Green Tea?

sarz55

so i hear great things about green tea -high in antitoxidants, reduces cholesterol and aids weight loss by increasing your metabolism-
but the taste is absolutely disgusting! i can't even take one mouthful without wanting to throw up.

what do you make of green tea? how can i make it taste better?

sobriquet

sarz55 wrote: »

so i hear great things about green tea -high in antitoxidants, reduces cholesterol and aids weight loss by increasing your metabolism-
but the taste is absolutely disgusting! i can't even take one mouthful without wanting to throw up.

what do you make of green tea? how can i make it taste better?

Well it's an acquired taste in the first place - but most green teas need to be brewed differently than regular tea. I find what works for supermarket shelf brands like Robert Roberts (I haven't tried anything else) is first of all not to use water off the boil. Pour some boiling water into a mug and let it cool. Boiling water will burn the leaves, causing that bitter taste. After a few minutes add the teabag and let it infuse for a few more minutes. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I don't mash the teabag with the spoon like I would a regular teabag either. I reckon the mainstream tea brands choose leaves that can withstand that sort of thing and boiling water. Dunno though, I'm not particularly educated on the subject.

See 'Brewing' here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Tea and have a search of the web for more on brewing it.

Besides that, there's loads of non mainstream teas out there that people often refer to wholesale as Green Tea. Some brands do sample boxes, might be worth hunting them down. Can't for the life of me remember what brand my mam used to drink, but it was apple & ginger flavour. There's loads out there.

I would add though that if you take sugar in your normal tea that's probably the taste you're mainly missing (I don't find regular tea that far away taste wise from green tea), and better off weaning yourself off it altogether if you want the more obvious health benefits.

I love tea. I'm going to make some more.

Macha

You can get flavoured green teas from health food stores & the like. I like the clipper range (and their indian chai with hot milk..mmm...)

http://www.clipper-teas.com/cgi-bin/ct.exe/custom?s=0&c=201&ddi=STOCK_LIST_ORDER&t1=shop&t2=t1&a=1&b=0&st=&h=0&u=0&z=0&aP=0

Might help you get over the taste but to be honest you do get used to it.

Now trying to get used to Udo's oil taste...that's one hill I just can't get over!

armour87

Wee drop of honey

I was on it for about 3 weeks. Great stuff.

Got sick of it though and went back 2 damn coffee

D-BO

You should try Rooibos tea. I find it very refreshing and easy to drink, it takes a while to get used to but if you stick to it you wont go back. My girlfriend drinks alot of green tea but I find the taste of Rooibos better....Check it out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos

PrettyInPunk

im sorry you have to be cruel to be kind...you need to just grow a pair and drink it. The first time i ever had green tea i gagged-i now drink it everyday up to 5 cups,you WILL get used to it i can promise,it just takes time

OPENROAD

You do get use to it after time, trick is not to leave bag in water too long as it can be quite bitter.

One thing I find though is I can't stop going to the toilet when I have it.:D

Trojan

Anyone know where I can find powdered green tea (to add to shakes, smoothies) at a reasonable price?

siochain

yeah you can get it from http://www.bulkpowders.co.uk/ or http://www.myprotein.co.uk/

DeVore

But is it any good for you?? Seriously...

DeV.

Piste

Is Green tea really the miracle it's hailed to be? Though I suppose something that tastes so horrible MUST be somewhat good for you...

Stark

It's as good for you as black tea. Green tea contains more anti-oxidants but less tannins so there's a trade-off there. It also contains less caffeine. There is evidence that having a few cups a day will boost your fat metabolism by 4% compared to other caffeinated drinks.

I find the Clipper green tea to be the nicest, very refreshing. I wouldn't see any point in drinking it if you hate it though, just drink black tea. It should be drunk without milk and with water that's hot but not boiling (same as with coffee). Black tea on the other hand should be brewed with water that's straight off the boil.

angeldelight

I started drinking it a while ago, and really disliked it at first. The reason I started was I heard it's quite good at stopping hunger pangs and it does work for me but that might be a psycholoical thing! I have a cup if I'm waiting for dinner to cook or something, or if I'm out and friends are having coffee as I don't ahve to use any points on it whereas I would for normal tea as can't drink it without milk (I'm on weight watchers). I haven't been able to find any flavoured ones I like at all though so I add sweetener to the plain one.. everyone else thinks it's disgusting but I quite like it

Stark

angeldelight wrote:

or if I'm out and friends are having coffee as I don't ahve to use any points on it whereas I would for normal tea as can't drink it without milk (I'm on weight watchers).

You lose points on a dash of milk?

Angel if you are looking for a nice herbal tea try Forrest Fruit flavour in the Polish food section.
Our herbal teas are very weak and insipid.

fatal

green tea with a spoonful of honey is perfect.On its own green tea may be too bitter for some people.

Lola123

The effects of white tea are supposedly better than green tea because there are more anti-oxidents and no caffiene.
The clippers version is nice, and can be bought in several flavours.

Edwardius

a word on black tea: it has more caffeine, however, you can pour some boiling water into a cup, dunk the teabag for a second, chuck the water out and proceed as normal. Apparently you'll lose most of the caffeine as it's more soluble in the water and gets hoofed down the sink with the initial water.

siochain

Lola123, white tea does have caffeine but less than green and which has less than black.

Faith

Does green tea count towards your daily intake of water, or is it separate? I can't imagine being able to drink 2-3 L water AND 5 cups of green tea! I'd spend my life in the bathroom!

Stark

Faith wrote: »

Does green tea count towards your daily intake of water, or is it separate? I can't imagine being able to drink 2-3 L water AND 5 cups of green tea! I'd spend my life in the bathroom!

It counts towards. It's a myth that you have to drink 2-3L of water a day anyway.

Sugar Drunk

Its an acquired taste stick with it for a while and you will get used to it. I love the stuff. I also drink hibiscus tea and theres a lovely one you can get called 'wellness tea' its my vitax its a mixture of pu erh and greean tea and other stuff and it has a really nice taste so that might be worth trying.

Didnt like the rooibas stuff at all though.

Faith

Stark wrote: »

It counts towards. It's a myth that you have to drink 2-3L of water a day anyway.

I don't agree that it's a myth, perhaps just exaggerated. Anyways, I'm not doing it because I was told to, but because I want to. It's a good habit to have.

g'em

Stark wrote: »

It counts towards. It's a myth that you have to drink 2-3L of water a day anyway.

It's not a myth, it's misinterpreted. Your fluid intake can come from water in food and caffeinated drinks, but by and large drinking plain water frequently helps to control appetite, increases alertness and maintains all-round health. Non-water drinks/ foods may contain other unwanted constituents. Likewise some drinks like green tea are a good addition to water as it provides antioxidants and a thermogenic effect (particularly useful if you're trying to lose weight).