Green Tea

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allison0820
allison0820 Posts: 325 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So, I'm trying to drink Green Tea daily... due to all the health benefits that I have read about!!! Really excited about trying it... Only one problem.... Ummm I don't like tea at all.... I bought some Lipton Mandarin Orange Flavored Green Tea and ummm I really don't like it... I drank it anyway, but it just tastes like bad water..... Can anyone enlighten me to what I can do to help with the taste and still reap the benefits... What flavors are best... How long am I supposed to let the bag "brew" I did 2 mins like the box said and it tasted like dirty water with a little orange in it.... Any help would be appreciated as I REALLY REALLY want to do this and try to get up to 3 cups of it a day..... Thanks!!
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Replies

  • teena82
    teena82 Posts: 25 Member
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    I love tea.... But Yogi slimming green tea with blueberry is delicious ...it has a bit of a zing or citrusy flavor to it. Don't squeeze the tea bag into your cup when done can give it a bitter taste as well as letting it sit too long.
  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    Various studies have shown that to get the full benefits from green tea the average person needs to consume between 4 and 6 cups of it daily that have been steeped for 4-6 mins.

    If you don't like it why drink it? There are green tea suppliments out there that will give the same benefits.
  • jenna715
    jenna715 Posts: 201
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    try squeezing some lemon juice in it, or a little bit of some other powerful juice. Also try pomegranite green tea.
  • GeneveSparkles
    GeneveSparkles Posts: 283 Member
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    Try some adding some honey. I drink green tea daily, but I don't do the flavored kind I use the pure green tea. It does taste a little like hot hay water but the honey helps.
  • issyfit
    issyfit Posts: 1,077 Member
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    I like to mix my green tea with another tea bag with more flavor and I always add cinnamon.
  • GeneveSparkles
    GeneveSparkles Posts: 283 Member
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    If you want to get the full benefits you should probably switch to loose-leaf, caffeinated, unflavored tea:

    A 2007 report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) compared foods for catechin flavonoid content. They reported that no other beverage comes close to the catechin content in regular brewed green tea. They found that one hundred millimeters of green tea when brewed contains 126 mg of catechins while brewed oolong tea only contains 50 mg and brewed black tea only 28 mg. The report also revealed that regular green tea is the healthiest but the more processed tea becomes the more nutrients it loses. This includes the decaffeination process (56 mg) and flavoring process (43 mg), which reduces the catechin content significantly. If you are consuming instant or bottled green tea sources, most contain a disappointing 12 mg of catechins. Since Red wine contains 11 mg and unsweetened apple juice provides 6 mg, perhaps bottled or instant green tea isn't worth the cost or the hype it receives for the health benefit it offers.
    http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=green_tea_benefits_fact_vs_fiction


    I didn't know loose leaf/brewed was better so I'll be switching!
  • ToniToningUp
    ToniToningUp Posts: 4
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    I recently started drinking green tea too. I add Stevia in the raw to sweeten it without adding calories. But use it sparingly, one packet is enough for two cups of tea.
  • bjfmade
    bjfmade Posts: 543 Member
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    Try some adding some honey. I drink green tea daily, but I don't do the flavored kind I use the pure green tea. It does taste a little like hot hay water but the honey helps.

    Love this, you nailed it, but you learn to love it. May help that I grew up on a ranch!
  • qwills2cats
    qwills2cats Posts: 108 Member
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    Someone once said green tea tastes like bottled grandma... and I must say I agree... so I stick with the supplements.
  • GeneveSparkles
    GeneveSparkles Posts: 283 Member
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    Try some adding some honey. I drink green tea daily, but I don't do the flavored kind I use the pure green tea. It does taste a little like hot hay water but the honey helps.

    Love this, you nailed it, but you learn to love it. May help that I grew up on a ranch!

    Ha ha, yes I had horses growing up and it reminds me of the way the stables smelled!!
  • cressievargo
    cressievargo Posts: 392 Member
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    Hot hay water. Yum. Need some of that! LOL
  • laurastrait21
    laurastrait21 Posts: 307 Member
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    try a little honey or a dash of truvia sweetener. It makes a world of difference!
  • mjmlodge
    mjmlodge Posts: 24
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    I just got turned on to green tea. i never liked it either until i started drinking mint green tea. Tazo has a tea called Zen. I liked it so much and the scent was very soothing. anywho, i noticed i wasn't snacking as much. might be from all the water, might be from the minty taste in my mouth that i don't want to eat on top of it. :P
  • TaraBeFree
    TaraBeFree Posts: 456 Member
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    I stick in an herbal peppermint tea bag with the green tea and make 2-3 cups at a time. I steep for 5-10 min to get the full strength of the mint. The mint also helps with hunger and digestion. Sometimes I change it up and use a lemon tea bag. I found that orange didn't work well, but that may be my preference. Good luck.
  • bjfmade
    bjfmade Posts: 543 Member
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    Definitely a way to get in your water!
  • myak623
    myak623 Posts: 616 Member
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    Honey is a good choice, but I wouldn't recommend store bought honey for there is no nutritional benefit to it. Try getting local honey from a farmer's market.
  • afalls11
    afalls11 Posts: 133 Member
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    I also Drink Tazo Green tea with lemongrass and spearmint. So delish! I wan't a big tea drinker to begin with, but this is now my favorite morning drink when I get to work...
  • zoniak
    zoniak Posts: 3 Member
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    I love green tea, do you drink it over ice, that is how I like it and I mix it with Tazo passionfruit, its so good, my opinion. If you want to treat yourself go to starbucks and get half green half passionfruit iced with a couple of splenda's depending on how sweet you like it or what size your get. Otherwise they do have lots of different flavors of green tea bags, I have tried many one of my favorites is green tea pomegranate. Good luck.
  • lily1972
    lily1972 Posts: 375 Member
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    I was fortunate to be initiated to green tea by a passionate tea-lover... and it seems that most people just infuse it wrong! If your water's too hot, you burn the leaves and it totally ruins the taste! Try heating your water to 80 - 85 degrees max (I use a candy thermometer in my kettle spout) and pour the water over the leaves (whether in a bag, sachet or stainer) and let seep for 3 mins. Remove leaves without compressing and set aside for a second seeping (5 mins to benefit from the rest of the antioxydants still present in the leaves). Good luck and enjoy!
  • Sp1nGoddess
    Sp1nGoddess Posts: 1,138 Member
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    It's an acquired taste... but I do prefer the loose leaf. Yogi Slim Life tea is green tea with blueberry and as noted above is pretty good. I like Archer Farms organic green tea - it has larger leaves. I brew mine for about 10 minutes to get the most out of the tea. If you don't like it just let it cool a bit and drink it down quickly like medicine.

    Make an 'Arnold Palmer' with it - brew your tea then mix with lemonade over ice.

    Local honey is great - helps with allergies too!

    There are supplements out there but you would need to research to make sure it's a good one and not loaded with fillers.

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