Can You Add Milk To Green Tea? (Why You Shouldn’t)

Adding milk to coffee is common.

As is adding milk to black tea.

But can you add milk to green tea in the same way?

Of course, you can add milk to green tea. You can add milk to anything you want.

The real question is if it is a good idea.

And that is where things differ a lot from black tea or coffee.

Keep reading to learn why it is not a good idea to add milk to your green tea.

 

Can You Add Milk To Green Tea?

Yes, you can add milk to green tea. The real question is: should you? It is not something I recommend, for several different reasons. Number one for me is simply that it doesn’t taste good.

Unlike black tea, green tea generally has an earthy, vegetal flavor that does not lend itself to adding milk or cream. Yuk. But flavor is only one of the reasons adding milk to green tea is a bad idea. It actually reduces the health benefits of the tea.

 

Effects Of Milk On Green Tea

Quality green tea is one of the best natural drinks you can consume. It is said to improve brain function, help you lose fat, help against cancer, and lower the risk of heart disease, among many other things.

When you add milk to green tea, the proteins in the milk (which are meant for baby cows) inhibit the catechins in the tea which are responsible for many of the health benefits mentioned earlier. The fats bind to the special molecules in the tea and greatly reduce their effectiveness.

 

Is Drinking Milk In Green Tea Bad for You?

Although some say drinking green tea with milk is actually bad for you, the truth is that it is not any worse for you than drinking milk on its own. Sure, the effectiveness of the green tea is greatly diminished when you add milk, but some of the benefits remain.

And it doesn’t make it bad. But the truth is, drinking cow’s milk does not have any special benefit for the human body. Any nutrition it offers you could easily get elsewhere.

But the medical, pharmaceutical, and of course dairy establishments make a great deal of money saying milk is good for you. So that is what gets hammered into us from a young age.

 

How Milk Affects The Taste Of Green Tea

This is going to be subjective. A matter of opinion. I believe that green tea with milk in it is like drinking a crisp glass of iced tea with some gross rotten butter mixed in. It destroys the taste of the natural leaves and completely ruins the texture of a nice glass of green tea.

It is just not in good taste. You can still taste the green tea, but it is buried under the flavor of animal fat and the other flavors you get from cow’s milk.

All that being said, there is a case to be made for having a hot matcha latte with milk (or some other milk besides cow’s milk, if you prefer). Matcha is not the same as normal green tea.

One is ground up leaves actually in the water and one is water that is full of the good stuff seeped out of the leaves through a strainer (or tea bag). Matcha goes much better with the flavor of milk, although it goes even better with alternative milks, like almond. I still prefer matcha without any additive, however.

Or you could drink black tea with milk. That is the more traditional combination and there are many varieties on black milk with tea, like Hokkaido milk tea. What is Hokkaido milk tea? It is basically black tea with milk and a sweetener. It can be hot or cold.

Okinawa milk tea is another famous Japanese milk tea. It differs from the Hokkaido version i that it does not necessarily use Hokkaido milk, but it does use a special brown sugar that comes from Okinawa.

 

Alternatives To Putting Cow’s Milk In Green Tea

The best alternative is to just drink the green tea the way it is meant to be drunk: by itself in a cup.

However, if you insist on going against thousands of years of tradition and medical science, and you want to put milk in your green tea, here are some way better options than cow’s milk.

I have nothing against cow’s milk myself and prefer it on cereal, for example, but in green tea, these other types of milk simply work better.

 

Oat Milk

Oat milk is a thick oatmeal-like tasting milk that is made from whole oats. Many people believe it tastes much better than cow’s milk. It is certainly better for your body. It tastes much better in green tea too, but not as good as normal green tea with nothing in it.

 

Coconut Milk

I love coconut milk. It has just a small amount of sweetness and it tastes great in just about everything. It is better tasting in green tea than cow’s milk, by far, and adding a little honey will make it almost worth ruining the green tea for.

 

Soy Milk

This is the oldest and most well-known cow’s milk alternative, and it has a boring almost “no flavor” flavor. It is not something I would add to green tea, but if you do, it is better than cow’s milk.

 

Almond milk

I like almond milk best in matcha, but I’ve never tried it in green tea. I bet it is better than other alternatives though.

The big problem with almond milk, apart from the higher cost, is that it is massively inefficient milk. It is bad for the environment for many reasons, not the least of which is how much water almond trees take and how many almonds are needed for a gallon of almond milk.

It is also nutritiously horrendous. But it is better for you than cow’s milk and almost certainly tastes better in green tea.

 

Why It Is Better To Drink Green Tea Without Milk

Green tea on its own is a perfect food. It has numerous nutritional benefits, it tastes great, it is easy to grow, and does not destroy the land it is farmed on. What is not to love about green tea?

It is better to drink green tea without milk for a number of reasons.

• It tastes a hundred times better without milk
• The nutritional benefits of green tea without milk are far superior
• It is less hassle to drink green tea the normal way, without messing with milk or cream
• It is less expensive, since you don’t have to buy milk, especially given how expensive milk is becoming

 

Can Drinking Green Tea With Milk Make You Sick?

Drinking anything in excess can make you sick. Green tea with milk has nothing in it that is inherently more dangerous than drinking anything else with milk in it.

However, something about green tea and cow’s milk just seems to make me a bit nauseous. The fat and smell of the milk just sitting there in the green tea is off-putting. When I go to drink it and smell the hot cow’s milk, it just kills my appetite.

But it will not kill you. It could make you puke if you drink it, and the milk is spoiled, or if you really don’t like the taste and smell. If you drink ten cups in a row you will probably throw up and be quite jittery and bounce off the walls.

It is not going to make you seriously ill to drink a cup or two, but why on earth would you want to add cow’s milk, or any other milk, to a cup of perfect green tea?

 

Adding Milk To Green Tea: Final Thoughts

Ok, I know I’ve been pretty harsh on green tea with milk. Some people like it. And I personally don’t even like putting milk in my black tea or my coffee. I put it on cereal, and that’s it.

So I know  probably have stronger feelings against green tea with milk than most. But I do firmly believe that most people will prefer their green tea without milk. It just isn’t a great flavor combination.