Chlorogenic Tea - The Coffee Leaf Tea

Tea and coffee are the most widely used beverages in the world. Commonly known coffee is a beverage made by taking out the seeds from the fruit of the coffee tree, drying, roasting, grinding, and brewing them. Coffee beans have always had a high economic value. At present, the processing and utilization of coffee is mainly based on the fruit, and the coffee leaves are discarded during pruning. However, in recent years, some people have discovered that coffee leaves can not only be used as a raw material for drinks, but also have lower caffeine content and are healthier than coffee and tea.

Chlorogenic Acids in Coffee Leaves

In order to maintain normal functions of the human body, in addition to the five major nutrients, dietary fiber and phytochemicals are also needed - Chlorogenic acid here we introduced is one of the phytochemicals.

Chlorogenic acid (also known as coffee tannic acid, Eucommia chlorogenic acid), is a natural polyphenolic compound. Many foods or fruits contain chlorogenic acid, such as apples, grapes, tomatoes, blueberries, etc., and the content of chlorogenic acid in coffee is the highest among all substances, so it is also called coffee polyphenols.

Chlorogenic acid has many health benefits, including:

• Interfering with activity of lipase enzyme, inhibiting the decomposition and absorption of fat, thereby promoting metabolism and eliminating fatigue.
• Antioxidant ability can inhibit the formation of carcinogens or improve inflammation.
• Reduce free radicals to form bad molecules.
• Inhibit the absorption of sugar and fat; regulate blood sugar and prevent metabolic syndrome.
• Lowering blood lipids, increasing vascular strength, and reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases
• It's even been shown to protect the retina and liver in studies.

The content of chlorogenic acid in coffee beans is easily affected by external factors, such as variety, growth environment (soil quality, climate, latitude, humidity), and roasting process, especially temperature. Compared with the instability of coffee beans, there is a fairly high concentration of chlorogenic acid in coffee leaves, and the content of young leaves is higher than that of mature leaves, even up to three times the difference. Therefore, for health-conscious people who do not drink coffee but want to take in more phytochemicals and antioxidants, drinking coffee leaf tea in moderation is a convenient way to supplement.

Chlorogenic Tea has Less Caffeine than Coffee and Tea

Although coffee leaf tea has only gradually appeared in recent years, people have used the leaves of coffee trees to make tea-like beverages for hundreds of years, especially in major coffee-growing areas such as Sumatra, Ethiopia, Sudan, Jamaica, India, and Java. It just has different names in different places, like kawa daun, kuti, etc. It is traditionally believed to help cure or relieve symptoms such as colds, diarrhea, fever, anemia, and migraines.

The coffee leaves are obtained by picking them directly from the trees, or by regular pruning by farmers for the growth of coffee beans. After washing, kneading, and drying processes, the finished product looks like ordinary tea leaves. The color of the coffee leaf tea is amber light red, and tastes like black tea with a faint jasmine fragrance. The composition is similar to coffee, but the taste is less bitter than coffee and smoother.

For the comparison of caffeine content, if we take the green tea commonly consumed by people as an example, the caffeine content is at least 20mg per 100ml; complete oxidized black tea can reach more than 40mg. As for American coffee or latte, it is of course higher. For the coffee leaf tea, the caffeine content per 100ml is about 11mg or less.

With the emergence of coffee leaf tea, coffee leaves, fruits, and peels can be fully utilized, achieving circular economic benefits, and also expanding the connection between different industries lead to bring out the utilization of multiple types of food or products.

Compare with the regular coffee and tea, coffee leaf tea is richer in antioxidants and less caffeine. For those who must seek out low-caffeine alternatives for certain reasons, coffee-leaf teas may be a good choice.