Organic green tea blended with apple and cinnamon — sweet, warming and gently spiced. 100 g box from Tatasse.
A claim you will not find here
Green tea is very often sold on the promise of "a large dose of antioxidants". You will not read that here. "Antioxidant" is not an authorised health claim in the EU — the European Commission specifically rejected general antioxidant claims for foods because it was never possible to demonstrate what the supposed benefit actually was in a person. Green tea genuinely is rich in polyphenols called catechins, and that is a true and interesting fact about the plant. What it does for you is a claim nobody has been able to substantiate to a regulator's satisfaction, so we will not make it.
Which cinnamon
Almost all cinnamon sold in Europe is cassia — the robust reddish kind with the strong familiar flavour. It is naturally high in coumarin, and EFSA has set a tolerable daily intake of 0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight, with German authorities advising against very heavy daily cassia consumption, particularly for small children.
A cup of cinnamon tea sits comfortably inside that. The concern is about people taking spoonfuls of cinnamon daily or using cinnamon supplements. Worth knowing, not worth worrying about — and worth knowing if a small child is drinking it regularly.
Brewing green tea, properly
The single most common mistake with green tea is boiling water. At 100°C the catechins extract fast and harshly, and the result is bitter and astringent — which is why so many people conclude they dislike green tea when what they dislike is scalded green tea.
Use water at 70–80°C. Boil the kettle and let it stand for three or four minutes, or add a splash of cold water. Steep two to three minutes. If your tea is bitter, the water was too hot or the leaves sat too long — nothing else.
Two practical things about tea and your body
Iron. The tannins in tea bind non-haem iron — the kind in plant foods and iron tablets — and substantially reduce how much you absorb. If you are anaemic, vegetarian, or taking iron, do not drink tea with your meal or with the tablet. Leave an hour either side. This is a real effect and it matters.
Caffeine. Green tea contains it, roughly a third to a half of coffee per cup. EFSA advises pregnant and breastfeeding women to keep total caffeine below 200 mg a day from all sources.
Tatasse
Tatasse
