Central Coast researchers unlock the power of tea

The science of good tea

We've long been aware of the many health benefits of tea, but how do we get the most out of each bag?

Research spearheaded by academics at the Ourimbah Campus of Newcastle University, has come up with an answer.

Over the past six years, a team of food scientists have been measuring the varying amounts of theanine and caffeine released by teabags when prepared in different conditions.

Theanine is the calming agent in green tea, which balances with the caffeine.

Their conclusion was published this week.

They found, heating tea in a microwave delivers 80 per cent more health benefit than simply dunking the teabag in boiling water.

Only 10 per cent of the goodness you could be getting is released when the bag is immersed in boiling water alone.

The researchers found that the health benefits in green tea were more affected by the different treatments.

Science of good tea

Here's a more scientific breakdown of the differences.

When tea is brewed in 200mL of freshly boiled water and jiggled (#scienceterms) for 1-3min, 62 per cent of the potential goodness is released.

That's compared to when the same type of teabag is brewed in 200mL of freshly boiled water, and then immediately microwaved. Then it releases between 80-92 per cent of its goodness potential.