Tea and Health

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Consumer awareness and understanding of the positive impacts that the consumption of  tea and herbals can have on health is on a relatively high level and the health benefits of tea and herbal infusions are also well researched and documented and include: 

Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (the biggest killer in the world). 

Diabetes and stroke as well as clinical trials showing (amongst other things) that tea reduced blood pressure.

Improved bone density and helps to maintain cognitive function as we age. 

Key ‘bioactives’ in tea are a group of phenolic termed ‘flavan-3-ols’, positively linked to cardio-metabolic health[1]. 

Black tea specifically is the only source in the global diet of the bioactive ‘Thearubigins’, the consumption of which is linked to positive impacts on gut health, blood pressure and potential anti-cancer effects[2]. 

Teas can be considered ‘pre-biotics’ delivering food for the gut microbiome which is considered to be our ‘second brain’ and intimately linked to both short -term and long term health and wellness including influencing whether we develop obesity, diabetes or bowel diseases.
   

[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2161831323000637?via%3Dihub

[2] https://sciforschenonline.org/journals/nutrition-food/NFTOA168.php

Less research has been done on herbal teas. Generally, they are caffeine free and specifically rooibos has been shown to have positive impacts in diabetes, improves blood cholesterol and lipid profiles[3] so conferring potential cardiovascular health benefits.

Tea and herbal teas can also impact mental wellbeing with positive impacts in relation to psychological stress and the challenges of stress and anxiety on sleep health[4].

[3] dx.doi.org/10.16966/2470-6086.166

[4] https://sciforschenonline.org/journals/nutrition-food/NFTOA182.php

Consumers love the taste of tea[5] but increasingly they are looking at the health benefits! Their desire for ingredients associated with natural goodness have become a point of emphasis. Nearly three-quarters of consumers said natural foods deliver sufficient nutrients to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, and 62% said choosing natural foods is the best way to ensure a healthy diet[6]. 

Generation alpha (Born between 2010 and 2024 is set to redefine consumer culture and 63% of UK parents with a gen alpha child says they already have a big say in household meals. Gen alpha prioritises food that aligns with their health mindset, a preference for natural ingredients and transparency in food labelling and sourcing[7].
   

[5] https://www.tea.co.uk/news/article/tea-loved-by-brits-and-5-billion-cups-of-tea-are-drunk-globally-each-day

[6] https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/25965-consumers-focused-on-natural-ingredients-protein-to-improve-health#:~:text=Ingredients%20associated%20with%20natural%20elements,to%20ensure%20a%20healthy%20diet.

[7] https://www.mintel.com/insights/food-and-drink/meet-gen-alpha-next-generation-food-consumers/

The WHO guidelines for ‘5 a day’ healthy diet guidelines[8] and are based on fruits and vegetables that contribute to cardiovascular health through the ‘variety of phytonutrients, potassium and fibre that they contain’. 

A key issue for these beverages, is they contain bioactive phytonutrients including potent antioxidants (and in teas’ case potassium) but there is limited or negligible soluble and insoluble fibre. Add to that the fact that ‘brewing’ tea is quite inefficient at fully extracting the soluble phenolic and fibre bioactives...

Enter Stone Tree International's range of milled tea and herbal powders delivering 100% of the bioactives from the leaf to the consumer. When brewing tea the ‘extraction efficiency’ of a 2-3min brew time is only ca 47% on average (in house data). Compare this to the comprehensive extraction in digestive system : between 65% and 100% (average 82.5%).[9],[10] 

Stonetree’s proprietary milling technology deliver sub 20 micron powders ideal for mixing in various formats e.g. with honey, chocolate etc. with no gritty mouthfeel.

In baking applications Stonetree’s milled plant powders were found to not interfere with the leavening process, were bake stable, well tolerated in terms of taste and appearance and at only 2.3% inclusion rate could deliver the same goodness as a cup of rooibos in 2 slices of bread with the added benefit of natural fibre.
   

[8] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet

[9] J Bouayed et al.,Food Chem., 2011,128, 14

[10] M Fazzai et al J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 28, 56