Whether you use tea bags or loose leaf tea, sometimes we feel reluctant to throw it away after the first brew. But does re-brewing the leaves of this plant really harm health?
Modern stores offer a wide variety of different types and varieties of tea, each with its unique flavor and brewing time. Tea bags usually brew faster than loose leaf tea because they consist of small particles, which facilitates quicker extraction of substances compared to larger leaves.
However, this property makes loose leaf tea more suitable for re-brewing. The process of re-brewing tea is considered quite safe, and in most cases, it will not harm your health. However, it is important to remember that leaving unfinished tea with the bag inside for a long time is not recommended, as this drink can become a favorable environment for mold growth. Therefore, before re-brewing, it is advisable to ensure that there is no mold in the cup.
Tea contains many beneficial compounds, such as essential oils, alkaloids, proteins, vitamins, and tannins. However, when brewing, these components enter the water at different rates. Biological pigments responsible for the color of the drink are extracted the fastest, while other compounds take longer to leave the plant. That is why tea should steep for some time before it can be consumed.
In this context, re-brewing can even be beneficial, as it allows for the maximum extraction of nutrients from a single serving of tea. However, with each new brew, the amount of extracted compounds decreases, and the drink becomes less flavorful and less beneficial, effectively turning into water.
Nevertheless, no matter how you brew loose leaf tea, it is impossible to extract all the beneficial compounds from it. The maximum benefit from tea leaves can be obtained from matcha—a special type of tea that is presented in powdered form and consists of dried and ground tea leaves. It can be brewed with regular boiling water or used to make the popular drink—matcha latte.
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