From what we can tell, tea is as old as the human race, with citations dating back to 2000 BC. The many reasons we drink it – warmth, health, socializing, nerve soother, etc. – have made it the second most popular beverage in the world, following water. Since water is the primary ingredient in tea, that sort of makes sense. ????
Teas and tisanes are made from two ingredients: water and plant material such as a leaf, flower, root, bark, or seed. Thus, we can consider it to be a plant-based drink. Since the health benefits of plant foods appear not to be simply attributable to their macro- and/or micronutrient content alone but also to the presence of phytochemicals such as polyphenols, it’s perhaps an easy conclusion that plant-based drinks contribute similar benefits as plant foods.
Polyphenols are a group of about 8,000 bioactive compounds in plant foods that can be broken down into two classes: flavonoids and phenolic acids. They are a rich source of dietary antioxidants. Polyphenols pass through the small intestine without being absorbed, thus manipulating the intestinal microbiota that colonize there. Two-dimensional reactions take place due to these passing polyphenols. First, polyphenols are biologically transformed into their relatively more bioavailable metabolites. And second, polyphenols modify the configuration of the gut microbial community most likely by the inhibition of pathogenic bacteria and the stimulation of beneficial bacteria. The latter may act as a prebiotic metabolite and enrich the beneficial bacteria. Therefore, dietary polyphenols and gut microbiota interactions may impact human host health.
Generally speaking, green tea is about 30% polyphenols by weight, of which approximately 80% is epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG). Meanwhile, black tea claims a richer theaflavin content than its green counterpart. However, there is no single answer to the polyphenol content. That is a consequence of where the tea leaves are grown, the specific blend of tea leaves, the type of processing, and the addition of ingredients such as milk, honey, and lemon, which can alter specific flavonoid content. For instance, studies indicate that the proteins in milk bind to flavonoids and ‘deactivate’ them. Knowing the origin of your tea purchase is important. It is said that some tea-growing areas of China have heavily trafficked highways and are consistently sprayed with pesticides, while Japanese teas are said to be organic by default due to their horticultural practices.
Tea is tea. Tisasne is tisane.
This is a critical differentiator. Tea is extracted from the leaves of the Camelia Sinensis plant, while tisane is extracted from other things and is commonly referred to as ‘herbal tea’.
- Tea – Popular examples: Green, Black, Oolong, White, Pu’ehr
- Tisane – Popular examples: Nettle leaf, Chamomile flower, Ginger root, Peppermint leaf. Tisanes can unleash creativity. Look to unconventional parts of the plant. For instance, fruit coverings, such as orange peel, are dense in flavonols because their production is activated by the light. If you do, be sure to use only organic oranges and to wash the peel before using.
At the end of the day, since there’s no reason to shame people into being precise about something like this, most of us simply call them both ‘tea’ when not among our herbal friends. As long as they’re drinking it, they’re good!
Idiosyncracies
The most popular teas and tisanes will benefit anybody’s health. The idiosyncrasies of each varietal can be summarized into a few categories:
- Caffeine content
- Volatile oils and phytochemicals
- Recommended brew technique – heat, steep time, ratio of water to material, dry vs. fresh
- Origin
- Age – both the age at harvest and the age at serving time matters
- Extraction container – single serve bags, silk vs. cotton bags vs. gold filters
Furthermore, an individual decision of what to brew at any given time varies according to:
- Taste preference
- Desired health benefits
- Contraindications
So there you go, a quick toe dip into the difference between teas and tisanes.
