Best Tea for Non Tea Drinkers
So you want to drink tea, but you don’t know which kind? What is the best tea for non-tea drinkers?
Most people know green tea, black tea, and um…iced tea?
It can be difficult to choose when there are so many unknown varieties, and most of us don’t really know what to look for.
A good place to start is to understand why you want to drink tea.
Is it a replacement for coffee? Is it for health reasons? Is it for flavor?
Since tea can range from rich and robust caffeinated blends to mild and caffeine-free herbal ones, we have rounded up a few choices in several categories.
Our recommendations are in three commonly sought groupings: teas for people who like coffee, teas with health benefits, and teas that actually taste good.
Hopefully you will find your new favorite tea here!
What is Tea?
Tea encompasses an extensive and diverse group of beverages. With so many tea types, flavors, blends, as well as preparation and serving methods, there really is a tea for everyone.
At its most basic, tea is made by steeping dried tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves in hot water.
Tea made from any plant other than C. sinensis is known as herbal tea. Herbal tea can be made with different plant parts such as leaves (nettle), flowers (chamomile), stems or bark (cinnamon), roots (dandelion), or seeds (fennel). Other teas can even be crafted with fungi, such as chaga or reishi.
Hot or boiling water is typically used to prepare tea. Tea leaves or herbs are allowed to soak or steep in the water for a period of time. The plant material can be strained out before drinking, or simply left behind in the container.
A cup of tea can be enjoyed hot, room temperature, or cold. Certain varieties of tea are complimented by the addition of milk or cream and sweetener.
A Brief History of Tea
Tea or C. sinensis is one of the most popular beverages in the world. It has a long history interwoven with various cultures and economies, yet it still holds great significance in contemporary religious and sociocultural events.
Aside from its cultural and religious uses, tea is beloved by many for its flavor, soothing nature, and positive effects on health.
Early humans likely boiled herbs in water for flavor and medicinal purposes, but the tea plant C. sinensis was domesticated around 3000 BC.
Tea drinking likely originated in China, with one legend ascribing it to a Chinese emperor in 2737 B.C.
It spread through the rest of Asia, from India to Europe, and eventually the rest of the world. The global tea market has grown immensely and was recently valued at over $200 billion.
Tea for Coffee Lovers
There are tea (hot leaf water) people, and then there are coffee (hot bean water) people. Coffee people love their coffee.
But many switch from coffee to tea at some point, usually in an effort to reduce caffeine consumption.
A cup of coffee contains around 90 mg of caffeine, while a cup of green or black tea has a little less than half of that.
Total caffeine consumption can add up quickly over a day – a double-shot morning espresso, soda with lunch, dark chocolate as an afternoon treat, an energy drink for evening study sessions.
The caffeine in coffee does have some benefits – it acts as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound.
Too much caffeine though, can lead to anxiety, headaches, a rapid heartbeat, and insomnia.
Aside from caffeine withdrawal, making the switch from coffee to tea can be difficult when it comes to aroma and flavor. Light, floral, or fruity teas simply won’t function here.
The best teas for coffee drinkers have bold flavors and blend well with milk, cream, or sweetener. They also have richness, bitterness, and a moderate level of caffeine.
Plant roots like chicory and dandelion make a nice coffee substitute. These are roasted to bring out a dark, nutty, and bitter flavor that is reminiscent of coffee, without caffeine. Roasted cacao nibs, a by-product of chocolate production, also have a bitter flavor and do contain caffeine.
Some black teas can substitute for coffee, as they have moderate levels of caffeine and can be intensely flavored.
Black tea production involves many more steps than other teas. The tea leaves are allowed to wither under warm conditions, then they are rolled, fermented, and dried.
Assam black tea has a bold and malty flavor that is an excellent choice for coffee lovers. It can often be found in tea blends labeled as Breakfast Tea.
If you like the ritual of grinding your own coffee beans, making espresso, or doing a pour-over, matcha tea might be an ideal substitute.
Matcha tea is made from green tea leaves, but production differs from that of regular green tea.
C. sinensis plants are shaded in the weeks before harvest, and then lightly steamed. The leaves are ground to a fine powder and have a vibrant green color unlike regular green tea.
Matcha is the type of tea used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. Preparation involves measuring a scoop of tea powder into a tea bowl (chawan), adding hot water, and using a special whisk called chasen to create a foamy texture, before pouring into a teacup.
Matcha has a high caffeine level and an intense flavor that coffee drinkers like.
Tea with Health Benefits
It’s easy to imagine tea as one of humanity’s earliest medicines.
One aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) deals with herbal medicine made from plant parts like roots, bark, leaves, and berries.
While herbal teas made in the tradition of TCM address holistic health and are more preventative for various health conditions, there are other herbal teas loaded with more immediate health benefits and effects.
Inonotus obliquus is best known as chaga mushroom, a fungus that parasitizes birch trees. Chaga has a long history in folk medicine for both internal and external use, as early as 12 BC in Eastern Europe.
Recent studies on chaga have shown it to have immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties. Chaga extracts even have possible anti-cancer, anti-viral, and hypoglycemic properties.
Chaga is very beneficial, special, and rare – it only grows in the wild, so make sure to source chaga that is sustainably harvested.
You’ve probably heard that matcha tea is good for your health, and it is.
C. sinensis plants for matcha production are grown in shade prior to harvesting, in contrast to regular green tea. This causes an increase the polyphenol epicallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and amino acid L-theanine. One study even showed that a daily matcha green tea powder improved cognitive function in elderly women.
These nutrients in matcha, in addition to Vitamin K and lutein, positively affect different parts of cognition.
Tea That Actually Tastes Good
Does tea taste like barely-flavored hot water to you? Were you swayed by the imagery on the pretty tea box?
We all have different taste preferences. Some teas are truly delicious. Many are just so-so.
Here is a selection of teas that really do taste good.
Jasmine tea is green tea that scented with jasmine flowers over the course of a few hours. A cup of jasmine tea is fragrant, floral, delicious, and uplifting, with a low to medium level of caffeine.
You’ve probably sampled jasmine tea without realizing it – in a milk tea boba at your favorite bubble tea shop.
Earl Grey tea is made by combining black tea with bergamot oil. Bergamot orange or Citrus bergamia is a hybrid of bitter orange and lemon, and the extracted oil is used in food, perfume, and cosmetics.
Some people think that Earl Grey tea smells and tastes like Froot Loops cereal. If that sounds good, try adding some milk and sugar to your tea. Earl Grey has a moderate amount of caffeine.
For a great tasting caffeine-free tea, cinnamon packs a lot of flavor and tastes “sweet” even without sugar. This is a great tea for sipping in cold weather.
These are just a few of the many options for choosing the best tea for non-tea drinkers.
Start with defining your tea-drinking goals, and then choose your favorite tea from the category.
We all have our own likes and dislikes, so try what sounds good to you, and go from there.
Build up a collection of tea options and you’ll have a variety to choose from in any occasion!
How to Make Tea the Crunchy Way
- Create your own tea blends with herbs from your garden or foraging trips
- Use clean, filtered water
- Heat water in a kettle (stovetop or electric) – please, no microwaved water!
- Steep tea in and drink from stainless steel, ceramic, or glass (to avoid leaching of chemicals)
- Choose organic tea whenever possible
- Select loose leaf over tea bags to maximize brewed flavor and minimize waste
- If using tea bags, select those made of natural materials (cotton or hemp, preferably organic) instead of plastic bags that release microplastics into your tea