Tea Can Contain Numerous Additives, Some Safer Than Others | RateTea Reports

NEWARK, Del. - June 30, 2017 - PRLog -- Tea is widely and accurately regarded as a natural and healthy drink, but commercial tea blends, especially packaged products in tea bags, particularly those marketed as "health" or "wellness" products, can occasionally include a variety of additives.

RateTea has analyzed and reported on the most common additives used in commorecial tea blends, exploring both their safety and how they relate to flavor and quality.

Flavor additives

The most common ingredients in tea blends are flavorings, including natural flavorings and artificial flavorings.  These ingredients are entirely safe, and they can sometimes enhance the flavor of a blend, but they often are used as a substitute to mask or compensate for low-quality ingredients.

Other less common flavoring ingredients include citric acid and sweeteners, both of which can be unwelcome when unexpected.

Color and texture additives

Artificial colors are rare in teas and herbal blends; typically, whole ingredients are used to achieve changes in color of the brewed cup.  There is an occasional risk of (illegal) color additives to pure black tea, a particular problem in low-quality teas from South India.

Other uncommon additives, mostly in commercial tea bags, include soy lechithin and modified corn starch.

Supplements, extracts, and added caffeine pose health risks

By far the most dangerous additives to commercial tea bags are concentrated extracts or supplements, such as green tea extract, added to blends marketed as "wellness teas" or health or weight loss products.  Some teas contain extra caffeine, often extracted from tea itself and then added back into the blend.  Some of these concentrated extracts and supplements can pose health risks.

Read RateTea's full article on additives in tea:

https://ratetea.com/topic/additives-in-tea/80/

Read more about tea and health on RateTea:

https://ratetea.com/tag/health