Tea?! YUCK!

I KNOW that this is going to get weird looks. It seems like tea has made it's way into the modern, hipster world. Tea is everywhere I look.

I'm Hispanic, and so I was raised on coffee every morning and night since I was 2 years old. My grandmother drinks different kinds of teas.

I find tea to be so-- Gross.

I want to start drinking Green Tea to help with my diet and insulin assistance. Is there anything one can do to make tea taste... better?

If I HAVE to, I may just have to drink it and suck up how bad it tastes. -....-

Help?
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Replies

  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    I only like black tea with milk - usually 2/3 tea, 1/3 milk. I use skim milk so there's not as much of a punch in terms of calories. Do you tend to drink your coffee black, or with milk and sugar? You can dress tea up the same way.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    If you don't like it, don't drink it. You can buy green tea supplements. All the goodness without the nasty taste.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    It seems like tea has made it's way into the modern, hipster world. Tea is everywhere I look.
    Wow, really? Where I come from, tea is ubiquitous and has been for centuries. :ohwell:

    That said, don't force yourself to drink stuff you don't like. Tea (including green tea) doesn't have magical qualities.
  • tea , no milk but just a tiny slice of lemon(no sugar) I find its quite ok.
  • lilred806
    lilred806 Posts: 195 Member
    If you really want to drink tea just do it and eventually you will likely get used to it. Are you cutting coffee out or just adding tea?
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    I want to start drinking Green Tea to help with my diet and insulin assistance. Is there anything one can do to make tea taste... better?

    add sugar.
  • VoodooAborisha
    VoodooAborisha Posts: 147 Member
    I always start drinking tea (black, green, white, herbal, you name it) with no sugar/sweetener or milk when I am trying to be healthy or dieting.

    And for the first week, I am GAGGING on it. Hate tea. Just want coffee.

    However, after a week or so, I start to develop a taste for it, even crave it. Right now I have a cup of green tea next to me, and I love it, and 2 weeks ago when I first thought of drinking it, I had a gag reflex, just thinking of it.

    If you really want to drink tea for the great health benefits, maybe try one cup of coffee for breakfast, then the next cup, substitute a tea, and increase the tea to coffee ratio as you want.

    On the other hand, I am not sure that there is anything terribly wrong with having your coffee. If you load your coffee with creamer and sugar, that is a problem. I have lost 8 lbs in 2 months, and I have a coffee whenever I want it (I still couldn't wake up to a cup of tea - that would make me cry - I got to have my coffee first thing - it's the flavor, not the caffeine). Mind you, my coffee is decaf with skim milk and stevia, but I still get my coffee.

    But anyway, drink a little tea here and there, and maybe you will develop a taste for it too (or at least maybe stop hating it!)

    Good luck!

    Edit: I was also raised on coffee from a baby; I am from Alabama and old timers used to always feed the babies "coffee and biscuits" - i.e. a couple of leftover biscuits crumbled into coffee (with sugar), until they are mushy enough to feed babies who don't have the teeth to eat other foods. My grandmother used to give me this - she was from a time and economic status in which you were lucky if you had shoes or food at all, so you sure as heck didn't have fancy jarred baby foods. You were lucky to get anything! I still crave coffee and biscuits and make it sometimes :)
  • Tetley sell a mild green tea which i find with a bit of honey is so much better than other green teas. I also think the hipster tea you are referring to is the general black tea we get in the UK, which usually we add milk and sugar too. (I can't tell where you live so you may be referring to this)
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    It seems like tea has made it's way into the modern, hipster world.

    Quite the opposite - tea is one of the foundations of civilisation. The British Empire was built on it.

    The ultimate drink with which to solve a domestic crisis. Milk, no sugar, ta. x
  • pinkiemarie252
    pinkiemarie252 Posts: 222 Member
    There are lots of naturally flavored teas...I have some delicious cranberry tea, jasmine tea, etc.
  • VoodooAborisha
    VoodooAborisha Posts: 147 Member
    It seems like tea has made it's way into the modern, hipster world.

