Abstract
Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and is recognized as having numerous beneficial health effects due to its phenolic content. The current study aimed to evaluate and compare the phenolic and flavonoid content of two forms of Twining English Breakfast Tea: tea bags (TBs) and opened tea bags (OTBs). The antioxidant activity was also assessed using DPPH, FRAP, and CUPRAC assays. The results obtained revealed that the OTB infusion exhibited significantly higher phenolic and flavonoid content than the TB infusion at 5 and 10 minutes. The OTB infusion also significantly showed higher iron and cupper reducing powers than the TB infusion at the same time points. However, both samples demonstrated the same scavenging activity across all infusion times. These results suggest that the tea bags used with Twinings English Breakfast Tea may affect the phenolic and flavonoid content released by the tea and subsequently influence the antioxidant ability of the tea as a reducing agent.