I like my tea strong and black. I drink anywhere between 6 and 12 cups of it a day, in addition to three or four large glasses of iced tea daily. I've never been overly fond of green tea, but I'm going to try and work some of it into my diet for the health benefits. This is going to be somewhat of a chore for me -- whenever I'm sipping on a mug of green tea, I'll be thinking that I could be drinking a strong, milky cup of Assam instead. What is the recommended amount of green tea that should be consumed on a daily basis to get the maximum health benefits? There's so much conflicting information out there.
Green tea is a great change of pace from black and other more fermented tea, while I don't know about it having any more/less benefits than any other tea, I will say it is my favorite. It takes some time to gain an appreciation for it, but I would venture to guess you might be surprised.
Sencha Gyokuro (my personal belief is that this tea is great but probably not much on benefits since it is grown shaded) Lung Ching (Dragonwell) Kukicha (AKA TwigTea, a nice change of pace in the green genre) Jasmine Pearls (Dragon Tear's) Young Hyson Pi Lo Chun (Bi Lo Chun) White Monkey Tai Ping Hou Kui Wu Li Qing (contains alot of vitamins and such) Mao Feng (as well as most greens that include the word "Mao" or "Feng")
I'd advise staying away from Gunpowder, as many try it first for some reason and get turned off of green tea. I consider gunpowder (even good stuff) to be as enjoyable as brewing my driveway gravel.
I also would suggest buying lower to mid grade greens. At this time of year the really expensive stuff is either gone or old, go with well sealed mid grade stuff and ramp up next year or on a few of the greens that are picked year round.
Also, by all means pick up a cheap "bag" of sencha. You can find a plastic "sleeve" shaped bag in most asian markets for $4 and it is very good daily drinking and iced tea stock.
Right now I am finding the colour of the brew a little off-putting and miss the robust flavour of black tea. Adding a little lemon seems to help (something I don't do with black tea, unless it's iced), though I think I've overlemoned the cup that I'm sipping on right now. I guess through trial and error I'll come up with the right combination, eventually.
Pat
Dom> > I like my tea strong and black. I drink anywhere between 6 and 12 cups
For Jeebus sake, put the lemon down slowly and step away! The lightness, sweetness and freshness of green tea is where it's at, it will just take a bit of effort and the right tea to come around. I can enjoy and appreciate black teas, Pu-Erh, and oolongs as well as my main love of greens... you just need to get started right.
What kind of green tea are you drinking right now, that you had to add lemon to?
In black tea's what do you like? Smoky, Fruity, Tobacco-y, Bitter, smooth, sweet?
If you can give me something to go on, I will try to reccomend a few greens in that area to try to ease the transition.
I find that many black tea drinker's enjoy the flavored greens (Strawberry Sencha, Peach Green, and Jasmine) as well as Kukicha. If you like your tea sweet I sometimes enjoy a cup of jasmine green tea with Mount Tai brand yellow rock sugar in it. White sugar does not go well with green tea, but yellow lump sugar, honey, or a packet of "Sugar in the raw" will work fine.
It may also be in the brewing and water. Greens are a whole nother world from black tea as far as preparation, and it can be unforgiving and become bitter and unpalateable from even mistakes of ten degrees and an extra minute steep.
I like black teas that are strong and smooth, mostly Assam based, like Yorkshire Gold or the breakfast blends. I used to be really into Ceylon teas, but lately they seem weak and insipid to me.
The green tea I'm drinking right now (and I can see everyone collectively cringe) is a sencha (according to the label) by Twinings. I wanted to start with something that was easy to obtain, as well as something that I didn't have to buy a huge quantity of, in case I didn't like it.
The Twinings green is not bad, but frankly it is rather tasteless compared to the black teas I'm used to. I never add lemon or sugar to black teas. A small amount of milk, sometimes, if it's really strong tea -- or if I'm drinking tea without eating anything, because plain black tea sometimes upsets my stomach. The milk seems to prevent that from happening. Lemon just doesn't taste good to me in hot black tea and sugar has no place in any tea of any kind, IMO.
Someone once gave me a black tea by Whittard's of Chelsea that was flavoured with jasmine and it was one of the worst cups of tea I ever tasted. I think it put me off jasmine for life.
I don't like fruit flavoured black teas, (I call them soda-pop teas) so I can sort of understand your aversion to my adding lemon to green tea. But I'm not sure why you don't seem to feel the same away about flavoured greens -- such as the strawberry sencha, peach green and jasmine you mentioned.
I had two cups of green today, and I must say they made the cups of black tea that followed them a lot more enjoyable! LOL
Thanks again for your help. I know it's going to take a little trial and error for me to find something that I really like. Even then, it will always take a back seat to black tea.
