Guide: The 23 Best Teas for Weight Loss
Have you tried numerous weight loss plans? Have you lost some weight but reached a plateau and need a jumpstart to your plan?
You’re not alone; many of us have dealt with the frustration of trying to lose weight.
Drinking tea has been shown to aid weight loss, helping you to break through a plateau or speed your progress.
There’s no magic pill here, but when combined with diet and exercise, drinking tea can help speed your weight loss. We’ve compiled a list of the best types of tea for weight loss, with 23 different teas for you to try.
Quick Tea Guide
Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus tea isn’t actually even tea, because it comes from the hibiscus plant, not the leaf of the tea plant. But, like many other herbal style teas, known also as tisanes, it tastes great and has potent benefits.
Hibiscus tea is known for helping to reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol as well as stimulating your metabolism. It has also been shown to block the absorption of starch and sugar.
Hibiscus tea has a bit of a sour taste, similar to that of cranberries. You can learn more about the benefits of drinking Hibiscus Tea at Organic Facts.
Star Anise Tea
Star Anise Tea is another tisane. Star Anise is the spice that creates licorice, so it has a unique scent and flavor.
This tea can be great when you’re starting a diet program, because it helps to reduce bloat. Ridding yourself of belly bloat early in a diet plan can give you significant motivation to keep moving forward, because you drop a few pounds quickly, feel better and look better.
Pukka Star Anise Tea has cinnamon, as well. Cinnamon and anise make a great flavor combination, and the cinnamon has a warming affect on your body, which is said to stimulate metabolism.
This tea may be one of your favorites for winter sipping. You can learn more about the many health benefits of star anise on the Healthy Eating page of San Francisco Gate.
Mint Tea
In some cases, mint tea simply refers to green or black tea flavored with mint. However, peppermint is often used alone for making herbal tea.
Peppermint tea is made from peppermint leaves. It’s naturally sweet, and, of course, minty, so it can help your weight loss plan by helping you skip dessert and calming cravings for sweets.
In addition, peppermint has been shown to be an appetite suppressant, so sipping it throughout the day may help you to eat less overall. One of my favorites is Taylor’s of Harrogate Peppermint Tea.
Organic Authority has some great information about all the benefits of Peppermint Tea.
Bilberry Tea
Bilberries are from the same family as blueberries, so these are filled with anti-oxidants and vitamins. Bilberries are often used for jams, but make a delicious, slightly sour tea, as well.
Bilberry tea has been shown to suppress your appetite, particularly when consumed just before a meal. Experts recommend having a cup about half an hour before dinner to help you eat less.
One caution about bilberry tea is its sour taste. If you find that you have to add sugar to tolerate it, you’re best to skip it altogether, since the sugar will outweigh any benefit of drinking the tea.
You can learn more about bilberries from Herb Wisdom. Buddha Tea’s Bilberry Tea is one of the most flavorful I’ve tried.
White Tea
White tea is one of my favorites because it has such a delicate flavor. It comes from the traditional tealeaf, just like green tea and black tea.
White tea refers to tea that has not been fermented, and that is only lightly processed.
Some white teas are made from only from the bud of the tea plant. These are referred to as Silver Needle Teas.
White Peony teas are made from both the buds and the leaves. Learn more about both kinds at Tea Talk.
Because of its lack of processing, white tea contains nearly three times the antioxidants of other tea to help you burn fat faster and inhibit the growth of new fat cells. Two of my favorite white teas are Republic of Tea White Tea and Harney and Son’s Chinese Silver Needle.
Pu-Erh Tea
Pu-Erh Tea is produced only in the Yunnan Province of China. It is made from the same tealeaf as black, green and white teas, but is processed differently.
Pu-Erh Tea is created by first drying the leaves, and then fermenting these slowly for a long period of time. The process encourages the growth of microbes.
You can purchase Pu-Erh at various stages of the fermentation process. Younger tea has a bit of a bitter taste, while mature tea tastes somewhat like mushrooms, with a very earthy quality.
Serious Eats has a great article on how Pu-Erh is processed. As far as your diet goes, Pu-Erh is beneficial because it is said to keep your metabolism revved all day.
Two of the most delicious are Uncle Lee’s Pu-Erh Tea and Teavana’s Yunnan Golden Tea. This is a tea that I recommend tasting before buying, as some people find the taste off putting.
Rooibos Tea
Rooibos Tea originated in South Africa. It is made from the leaves of the Rooibos, or Red Bush, plant. Two of my favorites include Teavana’s Tropica Rooibos and Harney & Son’s Rooibos.
