Better Than Green Tea?

The antioxidant content of a number of popular beverages is compared: black tea, coffee, Coke, espresso, grape juice, green tea, hibiscus tea, milk, Pepsi, Red Bull, red tea, red wine, and white wine. Which beats out even powdered (matcha) green tea?

January 6, 2012
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  • Michael Greger M.D.

    Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. Check out the other videos on beverages and don’t miss all the videos on ranking foods. And there are 1,449 subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them!

    For some context see my blog post Hibiscus tea: flower power.

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  • dgmusselman

    Do you add the lemon to the hibiscus tea as a matter of personal taste or to boost antioxidant effectiveness as in the case of green and white tea (as you’ve noted in the past)?
    I’ve taken to using Red Zinger instead of water as the base of my blended cranberry drink–yummy!
    I use dried mint leaves in these drinks rather than fresh mint leaves. Is there an appreciable difference nutritionally?

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    • Michael Greger M.D.

      Great idea about the cranberry drink dgmusselman! I’m following your lead and doing the same thing with my Pink juice with green foam recipe. Looks like dried mint has only about 1% of the antioxidant power of fresh by weight, but of course fresh is about 90% water so there is a 10-fold concentration. So it’s probably about 1/10th as good based on antioxidant content.

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  • http://www.clinicalcatalyst.com DrDons

    I add lemon to increase the antioxidant absorption and as a matter of personal taste see http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/green-tea-vs-white/
    Either dry or fresh would add nutritionally but fresh is generally best although how plant products are prepared or cooked can make a difference see http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/raw-vs-cooked-broccoli-2/.

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  • Thea

    I wanted to know the actual number of antioxidants for the hibiscus tea to see how much higher it is than matcha tea. I couldn’t read the number in the video. When I click on the link for “Source Cited”, I didn’t see hibiscus on the report (though I admit that I skimmed it pretty quickly).

    I have the DVD for this, so I can probably get the number myself. I just thought I would ask here, because I figure I will not be the only one with this question.

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  • Thea

    Also, after seeing Dr. Greger’s other videos on matcha, I did some research on it and tried to buy some. The research turned up various levels of quality of matcha, which I found a bit daunting. Which one should I get. Then when I tried to just go out and buy some, I wasn’t able to find just “matcha” tea. I found lots of tea bags that claimed to have matcha in it, but the matcha was always the last ingredient, and I suspect the amount actually present is microscopic.

    So, can someone recommend a product from a mainstream American store? Or (maybe even better) recommend a specific website and product for matchs tea? I’d like to try it, but I don’t want to waste money. I’d love to get a recommendation.

    Thanks

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    • BarbaraH

      You can find matcha at the tea stores that have popped up in malls over the last few years, but it’s usually really overpriced and bitter and stale. I found the best matcha through a recommendation on chowhound.com for a farm in Japan called Hibiki-an which ships directly to you. Hibiki-an.com.

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      • Thea

        BarbaraH: Thanks so much for the matcha tip!

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  • Thea

    Finally, this video is awesome and I particularly appreciate that Dr. Greger not only gave us the scientific info, but his latest recipe.

    My question is a bit of push-back on the effectiveness of drinking the zinger teas mentioned in the video vs green tea. My thoughts are: green tea is usually all green tea or green tea with some flavoring. All the hibiscus teas that I have seen have hibiscus listed as only one of many ingredients and often not even the first ingredient. Did the study look at the antioxidant levels of real-life hibiscus tea or only pure 100% hibiscus?

    My point is: depending on how much hibiscus is really in the tea, I wonder if in practice, drinking green tea (or matcha) might still give one the most antioxidants. Perhaps? hibiscus tea is merely a flavor alternative rather than a dramatically superior antioxidant option? Just wondering.

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    • livetodiscover

      If you want 100% Hibiscus tea, go to your local Mexican or Asian Market and there you can find large bags of the dark purple colored flowers for a couple dollars. It is called Jamaica in the Mexican markets. Steep like you would any loose tea, and you can eat the cooked flowers too :) I’m sure if you wanted you could grind up the dried flowers into a sort of “hibiscus matcha” tea as well. In fact, I’m going to try that in a smoothie of acai, goji berries, blueberries, strawberries, date sugar, flax and hibiscus “matcha”. (:

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      • Thea

        livetodiscover: Thanks for the tips on getting 100% hibiscus. Much appreciated!

        I hope your smoothie was delicious. I don’t think it could possibly be any healthier!