OK, then try a Kukicha. It is actually twigs and stems from the tea, and used to be the lowest form of tea to give to commoners and workers... now it is highly revered. It is actually almost a in between of a black tea and a green. A nice smooth flavor that is a little roasted/nutty flavored, but very good.
It is absolutely not OK. Not even being a tea snob, it isn't. Trust me please. That Twinings cost you more than a pouch of loose Sencha from an asian market that would be leaps and bounds better. Here is an idea of what I'm talking about:
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You may also find a pouch similar in size and shape that is half clear for about the same price and it is very good tea.
I will personally send you a sampler of some better green teas to try if you'd like to email me off group just to get you on the right track. Green tea needs to be fresh and whole, it CANNOT be in bag form and be much good. It will be bitter and harsh no matter how it is brewed since green tea is really not meant to be broken up and stale in a teabag. Please, you are hurting my heart.
I used to think this way but a Korean friend makes the best jasmine green tea with Mount Tai lump sugar that it changed my mind. Not all the time and more for iced than hot, but it is good when you want something a bit sweet. I'm pretty strict against sugar in tea myself, so I really mean it or I wouldn't dare say it.
You're missing out. Jasmine green tea is a perfect harmony when done right, it is not a flavor but a subtle scent that adds a lot... stay away from artificial or overly "flavored" jasmine. Look for Jasmine Pearls or Dragon Tears, these will be a great starting point. I think you have just been hunting in the wrong places and have had some bad experiences, I did the same for some time with Pu-Erh and when I got into this NG and on the right track I realized how wrong I was.
I enjoy a good ginger/peach black tea, but that is about all for flavored teas. My only other exception is strawberry sencha. It is not a "junky" flavored tea at all. It is real bits of strawberry blended with top notch sencha. A great combination of flavors and again not so much a flavor as an added scent.
If I can do anything good on this group, it would be to get you on the right track with green tea. It is a personal love of mine, and while it isn't as popular around here as some of the other teas it can be very rewarding and to me, the ultimate. It is about freshness, and sweetness that sugar can't match, and an aliveness that is missing from dark curmudgeon black teas that have been holed up somewhere for years (no offense :) The lack of fermentation is refreshing, and once you taste a few well prepared quality greens you may not be hooked but you will be much more endeared than you are now with a poor quality teabag and no hope of tasting the real treasure.
You should check out one of the many online vendors that we often discuss here and buy some samples of a few different greens. It would only set you back a little, and a lower grade loose leaf tea is often better than a "high quality" (if it exists) teabag. I've been drinking mostly greens and teas from Taiwan these days because of the poor Tie Guan Yin and Wulong crops this year on the mainland and I don't regret it. I'd suggest getting some Longjing, a popular, well-known green, to start with. I wish I could get you some of the "qiu she" that I have; it would really change your mind about the taste issue that you've found.
It sounds as if you're in the UK, with your mention of Whittards and Twinings, is that correct? If so, do please drop me an e-mail: davidc at robots dot ox dot ac dot uk, and I'll quickly put some decent, fresh samples of green tea in the post.
As a poster above rightly said, by buying Twinings/Whittards you're paying a high price, and the result is guaranteed to make you dislike green tea! I used to have the same thing before I realised that there was more to tea than this. :)
Proper greens can be nutty, creamy, floral (without the addition of flowers or chemical perfumes!), and a true delight. Posting here is your first step towards a better green-drinking life. :)
Glad to see a few others into greens, we may be a silent majority after all! My interest in Kukicha is not so much due to popular status or even counterculture beliefs, but my own philosophy of life and tea. In cusine, some of the highest rated dishes are basically peasant food, or rural home styles in French, Thai/Cambodian, Italian, etc. While the fatty excessive expensive foods cost a lot and look impressive, it is the more down-to-earth dishes that *taste* the best. Silently those "peasants" were enjoying the best dishes based around scraps and probably laughing the whole time, let alone to see their "peasant" dishes now so en vogue and highly rated. Same thing with Kukicha. I find it is one of the best stories in tea. It holds a special place in my heart because of that. I can relate to it due to my own life growing up, and it makes it dear.
I don't believe in "experts" and "masters" when it comes to tea, so you never need to appologize or feel like you can't say what you feel because it is "wrong." There is no wrong to me with tea, there are personal experiences and tastes.
I looked into that "Snow Water Dragon Tips" and it appears to be like a few upper quality green teas, but I have never heard that name before outside of Imperial Tea. Most likely it is a Chinese green along the lines of Lung Ching, and also most likely it is available from a vendor for half the price by the real name and not Imperial Tea's. I'll look into this deeper.
