Tea

BearCountryHermit
BearCountryHermit Posts: 12 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been drinking tea more recently as a way to get more water and decrease coffee intake (and stay warm!), and recently bought a Twinings sampler pack and it's been so fun trying out different flavors. Anyone have any favorite kinds, flavors, or ways to drink it that they recommend?
Also, I used to really dislike green tea, even though all the fitness people would rave about it, but this pack had quite a few varieties of green tea so I gave them a try. Still can't stand it. Any way to make it more palatable? I tried it with a little cream. But it kinda burned on the way down and doesn't feel good on my stomach either.

Replies

  • carakirkey
    carakirkey Posts: 199 Member
    I love tea! Looseleaf you'll get better quality and varieties, and get small amounts to sample. Find a local shop if you can. Rooibos or honeybush tea is lovely, like a vanilla flavour, not caffeinated but high in antioxidants. They often come in a chai or spice blend too.

    Green tea I find you have to be careful about brew time, if you leave it too long it can get bitter. I like the tropical green tea blends, or the Zen blend from tazo tea which has lemongrass and mint with green tea. I also like a Geisha green tea which has popped rice in it. Interesting flavour. Experiment too having green tea cold, maybe with a bit of honey.

    Sometimes I have tea purely for the taste, and other times for the therapeutic value, which herbal teas can really help with, such as peppermint (stimulating), chamomile (relaxing and good for stomach cramps), hops (help you sleep), or licorice (aid with digestion).
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 702 Member
    Agree with a short brew time for green tea, too long and I find it undrinkable.
    Green tea won' t work with cream, you might like it with lemon though.

    I like Earl Grey, Lady grey is a bit lighter. I prefer to drink them black.

    Never been a fan of fruit teas, they always seem to smell better than they taste to me.
  • Trish1c
    Trish1c Posts: 549 Member
    I recently found Yogi teas. Peach detox tea is my current favorite. It's very rich & spicy. I don't really taste any peach but there's lots of warming cinnamon & cloves.

    Sleepy Time & Sweet Dreams (different brands) for a spearmint tea always soothe me to sleep.

    I add honey to my teas. I don't mind the 21 calories per teaspoon.

    Happy exploring. After water tea is the most commonly drunk beverage in the world.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    In addition to a shorter brew time for green tea, the water temperature should be lower. I have three settings on my electric kettle and use the lowest one for green tea and highest for black tea. There are various other ways to achieve this lower water temp.

    https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-brew-tea-water-temperatures-766316#:~:text=It's better to err on,150 F and 180 F.

    "...Most green teas are best when brewed well below boiling temp (212 F), at somewhere between 150 F and 180 F".
  • annieu613
    annieu613 Posts: 143 Member
    I love tea! I always have a cup of earl gray with breakfast.

    I really like the Tazo dessert teas.

    I also like turmeric tea from Tea Drops. They do put a small amount of sugar in their drops, but it's still only 5 calories/drop.
  • carakirkey
    carakirkey Posts: 199 Member
    littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »
    Agree with a short brew time for green tea, too long and I find it undrinkable.
    Green tea won' t work with cream, you might like it with lemon though.

    I like Earl Grey, Lady grey is a bit lighter. I prefer to drink them black.

    Never been a fan of fruit teas, they always seem to smell better than they taste to me.

    I agree on all points! Love earl grey tea. Never been a fan of fruity teas, apple spice etc. Smell better than they taste. Turns out I'm now allergic to apples and cherries so have to avoid those anyways.
  • qhob_89
    qhob_89 Posts: 105 Member
    I second the teaspoon of honey! I sweeten my chamomile and green tea with it.
    As far as different kinds to try, I’m no help, I just have black, green, and chamomile on hand. My only other tea recommendation is sweet tea 😂 that’s not helpful for anyone.
  • Sand_TIger
    Sand_TIger Posts: 1,099 Member
    Tea! I love that topic! I have traditionally whisked matcha fairly regularly, almost every day. Basically every day I'm in the mood for it. Love that stuff but it has to be high quality. I like fruity teas with stevia, Earl Grey is good, any kind of largeleaf black tea is good but a bit of stevia is helpful in that too. I'll drink any kind of mint tea without sweetener. A kind of unusual choice that I also like is black tea with rose petals. I may buy some for my spring drinking. I try to rotate my teas seasonally so I have more of a chance to enjoy them all!

    My favorite morning tea right now is one called Peppermint Peak - it's black tea with peppermint in it and doesn't need sweetening. Holiday themed teas kept me happy during November and December with a lot fewer sugar cravings.

    Yay tea!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I agree with Kshama - don't scald those delicate green tea leaves or you end up with something bitter. My favorite green tea is Stash Asian Pear Harmony.

    Rooibos (red tea) is so good. Haney & Sons makes a nice orange & cranberry tea called African Autumn.

