Green tea and milk tea are two popular types of beverages that people regularly consume. Their intake is not only for the purpose of health benefits but is a preference for their daily habits.
Let us find the differences between the two considering the following factors:
- Components
- Consumption
- Variations
- Health benefits
- Preparation methods
We will later gauge what happens if we add milk to the green tea and its possible effects. Let’s find out which one wins!
Green Tea vs Milk Tea – Components
1. Fluoride
The fluoride content in green tea is very high. It strengthens your bones and improves dental health. On the other hand, milk lessens the fluoride component from the tea. Therefore, milk tea does not have much fluoride.
Higher levels of fluoride may cause gastrointestinal symptoms.
2. Caffeine
The caffeine content in milk tea is more as compared to green tea. Since caffeine is a good energy booster, excess consumption of milk tea can cause an increased heart rate and high BP.
The caffeine content is higher in milk tea since the tea leaves added to milk are that of the black tea. An 8-ounce cup of milk tea brewed for 3 minutes is likely to have 30 to 80 mg of caffeine content.
3. Antioxidants
The antioxidants in the form of catechins are in abundance in green tea. The catechins help the body prevent several diseases. The milk in milk tea lowers the absorption of antioxidants in the body. (source)
Consumption –Green Tea vs Milk Tea
Milk tea is popular in various parts of the world. Milk tea is basically the black tea that has added milk, thus, termed milk tea. It is mainly consumed by Indians.
In addition, it is popular in places like Ireland, England, Canada, Scotland, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka.
Green tea is a native of China. But, it has gained a lot of popularity across the globe and is mostly consumed with plain boiling water.
Difference in Variations
There are a lot of variations in milk tea and green tea. Popular varieties of milk tea are:
- Cream tea – Prepared by adding heavy cream to the black tea, it is popular in Germany, East Friesland. It is also known as East Friesian Tea.
- Hong Kong Milk tea – It is also termed pantyhose Milk tea. It is a prevalent version of tea made from evaporated milk.
- Tea latte – This variant is common in North America, Europe, and various other parts of the world.
- Cow, buffalo, yak milk – The tea here is prepared using any of these animals’ milk. It is highly widespread in India and its surrounding nations.
Popular variants of green tea are:
- Sencha – It is the basic and commonly known variant of green tea. It is prepared by steaming the leaves and rolling them to produce crude tea.
- Fukamushi Sencha – The steaming process of this variant is twice that of Sencha tea. Since it is more exposed to heat, it has a stronger taste and a dark green color. It begets unique components that can never be dissolved in the water but absorbed by the body.
- Gyokuro – It is prepared by covering the tea bushes with a cloth for at least 20 days prior to its harvesting. The limited light enhances its catechin content. This lowers the astringency and builds a rich flavor.
- Matcha – Matcha is a popular drink used in Japanese traditional ceremonies. Unlike any other variant of green tea, matcha as a leaf is fully consumed along with the tea.
Apart from Sencha, Gyokuro, and matcha, there are many more variants of green tea. This include Tencha, Hojicha, Genmaicha, Shincha, Nibancha, Ichibanha, Sabancha, etc.
Health Benefits
Coming to the health benefits of milk tea and green tea, both vary according to their components. Let’s look at each:
Benefits of adding milk to the tea
- Milk tea, as the name suggests, is prepared by adding milk to the black tea. The milk makes the drink less astringent and gives it a real flavor.
- The milk binds up with various chemical components enhancing its taste. Milk tea is a vigorous dairy substitute.
- Using almond, rice or soy milk in the tea ensures the consumption of healthy ingredients of the tea in an appetizing form.
- Milk has lots of calcium and is abundant with vitamin D. These components are vital to maintain the body functioning, get stronger teeth, harden your bones, regulate the heart rhythm, etc.
As per the Food and Drug Administration research (F.D.A.), for a 3-ounce low-fat serving, every 1% of the milk will contain 114 mg calcium. This provides 11% of it based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Benefits of green tea
- Green tea contains bioactive compounds that aid in improving health and brain functions. It boosts up the energy to help the body operate smartly. The tea also has fat-burning properties.
