Does anyone have small children that drink tea? I drink several cups of tea a day and I am trying to get my 5 year old to drink tea. It seems many herbal teas are safe for children and may have some health benefits.
I wouldn't give a child any tea with caffeine. Some tisanes that children have drunk include peppermint, ginger, chamomile, hibiscus. Maybe check with a doctor to make sure it's okay? Toci
Check with a doctor by all means but, from my casual observation in the USA and elsewhere around the world, children are exposed long before the age of five to massive and frequent imbibition of highly caffeinated and super caloric cola drinks. Substitution with moderately caffeinated tea would certainly be a move in the right direction, I believe. Tea, including its caffeine, has GRAS status based on 5,000 years of drinking history, and I had no qualms in introducing it, reasonably diluted, to my children from an early age.
Nigel at Teacraft
The children of my best friend (3 and 5 years) drink "normal" tea a few times a week and seem entirely happy with it. But if the caffeine content concerns you you might want to start out with teas that naturally contain a lower amount of caffeine, such as Kukicha and Houjicha, and to some extent, white tea, oolong and Genmaicha.
White tea? Uh oh... *ducks*
What Nigel has written, can be read as the bottom line. ... Tea, including its caffeine, has GRAS status based on 5,000 years of drinking history....... On the Tea estates, workers drink more of Tea than normal water. They even wash their muddy feet and hands with Tea water, which is provided to them in 2000 Ltr. tanks. Beleive me, it keeps their skin healthy and free from dermatological diorders. Tea is safer than normal water. After all, what better way to sterilize water than to boil it? In Tibet, China, Japan and many parts of Russia too the major fluid intake of a person during the day is that of Tea, and not normal water. There are no medical indications either which suggest Tea Drinking to be harmful at any age. In fact, one of the greatest advantages of drinking tea is that ... It does you no harm! So, go right ahead, and Tea Cheers! Jayesh S Pandya.
I highly recommend starting on a rooibos south african herbal tea. The health benefits are very good for children as I have read many positive reports on it,as well it carries no caffene which is fantastic for hyper active children. It is available in many fun flavors to and can be served hot or iced. It is a good starting point to get children over to tea later . There is no astringency experience with the drink Maurice Tea junctionq
We have a "tea" which is acually a 100% dried fruit mixture. Steeped just like tea (use almost boiling water for about 4 minutes) and you end up with a healthy fruit tea which children should like. I have not yet tried a second steeping, but I would think that should work fine.
Richard
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