The benefits of green tea

Even though I'm obsessed with matcha green tea, I wanted to take a step back and hit on some more general questions about green tea that people commonly ask. 

Why green tea?

Most people who find out I drink a lot of green ask me "why green tea?", or "why drink green tea over black tea or coffee, what are its benefits"? There's really two ways to look at this.

The first is the health benefits. There's no question that the benefits of green tea has a wide range of health benefits, ranging from cancer prevention to fighting high cholesterol levels and even preventing tooth decay. There's various research out there on each of these benefits, some more substantial than others. But overall the evidence strongly suggests that drinking green tea delivers a wide range of health benefits. For example, research suggests that green tea's high level of anti oxidants fight cancer by inhibiting the cancerous cells, as well as killing them without damaging already healthy tissue. 

The reason green tea is often the centre of discussion around health benefits lies in the way it is processed. Black tea and oolong tea all come from the same plant. The difference is that green tea is steamed, which prevents crucial compounds (catechin polyphenols, which is an antioxidant) from being oxidized. When you drink black tea, it's been made from fermented leaves, so you're losing much of the benefit that the plant naturally provides. 

On top of all of this is the taste. Green tea has a refreshing, earthy taste that you can drink time and time again. It grows on you and is a great way to start the day (amongst other things!).

Where to get green tea

My first tip is to avoid supermarket green tea altogether (unless you live somewhere like Japan where you can buy quality loose leaf tea direct from the supermarket). There's some commercial outlets around that sell fairly high quality green tea, but it's always worth shopping around, particularly if you can get your hands on some tea direct from the source. 

If you're lucky enough to be able to visit Japan or China sourcing some fresh tea is truly worth it. But where to get quality green tea in many countries remains a challenge. But given its health benefits and the fact it tastes so good, it's worth the hunt. 

If you're after some matcha green tea, you can now buy it directly from my site. It's sourced directly from Japan to take the hassle out of where to get matcha green tea for my readers. 

In the meantime, enjoy your tea and drink up!