Is tea alkaline or acidic?

It is rare to hear that tea is a weakly alkaline food, but some people have used test strips and found that most of them are acidic. Therefore, there is always different controversies on whether tea is acidic or alkaline. In fact, in addition to identification, you can also learn about the essence of tea, what it contains and what the difference is after brewing?

Is tea acidic or alkaline?

pH value is the common name for the hydrogen ion concentration index, ranging from 0-14, with 7 being the middle value and being neutral. When the pH value is less than 7, it is acidic, and the smaller the value, the stronger the acidity; when the pH value is greater than 7, it is alkaline, and the larger the value, the stronger the alkalinity. However, the pH value of most of our tea leaves after brewing is less than 7.

The reason why the pH value of tea is less than 7 after brewing is mainly related to the large amount of organic matter in tea, which mainly includes the following organic substances: tea polyphenols, bioalkali, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, amino acid, organic acid, pigment, aroma component, vitamin, saponin, etc. The intake of these substances has certain antioxidant, free radical scavenging, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer and anti-mutation effects on the human body, and also has certain effects in lowering blood lipids and blood pressure.

According to authoritative scientific experiments, the acidity and alkalinity of different teas are different: green tea is alkaline, black tea is the strongest acid, and the acidity of oolong tea and Pu'er tea is in between. However, numerically speaking, the tea soup of most teas after brewing is acidic, which is closely related to the tenderness of the fresh leaves picked and the processing method.

In fact, the acidity and alkalinity of food are mainly distinguished according to the metabolites produced in the human body after the food is digested, absorbed, and metabolized: foods whose metabolites are cations such as potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium are alkaline foods, and foods whose metabolites are anions such as sulfur and chlorine are acidic foods, which have nothing to do with the pH value of the food itself. Therefore, the pH value of most teas is acidic, but for tea drinkers it is an alkaline food.

Tea acidity and alkalinity

Will it affect the body's acid-base balance?

The acid-base balance of the human body is maintained between 7.35 and 7.45, and the acid-base balance of the human body is maintained by a series of ions in the cell fluid inside and outside the body. This is a dynamic balance process. The most important ion pair for maintaining the acid-base balance of the human body is carbonate ion and bicarbonate ion, and this pair of ions is not affected by the food consumed.

If tea leaves are burned into ashes, the inorganic matter in the ash is about 6%; potassium accounts for about 50%, phosphoric acid accounts for about 15%, and manganese, iodine, sodium, iron, magnesium, lime, soda, etc. account for about 35%; according to the latest research data, aged tea is more beneficial to the body. If the same amount of old tea (about 20 years) is used to brew, its protein content is as high as about 20%, and aminobutyric acid is about 28%. 50ML of tea contains about 60%mg of potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, manganese, iodine and other substances, which is about half higher than that of new tea. About 70% of its substances are soluble in water, so it makes sense that Pu'er tea, Hunan black tea and aged tea have better medical effects.