Chia Seeds: Benefits, Taste, Caffeine, and How to Steep Them
A spoonful of chia turns any cup of tea into a nutrient-rich, bubble-tea-like drink. Naturally caffeine-free, mild and nutty, and ready in five minutes.
Meet the ingredient
What are Chia Seeds ?
Chia seeds are the tiny black and white seeds of Salvia hispanica, a flowering plant in the mint family that grows wild from central Mexico to Guatemala. They were a staple food of the Aztecs, and today they are best known for a small trick: drop them in liquid and within minutes each seed wraps itself in a clear gel, swelling to many times its size. That gel is why chia seeds work so well in tea.
Chia seeds in tea are steeped the same way as any loose leaf: a spoonful in an infuser or tea bag, hot water over the top, and a few minutes to brew. The seeds swell and gel inside the bag while the water takes on a light, clean, faintly nutty flavor and a slightly silkier body. Chia contains no caffeine, so it suits any brew from a morning green tea to a bedtime herbal.
One quick clarification, because the names trip people up: chia is not chai. Chai is a spiced black tea from India. Chia is a seed from Central America. The two have nothing in common except a mug.
- OriginMexico & Guatemala
- FlavorMild & Nutty
- CaffeineNone
Botanical origins
The Chia family tree
Chia belongs to the Lamiaceae family, the mint family, which makes it a cousin of sage, rosemary, peppermint and lavender. In fact chia is a sage: its genus is Salvia, the same as the culinary herb. The plant is an annual that grows to about three feet, with square stems, toothed leaves and spikes of small purple or white flowers. Each flower head ripens into dozens of speckled seeds about a millimeter across.
The species name hispanica is a mistake that stuck. Linnaeus named the plant in 1753 from specimens he believed came from Spain, when it is native to Mexico and Guatemala. The seeds owe their gelling to a coat of soluble fiber called mucilage, which soaks up ten to twelve times its weight in water. Chia is now farmed in Mexico, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Australia, and it needs a frost-free climate and short days to set seed.
Health benefits
Chia seed tea benefits
Is tea with chia seeds good for you? Chia is one of the most nutrient-dense seeds there is, and steeping draws its soluble fiber and antioxidants into the cup.
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Chia seeds are one of the richest plant sources of alpha-linolenic acid, the plant form of omega-3, with around five grams in an ounce. Omega-3s are the fats linked to heart and brain health and to lower inflammation, and chia is one of the simplest ways to add them to a plant-based diet.
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An ounce of chia seeds carries roughly ten grams of fiber, most of it the soluble kind that gels when wet. That gel is what gives chia seed tea its silky body, and in the diet it slows digestion, keeps you feeling full and supports regularity, which is why chia is the classic seed for digestive comfort.
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Chia offers four to five grams of protein per ounce with all nine essential amino acids, which is unusual for a plant. It is a small but genuine boost for anyone eating mostly plants, and part of why chia earned its superfood reputation.
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Chia seeds are rich in antioxidants including chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, quercetin and kaempferol. These compounds help the body manage oxidative stress and are the reason chia seeds keep for so long without going rancid, despite all that oil.
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An ounce of chia seeds provides about eighteen percent of a day's calcium, along with magnesium and phosphorus, the minerals that build and maintain bone. That makes chia a useful seed for anyone who skips dairy.
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Because each seed holds many times its weight in liquid, chia releases water slowly as it digests. Tarahumara runners have used chia water this way for generations, and the same gel is what makes a cup of chia seed tea feel so smooth.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
History
History of Chia
The history of chia begins in pre-Columbian Mexico, where it was one of the four pillars of the Aztec diet alongside corn, beans and amaranth. Aztec provinces paid tribute to Tenochtitlan in chia, warriors and messengers carried it as a compact source of energy, and the seeds were ground into flour, pressed for oil and stirred into water. The name comes from the Nahuatl word chian, meaning oily. To the north, the Tarahumara people of the Sierra Madre still drink iskiate, chia seeds stirred into water with lime and a little sweetener, on their long runs.
Because chia was tied to Aztec religious ceremonies, the Spanish suppressed its cultivation after the conquest and it survived only in scattered highland villages. It stayed there for four centuries. A revival began in the 1990s when growers in Argentina and later Australia planted it commercially, and within two decades chia had gone from a regional curiosity to a supermarket staple and, steeped in a tea bag, a gentle herbal tea of its own.
- Herbal tea Caffeine free
- White tea Low caffeine
- Green tea Low caffeine
- Black tea Medium caffeine
- Matcha High caffeine
Levels are typical; steep time and leaf amount change them.
Caffeine
Do chia seeds have caffeine?
No. Chia seeds are naturally caffeine-free. They are a seed, not a tea leaf, and they contain no stimulants at all, so steeping them never changes a cup's caffeine content.
Taste
What do chia seeds taste like in tea?
Chia seed tea tastes light and clean with a faint nuttiness and almost no bitterness. What you notice most is the body: the soluble fiber the seeds release while they steep gives the cup a slightly silkier, rounder feel than plain water. On its own it is a gentle, nearly neutral brew, which is exactly why it blends so well. Steep a bag of chia alongside green, black or herbal tea and the tea's own flavor comes through untouched, with a smoother finish. Hot tea with chia seeds is an easy habit rather than a bold new flavor.
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Making the tea
How to make chia seed tea
Heat
Bring fresh, filtered water to a boil.
- Heat
- Measure
- Steep
- Remove
- Enjoy
Where to buy
Where can I buy Organic Chia Seeds ?
You can find Organic Chia Seeds on our website! We are USDA certified organic, and our products are vegan and free of GMOs. Try them out today!
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