Is CBD tea actually good for you or is it a waste of time?
We've now tried all of the most popular CBD tea brands in the UK, and our thoughts are....mixed. Some of them definitely taste great (and some of them definitely don't!), but we're not drinking these teas for the taste. We're drinking this tea because we want to benefit from the effects of CBD. And the question is, is CBD tea actually effective or is it a waste of time? The answer is complicated. Let's explain:
How is CBD tea absorbed by the body?
There is no point in consuming a CBD product if your body won't be able to use it effectively. Studies show that inhalation and sublingual transmission are the most effective methods of consumption by far because they make sure the CBD gets immediately into your bloodstream, but that's not to say that other methods are useless, they're just less effective. Because you drink CBD tea, it goes straight into your stomach, so the CBD is absorbed via the digestive tract, which typically takes longer and will likely result in feeling the effect less. In fact, a study showed that you'll only absorb about 20 to 30 percent of the CBD you consume if it has to be absorbed via the digestive tract.
So what does this mean for CBD tea? Well, it means that first of all your body is going to have a hard time absorbing the CBD within the tea. And secondly, you're going to need to consume high-strength CBD tea because you're probably only going to absorb 20-30% of the CBD within the tea. Sadly, most of the CBD tea that we consumed was very low-strength.
How did we feel when we consumed CBD tea?
So that's what the research says, but how did we feel when we drank CBD tea every day for a couple of weeks? Well, we have to admit that we really enjoyed it and definitely felt more chilled out when we drank a cup (or 2) in the evenings. But there are a few reasons why this might have been the case for us.
Firstly, we were consuming other types of CBD products every day alongside the tea, namely CBD oil and capsules. This would undoubtedly have impacted the impact of the tea because it would have been "topping up" the effects of the other products in the evenings. We could have stopped consuming other CBD products during this period but why on earth would we do that?!
Secondly, it could have been a placebo effect. Studies have shown that the placebo effect plays a very real part in the effectiveness of CBD, and we think it is heightened with CBD tea because of the warmth of the drink (which makes you feel all fuzzy) and the other ingredients that are often included in the tea such as chamomile and other herbs. It's hard to isolate the impact that the CBD is having.
Lastly, it's worth keeping in mind that we chose more expensive CBD tea than what most people might buy. The 'Tea Plus' from Vitabiotics (pictured) contains 3mg of bioavailable CBD per bag, and is a much better product than most CBD teas out there. So our experience was based on using products that most people might not by due to price.
the CBD tea from Vitabiotics is sold as having 3mg of bioavailable CBD in every bag
So - is it worth consuming CBD tea?
It feels a bit odd recommending CBD tea having just explained why it might be one of the most ineffective CBD products that you can consume, but if you're consuming other CBD products such as oils and capsules, then CBD tea could actually be a great addition to your evening routine. There are loads of brands out there making great CBD tea too, our favourites are Vitabiotics, Hope CBD and Hempura. Give it a shot and let us know what you think.
Our evening cup full of CBD tea won't be going anywhere
This article was published by the CBD Bible team. We publish hundreds of articles every month, feel free to explore our website for more reviews and CBD guides.
