did you know that there is more caffeine in shade grown tea than that which isn’t? But if you’re not a fan of caffeine, fear not; you can remove a significant amount of the caffeine from your tea just by rinsing the leaves in hot water for a few seconds before brewing. But remember that green tea is already quite low in caffeine and there is at least a small amount of caffeine in lots of things, even “decafinated” coffee so don’t let it put you off next time you buy green tea.
The tannin is tea is what gives it that bitter flavour. If the tea you are drinking tastes too bitter then try decreasing the temperature of the water this should mean that less tannin is released when you make your brew.
How can I make my tea stronger?
If you want to make your tea stronger, simply add more leaves and brew your tea for the same amount of time, and at the same recommended temperature. Don’t make the mistake of brewing your tea for longer as this will stew the tea and it will taste bitter.
Do you have any tips for rebrewing or reinfusing tea?
The first brew is the only infusion in which the leaves must also be steeped (immersed until soaked through and releasing their liquor.) This adds a little extra time to the length of the first infusion which, once fully brewed should be completely poured off into your teacup; it’s for this reason that we advise you to only add the amount of water that you’d like to drink as tea per infusion.
When using quality whole leaf tea, the second infusion utilises ready steeped leaves which are still bursting with lots of flavour and nutrients. These steeped leaves will release their licquor faster during the second brew than in the firstor any subsequent re-infusions and as such, the second infusion shoul d be the shortest. Exact length depends on the variety as well as personal preference and is typically about a half to two thirds the length of the first infusion.
Subsequent infusions are extracting more deeply held flavour from the nearer the core of the leaves which will remain after correctly brewing the tea a first and second time. This takes a little longer and begins to extend the brewing time on subsequent infusions by perhaps 20 to 30 seconds per infusion.
The general principal of and initial infusion, a short second and then increasingly longer subsequent infusions is key. The precise lengths involved really are a matter for the individual. The other factor to realise is that there is a finite amount of strength of flavour and nutrients which can be extracted from any leaf. It will eventually be completely drained. Therefore, the total number of infusions a portion of tea leaves varies depending on the strength at which it was brewed. More subtler infusions, or fewer stronger ones; we leave that to you to decide.