Tea v/s Infusion: What Is The Difference?

Whenever we hear the word “tea” or “chai”, we know we are about to get pushed into the cup of refreshment. It is commonly consumed in every household in India as a hot beverage for years now. Many of the people have less knowledge about the benefits of tea and it is mainly consumed for refreshment. Tea is a rich source of antioxidant, and vitamin C. Vitamin C helps keep the bones and teeth strong by protecting them. It also boosts the immune system. If one wants to maintain weight or is about to do weight loss, it becomes an important part of their diet plan as it helps in losing fats and detoxification. It is a good stimulant and at the same time, it is not that harmful as it contains lesser caffeine than coffee. LDL cholesterol is the main culprit of many heart problems, but with daily tea consumption, it can be lowered.

When we drink tea normally, as a refreshment we may not consume all the important nutrients. Flavonoids are one of the few nutrients which tea extracts, which work as an antioxidant. Flavonoids and Alkaloids in it can only be extracted through water or alcohol. As mentioned before, regular tea we drink extracts less of the nutrients because of the short steeping time, to tackle this problem, the solution came in the face of tea infusion. Infusion is different than our regular one, it has much more nutrients and vitamins. They are made with 30-50 gm of herbal tea or tea leaves and 2 cups of water. It is soaked in hot water for 3 hours to 5 hours in an air-tight container or bottles. The longer steeping time extracts most of the flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals from the tea, resulting in a container full of important minerals and vitamins. These important nutrients are easily absorbed by our body. The infusion can be consumed 2 to 4 times a day, as it contains only 4 calories per cup.

Nutrients in our regular tea and an infusion, when consumed are totally same, but there is a huge difference in their quantity of nutrients. For example, a normal tea has 5-10 mg. of calcium, but an infusion has 500 mg. of calcium. Teas and infusions are daily ways of nourishing and healing our body. But Infusion Tea is far superior and a better way to nourish. It can also be flavoured with different flavoured herbal teas or another add-on. Both contribute important nutrients to our body, and whoever consumes any of it, does justice to their body.

Recipe for Infusion:

• Use 30 gm of dried tea or 50 gm of fresh herb tea and steep in 2 cups of hot water. One can even use flavoured tea or along with it, add other natural ingredients which go with the tea.
• Place this mixture in a container with a lid on.
• Let it steep for minimum 3 hours. (Best time to steep is at night when you are going to sleep so that your morning starts with a healthy drink)
• Strain the infusion.
• Consume whenever you want to. (It can be stored in a refrigerator for 36 hours)