Tea

Do you like herbal tea? It doesn't generally include actual tea.

I drink black tea with a splash of milk and some Splenda.

Do you have a Teavana shop near you? Or a specialty Tea store. Go in and sample some teas. I'm not a fan of tea but I was in Teavana this weekend with my daughter and I tasted some yummy ones.

p.s. they also have a website you can order from if you cant find a specialty tea shop near you.

I love tea! I usually just add one or two packets of Splenda. If it's black tea I also like a splash of milk. Try Bigelow's Mint Medley - it's excellent! Or, consider apple cider packets (in the same aisle as the cocoa). The sugar free version only has 5 calories (or about that amount) and it is a great fix when I want something sweet.

Try more tea! If you don't have teavana, head over to Peets coffee (if you have these).

Personally I drink black tea and spiced tea with sweetener. I use stevia or honey, but mostly stevia. These are the ones I am also likely to add milk to.

You can make your own chai or spiced tea easily. Add some cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, fennel seeds (anise) and even whole black pepper to your tea leaves (Vanilla bean is great too).

Add lemon or orange or lime or ginger or mint to a lighter tea, like green.

The best thing you can do is do a tasting. Also pay attention to the water temperature, it makes a huge difference. Here are the basic types to try:
* herbal: can be made with anything, herbs, flowers, fruits and is typically caffeine free
* rooibos: caffeine free, naturally sweet and richer in body, no bitterness, holds flavors well. Starbucks has an excellent vanilla rooibos latte!
* white tea: light in taste, delicate, use cooler water to prepare and steep for 1-2 minutes max. Good for delicate flavors. It naturally tastes sweet, delicate, sometimes herbal or grassy or floral, low caffeine
* green tea: typically tastes green, grassy, fresh or herbal. use cooler water to prepare and steep for about 1-3 minutes. Common flavors; jasmine, toasted rice, citrus fruits, apple, pear. Medium caffeine
* oolong tea: this has a stronger flavor between green and black tea, it has elements of earthy and grassy at the same time. Steep for 2-4 minutes. Not commonly flavored, but would be excellent for a chai style tea. A little more caffeine than green tea
* black tea: most common tea, richer taste, astringent, nutty, earthy. There are lots of variation celyon, assam.... Flavored varieties are very common from stone fruit to spices to vanilla to other fruits. Earl Grey is a very common flavor. Hold milk the best in non fruity varieties. Has the most tannins and astringency, steep longer with hotter near boiling) for 3-5 minutes.

You can probably find a flavor you like. I find that black tea and rooibos are great for dessert like teas with nutty flavors or vanilla or chocolate. Also good for stronger fruit flavors.

White and green are best for herbal or lighter fruit flavors. I also like these iced, the feel light and refreshing in the summer.

Mint tea.

Yum! I love ginger! I will do this!

I brew greentea then refrigerate it. I add Crystal Light Lemonade to it.

I started with half and half. Now I drink 2/3 tea with 1/3 crystal light. Delicious

You can order from www.tealuxe.com too ... wonderful local (New England) tea shoppe

I agree that if you keep drinking it, you will become more accustomed to the taste.

However, this depends on what kind of tea you drink. I find that certain brands of the same stuff taste far better than others. For example, the Meijer brand green tea with berry flavor is bitter, and I need to add sugar to it. The Lipton brand green tea with berry flavor is awesome just by itself.

I also agree that the amount of time steeping matters quite a bit. I tried some Vanilla Roobios Tazo tea from Starbucks today for the first time. The first sip was weird, and kind of minty, since it hadn't steeped long enough yet. The next few sips tasted kind of like cookies (yum). Then I started to taste flowers. Then it just got weird again and I left the bag in there too long. Once it was cold, I ditched it.

One of my favorite unsweetened teas is the Passion Tea from Starbucks. It's an herbal tea, so it's not really tea, and it's decaf. It has a fruity/floral flavor and it looks like kool aid but without any sugar or sweeteners. You can sweeten it, but I prefer it without.