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        • livetodiscover

          I ended up making a smoothie with banana, frozen strawberries and blueberries, ground flax, non-dairy milk, erythritol, and ground hibiscus. It was great! (I didn’t have any acai or goji berries at the moment-time for a trip to the store!)The way I ground the hibiscus was with a mortar and pestle then sifted out until I got a fine powder. It took a little time, I’m sure with some sort of electric grinder it would work much better. Being in the military I don’t have room for too many gadgets; but if you do, more POWER to you! (excuse my pun) I’m sure an electric spice grinder would work great! I found the ground hibiscus ads well to smoothies or to powdered healthy drink mixes. Cold brewed “Agua de Jamaica” works great too. Pretty much the same recipe as Dr. Greger explains on the video but use the powdered Hibiscus; brew it, shake it up, and drink it all. (I haven’t tried it with the lemon yet) Good luck! :)

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          • Thea

            livetodiscover: Thanks again for the second update. I love how you found a way to make it work without a bunch of silly gadgets. Me, I love the gadgets and I don’t have space problems. So, I also appreciated the idea of using the coffee grinder. I don’t drink coffee, but I have a grinder to grind my flax seed.

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  • struzjunk@att.net

    This sounds like a fantastic drink, and I plan to make it. Just wondering, though, to what extent do antioxidant compounds survive the digestion process and how do they ultimately affect the body? Are there studies that indicate differences in people who consume high levels of antioxidants versus those who don’t—all other factors controlled for?

    Thanks

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  • cbetter

    An FYI. My mother used to take Lasinopril (sp?) for high blood pressure. It gave her a terrible dry cough and she quit taking it. Then I read hibiscus tea was good for high blood pressure and bought her tea where hibiscus was the 2nd ingredient. Then one day I found one where it was all hibiscus tea and bought that. It made her dry cough come back (so the active ingredient in lasinopril must come from hibiscus). Anyway, if you develop an unknown cough, it could be from the hibiscus tea.

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    • Thea

      cbetter: So interesting. Thanks for sharing! I hope you find a remedy for your mom that addresses the high blood pressure without the coughing.

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    • Michael Greger M.D.

      The mechanism of action for the blood pressure lowering effect of hibiscus tea does appear to be the same (at least in part) as that very drug. Both hibiscus and lisinopril act to inhibit an enzyme called ACE. When our kidneys detect a drop in blood pressure they release an enzyme called renin into our bloodstream which converts a protein secreted by our liver into something called angiotensin I which in our lungs is converted into angiotensin II by our angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). That angiotensin II then acts to constrict our arteries and boost our blood pressure–isn’t our body neat? Anyway, lisinopril (and the anthocyanin phytonutrients that so brilliantly color hibiscus flowers) inhibits ACE, preventing the formation of angiotensin II and subsequent rise in blood pressure. But that’s not all ACE does; it also degrades bradykinins, which can increase cough reflex sensitivity. So that’s the reason ACE inhibiting drugs may cause coughing in up to a third of users and it makes sense that hibiscus could cause a similar reaction. So there’s definitely science to back up your intuition cbetter–thanks so much for sharing (and letting me geek out on physiology :). If you do develop a chronic cough on hibiscus, please stop drinking it.

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  • Sebastianroos

    I just finished reading the cited study and the antioxidant tabel for the 3139 tested food stuffs, nowhere can I find any references to hibiscus. Where do you derive the antioxidant values for hibiscus from?
    Kind regards
    Sebastian

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    • BPCveg

      Sebastian,

      I have essentially the same question as you. I think I made some progress in finding answers. The article only summarizes a subset of the values. There is a supplementary file for this article that gives the complete listing for all of the 3100 items: http://www.nutritionj.com/content/supplementary/1475-2891-9-3-s1.pdf

      Although there was no entry for “Hibiscus”, according to Wikipedia an equivalent name is “Tea, flor de Jamaica”, which was listed and provided 6.99 mmol/100g. To convert to the units given in Dr. Greger’s video, I assume that he means that a serving is 1 cup or 250 mL of tea. Therefore, if density of tea is 1 g / ml, I can convert 6.99 mmol/100g to 175 on his scale (which is in units of 0.1 mmol/serving). However, his chart gives 132 for presumably the same item.

      Additionally, matcha tea is not clearly listed … though “Tea, green (pink) powder” gives an enormous value of 1347.83 mmol/100g, leaving me even more puzzled.

      Until these issues are resolved, I am unconvinced by the argument presented in this video.

