Brewed tea and iced tea are made by steeping the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant in hot or boiling water. You won't get calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat or vitamins from a cup of tea unless you add other ingredients, but you will get a generous helping of healthy antioxidants.
Types of Tea
Tea is a beverage made from the leaves of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis. Black tea, green tea, white tea and oolong tea are all types of tea. Red tea, yerba mate and herbal tea are made by brewing other plants, so they are not truly "tea." White tea is made from young leaf buds. Green tea is made by processing tea leaves just after they are picked. Oolong tea is made from tea leaves that have partially oxidized before processing. Black tea is made from leaves that have fully oxidized. Although all of these types of tea come from the same plant; the healthful compounds differ from one tea to the next based on the growing, harvesting and processing conditions of the tea.
Nutritional Overview
Tea is a low-calorie beverage that doesn't contribute significant protein, carbohydrates or fat to your diet. It does not contain any cholesterol, vitamins, sodium or significant amounts of other minerals. Adding milk or a milk substitute to tea adds calories, protein, calcium, vitamin A, iron and fat, depending on the percent of fat in the milk you choose. If you add honey or sugar to your tea, you will add calories and carbohydrates.
Caffeine
According to Tazo, a tea manufacturer, you should expect tea to contain some caffeine unless the label states that the tea is caffeine-free or decaffeinated. The amount of caffeine in a cup of tea depends on several factors, including the location of the tea leaves on the plant, the variety of tea and the season in which the tea was picked. A cup of green tea can contain between 15 and 50 mg of caffeine. Oolong and black tea often contain about 50 mg of caffeine per cup, but some black tea is naturally lower in caffeine. Read the label on your tea to see an average value for that manufacturer.
Potential Health Benefits
The main nutritional benefit from tea comes from the polyphenols it contains. Green tea and white tea contain more polyphenols than black or oolong tea. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the antioxidants in tea might help protect against coronary artery disease, high cholesterol and cancer. Green tea might aid weight loss and help control blood sugar.
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