- Green tea lowers various cancer risks by confiscating the dangerous cells in the body.
- Further, it is also an excellent source of reducing the risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Its unique properties have the ability to kill bacteria and enhance your dental health.
- Green tea is popular among patients having Type II diabetes and has also been proven in evading the risks related to cardiovascular diseases. It is, ultimately, an overall addition you can make to improve your lifestyle and live it healthily!
However, when it comes to other factors like mentioned below, green tea and milk tea can react and respond differently.
- Heart health – Green tea has abundant ECGC content. It builds a lining along your blood vessels and reduces stress. Milk on the other side contributes to an increase in cholesterol.
- Weight loss – Green tea is a perfect solution for weight loss. Since it has fat-burning properties, people prefer having it post their workouts. Milk tea has a lot of fat and calories in it. This is because of the milk present that holds the two components.
- Detoxification – The detoxification in the consumption of green tea is better. It enhances your quality of skin as well as the immunity of the body. The milk fat does not allow the same benefits.
- Breathing effects – The green tea will never coat your tongue thus avoiding bad breaths. The milk tea has the possibility of coating your tongue causing bad breaths.
Preparation Methods–Green Tea vs Milk Tea
How much milk should we add to prepare milk tea?
There is no perfect measure as such about adding milk. It completely depends on your personal taste. Some people do not add water at all and add the black tea leaves directly in the boiling milk.
On the other hand, people prefer having black tea in its raw form and adding merely a single spoon of milk to it.
Thus, the milk tea preparation entirely depends on what taste you are inclined to develop.
For a homemade masala chai, people use equal amounts of water and milk for a perfect cup. The milk tea is prepared at 100 degrees. Brew or dip the tea bags for 4 minutes and serve hot.
Green tea preparation method
The preparation process of green tea is the simplest. It simply involves the addition of two ingredients that is, water and green tea leaves.
Boil the water at 80 degrees and add the tea leaves. Keep it boiling for 2-3 minutes and strain the water out. You will have your green tea prepared!
Can you drink green tea with milk? Does adding milk to green tea decrease the health benefits?
While we talk about milk tea, we generally assume it to be milk added to the black tea. However, here comes up with a new study of the possible benefits and effects of having milk tea with brewed green tea leaves.
Let us find out the possible merits and demerits of drinking green tea with milk. Let us also understand its possible side effects and methods to prepare the same.
Normally, milk is added to a powdered form of green tea called matcha. Since it does not involve brewing, people consider adding milk and sweeteners to it.
To prepare the green tea with milk, one may add an equal amount of water and milk along with the green tea leaves with added sweeteners. However, there are no proven benefits of adding milk to green tea.
In fact, the milk, though healthy in itself, evades all the health benefits of the green tea leaves.
Milk has a component called casein that sticks from flavanols present in tea losing its benefits. Milk has the capacity to reduce the catechins, a type of antioxidants present in the tea, ultimately leaving the drink with no benefits.
All that milk can do to the tea is add a flavor, but it still does not have any proven benefits.
As an alternative, one can consider adding lemon to the drink, which not only adds flavor but also enhances the benefits of tea to the body.
Which is healthier, Green Tea or Milk Tea? – The Conclusion
Milk and green tea are two popular tea variants across the globe. However, comparing the two in terms of their health benefits, green tea obviously wins.
This is because the milk content, though it has its own benefits, ruins the effect of the content present in the tea leaves. While milk tea has always been a popular beverage, green tea is overtaking its importance by delivering immense health benefits.
In order to evade the demerits of milk tea, it is better to consume black tea in its raw form or by adding lemon to it.
Doctors profoundly suggest drinking milk separately in its natural way to gain its actual benefits. Being a dominant source of calcium, doctors recommend at least 2 glasses of milk every day.
Furthermore, milk enhances digestion if consumed before getting into bed at night.
Green tea, on the other hand, is better for consumption early in the morning or during the day. It acts as an energy booster for the mind and body.