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      • Sebastianroos

        BCPveg,
        Thanks you for your input, I remain just as confused as you.
        I sincerely hope Dr Greger will clarify the values for us.

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        • DSikes

          I am also interested in seeing where these recommendations really come from.

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      • Michael Greger M.D.

        Thanks for clarifying the flor de Jamaica for Sebastian–imagine how excited I was when I saw that it was actually something folks could actually get (and in bulk no less)! Now you just have to do some detective work and find that pink tea for us :). I had to go elsewhere for the matcha. I looked at a bunch of sources; This the most recent I found: Draženka Komes, , Dunja Horžić, Ana Belščak, Karin Kovačević Ganić, Ivana Vulić. Green tea preparation and its influence on the content of bioactive compounds. Food Research International Volume 43, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 167–176 (I added it up to the sources section). Once I learned that flor de Jamaica was just hibiscus tea I dug up as many hibiscus studies as I( could find so I could I could arrive at a mean value, but it came pretty close to what Carlsen et al. came up with.

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        • BPCveg

          Thanks for your response, Dr. Greger.
          It’s funny how such a comprehensive study on antioxidants by Carlsen et al, did not provide a value for matcha tea.
          Though I appreciate that you used a mean value for hibiscus.
          And it sounds like the difference between using matcha or hibiscus is not so great when one considers all possible sources of variability.

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        • tc247

          I think the pink tea is a product made by green teahp.They have a web site-www.greenteahp.com.They have 36 flavors and one is pink.I’m wondering what dr. Greger thinks of this product?

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  • Rick1

    Great post! Thanks Dr. Greger. My new daily drink.

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  • hunniliz

    You can get matcha tea and hibiscus tea from rishi-tea.com. The have 100% hisbiscus. Just a warning – matcha is very expensive. If there’s a Whole Foods near you, they carry Rishi, but don’t have a huge variety. There’s also a great independent tea shop called Tea Trekker in Northhampton, MA. They are extremely knowlegeable about tea (no herbals) and will ship. The owners wrote a very informative book called “The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook”.

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  • vjimener

    Hi Dr Greger
    I have read in a magazine that there are several types of vitamin K. According to the article:
    - Vitamin K1 is found in vegetables.
    - Vitamin K2 mk7 is found in meat, fish and eggs.
    The article also said that Vitamin K1 is stored in the liver for only one hour, time not enough to perform all its tasks. On the contrary, vitamin k2 mk7 would stay in the liver for the whole day. So my question is: should vegetarians take supplements of vitamin k2 mk7 (created from natto) ?
    Thanks

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    • Michael Greger M.D.

      Not sure what magazine you were reading, but the scientific consensus is that either one (menaquinone or phylloquinone, formerly K1 and K2) is fine for maintaining human vitamin K status. The recommended intake is about 100 mcg. A half cup of kale? >500. No need for natto; just eat your greens. In fact dark green leafies are so packed with vitamin K that if you’re on the drug coumadin (warfarin), a drug that works by poisoning vitamin K metabolism, you have to closely work with your physician to titrate the dose to your greens intake so as to not undermine the drug’s effectiveness!

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  • vjimener

    Hi again
    I’m checking in internet hibiscus tea. I have found two possibilities: tea made from leaf or tea made from the flower. Which one is the right one?
    Thanks

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  • BPCveg

    Does maximizing antioxidant consumption necessarily lead to better health?

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    • Toxins

      Definitely! The more antioxidants we have the better we can protect and repair our DNA and considering that our cells are under thousands of different superoxide attacks each day, it is crucial to have a big supply of antioxidants.
      http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/repairing-dna-damage/
      http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/mitochondrial-theory-of-aging
      Also, we cant max out on antioxidants so this is a plus!
      http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/maxing-out-on-antioxidants/

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      • Thea

        Toxins: Great reply. (as are most of your replies) BCPveg had a very good, thinking question. I’ve seen versions of this question posted on this site in various places. I haven’t had a good response. Now, (if only I can remember where this post is), I will simply point people to your post. Thanks!

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      • BPCveg

        Thanks, Toxins, for your excellent response!

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  • Lisa21012

    I’ve noticed that when I drink hibiscus teas during spring and fall allergy seasons my allergies are exacerbated by the tea. Has anyone else found this?

    FYI – Orange zinger tea, my favorite of the zingers, lists hibiscus as the first ingredient. I usually find it at Vons or Safeway; I’m not sure why the orange is not stocked as widely as the other flavors.

