Here’s to Your Health: Hot Tea Month!
January 5, 2021
January is Hot Tea Month and perhaps for diehard coffee drinkers, celebrating this annual nod to tea leaves may be a hard sell. Especially if you like flavors and cream in your coffee. But the health benefits of drinking tea might outweigh palate preferences, at least for an occasional afternoon pick-me-up!
Reduced and No Caffeine Options
Tea is a great choice if you’re looking for a low caffeine drink. It has barely one-third the amount of caffeine in it, and so if your energy is flagging in the afternoon, a cup-o-tea might be just the boost you need – without endangering your sleep cycle!
- Coffee has about 135 mg of caffeine per cup
- Black tea has 40 mg per cup
- Oolong has 30 mg per cup
- Green Tea has 20 mg per cup
- White tea has 10 mg per cup
- Decaf tea 5 mg per cup
- Herbal tea 0 mg per cup
Health Benefits of Tea
Most everyone knows that ginger tea can settle an upset stomach, but green tea seems to be one of the most well-researched teas and also the one with the most health benefits. Green tea has shown potential to help lower the risk of heart disease, boost weight loss results, and may even aid in the treatment of cancer. Green tea also helps to reduce oxidative stress caused by free radical damage; protecting cells from the kinds of impairment that can cause everything from infertility to dementia.
One recent study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that substances in tea may even promote weight loss by increasing the amount of energy spent by the body. The theory is that green tea, because of the catechin (pronounced “cat E kins”) content, has thermogenic properties that promote fat oxidation, may work together with other chemicals to increase weight loss. This is welcome news for anyone whose New Year’s resolutions included taking off some holiday weight!
The study was conducted on healthy young men who ate a typical Western diet for six weeks and also consumed green tea with daily meals.
Research reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people who drank three cups of black tea per day produced five times the number of germ-fighting cells than those who drank coffee. This might indicate that tea drinkers are better able to fight viral infections such as colds and flu than non-tea drinkers.
Flavorful Teas to Please
If you like a little milk in your tea, even if it’s because it gives the appearance of weak coffee and cream!) you’re among the ranks of milk tea drinkers who like to smooth out the flavor or tea with a splash of milk. Chai tea – at least the way Americans tend to drink it – can be a strong option, especially masala chai or bubble tea. Here’s a primer with recipes for the complex latte that hails from India and is enjoyed around the world.
While there seem to be ideal steeping times, the kinds of tea flavors that appeal to the palate vary from person to person. For the top 10 teas of 2021, check out this list from Spruce Eats. From black and green teas to loose-leaf and medicinal teas, you’ll find both best-of and favorites here with tips about what to look for in tea to find the flavor notes you’ll like best.
Where to Celebrate Hot Tea Month
The TBaar in the Pacific Ocean Market in Aurora is a place to celebrate, on E. Mississippi Avenue. You can try classic milk tea, freshly brewed tea or a TBaar smoothie. The Volcano Tea House on S. Parker Rd. in Aurora is a Taiwanese-style tea house where you can order the fan-favorite boba teas in more than two dozen different flavors including lavender, coconut, honeydew, honey oolong and more. If you’re looking for a selfie op, ask for your tea in one of the branded glass light bulbs for an extra $3.50.
Or, drive downtown and splurge on an afternoon tea at The Brown Palace between 12:00 and 4:00 p.m. The experience is a treat for anyone who hasn’t ventured into the 128-year-old Denver institution. Book your reservation and then enjoy homemade scones with Devonshire cream (shipped from England) preserves, pastries, finger sandwiches, and of course your choice of tea served from a sterling silver teapot. Choose from more tea leaves than you could ever imagine, including jade oolong, organic green, organic Earl Grey and herbal chai. There’s also an option to add-on champagne and a Brown Palace truffle, or trade it out for a Kir Royale, or Veuve Clicquot for two.
Happy New Year from Southshore!
We are primed and pumped for the New Year and have our sites set on exciting things in the master-planned community of Southshore. If you don’t live here yet, isn’t it time to explore the options in brand new homes from Taylor Morrison, Century Communities, Richmond American Homes and Toll Brothers? Life at the Lake looks like this – stunning ranch and two-story designs – priced between the $400s and the $700s and in this exclusive neighborhood in Aurora.