    Quite the opposite - tea is one of the foundations of civilisation. The British Empire was built on it.

    The ultimate drink with which to solve a domestic crisis. Milk, no sugar, ta. x

    I remember when I was in college in Tennessee, all of my groovy hippy friends were drinking herbal teas with honey in it. I had never had "hot tea" as we call it - not anything except for Southern "Sweet" tea - i.e. iced tea. However my husband is British, and so when we are in the UK I see a lot of tea drinking. My hubby's his parents drink a tea in the morning instead of coffee - they have a machine that makes it and rings a siren so they can drink it before they have to get out of bed (Then they drink coffee like it's crack for the rest of the day lol). From what I hear from my friends in the UK, the children there drink tea from an early age as well. For my British friends, a cup of tea can solve any problem. But then they put milk and sugar/sweetener in it, so it actually tastes more like coffee that way. Yes, try some skim milk in it - that might make it more palatable to you.

    Edit: milk in black tea. I wouldn't put it in green tea!
  • MzLaLa29
    MzLaLa29 Posts: 258 Member
    try one bag of green tea and one bag on lemon zinger by celestial seasonings. the lemony goddness will overpower the bitterness of the green tea.
  • I like my tea with a teaspoon of honey and a slice of lemon
  • kowajenn
    kowajenn Posts: 274 Member
    Yeah, Tea is not a recent, hipster thing. My American mom drank it daily as far back as I remember (I'm 45) and my nerdy, average self has been drinking it for at least 30 years. I love all tea and drink it unadorned, but there are a million varieties of flavored teas that would work for someone who doesn't care for it. Check out the teas at Republic of Tea.

    I drink coffee too. I am quite caffeinated.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
    I have always loved tea, growing up it was a staple item, like milk...

    I no longer use sugar in my tea (at least I try not to, but every now and again I must have a glass of southern sweet tea). I take strawberries, raspberries or blackberries and put them in a blender and let the tea chill with the fresh fruit pulp. It has made a nice change and depending on how much fruit you put in, can be super sweet, or barely sweet.
  • ScarletShopaholic
    ScarletShopaholic Posts: 169 Member
    Tetley tea, no green tea for me, can't stand it. Teabag not in the cup too long and a very small amount of skimmed milk - a thimble full or just over really - love tea.
  • ehorn625
    ehorn625 Posts: 144
    It seems like tea has made it's way into the modern, hipster world. Tea is everywhere I look.
    Wow, really? Where I come from, tea is ubiquitous and has been for centuries. :ohwell:

    That said, don't force yourself to drink stuff you don't like. Tea (including green tea) doesn't have magical qualities.

    Seriously-Have been drinking tea since I was a kid. My Irish grandma had us drinking it! There are flavored teas out there-just
    watch the calories. Having said that, why drink it if you don't like it? Just drink water.
  • You are probably steeping the tea too long. Green tea only needs to be steeped 2-3 minutes, any longer and it becomes bitter. Also try and buy the full tea leaves as they are better quality. Try it iced with some lemon and some natural sweetner.
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 843 Member
    also green tea tastes much better if the water is not as hot- less bitter. I tend to double tea bag (2 not reuse) when I drink green tea as well. One green tea and one fruit herbal tea (berries or lemon) together
  • elsyoommen
    elsyoommen Posts: 155 Member
    no need to drink any tea if you don't want to. but if you do want to drink green tea, try different green teas - there are many. My current favourite is Earl Grey Green Tea. I sometimes add ginger to this especially if I have stomach issues or I need some extra comfort.

    Nothing wrong with coffee either. Cinnamon is supposed to be good for insulin resistance. Why don't you try some coffee with cinnamon in it? or add cinnamon to your tea (I'm from India so adding cinnamon, cardamom or other spices to tea and coffee is very common for us).
  • MonaRaeHill
    MonaRaeHill Posts: 145 Member
    Yum, tea. Like most things in life.....It depends on the tea. ...I used to HATE tea. I still don't like the herb teas all that much.

