Some people say that the soup of Pu-erh tea taken overnight is cloudy, which is not only unpalatable, but also harmful to the body. What’s more, people think that drinking Pu’er tea overnight will cause cancer.
Is the truth really like this? Aiming at these common problems, I will take you to re-understand overnight Pu’er tea.
1. Why is the Pu’er soup cloudy overnight?
The reason for the phenomenon of “cloudy soup color” is that the tea polyphenols in the tea soup have been in contact with the air for a long time. After oxidation, more tea pigment is produced, and the soup will appear cloudy.
In fact, these tea pigments produced by natural oxidation are not only harmless to the body, but also help the body’s antioxidant capacity and enhance our physical fitness.
2. Is the overnight Pu’er tea really bad to drink?
In response to this issue, CCTV’s “Is it true” column team has already refuted the rumors.
The program invited senior national tea tasters to evaluate and appraise Pu’er overnight. The results showed that the flavor and taste of the overnight Pu-erh tea were not affected even though it had been simmered for a long time.
3. Does overnight tea really cause cancer?
Most of the source of this statement comes from a scientific study in 2013. The results show that the nitrite content of Pu’er tea after standing for a long time is 2.5 times that of when it was just brewed.
Therefore, there are rumors that: “Because nitrite can cause cancer, and overnight tea will double the nitrite content, so overnight tea can also cause cancer.” But rumors often like to mix truth and falsehood, and take them out of context.
In fact, the complete result is: the nitrite content of Pu’er tea after standing for a long time is 2.5 times that of the freshly brewed tea. It reached 0.251 micrograms per milliliter, nearly three times farther than the national standard.
Therefore, as long as overnight Pu’er tea is stored in a suitable environment, there is no need to worry about causing cancer.
4. How to store the brewed tea?
Regarding this issue, tea lovers only need to pay attention to the following three points when storing.
First of all, we should try our best to separate the tea leaves from the water, so as not to damage the structure of the tea leaves themselves due to excessive transformation over a long period of time.
Secondly, it should be stored as airtight as possible. A small amount of air can oxidize tea pigment. However, if exposed to air in large quantities, it is also easily invaded by harmful bacteria in the air.
Finally, the temperature of the storage environment should not exceed 26°C, so as not to cause the tea to deteriorate due to excessive oxidation.
Although under proper storage conditions, overnight tea will not be harmful to our body. But compared to freshly brewed tea, the vitamin content is much less.
Therefore, after we re-acquainted with overnight tea. Do not listen to rumors, and it is not recommended to drink Pu-erh tea overnight.
Reference material: “Analysis of Changes in Main Components and Drinking Safety of Pu-erh Tea Infusion During Storage“
