5 Best Morning Tea Selections for a Great Start!

Tea has been consumed and used for medicinal purposes for many centuries, and for good reason!

There is a wide selection of teas such as black, green, oolong, white, and herbal teas, not to mention all the different herbal tea blends you can make from different plant species.

But what is the best morning tea?

This all depends on what you are looking for! So join us as we rate the best morning tea for an energy boost, the best for weight loss, another for digestion, one that's perfect with milk, and even one without any caffeine content.

What is the Best Morning Tea

1. Teabox English Breakfast Black Tea – Best for an Energy Boost
   • Sweet and smoky taste
   • High in caffeine
   • Blend of Assam and Darjeeling black teas
     
     
2. Twinings of London Pure Rooibos Tea Bags – Best Caffeine Free
   • 100% pure rooibos
   • Hand-selected leaves
   • Caffeine free
     
     
3. Firebelly A Good Root  – Best for Digestion
   • Caffeine free
   • Blend of ginger, turmeric, and Galangal
   • Made in small lots
     
     
4. Tazo Zen Green Tea – Best for Weight Loss
   • Green tea with lemon and mint
   • Handpicked
   • Moderately caffeinated
     
     
5. Teabox Assam Masala Chai – Best with Milk
   • Made with all natural ingredients
   • Mix of cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, clove, and ginger
   • Medium amount of caffeine

1. Teabox English Breakfast Tea

Best for an Energy Boost

Our first pick is black tea because it’s a high caffeine tea, with 47mg of caffeine content.

If you’re drinking black tea as your morning beverage to cut back on your caffeine intake from your morning coffee be aware that you could have symptoms of caffeine withdrawal such as headaches. It’s not dangerous but not particularly nice. So, swapping your coffee for a substitute like black tea may help you avoid this.

The reason is tea contains L-Theanine which helps your body absorb the caffeine more gradually (1).

Black tea is one of the healthiest teas, after green teas. They are from the same tea plant after all. Black tea is packed with good things such as anti-oxidants and flavonoids which protect your immune system and work as an anti-inflammatory.

Black teas could also help to protect you from diseases such as dementia. A study showed that regularly drinking black tea was associated with a lower risk of developing a neurocognitive disorder (2).

Black tea can even be used on cuts or bruises to relieve pain and reduce swelling (3). Not to mention putting them on those bags under your eyes.

The Teabox English Breakfast Black Tea comes in tea bags. Although loose leaf is of higher quality, these teabags are convenient to quickly pop into your cup in the morning.

Teabox provides Pure Indian single estate leaves from the highest-grade tea. They boast of having no middlemen, so their tea is fresher. Which is better for getting the most benefits and flavor from your tea.

They source their tea from Assam and use a blend of Assam and Darjeeling in this particular black tea.

This blend has a mellow and sweet taste which gets stronger the further you get down the cup.

It is a deep red-brown and should be infused for up to four minutes. The longer you steep it, the stronger and the more bitter it will get.

This blend is high in caffeine which is why it makes a great tea for the morning if you’re trying to avoid coffee and just want a caffeine hit to feel alive.

Teabox English Breakfast Tea

Check Price on Teabox

2. Twinings of London Pure Rooibos Tea Bags

Best Caffeine Free

If you don’t need caffeine to function or you're quitting caffeine cold turkey, then you might want to try Rooibos for your morning cup of tea.

Roobios, also known as red tea, is from a South African herb that’s been fermented. A lot of fermented things are great for your health!

Rooibos tea is a great way to boost your antioxidants in the morning, giving you the best start to your day.

Like other teas, it contains flavonoids that may have cancer-fighting properties (4). Rooibos tea also may improve blood pressure, boost good cholesterol, and keep your hair and skin healthy.

And if like me, you find yourself sneezing through the summer because of pollen, you may want to try Rooibos tea instead of popping pills because it may help with allergies too (5).

Twinings of London are a popular brand of tea. Established in 1706 in England, they are now sold worldwide. Plus, Stephen Fry was in their adverts, so they must be good, right?!

Twinings hand selects their leaves which are the finest leaves cultivated by trusted growers around the world.

They don’t use any artificial ingredients in this tea, only 100% pure rooibos.

This box contains twenty tea bags, which again are convenient but tend to be lower in quality than loose tea leaves.

Their Roobios tea is free from caffeine, so if you want a warm beverage but are sensitive to caffeine, then this is perfect for you.

The Roobios tea is a copper red color and has an earthy taste. It should be steeped for up to four minutes to get the full flavor.

Twinings of London Pure Rooibos Tea

Check Price on Amazon

Check Price on Walmart

3. Firebelly A Good Root

Best for Digestion

Ginger is well known to be an aid for pregnant women suffering from morning sickness. It was the only thing that helped with my sickness when my gall bladder betrayed me and had to be removed.