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    • Thea

      Lisa: I’m not a doctor, and I don’t know if this reply will help or not. But I wonder if you saw Dr. Greger’s note above concerning hibiscus and coughing? Maybe your allergies feel worse for the same reason that the person above started coughing more when drinking hibiscus?????

      Thanks for the tip on the orange zinger. I’m going to look for it.

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  • PaulB

    Michael,

    Excellent video as always. I like the fact that hibiscus has no caffeine. I’m using 1 quart of water, 3 tablespoons of crushed hibiscus flower (9 grams), 1 tablespoon of ginger juice, 1/2 lime, & 1/4 cup of z-sweet cold steeped. It’s adapted from a recipe in Going Raw by Judita Wignall. Her’s is similar except 1/3 cup honey for the z-sweet (nope) and a little too much ginger juice for my liking.

    I’m organic hibiscus leaves from Amazon for $12.90 per lb. I dry blend them into powder in my Blendtec and store them in Pyrex glassware in 4 ounce batches. I make the ginger juice in my juicer on a per batch basis since it is perishable.

    Paul

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  • rliebmantx

    Is comparing 6.99 mmol/100g for “Tea, flor de Jamaica” with 0.72 mmol/100g for “Juice, fruits with pomegranate” the same as comparing apples with apples? Ten times the antioxidants? If so, I’ll quit buying the expensive mail-order FruitFast Wonderful Pomogranate concentrate and buy the relatively cheap Celestial Seasons Zingers!

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  • jms

    EGCG is often cited as the leading cancer-fighting component of green tea. How do the EGCG levels of green and hibiscus compare?

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    • Michael Greger M.D.

      Though hibiscus has more antioxidant power, green tea still has unique phytonutrients found nearly nowhere else. See my video Dietary Brain Wave Alteration.

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  • patmcneill

    According to the USDA Database, an 8 fl oz (237g) serving of hibiscus tea has 20.48 mg of Iron, while the RDA for a male is 8 mg with an upper limit of 45 mg. Furthermore, apparently the Vitamin C in the drink itself or added to increase the antioxidant content tends to increase the absorption of Iron by the body.

    Will a few glasses of hibiscus tea a day be a few too many from the perspective of potentially developing an Iron Overdose, and especially in males?

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    • Michael Greger M.D.

      I love the USDA Nutrient Database! (accessible here). That’s where the data for videos like The Best Nut, The Best Bean, and The Best Apple came from. I can see how you could get confused, though. I know it says “fluid ounce” but they’re just multiplying their 100 g portion by 2.37. So what they’re referring to is 237 grams of the dried bulk petals (the ash and fiber content can tip you off). So even if you chew and swallow the hibiscus flowers after you drink your tea (or do what I do: blend them in with a high speed blender), it would take about 400 cups to reach that 20 mg, so no need to worry!

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  • PaulB

    I think you raise a valid issue. Assuming an average cup is 4 ounces, you’d need 4 to hit the threshold or two if it’s a large cup. Three thoughts.

    1. If it is non-heme iron and you hot steep it, some of the vitamin C that helps absorption will be destroyed. and the bioavailability of the iron will be lower than heme iron found in meat and animal products. I don’t know what tolerable upper limit is based on, but I assume its heme iron. Of course if it is cold steeped like Michael suggests that’s a different matter.

    2. At least in red zinger tea, the hibiscus is an ingredient in a medley meaning that the hibiscus loading is less than if you were drinking straight 100 percent hibiscus tea.

    3. finally, the definition of the IOM about what constitutes a tolerable upper limit is the lowest level at which a food can be consumed without negative side effects. I’d want to know what the side effects are and how serious to adjust my intake.

    That said Pat, I think you raise a valid issue. Perhaps 1 to 2 cups of pure hibiscus tea or 3 to 4 of red zinger could be prudent. Good catch!

    Paul

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    • Michael Greger M.D.

      Thanks for your reply Paul! Check out my note to Pat above.

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      • PaulB

        Thanks Michael. Do we know if theanine content of green tea is affected by the decaffinating process?

        Paul

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  • michaelthomasson

    Like JMS, above, I wonder what is the ECGC content of hibiscus. Matcha is extremely high in ECGC — 10 times a high compared to regular green tea. How much does hibiscus have? And, to my knowledge, matcha is the only food that contains L-Theanine (the amino acid that helps one feel relaxed yet energized). I will continue to drink matcha tea but will also add hibiscus tea to my diet. Sometimes I need to remind myself that it does not need to be “this not that” but instead “this PLUS that.”