    Then I discovered Hibiscus, RoseHip, Pur-eh, Matcha, and Mate' Late', all of which have come into the mainstream as much more affordable and drinkable.

    I am mostly vegan (especially when dieting), so I make Latte's (out of two of the three caffeinated ones) with soymilk and honey. One of the reasons I really like soy, is that it will 'froth' like nothing else (including milk and cream). Love that foamy topping on my tea. (That's really the only reason to miss coffee, isn't it? lol.)

    In order to really make the matcha' properly, you must have a frother of some sort. I picked up one of those cocoa makers at the local thrift store (with the battery operated frother) for 2 bucks.

    A little matcha and honey, frothed for a bit, is like nothing else on earth! It's a bit pricey, but if you really want the antioxidant qualities of the tea, with none of the bitterness, this is a great choice!

    I buy pur-eh (brick tea) from the Yunnan Tea shop, online. It can take awhile to get here, (since it's China) but it's the real deal. It brews up a beautiful amber color, and it can be steeped a bunch of times, only getting better and better, each time.

    As for the Mate' Late', I buy that from Republic of Tea, in bulk. You can purchase the Matcha there, too, but if you want the organic one, go to Mountain Rose Herbs. :)

    Good luck in your quest, and enjoy your tea discoveries!
  • teamAmelia
    teamAmelia Posts: 1,247 Member
    I KNOW that this is going to get weird looks.

    Yeah! I love tea...with lots and lots of sugar, though. You mentioned something about insulin. I don't know if you can use sugar or artificial sweetener, like Splenda or Equal (with sucralose), but that makes it taste good. I can't drink straight coffee or tea. THAT'S gross.
  • MonaRaeHill
    MonaRaeHill Posts: 145 Member
    and............I forgot to say............stay away from tea-bag tea. It's all pretty much garbage, plus the tea bags have polyvinylchorides (it's the glue that holds the bag together........uck.; and often are bleached, (double-yuk). The companies that make tea bag teas, use the cheapest tea imaginable. Horrible, left over, stuff, from processing the premium leaves. Invest in a nice tea pot, and buy the bulk stuff. You'll be glad you did! Cheers. Mona.
  • teamAmelia
    teamAmelia Posts: 1,247 Member
    Earl Grey Green Tea
    tastes like pepper. It took me a while to put my finger on the taste until I Googled it.
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    I actually love the taste of green tea - but not bag styles. I don't mess with pre bagged tea. I use the Teavana Perfect Tea Steeper (which was like 12 bucks and worth every penny) and decent quality loose leaf....makes a world of difference. Follow the instructions on the tea - some varieties need a slightly cooler temp/different times.

    It is more expensive to buy the tea this way BUT I can also use the same leafs for multiple steeps (different flavor profile each steep - some pur'eh for example taste better after the 3rd or so steep IMO) tea, so it seems to almost evens out a bit price wise.
  • How about Chai tea? I've tried that, but I never considered it "tea". It was like cappuccino kind of thing for me.
  • elsyoommen
    elsyoommen Posts: 155 Member
    there are companies that make high quality tea in bags - check out http://www.mightyleaf.ca/en/tea
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Tea has no magical properties so if you don't like it don't, don't drink it. Green tea can be really bitter if the water is too hot or you steep it for more than a couple minutes.
  • zanne54
    zanne54 Posts: 336 Member
    I find green tea just nasty. Especially the standard grocery store variety like Twinings or Bigelow. It tastes muddy & chalky to me. It's hard to explain, but it's just awful.

    However, I have had better green tea at Asian restaurants. If you've decided to drink green tea for health reasons - maybe start there and find out what tea brand these restaurants prefer. Or try a specialty tea shop.

    Other option - drink a blend of green tea / peppermint. I don't know if the health benefits will be the same, but it will taste a LOT better.