A soothing and rejuvenating cup of English breakfast tea has many amazing benefits including detoxifying the body, reducing cholesterol levels, improving heart health, and promoting mental health.
What is English Breakfast Tea?
More than 80 years old, this breakfast tea or English tea is a blend of Assam black tea, Ceylon tea, and Kenyan tea. It is one of the most famously consumed tea on the English breakfast table, partly why its called by its unique name.
This tea has a rich and tangy flavor, somewhat similar to malt, and is accompanied by either milk or lemon. It has a very soothing aroma with slight notes of raisins. This breakfast tea takes a deep red color when infused. It is also high in caffeine.
Nutrition
Essentially calorie free, this breakfast tea is a powerhouse of nutrients as it contains potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It also has a rich supply of B vitamins, including folate, as well as minerals such as fluoride that promotes dental health. English breakfast tea boasts of various antioxidants including polyphenols such as theaflavins and thearubigins.
English Breakfast Tea Benefits
The rich flavonoid content of English breakfast tea gives it many benefits including the improvement of arterial health, prevention of cancer, and better dental health. Let us take a look at all the wonderful benefits of this tea.
Promotes Weight Loss
By promoting the growth of good bacteria in the gut, English breakfast tea helps improve digestion. Not just that, this tea also gives a push to our energy metabolism in the liver, thereby promoting weight loss.
Increases Concentration
Thanks to the caffeine content in black tea, which is about 40-70 mg in a single cup, half of that found in coffee, this breakfast tea acts as a great wake-up drink. This also partly makes for the reason how this tea gets its name. This tea also helps keep you alert and your mood refreshed while you go about your day.
Improves Dental Health
The amazing fluoride content of black tea helps prevent tooth decay and promotes gum health. A comparative study of children drinking English tea vs. drinking carbonated beverages showed tooth decay among the latter. Thus proving black tea infused with sugar to be a healthy option.
Detoxifies the Body
Rich in flavonoids, thearubigins, and theaflavins, black tea is an amazing antioxidant tea. It helps in fighting free radical damage in the body and promotes overall health. The antioxidants present in this tea also help slow the signs of aging.
Improves Heart Health
Drinking this breakfast tea regularly has shown to open blocked arteries, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Black tea also lowers blood glucose levels, low-density lipoprotein, and triglyceride levels in the body. Thus, helping promote overall heart health.
Prevents Cancer
A recent study suggests that the presence of a compound called theaflavin-3′-monogallate or TF-2 in black tea helps in fighting colorectal cancer cells. This compound can also suppress Cox 2, which is a gene associated with colon cancer. Hence, English tea has the potential to slow down or prevent the growth of cancer.
Treats Kidney Stones
By providing your body with all the necessary fluids, this breakfast tea can help prevent the formation of kidney stones and thereby maintain kidney health.
Keeps you Hydrated
This breakfast tea, being rich in caffeine, serves as a good hydrating agent. 2-3 cups of this black tea make sure that your body doesn’t miss out on any of the essential water content.
Eliminates Stress
Recent studies suggest that black tea helps in reducing the cortisol levels in your body that is the major stress hormone. Hence, English breakfast tea, being a black tea blend, eliminates stress.
Reduces Cholesterol Levels
Regular consumption of this black tea blend has shown to lower the LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in the body, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis. It also aids in increasing the HDL (good) cholesterol levels in the body, thanks to its high antioxidant content.
Other
There are few other benefits of this tea that include the following:
- Improves bone health
- Promotes the production of red blood cells
- Treats asthma and improves respiratory health
Irish vs English Breakfast Tea
There are a few key differences between Irish breakfast tea and English breakfast tea, they include the following.
Taste: This breakfast tea has a milder flavor than Irish breakfast tea. This breakfast tea can also be mixed with milk and sugar for a more robust taste.
Blend: While this breakfast tea has more of a Ceylon and Kenyan tea blend, with slight notes of Assam, Irish breakfast tea has a strong Assamese influence.
Accompaniments: English tea taste divine with toasts and avocado chocolate chip cookies, while Irish breakfast tea tastes well with wheat and a honey scone and carrot cake.
Color: Both the varieties of tea have a similar color of reddish-yellow.
How to Make?
It is important to know how to make this amazing blend of black tea, that is, English breakfast tea, so you can enjoy its perfect taste touching your tongue.
Ingredients
- English breakfast tea leaves
- Sugar
- Lemon/Milk
- Water
Method
Step 1: Add 1 cup of water to a pan and bring it to a boil
Step 2: Add English breakfast tea leaves to a cup and pour hot water over them
Step 3: Let the blend steep for 3-4 minutes
Step 4: Add sugar and lemon or milk and sugar as per taste
Step 5: Serve and enjoy!