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    • Michael Greger M.D.

      I’m with you! (great michaels think alike :)

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  • katiemgibbs

    I love Red Zinger style teas but I had been avoiding them because I haven’t been able to find a brand that doesn’t contain ‘natural flavors’. (I ran out of my bag of hibiscus flowers and haven’t been able to find more). What are your thoughts on ‘natural flavors’ in general?

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    • http://www.clinicalcatalyst.com DrDons

      The exact definition of natural flavorings & flavors from Title 21, Section 101, part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is as follows:”The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.” In other words, natural flavors can be pretty much anything approved for use in food. Since these are typically considered “proprietary information” it can be difficult to find out what is in each product. By eating whole foods you avoid things with labels and hence avoid products with natural flavorings. When you cook you control the spices that you add so you know exactly what is in the food. Looking at the big picture the ingredients are a small part of the problem. More of a problem are the various sugars, fats and animal products listed above natural products on the labels and the tricks the food processing industry uses to hide these… like “Zero percent fat” in sprays that contain 100% oil… check out the number of servings on the back of those products. Of course, that doesn’t make them bad products. The point is it is hard to get to the “truth” of what is in products. Personally I use products like Red Zinger realizing the benefits probably outweigh the risks… it is a confusing world out there. Nutritionfacts.org helps us chart the best course possible so stay tuned… You never know when someone will do a study on natural flavors. Congratulations on paying attention to labels. The best advice on reading labels that I have seen is Jeff Novicks DVD entitled, “Should I eat This” available through his website… although he doesn’t get into natural flavorings but more about fats and sugars. Hope these comments are helpful.

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  • KDahlin

    That’s 3 Tbs of what? erithritol? I played this over and over but can’t make out what that is. It’s in dates?

    Thanks.

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  • BPCveg

    Dr. Greger said 3 Tbs of erythritol or you can blend in some dates.

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  • salute

    Could you please advise if hibiscus tea have the same effect as green and black tea, preventing the absorption of the calcium.

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  • vegan2u

    Hey! Here is a great means of getting several beneficial ingredients into 1 serving of food rather than the tea. In an equivalent half cup of water (You can use a tall baby food bottle with a cap to be able to shake it) add 1/2 teaspoon of Konjac powder, which has many benefits you can read about on their website (http://www.konjacfoods.com/) a dozen Goji berries and 1/2 teaspoon of Hibiscus flowers that can be bought in many health food stores in their organic bulk spice/herb section and a cap full of freshly blended lemon water. Finally, add a teaspoon of pre soaked Chia seed that helps your body retain the liquid and releases its carbs slowly assisting the Konjac powder that’s mostly soluble fiber to amplify the slowing of sugar assimilation . It comes out like a Jello that is a super antioxidant mixture and great for kids, I don’t add any sweetener due to the sweetness of the Goji Berries but you decide…In my humble opinion, any artificial sweetener you may use tries to fool the body but you can’t fool your body, it will later say Hey! I want some real sugar so you end up craving and eating a typical high fat/sugar product that defeats the whole purpose…peace

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    • Toxins

      From what I have researched of konjac, the only credible information i can find is that it is a good source of fiber, but i fail to see any other benefits from this root. I prefer not to use your website as a source since it sells this product, and they can glamor the “science” however they please.

      The emphasis on the website is on “soluble” fiber. Soluble fiber is abundant in the plant supply, just look at oats, barley, almost all fruits, and many vegetables. They are rich sources of soluble and insoluble fiber.

      This root seems like an overhyped marketing ploy to me.

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      • vegan2u

        Dear Mr Toxins,

        I apologize but even though it looks like I was trying to promote Konjac I was really trying to relate what a good medium it is for making a healthy snack because of its Jello like gelatinous properties. I’m accustomed to making green smoothies every morning and found myself getting hungry about 1-2 hours after consuming them. I recently learned from Nutritionist Jeff Novick that when you blend foods that are supposedly high in fiber, you lose the benefit of the fiber when you blend the food, reason being is that food in its natural state has fibrous branches that do their work when consumed by simply chewing them but blending the food breaks up those branches into microscopic particles and you lose the effect to a large degree. So when I saw this video on Hibiscus, I had a brainstorm on a snack that was less in carbs and fat and more on a filling high fiber meal that that not only works but is high in antioxidants. However, I know enough about this substance because I do, do the research and am aware that for all its purported benefits, it has some issues, I purposely don’t make it too thick because of possible choking or lower intestinal blockage after consuming it. I haven’t experienced any of the noted possible side affects. Just because a website claims health benefits doesn’t mean they’re not true. Here is some information for your review.
        http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14983741
        http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1966003
        http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14993586
        http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12569112
        http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18842808

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        • Toxins

          Thanks for the clarification.

