Natural food stores and even major grocery chains are now offering bottled teas. While healthier than many beverage alternatives, bottled teas can be high in fluoride from pesticides and the use of fluoridated tap water for brewing.

Even an organic, Fair Trade tea in glass bottles, like Honest Tea, is pricey and contains sugar. Also, since they don’t specifically say their tea is brewed with pure water, we can probably assume they use regular tap water, most of which is chock full of toxins and not fit for human consumption.

And if you’re drinking green tea for its health benefits, according to Tod Cooperman, President and Founder of ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing laboratory that acts as a watchdog to the supplement and nutraceutical industries, bottled teas aren’t a good bargain.

The most potent health benefits in green and white tea lie in their antioxidant polyphenols, primarily a type of polyphenol called catechins. Most research has been done on a particularly powerful catechin called epigallocatechingallate (EGCG). Authorities recommend getting at least 200 mg of EGCG a day for proven health benefits. 

When Consumer Lab evaluated green teas of every description, they found that “To get 200 mg of EGCG from bottled teas, you would have to spend a lot more per serving than with tea leaves/tea bags. The least expensive was Harney & Sons Organic Green at $4.45. The most expensive by far was Snapple Diet Green Tea. To obtain 200 mg of EGCG, you would have to spend more than $70 and drink 28 16-ounce bottles.” Honest Tea contained 27.2 mg of EGCG per cup. At about $1 a cup, getting 200 mg of EGCG would run you over $7.

Consumer Labs noted that the amount of EGCG found in Honest Tea was only 63% of the amount listed on the label. It’s just a guess, but since we know that fluoride and other toxins in water knock out antioxidants, it’s very possible that Honest Tea started out with 100% of the EGCG listed on the label, but after it was brewed in tap water, 37% of its antioxidants were destroyed.

We know it’s one more thing to add to your busy life, but the best course is really to brew your own tea in purified waterand take it with you in stainless steel or glass bottles. Wait until the tea has cooled before pouring it into stainless steel to prevent leaching. Glass bottles are safe when it come to leaching chemicals, but will crack if the water is too hot.

Green tea is a wonderful addition to a healthy diet, and such a treat to drink. Especially when you know you’ve made the best and healthiest choice!