Eating tea means treating tea leaves as ordinary food and eating them into the stomach. This seems difficult for most tea drinkers to understand. But in fact, eating tea is also popular in many places. One of the editor's colleagues often likes to pick the tender leaves from the tea base and eat them, finding the taste quite good.

In fact, this way of eating tea is also common in some regions and countries. In some areas of Hunan, China, people eat the tea residue after drinking tea. A famous delicious dish in Hangzhou, "Longjing Shrimp," is made by stir-frying shrimp with Longjing tea leaves brewed in boiling water. This dish, with its combination of red and green, is delicious and can be eaten along with the tea leaves. Japanese people have the habit of drinking matcha, which involves consuming both the soup and the tea together.

Some people support eating tea because it not only allows the intake of nutritional and healthcare components dissolved in the tea soup but also those that are insoluble or difficult to dissolve. The water-insoluble components in tea include fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D, K, inorganic substances such as calcium, magnesium, iron, sulfur, copper, iodine, and organic substances like chlorophyll, carotenoids, cellulose, and protein. Some of these, such as vitamin E and carotenoids, are present in high amounts and are beneficial to the body when consumed.

The nutrition of tea includes both water-soluble and fat-soluble parts. The water-soluble nutrients in tea mainly include catechins, vitamin C, and amino acids; the fat-soluble nutrients mainly include vitamin E, carotenoids, dietary fiber, minerals, and chlorophyll. The fat-soluble part is insoluble in water and remains in the tea leaves no matter how many times they are brewed. Therefore, eating tea leaves allows for better absorption of these nutrients. Among the water-insoluble substances, vitamin E has anti-aging effects; the catechins contained in tea polyphenols also have strong anti-aging properties.

However, there is also a downside to eating tea leaves. Tea leaves often contain pesticide and heavy metal residues. These harmful substances dissolve less in water, but once the tea leaves are eaten, more of them are absorbed by the body. Moreover, most tea today has pesticide residues and other pollution. When eaten, both the good and the bad are consumed.

Overall, eating tea has both advantages and disadvantages. It depends on whether the source of the tea leaves is safe. If you want to try it, choose green, organic, eco-friendly spring tea.