Lipton, one of the most widely-known brands of tea, is best known
for black tea. However, in recent years as green tea has gained in
popularity, Lipton has increased the prominence of their green tea
offerings. This article aims to answer three questions about Lipton
green tea: (1) Is it healthy? (2) How much caffeine does it contain? And
(3) does it offer superior flavor and aroma?
Health Benefits of Lipton Green Tea:
Many
of the health benefits of tea are attributed to the presence of
antioxidants, a class of chemicals that protects cells against oxidative
stress. Unlike most tea companies, Lipton has actually measured and
published the antioxidant content of their green teas, a practice which I
find commendable. According to their website, the basic (unflavored)
Lipton green tea contains 190mg of flavonoid antioxidants per teabag.
How
does this compare to other teas? The average amount of antioxidants in a
cup of tea varies significantly from one tea to the next, and also
varies based on steeping time and other preparation factors. There are a
range of figures available as to what constitutes a "typical" amount of
antioxidants for green tea. However, the published antioxidant content
of Lipton green tea is on the high end of commercial tea bags,
suggesting that it is probably relatively healthy as green teas go.
However, an independent study published in 2005 in the Journal of Food Chemistry and Toxicology
(Friedman et. al.) found otherwise--and actually ranked both Lipton
green and black teas towards the low end of a number of brands of tea
tested, as far as antioxidant content is concerned.
Caffeine Content of Lipton Green Tea:
The
caffeine content of Lipton green tea, according to their website, is
about 45mg per serving (one tea bag). Their decaf teas contain 4mg; the
decaffeination removes most, but not all of the caffeine. Lipton's
flavored green teas contain slightly less caffeine because they are
blended with other ingredients which are naturally caffeine-free; the
caffeine content of these teas ranges from 15-30mg. These figures are
average among teas, which typically range from 15-75mg of caffeine per
cup. Brewing can also affect caffeine content--longer steeping lengths
will extract greater amounts of caffeine.
Lipton (Bottled) Iced Green Tea:
The
story for the health impacts of Lipton's bottled tea is significantly
different from that of their tea bags. Bottled tea is very popular in
the U.S. due primarily to convenience, but it has a number of downsides.
As of writing this article, the caffeine content of Lipton's bottled
teas was not published on their website. Also, the antioxidants in
bottled tea are known to break down over time, and there is concern that
the published antioxidant content for bottled teas is greatly
overstated.
Another problem with bottled tea is that it is almost
always sweetened--and Lipton's iced green tea is no exception. The sugar
content of bottled teas have made them come under scrutiny from the
medical profession as well as health advocates. Like most companies
selling bottled tea, Lipton labels their iced tea in a deceptive
manner--a single 20oz bottle is labeled as offering 2.5 "servings". This
can place the total sugar content per bottle over 50 grams for certain
flavors. The amount of sugar in a single bottle exceeds the maximum
recommended amount of sugar that a person is thought to have in a day.
In
addition, Lipton's iced tea is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup,
a product that has come under scrutiny for a variety of reasons,
including potential negative impacts on health, and the use of
unsustainably-produced, genetically-modified corn in its production.
Lastly, Lipton's bottled iced teas contain preservatives and artificial
colors. Lipton offers "diet" iced teas, but these contain artificial
sweeteners rather than being unsweetened.
Flavor, Aroma, and Overall Quality:
You're probably asking yourself the question: "Yes, but is it good?"
Tea
connoisseurs often consider Lipton the laughing stock of tea companies.
It is widely viewed as a "cheap" or "generic" brand, with connotations
of low quality. However, as the creator of a website where anyone from
the public can freely review teas, I have observed that people
consistently give Lipton's products higher ratings than one might
expect. My own personal experience has been that Lipton's tea bags are
at least as good, if not better, than a number of other mainstream
brands available in most supermarkets. Lipton also has good consistency,
reflecting decent quality control. While I prefer drinking loose tea, I
find that Lipton's offerings are often considerably more flavorful than
some tea reviewers give credit for.
In Summary:
If
you are looking to obtain the health benefits of tea from a product you
can find in virtually any supermarket, brewing your own Lipton green
tea is not a bad choice, although further research is needed to resolve
the discrepancies between the data published on Lipton's site and the
results of independent analysis. I would strongly recommend staying away
from Lipton's bottled products, however. And if you really care a lot
about quality, aroma, and flavor, you may want to consider exploring the
world of loose tea: that is truly where the best teas lie.
Alex Zorach has an M.A. in statistics from Yale University, and is an avid tea drinker and the founder and editor-in-chief of RateTea, a website for rating and reviewing teas, with a wealth of information about varieties of tea and health-related topics. Read Lipton Tea reviews
on this site, including reviews and listings of different Lipton
products, as well as those from a wide variety of other companies.
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