A study found ginger helped reduce post-chemotherapy nausea in adults with cancer by 40% (6).

It’s not just great for nausea but for your digestion in general. Ginger contains compounds called gingerols and shogaols which help with nausea, cramping, gas, and indigestion (7).

It may be good for other health issues other than digestive ones, for instance, it may help relieve joint pain (8).

This ginger tea also contains turmeric which is also a great anti-inflammatory and may help with abdominal pain and people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (9).

Firebelly promises a small lot, of rare teas. A small lot is usually better because it means they are fresher.

They use sustainable packaging with 100% compostable resealable bags and recyclable display boxes. Their loose leaf tea has less packaging than tea sachets (I’m not sure that makes much of a difference though).

Resealable bags are convenient to keep your tea fresh, although if you’re a tea connoisseur then you’ll probably have a container for your teas anyway.

"A Good Root" tea uses all natural ingredients, and the blend has organic ginger, turmeric, and Galangal to create a harmonious balance in flavors.

The ingredients all complement each other well. Ginger and turmeric are both anti-inflammatories and both have a spiciness. Galangal root is full of antioxidants and is a spice closely related to ginger and turmeric.

The end result is a spicy and warming tea that is a little sweet but can get bitter towards the end. It has a beautiful color like liquid gold which can be used in both hot or iced drinks.

This blend is caffeine free, so it’s also a good morning tea if you want to avoid caffeine.

It is best if you use below boiling water, around 195 degrees Fahrenheit, so you don’t damage the leaves which can affect the flavor and the benefits.

Firebelly A Good Root

Check Price on Firebelly Tea

4. Tazo Zen Green Tea

Best for Weight Loss

Brewed green tea is amongst the healthiest of all teas, although Matcha tea, a type of green tea, contains even more antioxidants than regular green tea.

Green tea has a lot of the same benefits as black tea, except it has less caffeine.

Green tea contains flavonoids that may help with your heart health, may lower bad cholesterol and blood pressure and may reduce blood clotting (10).

Like a lot of teas, it’s also anti-inflammatory which helps to keep your skin clear.

Green tea also contains antioxidants called catechins which help prevent cell damage and may help in preventing cancer. One in particular called epigallocatechin-3-gallage, or EGCG, may help with type 2 diabetes (11) and may break up dangerous plaques in your blood vessels (12).

Studies have found that drinking six or more cups of green tea or organic green tea per day may give you a 33% reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And drinking two to three cups of green tea a day could lower your risk of stroke by 14% (13).

And if you’re watching your weight, drinking green tea is even good for weight loss.

Tazo promises a ‘true moment of zen’ with their green tea. Tazo is non-GMO verified and Kosher certified. They handpick their tea leaves from communities around the world, however, they don’t specify what grade their tea is.

This pack of twenty tea bags is an unsweetened blend of green tea leaves with lemon verbena, lemongrass, spearmint, and mint.

Green tea by itself is earthy and subtle and doesn't have a very strong flavor. The lemon and mint pair well with it to give it a bit of a kick.

Lemon and mint also have lots of great health benefits like green tea which make this blend extra healthy and delicious.

After brewing for around five minutes, this tea has a light green color and a fresh aroma. It’s moderately caffeinated, although they don’t state what amount that is.

Tazo Zen Green Tea

Check Price on Amazon

Check Price on Walmart

5. Teabox Assam Masala Chai

Best with Milk

Masala Chai tea, like other teas, contains a lot of healthy stuff.

The addition of cinnamon and ginger, both packed with health benefits, add to this delicious drink.

Cinnamon works as an antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory, and has antimicrobial properties (14).

Its antimicrobial action may be what helps to improve fungal infections. It may also be good at reducing blood sugar levels and preventing diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

An extract called CEppt in cinnamon bark showed positive signs in studies to help decrease amyloid plaques, a feature of Alzheimer’s (14).

The origin of masala chai isn’t known but tea became popular in India when the British were there. Somewhere along the line milk and sugar were added to the tea which made it ‘chai’. Over the years, spices were added to it to make it a masala chai.

Another Teabox tea rounds up this list of the best morning teas.

Teabox boasts fresh teas with all-natural ingredients. They source their tea leaves from tea gardens in Assam and Dooars.

They have several chai teas including a couple of different Masala Chai blends which you can experiment with.

The Teabox Assam Masala Chai is mixed with cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, clove, and ginger.

Cinnamon and ginger have many great health benefits and provide a warming tea that smells like Christmas. The pepper, cardamon, and clove, give the tea a kick which is probably what you need in the morning.

Teabox recommends using 150ml of filtered water and warming it to 194 to 203 degrees Fahrenheit. To get the full flavor, infuse the tea leaves for up to five minutes.

This blend has a bold flavor with a sweet scent and a deep orange-red hue.

