Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that while the effects of tea leaves are largely similar, different teas may have slightly different benefits due to variations in their processing methods. When drinking tea, in addition to considering the inherent effects of the tea itself, one should also pay attention to drinking different teas at different times. Below, Daodao Jun will explore with everyone what tea is best to drink in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
Morning: Suitable for drinking black tea
After a night's sleep, the body is often in a relatively inactive state. Drinking black tea can promote blood circulation, help dispel internal coldness, and ensure ample blood supply to the brain.
Black tea has a mild and warm nature. You can brew a cup every morning after getting up and drink it after breakfast, or add some milk. It is important to remind everyone not to drink tea on an empty stomach, as tea contains caffeine. Drinking it on an empty stomach can lead to excessive caffeine absorption by the intestines, potentially causing side effects like palpitations and frequent urination. Over time, it may also affect the body's absorption of vitamin B.
Afternoon: Suitable for drinking oolong tea, white tea, or green tea
Typically, the body tends to have excessive liver fire around noon. Drinking green tea or oolong tea at this time can help alleviate this symptom.
Oolong tea (such as Tieguanyin) has a sweet and cool nature, enters the liver meridian, can clear heat from the liver and gallbladder, detoxify the liver, and is rich in vitamin E, which helps resist aging. Green tea enters the kidney meridian, promotes diuresis and removes turbidity, facilitating smooth urination. Additionally, green tea has an extremely high content of tea polyphenols, offering excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Around 3 or 4 PM is the best time to drink white tea. Drinking tea at this time helps regulate the body, enhance resistance, and provide nourishment. This is often considered the most important tea time of the day, commonly known as afternoon tea. As the body typically experiences excessive liver fire around noon, white tea has the function of reducing heat, dispelling summer heat, and detoxifying. Drinking white tea at this time can help relieve this symptom.
Evening: Suitable for drinking aged white tea or dark tea
After consuming three meals, the body accumulates some greasy substances in the digestive system. If one can drink aged white tea or dark tea after dinner, it can promote digestion and accelerate the breakdown of accumulated fat. The tea should be brewed lightly; it is not recommended to drink strong tea or tea before bedtime!
Dark tea has a relatively mild and pure nature and has minimal impact on sleep. However, some people may find the taste of dark tea hard to accept. In that case, white tea is also a good choice, especially aged white tea, whose nature gradually becomes more balanced or even warm over time. For example, Shou Mei white tea enters the lung meridian, has a balanced nature, and also has little effect on sleep.
Of course, the above is only a general division of different tea-drinking periods throughout the day. We don't need to be so strict when drinking tea. If the mood strikes, any tea is perfectly fine. Daodao Jun's motto remains: drink what you like!