Tea Is Healthy — but This Drinking Habit Could Change That

Tea has earned its healthy reputation through decades of research linking traditional brewed varieties with benefits for the heart, metabolism, and other areas of health. A major scientific review published in Beverage Plant Research concluded that the strongest evidence supports tea made from Camellia sinensis, particularly green tea.

But the same review identified a habit that can undermine those advantages: regularly choosing heavily processed bottled or bubble tea instead of freshly brewed tea. Added sugar, artificial sweeteners, refined starch, flavourings, preservatives, and some creamers can turn a simple drink into something nutritionally very different.