I really like people to experience green tea for what it is instead of trying to pound down some horrible teabag for some supposed health benefits. If you want health benefits from green tea, my suggestion is to buy some liquid capsules or liquid concentrate of green tea extract... and then have a real cup of green tea brewed properly. Of all the teas it is the most unforgiving and delicate, but when you get it right it is as memorable as your cup. An experience that will linger for a lifetime. The only other tea I have come close to this with has been Pu-Erh, a fine Pu-Erh brewed to perfection is just as amazing.
I'm glad you shared your thoughts, and it seems like more and more folks are popping out from the shadows these days... I think that is great! There are no diplomas or ranks here, the insight you hold in your heart, mind, and tastebuds makes each and every person an expert.
I'd also like to chime in on the thanks for the green tea lesson.
I, much like Pat, was strictly a black tea guy. I still dig it (Yunnans and Assams especially), but I've branched out and started to appreciate everything. My first experience was also a Twinnings green tea bag, but I was young and foolish and imbalanced on over the counter cold medicines at the time.
My first real experience was with a sample of Sencha I got online, and it didn't too much more for me. Maybe it was a bad batch.
Pat, the important thing is, don't give up. I'm still pretty "green" with regards to green, but I'm starting to find a few that really float my proverbial boat. I actually really like gunpowder green. It has a nice smokiness and edge to it, at least out of the 2 or 3 I've tried. I have also tried a few different Lung Chings/Dragonwells that really agree with me. I will undoubtedly be trying a few of the things Domnic has mentioned.
Also, watch the temperature. I've ruined plenty a cup by using water that was too hot. It took a $6 thermometer and a little more patience from me, but the effort has been worth it. I'm going to invest in a Gaiwan next and see what secrets unfold.
Oh, jeez.. I wasn't really trying to give any lessons, just try to find a good fit for Pat and share a bit about green tea that I think gets passed by sometimes around here since the tastes are so varied and many focus on Chinese/Taiwanese teas.
All sencha is not created equally, and slightly unfortunate is that grade and quality and freshness play the biggest role in greens... which equals expense. As someone else mentioned online vendors that offer samples or tea shops that will brew you a cup are clutch when you are starting out. Also, remember that green tea is fairly light so even a small amount will go a fair distance. A 1/4 lb. of green tea is a lot of tea, and with the relatively short shelf life may be too much for most people, so smaller (cheaper) amounts work fine.
Pat may also enjoy gunpowder, I find many people enjoy it... just not me. I also do not like Hojicha and Genmaicha which a black tea lover may like too. I actually prefer Japanese green teas to Chinese for the most part as well, but there are exceptions and some China-only greens that just can't be missed.
A thermometer may be the best route for a newcomer to green tea, but as you begin to learn though they are not needed and to me detract from the whole experience. Some people boil their water then let it cool, or transfer the water a set number of times to sink the heat, but it didn't take me long to be able to know just how long to heat the water to begin with. If I'm not on my home court though with my kettle and stove, I have even learned how long to microwave water or to tell by basic feel. It may seem strange, but you will learn the proper temp. for greens intuitively as you continue to use your thermometer. Occasionally I will still use a thermometer when I am about to brew a super expensive tea that I absolutely want to get right and requires a specific temperature range, but they are far a few between. I did this with a $900/lb. Gyokuro earlier this year, to me brewing it is a tense situation as it is so the addition of a thermometer is actually a calming thing :)
Well, if one cup is good, fifty cups is better, right? And if fifty cups is better, than a 55 gallon drum should be best. You could get huge tea bong to pump cold tea down your throat while you sit on the toilet all day.
I think the whole notion of drinking tea for some elusive "health benefits" is foolish. If you like black tea, drink black tea. If you like green tea, drink green tea. Don't drink the stuff just because you think it's good for you, because for all you know, next year they'll show that green tea causes cancer and the best thing you can do for your body is to have a cigar.
Drink what you enjoy and stop trying to keep up with all of this constantly changing "health benefit" nonsense.
Not necessarily. There comes a point where more is not better. I was just asking what that point was.
I disagree. It's not foolish. Yes, it seems that we are told that something is good for us one day, only to be told that it will kill us the next day. But the studies that have been done on tea over the past few years have all been pretty consistent. It's beyond dispute that tea contains a high level of flavonoid antioxidants. What remains to be proven is how beneficial flavonoids are, what the optimal level is (in general), and whether green tea is really healther than black.
I can't say that I love the green tea I've been drinking so far, but I don't intensely dislike it. And if drinking a few cups of it every day along with my regular intake of black tea, MIGHT be beneficial to my health, why not do it?
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