Comments on: I’d Like a Cup of Snake Oil With my Meal.

By: Veri-Tea

Veri-Tea — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:19:38 +0000

What a great post – thanks for that! Lots of snake oil around… and so many complex factors impact on how it all works!

Drink tea for pleasure and tranquility and it is sure to have a positive effect on you in some way… why ask for more?

By: Jason Witt

Jason Witt — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:16:58 +0000

Yes, you have to drink tea constantly to get those health benefits. For tea lovers like us, it’s a given. But for someone at a restaurant it certainly is an issue. It’s so hard to find food when eating out that’s not totally bad for you, just one shot of tea won’t make any difference at all.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:31:22 +0000

Well said. It’s gotten to the point now where beverage marketers are isolating theanine from tea and touting it as the latest wonder. Nothing more unhealthy for you than worrying about your health, if you ask me.

By: Cinnabar

Cinnabar — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:41:28 +0000

Yes, exactly. I drink tea for the actual physical experience of it and I also enjoy studying the rich cultural history of tea traditions, in all of the many and varied cultures where it is so important.

By: Cinnabar

Cinnabar — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:38:11 +0000

Maybe I’ll start telling people I’m “pro-oxidant.” Of course, more seriously what I will actually do is continue to work towards dispelling hype and misleading information. Personally I don’t really care very much about the health effect of tea because I’m interested in the sensory experience of drinking it, and the cultural history around types and traditions. But I don’t have any patience for lies.

By: Michael J. Coffey

Michael J. Coffey — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:29:07 +0000

I’m right there with you. I was recently asked about the antioxidant content of a white tea. I told this person that I didn’t know because we hadn’t tested that particular batch of teas for antioxidant content, and that without knowing the particular soils the tea plant had been grown in and all the other factors in its production, nor at what temperature or for how long the tea would be brewed, there would be really no way to estimate. (Sometimes when I’m feeling particularly mean, I will ask, “which antioxidant compound are you wanting to maximize in your tea?” Not that I could give a recommendation if they actually named one…)

Of course, the customer was not satisfied by that answer. And, I suspect, that even if it were possible to give a specific answer like “30 mg per 8-oz cup” would have been satisfactory either. Most people just don’t know enough about botany, physiology, biochemistry, etc. to be able to understand an accurate answer to their questions about tea.

I saw it explained in a way that’s both accurate and doesn’t require a degree in science, though. I believe it was in the book “The Okinawa Plan,” where they said (paraphrased): Many studies have shown a correlation between tea drinking and good health–this may be because it’s good for your health to drink tea, or because (for some reason) healthy people are more likely to drink tea than unhealthy people.

When talking to someone who’s not a “tea person,” I usually will just tell them that all teas have antioxidants and other stuff that may well be good for them, but that if they find a tea they enjoy drinking, they’ll end up with more than if they tried to maximize some healthful ingredient in a tea they didn’t like. Drink tea because it’s enjoyable and let the health benefits be a happy extra.