Rooibos is a sweet red tea that packs an anti-oxidant punch. It contains a flavonoid called Aspalathin that reduces stress hormones linked to excess hunger, lack of sleep and insulin resistance.
Rooibos is refreshing, and has a slightly nutty flavor. You can learn more about Rooibos at Eat This, Not That.
Bamboo Tea
Bamboo Tea is made from bamboo leaves. The flavor is light and slightly vegetal.
Bamboo Tea is beneficial because it contains a significant amount of fiber. The fiber keeps you full and helps to balance blood sugar.
Bamboo Tea is not as readily available as some other types, but Harney & Sons Bamboo Tea is delicious and easy to order online. Learn more about the benefits of bamboo tea from The Luxury Spot.
Ginger Tea
Ginger is one of nature’s most powerful roots. It has a flavor that is easily made sweet, but that can be extremely spicy, too.
Ginger tea speeds up the metabolism and helps keep your digestive system moving. It fights nausea beautifully, too. I drank it every morning for two months when I was pregnant!
Many ginger teas include lemon because lemon helps to fight fluid retention and removes toxins from the body. These two are a powerful weight loss combination.
My favorite lemon ginger tea comes from Twinings. Learn more about the benefits of ginger lemon tea at Veg Kitchen.
Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate actually comes from the South American rainforest holly tree. It is naturally caffeinated so it stimulates the metabolism, and it staves off hunger. It also contains 24 vitamins and minerals, and 15 amino acids.
Yerba Mate is the most widely consumed beverage in much of South America, where it is six times more popular than coffee. One of the best available is Guyaki Brand.
You can learn more about Yerba Mate from Be Brain Fit.
Black Tea
Black tea is the most common type of tea consumed in Europe and North America. Black tea has been fermented until the leaves fully oxidize, which is why the leaves turn black in color.
Black tea can help speed the metabolism to aid in weight loss. Like other teas, it is also filled with antioxidants.
Two of my favorite black teas are Earl Grey and Darjeeling. Earl Grey is flavored with Bergamot orange, giving it a wonderful subtle flavor of citrus and spice.
Darjeeling is made from tealeaves grown only in a small region of India. It is a delicate, woodsy tea. Both are available from Twinings.
Another favorite is In Pursuit of Tea’s Ceylon Breakfast Tea, made from leaves grown in Sri Lanka. Lifehack has a great article explaining even more benefits of drinking black tea.
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea is a traditional tea from the tea plant. These leaves are fermented for a shorter period of time than black tea.
In addition to containing caffeine, which we know boosts the metabolism; tea contains an antioxidant called EGCG that also affects the ability to burn fat. For this reason, tea is more beneficial to weight loss than other caffeinated beverages.
Tea’s fermentation process alters the strength of the EGCG, which is why less fermented teas tend to promote weight loss better than those fermented longer.
You can learn more about how tea processing differs at Tea Etc. Two of my favorite Oolong teas include Wood Dragon from In Pursuit of Tea and Twining’s China Oolong.
Green Tea
Green tea is steamed and only slightly fermented, so it retains much of its EGCG, increasing its fat burning properties. World of Tea does a great job of explaining green tea processing in more detail.
Green tea is the most widely consumed beverage in Japan and in much of China, and has a slightly grassy flavor. The People’s Green Tea from Republic of Tea is a good basic one to try, if you’re new to green tea.
If the grassy flavor doesn’t appeal to you, keep trying different brands and blends, as some are stronger than others.
Another way to avoid the grassy flavor is to drink a flavored green tea, like Blueberry or Honey Ginseng tea, which are also available from Republic of Tea.
Matcha
Matcha is green tea on steroids, which is why I think it’s the best tea for helping you lose weight. Until recently, few people outside Asia consumed matcha.
The difference between matcha and green tea is that matcha is ground up and dissolved in water, whereas traditional tea making involves steeping the leaves in the water and then removing them.
One cup of matcha is the nutritional equivalent of ten cups of regular green tea. Matcha Source has all the scoop on this potent beverage.
Matcha is an acquired taste. Try adding milk, or even adding dissolving it in warm water and then adding it to a smoothie.
My favorite matcha comes from Full Leaf Tea Company.
There are so many great teas for weight loss available that I had trouble narrowing down the list to just 23! Try these and let me know what you think of them, as well as telling me which teas are your favorite!