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  • AliceJ

    Dear Dr. Greger, I am drinking hibiscus tea, which is cool. But this question is about: Valerian root tea, which I didn’t find on your website. I am taking valerian root as a tea — 1 tsp. steeped for 20 minutes in hot water — just before bed for staying asleep. I have been using it for about four days and have been getting amazing results — being able to sleep 5 to 7 1/2 hours per night and waking up rested and not groggy. I have three questions and seem to get different answers on the web and from where I purchased it. 1) Users are supposed to “take a break from using it.” Please let me know how long of a break. 2) One site says that if you have been using it for a long time you can experience withdrawal symptoms such as: headache, insomnia, racing heart, general grouchiness and depression. How does one avoid those unwanted withdrawal symptoms, if one takes a break from using it? 3) Is valerian root tea safe? Thank you. –Alice

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  • KDahlin

    I’m confused. I went to Amazon.com to buy Matcha Tea and there’s a comment on there that Hunmatsu-Ryokucha is the tea with health benefits and Matcha tea is a ceremonial tea – it doesn’t have high nutritional value. The commenter seemed to know what he was talking about : http://tinyurl.com/7unusbp

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    • Toxins

      I would trust what the science says over an informative comment. Check out this video on specifically matcha, which are powdered green tea leaves.
      http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/is-matcha-good-for-you

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      • BarbaraH

        Actually I think the comment on Amazon is valid, although it’s a question of degree, and of which nutrients you’re looking for. I doubt that Matcha is completely devoid of nutrition, but it does have fewer EGCG’s (the cancer fighting catechin) than Sencha. Shade grown teas have less EGCG’s than teas that have been exposed to sunshine. Matcha is kept in the shade for about a month before harvest, thus reducing the amount of EGCG’s compared to a tea like Sencha, which is grown in the sun.

        This, from http://greentealovers.com/greenteahealthcatechin.htm:

        “The amount of catechin tends to increase as the season progresses. Spring tea (first crop) contains 12-13% catechin (13-17% as tannin) while summer tea (third crop) contains 13-14% (17-21% as tannin). If leaf order is compared, younger leaves include more catechin than mature ones. First leaves contain 14%, second 13%, third 12%, and fourth 12%. This explains why second and third crop summer teas are more astringent while Bancha is less so. Gyokuro green tea, whose leaves are covered during growth, contains less catechin and astringency (10% as tannin) because it gets less sunshine then Sencha.”

        I buy my matcha from Hibiki-an.com. Here is what they say about their matcha: “Our House Matcha is Ichibancha, the first tea harvest of the year, like all our teas, and is carefully grown in the shade for 20 to 30 days before harvest…”

        And here is what they say about their sencha: “Sencha contains more of the beneficial nutrient Catechin than other green teas, because it is grown in full sunlight, thus it becomes yellow-green in color.”

        I also have found the same information in a book called “Foods to Fight Cancer”, by Richard Beliveau, Ph.D. and Denis Gingras, Ph.D. I think they look reasonably trustworthy. http://www.amazon.com/Foods-That-Fight-Cancer-Preventing/dp/0771011350 (Beliveau holds the Chair in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer at the Université du Québec à Montréal, where he is a professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. Dr. Béliveau is the director of the Molecular Medicine Laboratory of UQAMHôpital Sainte-Justine (Centre de cancérologie Charles-Bruneau).

        They also say that in general, green teas from China have less EGCG’s than teas from Japan. And they rank teas from Japan from least EGCG’s to most EGCG’s and Matcha has the least and Sencha has the most.

        Much ado about tea!!

        Barbara

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  • Benjamin

    Can you give me any insights to Pu erh Tea? I drink lots of it, and have done for years. There are two varieties, the more common of which is the cooked variety which is fairly processed and far from natural. I personally drink the “raw” variety, which apart from sun drying and packing processes is completely natural, to my current understanding. I believe it can be classified as green tea. My question is, how does it rate vs. Matcha, or any other variety of green tea? And do you believe it falls into the “good for me” category, or am I somewhat deluded?

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