See the Good in Green Tea.
I remember it was about four in the morning and I was lying in bed wide awake and staring at the ceiling of my rented apartment in St. Lucia.
It was my second year of uni and I had already finished my assignment but I just couldn’t get to sleep!
Nope, I wasn’t troubled. In fact, I didn’t have anything on my mind that night so what in the world was keeping me awake?
Then I recalled having made and drunk bottles of hot green tea. I had just discovered it, and brought it home from Woolies. I was so gung ho I’d even add two teabags in a 1l bottle at any one time and let it steep for forever just for that extra oomph!
And that, in a nutshell, was my first experience with green tea. And that’s how I’ll never forget that green tea contains caffeine. Yup, the stuff that kept me awake that fateful night. LOL!
Over the years, I’ve learnt how to make green tea work for me instead of against me. I’ve progressed from teabags to loose tea leaves from Twinings to TWG cutting out all the sugar and the cream and here’s why I still think it’s important to incorporate at least four cups of green tea into your your diet daily.
Green tea:-
- Ups your metabolism; helps you lose weight
- Contains powerful antioxidants that delay aging
- Improves brain function so you become smarter
- Helps you live longer by lowering your risks of heart disease, and cancer
Personally, I’m not against coffee drinkers (I married one, although he lied about that…BIG TIME… when we were dating…haha! Anyway that’s a story for another day) I don’t drink coffee because that one time I did when I was a kid left a horrible stench in my mouth. I didn’t like it. So, I was thrilled to find out that green tea contains natural antibodies that fight off bacteria in the mouth that causes bad breath. Plus, it may not be such a bad idea to have your coffee fix first and then wash it down with some green tea. In any case, green tea seems like a great drink to reach out for at the office especially if you interact with people, a lot!
Speaking of which, the best way to enjoy a cuppa green tea is to let it steep for three minutes, no more cuz that’s the perfect amount of time taken for the flavours to be thoroughly infused and to brew the most delicious, healthful drink.
But if you’re like me, worried that it’ll keep you awake, drink your four cups of green tea well before 6pm and you’ll be just fine! Winks!
Lynette Tan