Benefits

Less caffeine than coffee

Bear with me

Other useful chemicals

Theophylline - similar to caffeine

Theanine - multiple studies demonstrate increased alertness without drowsiness

Antioxidants

Those are good, right?

There's evidence that tea fights heart disease and cancer.

Variety

white

yellow

green

oolong

black

post-fermented

Tea, Soda, Coffee

Tea

•  Caffeine
•  Hydrating
•  Low-calorie
•  Additional health benefits
•  I love tea

Soda

•  Caffeine
•  Lots of sugar / HFCS
•  Highly caloric
•  No additional health benefits

Coffee

•  Caffeine
•  Can deplete the body's calcium (unless you add milk)
•  Depending on preparation, can be highly caloric
•  I love coffee too

Tea facts

Camellia sinensis

All varieties of tea come from the same plant

Different varieties are created by curing the leaves at different times after picking

Herbal tea

	                	<pedantic>
  So herbal tea isn't technically tea
</pedantic>
                	

Reading tea leaves

The second most popular drink

After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world.

Preparation

Tea is prepared by steeping

To steep is to put something in liquid for a while

Each variety is steeped at a certain temperature and duration

This can be contentious, but I'll give you some guidance...

Typical parameters

OK. That's a bit precise. And we don't have a thermometer.

Here's what I do for the types I typically drink...

Jeremy's parameters

Let's try it

Heat

heat the water

Rinse

rinse the leaves with hot water

(Optional)

Steep

pour hot water over the leaves

Remove

avoid over-steeping the leaves

Cool

don't burn your face

Drink

look pensively into the distance