This tea like many chai teas pairs well with milk and sugar.

There are several tin sizes available for you to choose from.

Teabox Assam Masala Chai

Check Price on Teabox

What are the Benefits of a Morning Tea?

Tea has been used for centuries because of its health properties, but also for its great taste and variety of flavors.

Tea is quite diverse and the possibilities are quite endless!

Most teas have anti-inflammatory properties, support your immune system, and may even decrease the risk of certain cancers.

Lots of teas have antioxidants that reduce free radicals. Free radicals bounce around our body which can cause cell damage and chronic diseases.

There are also Polyphenols in tea, which are a type of antioxidant (the one that may help prevent cancers) (15).

Polyphenols include catechins, theaflavins, and thearubigins. While these very technical words may not mean much, they may help decrease your risk of diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol, and help with blood sugar levels (15).

Tea also contains flavonoids which help to keep your heart healthy by reducing heart disease (16).

A study even found that for every cup of tea you drink, it lowers your risk of death from heart disease by 4% (17).

As if we needed a reason to drink tea anyway...

Tea also contains L-theanine which helps relax you and give you better focus. It may also be why you don’t get the jitters associated with coffee because it slows down how quickly the body absorbs caffeine.

Caffeinated Teas vs Decaffeinated Teas

For a lot of us, it’s the caffeine in our morning beverages that we’re craving. That kick in a cup is sometimes the only thing that can wake us up in the morning.

Caffeine acts as a stimulant because of its effect on our central nervous system. Caffeine increases energy metabolism in our brain and decreases cerebral blood flow at the same time (18). It also impacts the release of dopamine (the feel-good chemical).

All this makes us more alert, temporarily relieves fatigue, and enhances our mood. It also has been linked to possibly lowering the risk of oral and throat cancers.

No wonder it’s the most widely consumed stimulant in the world with 80% of U.S. adults consuming caffeine every day (19, 20).

The caffeine in coffee and tea act differently though. In tea, caffeine is combined with L-theanine to give a more stable energy release (i.e. no jitters). You will usually experience the effects of taking caffeine within five to thirty minutes and it can last for up to 12 hours (20).

While there are lots of benefits of caffeine, some people are more sensitive to its effects than others.

The FDA says you shouldn’t have more than 400mg of caffeine a day, which is the equivalent of four cups of coffee and six cups of black tea.

If you do drink more caffeine than you should, you could experience headaches, dizziness, or anxiety (20). It can also cause heartburn due to its acidity, increase blood pressure, and may increase your risk of osteoporosis because it prevents the absorption of calcium into your bones.

It may not be good for anyone with certain health conditions such as heart conditions or if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. So when in doubt, always consult your doctor!

If you try to stop using caffeine, you may suffer withdrawal symptoms which is why you may want to switch to a high caffeine tea, then tea that’s lower in caffeine and gradually lower your intake.

So, what about decaffeinated teas then?

If a tea says it’s decaffeinated, then it's actually not a caffeine free tea! For example, they may have 2 – 15 mg in an average 9-ounce cup (21).

If you want to completely avoid caffeine, then try a tea that is labeled as caffeine-free or herbal tea.

When is the Best Time to Drink Tea

In the morning or after meals is a good time (22). First thing in the morning, you are low in energy, not quite awake and a cup of tea can give you that caffeine kick you need.

It’s also nice to have a ritual of making your tea, then sitting down to drink it, giving you time to come around and ease you into the day.

Of course, if you’re a tea-lover, then the best time to drink tea is any time.

Loose Tea Leaves or Tea Bags?

Loose leaf tea is better to use because the leaves have not been crushed, which damages the oils in the tea leaves. This means you may not get as many benefits or flavors as you would from loose leaf.

Make sure you use a proper tea infuser for the best brew! And if you don't own one, then you can try straining the tea without it.

Tea bags are convenient and if you’re in a rush in the morning, they may be the quickest way to enjoy your tea.

You can always bring a cup with a built-in diffuser with you to work so you can still enjoy loose leaf tea.

Loose leaf tea also circulates better which evenly distributes its properties through the water.

Loose leaf is often handpicked instead of machine picked like tea bags which leads to a fresher taste, however, there are plenty of high-quality tea bags out there.

It’s best to experiment and see which one you prefer!

Frequently Asked Questions

Bottom Line

Tea is a great morning drink, not only because it smells and tastes good, but because it can give you a boost of energy when you need it the most.

Drinking tea is also a lovely morning routine. Nothing beats having a hot cup of tea to relax you before you go about your day.

All tea is packed full of health benefits which means you can enjoy it even more.

Tea is such a versatile drink. Whether it's black tea, green tea, or herbal tea, they all have a unique taste. You don't have to stick to one tea, but try all of them to see which one you prefer.

This is why we wanted to provide a wide variety of the best morning tea selections on this list!