Teas are much more than just a tasty addition to your daily routine, and there’s a reason so many types of tea are loved around the world. held in such high regard in many cultures across the world: many believe certain teas have healing properties that make them incredibly beneficial for your health.
In fact, traditional Chinese medicine is largely rooted in the use of tea, and to this day, those who practice traditional medicine speak highly of the health benefits of using tea.
At LEAF, it’s no secret that we are strong believers in the health benefits of tea, and we have experienced the effects tea has on health firsthand.
Keep reading this guide to find out more about the 5 teas to introduce to your lifestyle to improve your health and how to build them into your daily routine.
Green Tea
Green tea is the one everyone’s heard of, and for good reason. It’s rich in a group of antioxidants called catechins, particularly one called EGCG, which helps neutralise free radicals and reduce oxidative stress in the body. It’s also known for giving you a gentle energy lift without the jittery crash you get from coffee.
That’s largely down to L-theanine, an amino acid that works alongside the caffeine to smooth out its effects, so you get alertness without the edge. Lots of people swear by it for supporting a healthy metabolism too, as some studies link catechins to a modest boost in fat oxidation, so it’s a great one to sip alongside your normal routine rather than as a magic fix.
Green tea is highly commended as one of the healthiest teas you can drink, and there’s really no wonder why, with all the benefits it comes with.
How to Build it into Your Routine
Swap your mid-morning coffee for a cup of green tea instead. It’s got just enough caffeine to keep you going without derailing your sleep later on and causing annoying jitters.
White Tea
Think of white tea as green tea’s more delicate cousin. It goes through the least processing of all teas, picked young and simply dried rather than rolled or oxidised, which means it holds onto more of its natural catechin content.
It’s gentle on the stomach thanks to its lower tannin levels, subtly sweet, and a lovely option if you’re new to the world of tea and want something that doesn’t feel too “green” or grassy.
Packed with antioxidants, white tea comes with plenty of health benefits and has even been said to improve heart health.
How to Build it into Your Routine
Perfect for a slow afternoon. Brew a pot, sit by the window, and treat it as your little reset button halfway through the day.
Herbal Tea
Herbal tea isn’t technically tea at all (it doesn’t come from the tea plant), but it’s earned its place on this list.
Each infusion carries its own active compounds: chamomile contains apigenin, which binds to receptors in the brain linked to relaxation, peppermint’s menthol relaxes the muscles of the digestive tract to ease bloating, and ginger’s gingerol has warming, anti-inflammatory properties.
Herbal teas are great because you can pick one to suit exactly how you’re feeling, and each has its unique benefits.
How to Build it into Your Routine
Make it your evening ritual. A caffeine-free cup an hour before bed can do wonders for helping you switch off.
Rooibos Tea
Rooibos, or red bush tea, hails from South Africa and has a naturally sweet, earthy flavour that needs zero sugar to taste good, thanks to its low tannin content. It’s caffeine-free, so it’s a lovely option any time of day, and it contains its own unique antioxidant, Aspalathin, which isn’t found in true teas and is being studied for its role in supporting healthy blood sugar levels and easing digestion.
Rooibos Tea is famous for its anti-inflammatory effects and is a fond favourite among tea lovers.
Rooibos has unique health benefits thanks to Aspalathin, which makes it a standout option on this list.
How to Build it into Your Routine
Great as a bedtime alternative to your usual brew, or served iced in summer for a refreshing, naturally sweet drink.
Matcha
Matcha is green tea’s powerhouse sibling. Because you’re consuming the whole leaf (ground into powder) rather than just steeping it, you get a much higher concentration of catechins and L-theanine in every cup than you would from a regular infusion.
That combination is why it’s known for its steady, sustained energy release; the L-theanine slows the absorption of caffeine, giving you a calmer, longer-lasting lift rather than a sharp spike and crash, which is why so many people reach for it as their focus-boosting drink of choice.
When not mixed with a list of sugary ingredients, matcha is one of the healthiest teas you can drink(but we can’t blame you if you fancy a bit of delicious syrup).
How to Build it into Your Routine
Whisk it up as a morning ritual instead of your usual caffeine hit, or stir it into a latte for a smoother, creamier way to enjoy it.
Easy Ways to Drink More Tea
Now that you know more about how tea is so beneficial to your health, you might be considering introducing it to your daily routine. Building new habits can be difficult, but when it comes to gaining the health benefits of drinking tea, it’s well worth the effort.
Some ways that you can build tea into your daily routine include:
Kickstart Your Day With a Cup of Tea
From our experience, we’ve realised that one of the easiest ways to build a habit that you’ll actually stick to is by introducing it into your morning routine. For a lot of us, completing our morning rituals is crucial for getting on with the rest of our day, and if you forget to complete a part of your ritual, it can throw the whole day off.
Start your day with a refreshing glass of water to rehydrate and then follow that with a cup of your favourite tea, and you’re already starting the day off on the right foot. The more you do it, the easier it is to pick up as a daily habit.
See it as an Afternoon Boost
We’ve all experienced it- you get to the afternoon, and you start to experience that dreaded afternoon slump where all of your energy magically disappears. A lot of people make the mistake of remedying this issue with coffee, but the truth is that coffee might temporarily fix the issue, but it’ll only create a greater slump a couple of hours later.
Drinking tea allows your body to make the most of slow-release energy and also aids digestion after lunch, which is what often contributes to the midday slump.
Once you start enjoying a midday cup of tea and you see real, tangible changes in how you feel at that point of the day, it’ll quickly become part of your routine.
Make Enjoying Tea Easy for You
One of the reasons why a lot of people are reluctant to integrate tea into their routine is because of the perceived effort of doing so.
The truth is, making a cup of tea is no more difficult than making a coffee. Pop the kettle on, add your teabag or loose leaf to a cup or infuser, pour over hot water and leave to steep for a few minutes, and that’s it.
We’d recommend getting a teapot, ideally with an infuser, as that takes care of the whole process for you and can be stored in the fridge until you want it.
If you’re short on time in the morning, you can even prepare your tea in advance. Steep a batch the night before, then keep it in the fridge to enjoy cold the next day, or simply reheat it when you’re ready. This means you get all the benefits of tea without having to build in extra time to your routine, so there’s no excuse not to make it part of your daily habits.
Build the Habit of Winding Down
Life can be busy, and when it comes to the end of a long day, it can be easy to just crawl into bed and doomscroll until you fall asleep, but the reality is that this can have a huge impact on your circadian rhythm and lead to you feeling more tired and groggy the next day, by developing a proper wind down routine where you get ready for bed, you’re setting yourself up for a more relaxing evening and better sleep.
A delicious, caffeine-free tea is the perfect accompaniment to any nighttime routine, warming and naturally relaxing, just what you need before falling asleep.
Find Your Perfect Tea with LEAF
Through this guide, you should now have a better understanding of the benefits of introducing tea into your daily routine. We’ve given you our top picks, but there are many more teas to choose from, all of which have their own health benefits and delicious flavours.
Want to find out more about the teas we have available or have questions about introducing tea into your daily routine? Get in touch today.
