Summer is almost over and with fall comes thoughts of hot mugs of tea, steaming and fragrant with rich scents and our favorite sweeteners. In virtually all cultures, a wide variety of teas are drunk, hot and cold, for pleasure and health.By now, most of us know that many of these drinks have important benefits.
True teas are made from leaves of tea plants, or Camellia sinensis, which originated in China. Black, green and white teas are rich in antioxidants, as is rooibos, which is actually not a tea at all, but a legume from South Africa. Rooibos tea is actually a ’tisane.’ and infusion made from the leaves, flowers, seeds and/or roots of a tremendous variety of plants, such as mint and hibiscus (with or without rose hip), sassafras and ginseng. Interestingly, the only thing all these plants have in common is that they are not Camellia sinensis.
But if your favorite brew is in a teabag, there’s some bad news: that bag is likely to be coated with epichlorohydrin—a known carcinogen that is particularly active in hot water.
