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A daily tea routine partially protects people from heavy metals, study finds
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- Authors
- Margherita Bassi, Ed Cara, Adam Kovac, James Whitbrook
- Published
- Mar 1 2025
- Word count
- 659 words
Just a caution to be skeptical of the commentary and interpretation by pop-sci journalists (or really anyone, including me) on the impacts and significance of studies
And here are a few studies showing that ground coffee can remove heavy metals from water
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249917010_Adsorption_of_Heavy_Metals_by_Exhausted_Coffee_Grounds_as_a_Potential_Treatment_Method_for_Waste_Water
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301678474_Lead_Removal_from_Water_by_Adsorption_on_Spent_Coffee_Grounds#:~:text=Spent%20coffee,Arabica%20variety.
Thank you!
Before this article, I was unaware that either tea or coffee would filter heavy metals. I thought that others here might be similarly unaware.
After playing the Wanderstop demo I kinda wanted to get into drinking tea some more, anyone have any suggestions on what kind of infusers and tea to buy? I already have a hot water boiler lol.
Another option for tea infusing is to get a french press. They're made for coffee but work perfectly well for loose leaf teas. Here's the one I have, it's been a workhorse every winter for like a decade now and can be fully disassembled for deep cleaning when it needs it - https://www.bodum.com/us/en/1928-16us4-chambord
Some people swear by putting the leaves on top of the filter so that you can pull them out of the water instead of pressing them down to a small area at the bottom. It's a clever idea that does work but it depends on the shape of the lid; some presses have flat tops that don't create an enclosed space at the top when you pull the press all the way up. So keep that in mind!
Their travel presses are also great for loose leaf tea, and are super convenient:
https://www.bodum.com/ca/en/11100-294bus-travel-press
I have one in green, and have similarly been using it regularly for about a decade now too.
p.s. @phoenixrises, I can't have caffeine (makes me have panic attacks) so I don't have any advice for good black/green/white teas, but if you're interested in non-caffeinated herbal teas, I can definitely help. E.g. I highly recommend checking out rooibos tea; it's delicious. I regularly order DAVIDsTEA rooibos blends and have yet to encounter one that I didn't enjoy, but my current fav is definitely the cinnamon rooibos chai.
Oooh that's a good point actually! I don't drink coffee often so I actually don't even have a french press, so maybe i'll takea look at that! Thank you to you and @cfabbro for the suggestions :)
My tea cupboard currently mostly contains Moroccan mint (Chinese green tea with mint), Hojicha (Japanese roasted green tea), Masala chai (spiced black tea), and Kenyan black tea. The latter two I usually drink with milk. I have plenty of others but those are what is currently in heavy rotation. I'd recommend all of them, but they might not be to your taste. If you can find somewhere which will let you order small amounts then just start buying stuff you like the sound of. There's plenty to try, and a huge variety of flavours out there.
As for infusers - pots are the best, but if you'd prefer to brew in a mug you want large volume with lots of mesh. the little ball things are pretty rubbish. Tea leaves like to move around, so bigger is better. Also they are easier to clean. I do have an infuser and it's basically the size of my mug. Pots are still better, but wait until you get into it before investing because some teas do better in specific types of pot.
Temperature does matter. You absolutely cannot pour boiling water on green or white teas, the resulting drink will be bitter and tannin-y and unpleasant. 70-80C is important. Black tea you can generally hit with boiling water and it'll be fine though.
The town I live in has literal little India, I forgot that I could probably just get good Masala Chai here haha. I'm guessing I can probably find a lot of tea samplers around there too tbh.
Hmm starting to think that I need a water boiler too that I can control the temperature for, and not just something that makes really hot water really quickly. I will have to take a look!
If you end up really into teas that want a lower temperature, a variable temperature kettle (or equivalent) is a really convenient thing.
That said if you're just trying stuff out or don't want an extra appliance, plenty of people will boil water then just add a splash of cold water to bring it down to about the right range. Especially if you can test it out with a thermometer a couple of times to get the hang of how much to add.
would it be crazy to say i don't actually own a thermometer? lol
Unless you like it really well done, an instant read cooking thermometer is vital for insuring that the center of a piece of meat is up to the safe temperature, but if you don't cook much meat or bake much, it's no biggie to not have one.
or you just basically eat steak as rare as possible :O
If you eat steak as rare as possible, an instant read thermometer is great. It means that you can tell as soon as it gets up to the safe temperature inside and pull it off the heat right away rather than leaving it to cook any more than you have to.
I would add that time matters as well. In my experience with coffee even 2° C can make a perceptible difference but time is less important, whereas with tea 2° C does not matter but 10 seconds make a perceptible difference (or even less with some types of preparation), sometimes from drinkable to bitter.
I recently learned about using cacao shells/husks for tea, and I'm loving it. Alone, it's like drinking warm water run through pipes made of chocolate. I add a very little heavy cream and a little brown sugar, and it takes it to a new level. We overpaid for the husks while on vacation, but I've seen people mention you can get them super cheap if you have a chocolatier in your area.