    Most chocolate teas will smell like chocolate, but taste nothing like it. Stash Decaf Chocolate Hazelnut is yummy with a splash of milk and a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, it tastes a little like chocolate.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Loose leaf tea brewed in a pot and not in a cup is my favourite. Mostly I drink standard black tea (English Breakfast Tea you might call it) with milk. Making tea in a pot means you don't get the scum of tannin in your cup.

    Definitely wouldn't put milk in green tea. I do like jasmine tea with Chinese food as it's very refreshing to the palate.

    BTW - I changed to loose leaf from tea bags for environmental reasons when I discovered tea bags have a mesh made from plastic. My (glass) teapot has a built in strainer to catch the leaves.
  • BearCountryHermit
    BearCountryHermit Posts: 12 Member
    This is so helpful, thanks y'all! Lots of things to try here.
    I've definitely been oversteeping the green tea. The cream was just a last ditch effort to make it taste better, now I feel bad for abusing it :D
    I do love earl grey, especially with cream and honey, but I try to save the honey for special occasions so I don't lose my taste for unsweetened tea. I tried Irish breakfast tea and thought it was too strong, but maybe I oversteeped that as well. I'm hoping to switch my morning coffee to tea eventually, before I started drinking coffee a few cups of earl grey could keep me up and alert all night for studying (thankful those days are over), but now it's not enough, yet.
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,071 Member
    edited January 2021
    There are a lot of good suggestions on this thread -
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/45614267

    I love Davidson's Organic Children's Christmas Tea and treat myself to the 100 count tin once a year. I also make my own lemon balm, dandelion and burdock root tea. Oolong is my fave black tea.

    Most nights, I'll have a cup of Costco bagged green tea with matcha powder after dinner. The OP mentioned green tea and tummy issues. I've only experienced that with loose green tea brewed very strong and truth be told, will sometimes count on the ever-so-slightly nauseous feeling to quell hunger.
  • mailinator
    mailinator Posts: 31 Member
    I like variety, too. My fav are fruity herbal teas.
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  • MichelleMcKeeRN
    MichelleMcKeeRN Posts: 450 Member
    Yogi, Tazo and Bigelow are my favorite tea brands. I generally drink them with nothing or a packet of stevia sweetener. I do like Chai with some foamed milk though.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    edited January 2021
    I'm the sort of heathen who microwaves my tea. Green tea does well with this method. I only recently discovered it. I've had a big box of green tea from whichever year I decided I was going to try a bunch of smoothie recipes - that didn't last a week. I don't know when I switched to microwaving my tea, either, but it must've been since then. The big box of black tea is still sitting there, getting no love. It's not as good microwaved, regardless of the convenience factor.

    With all the health halo hype going to green tea, coupled with the convenience of the microwave, I think I'm likely to prefer the green tea, for the foreseeable future.

    I really liked this one:
    https://ratetea.com/tea/lipton/black-pearl-tea/138/
    But I see it was unpopular and has been discontinued. :(
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Some of my favorites are Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer (a blend that includes mint, cinnamon, and licorice), Yogi Egyptian Licorice, Yogi and Bigelow's versions of lemon ginger, Stash double bergamot Earl Grey, Stash chai, and pretty much every variety of Teecino (especially chocolate and white mocha). Most of the time I drink them all straight (no sugar, honey, milk, lemon, etc.), so I tend toward ones that taste good without anything added, but I generally drink regular black tea (e.g., Irish breakfast) straight as well and think that tastes fine, so YMMV.
  • dechowj
    dechowj Posts: 148 Member
    My favorites are: vanilla chia, vanilla caramel, french vanilla, cinnamon stick, Orange and spice (all Bigelow) with a little sugar. (I will add a little milk to the vanilla caramel sometimes.)

    Then for green tea: Green chia with a dash of sugar, plain green tea or green tea with lemon with a little honey. And I only let the green tea brew for a short time or it doesn't taste as good.
  • skinnyrev2b
    skinnyrev2b Posts: 400 Member
    I'm English, and in the UK, so you may not be able to get them, but I'm a black tea fiend.
    Twinnings Everyday (bagged) if I can't get
    Whittards 1662 loose leaf (Assam blend).
    Whittards also have a lovely Tippy Assam and an Orange Pekoe (sp?) Assam.
    Clipper teas do an Everyday bag which is plastic free, so that's next for us to try :-)
  • luceegj
    luceegj Posts: 246 Member
    edited February 2021
    I would worry too much about green tea if you don't like it don't force it upon yourself. You do you :) It's not the wonderful thing people make it out to be.

    I love chia teas, earl grey (black) and the biscuit tea (I can't remember who this is by) these I all have black. I'm not a big fruit tea fan

    Lucy
    [edited by MFP mods]
  • zaknjakesmum
    zaknjakesmum Posts: 73 Member
    I love tea! I've been drinking it in the mornings instead of coffee. I do not like "fruity" teas. My favorite is English breakfast tea. I adore chai as well - smells so good, I'd wear it as a cologne!!

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