Green Tea

allison0820

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!!

teena82

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

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

try squeezing some lemon juice in it, or a little bit of some other powerful juice. Also try pomegranite green tea.

GeneveSparkles

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

I like to mix my green tea with another tea bag with more flavor and I always add cinnamon.

GeneveSparkles

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

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

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

Someone once said green tea tastes like bottled grandma... and I must say I agree... so I stick with the supplements.

GeneveSparkles

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

Hot hay water. Yum. Need some of that! LOL

laurastrait21

try a little honey or a dash of truvia sweetener. It makes a world of difference!

mjmlodge

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

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

Definitely a way to get in your water!

myak623

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

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

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

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

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.

Mcgrawhaha

i like "real" tea, like the loose tea leaves! i think there are much more health benefits buy drinking it that way. there are certain teas that are good for certain things, and you can have fun mixing them up, and making your own flavors. you should check out the health benefits of mango tea leaves, and i find it helps give alot of flavor when mixing with green tea leaves! http://www.ehow.com/facts_5004374_what-benefits-mango-tea.html

marujita

I agree that is an acquired taste, like coffee. But I've been drinking a lot lately and it does seem to help curb my appetite. My sister bought me a tea set from TEAVANA this xmas. I LOVED the Fruta Bomba Green Tea from there. I tastes better than regular green tea. Don't know if someone already commented this as well: try making it into iced tea if you don't like hot tea.

finchase

If you brew it correctly, green tea can be a delicate delight, with many having a wonderful nutty taste. However, most people don't know how to brew green tea correctly. First, it should not be brewed the same as black tea. The water for green tea should never be boiling. It should only be steaming briskly--approximately 180 F if you have a thermometer. A full boil, which is required for black tea, is 212 F. The maximum amount of time I steep loose green tea is 2 minutes. For a tea bag, I'd cut that in half, as the leaf is broken and will be stronger tasting when it steeps.

Loose leaf is 10x better than tea bags, and that goes for black or oolong tea as well. The best leaf is sold for loose consumption. The worst quality goes into tea bags.

LadyFaile

Some things that can make a big difference when brewing tea.

1. Bagged tea tends to be made from poorer quality tea leaves when compared to loose leaf teas.
2. When using loose leaf teas, don't pack them into a tiny tea ball. They need room to spread out to brew properly.
3. Use water that is the correct temperature, if it's too hot it will scorch the leaves making the tea bitter. An easy cheat is to place 1-2 ice cubes on the leaves and poor the hot water over the ice cubes. It protects them from being scorched by the hot water and cools it down to the correct temperature.
4. Make sure to brew the tea for the correct amount of time. If you brew it too long, it can also cause the tea to become bitter. To make the tea stronger, add more tea leaves and brew for the same amount of time.

Hope this helps.

cloud2011

I have Trader Joe's organic cranberry green tea. You don't boil the water...should be hot right under boiling. I like it so much, I drink it unsweetened. It smells really good, even before you make it.

You can also drink it cold, too. It's pricey, but I don't drink it every day.

Jeanmbalent

I tend to grab an iced green tea from starbucks (unsweetened of course!) or use their Zen tea bags. Zen is a blend of lemongrass, mint and green tea so it helps mellow out the flavor.

noneya2010

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!!

The best green tea ever is "Good Earth Green Tea with lemongrass" VERY good - hot or cold. Also, I drink mine mostly hot and take a tiny piece of lemon, squeeze it into my cup of tea (be sure not to get it on the bag or your tea will not taste good) and drop it in the cup and add 1 tsp of local honey.

I get these bags at my local health food store but also found them on Amazon for cheaper.

Best green tea you wil ever have.

candicejn

I add some Ideal sweetener to my tea. Usually just a half packet, enough to give it a little sweetening.

hwalter1

I like the Tazo Zen tea- minty.... or i like this Celestial seasonings Metabo-boost, green tea- a little grapefruity-citrusy...

messyinthekitchen

I love how on top of this post there is a green tea add lol. I love my tea's not green but any other. Just add a little splenda, stevia whatever you use where you live to sweeten it up a bit.