I use a snap ball tea infuser, and it gets the job done. They're easy enough to clean, a little annoying to fill (but probably only because I'm trying to overfill them), cheap, and long-lasting.
A colleague got a novelty mix pack of teas (in tea bags), and one of the options is Cocoa... It's like 1 gram of cocoa with some other random spices... It smells amazing, tastes like warm water that was in the room near a hot chocolate, lol
But I like the idea of doing it properly, gonna have to look for husks!
is it just me or does cacao shells for tea basically feel like hot chocolate? that's really interesting though, I'm gonna have to try that! thanks for the suggestion :)
My favorite tea pot is this one:
https://www.hario-usa.com/products/maru-chacha-kyusu-tea-pot
They have a wide stainless steel stainer that allows the tea move more freely in the pot for a more even brew.
Also see if you can find loose teas, which you can adjust how much according to your taste. I find them much better quality than bagged. I'm not a huge fan of blended teas unless it some sort of lavender chamomile blend or some sort of sick relief blend. A good company will have very simple ingredients and no sugar.
If you have a tea shop near you (like an Adagio, Teavana, David's Tea, etc.), go there and see if you can sample some teas, or at the very least, smell them. What you think will smell/taste good to you is the best tea you can buy to start drinking tea.
As for diffusers and the like, I actually really love the paper tea bags from Daiso or other Asian grocery stores, you fill the little baggie up with however much tea you want, and then put it in your water, then dispose. Is it the best, most environmentally friendly option? No, but it has the benefit of you being able to try what you like before you commit to something.
Some of my favorite teas have been ones that have been locally blended when I travel and find a cool coffee/tea house.
I suggest finding a local tea shop and seeing if they do any kind of sampler. This way you can get an idea of what you like (with it prepared a as intended) without filling your kitchen with what you don’t. Definitely try some unflavored varieties of black, green, and white if they have it so you can understand the base flavors if you end up preferring flavored teas. Ask lots of questions, tea lovers also love talking about tea. This doesn’t have to be a single trip and you’re under no obligation to buy a packet of tea from the shop if you don’t care for what you’ve tried. If you do buy some, walk out knowing how much to use for x amount of water, at what temperature to steep it and for how long.
I ended up going really simple with my daily supplies. I have an electric water kettle I can set the temperature on. I have a stainless steel cup infuser like this one. If you get good quality tea that kind of filter will allow the leaves to move around as they infuse and keep them out of the final drink and it’s reasonably easy to clean. I have an insulated cup to keep it warm. I also have a cheap timer, if you let it steep too long your tea will get bitter. You can use a regular kitchen scale or something more precise if you have one.
You can use a stovetop kettle or even a pot to heat your water, then figure out how long it takes for it to cool from boiling to the right temperature, or use it boiling if that’s appropriate.
yeah that makes a lot of sense! My town is veryyyy Indian so I'm guesing I can find a lot of good tea places around there actually, so I might have to head out there and see. Thank you for the links though, it definitely helps a lot!
Time to shine!
I like loose leave tea. More bang for your buck, you can modulate how much flavor/caffeine you want, and there is way less packaging/trash to deal with. You'll need infusers, I have about 8 so that there are always clean ones around and if we have guests over we can provide one for everyone.
As to what kind of tea to get, that is your own journey! I don't handle caffeine well, so personally I stick to herbal or decaf. I think we currently have a mint, decaf earl grey, winter fruit, ginger/lemon grass, and camomile bulk containers for the non-caffeine drinkers and english breakfast, toasted rice green tea, and earl grey for the caffeine folks.
Personally I will use one loaded infuser ball all day, probably drinking around 8 cups over it's lifespan. With the loose leaf you can add much more tea to a ball that you would get in a satchel, so the flavor lasts.
Lastly, if you don't already have one, get insulated an thermos for on the go. I will take tea with me everywhere. Bike rides, city council meetings, long drives. Literally anywhere. It's so lovely to have it on hand.
Ok, lastly, lastly, I endorse drinking stock - chicken, bone broth, etc - in the morning. It's another lovely addition to the warm beverage group and adds for a nice savory variation if you're ever burning out on tea!
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B07NDMKRSW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
I have a couple of these, and they are great. I like the cover, which keeps it warm for a fair bit longer than leaving it uncovered too, although I also have an Ember heating mug which makes that a bit redundant. Easier to clean and fill than the balls in my experience.
You (whoever you are, applies to basically everyone in the first world who isn’t drinking well water) probably do not have heavy metals of note in your drinking water to be concerned about.
And if you are concerned about heavy metals in your drinking water, the more prudent action to take is probably to get some heavy metal filters for your water rather than try to go on an all-tea diet.
Neat finding, though.
True, but now I get to feel superior to all the non-tea drinking lead poisoned plebs out there as I sip on my prohibitively expensive Japanese green tea with its superior nutritional value cleansing all of my chakras! Thank you science.