The evidence is mounting that tea — in particular green tea — is a very healthy way of enjoying a hot beverage with a shot of caffeine.

I take mine from the coffee shop with milk, more to cool it off than to mellow out green tea’s already very subtle flavour. But at home, I take it neat, double bag and when available I’ll gladly slurp down green tea with ginseng added, because the evidence is also mounting in favour of this wunderroot.

When a friend told me that adding milk might ruin green tea’s benefits, I did some research and came up scratching my head.

Here’s a story from CBC from January, 2007:

researchers said tests on volunteers showed that black tea significantly improves the ability of arteries to relax and expand, but those effects are cancelled out when milk is added.

And here’s a story from November, 2007:

Scientists have discovered that mixing green tea with other substances… increases the amount of the antioxidants that can be absorbed by the body.

Does this data conflict? At first I thought so, but perhaps they’re not mutually exclusive. Raw or “neat” tea might have less antioxidant effects but more heart-protective benefits, and green tea with your favourite add-in might increase the antioxidant properties of the tea.

Personally I’m quite happy to take my tea both ways, though I have little doubt that one day I’ll uncover a new study that says that green tea and ginseng don’t play well together… or perhaps they boost each other’s abilities.  Or both.

Until that study finds the light of day, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing — enjoying green tea every way possible.

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