lipton green tea

While I don't care for lipton green label or yellow label, I can still drink it when I have to. otoh, Lipton green tea is evil. don't drink that. (jmo, of course) Concerning green tea benefits, I'd guess the fresher the tea the better it is, hence tea dust in a bag is definitively not the way to go; buy some loose tea instead.

Well, it doesn't taste very good. Taste is the only benefit of green tea that I know of, and by that standard, Lipton's green gets a thumbs down.

--scott

I would decide on what you are looking for out of your green tea. If health benefits are the main concern, then you will most likely require a fresh green tea or at least a full leaf varietal. I would actually suggest using a green tea extract to some extent, but I am not a big vitamin/extract pill person since your body needs to be working pretty efficiently to break down the pill and absorb it. A liquid extract may be the best option there.

I drink a ton of green tea, jasmine/dragonwell/sencha/kukicha and I would expect that my constant intake helps me absorb the small amounts of benefits present in the varying quality teas but over many doses. To just drink 25 cups and expect a noticeable benefit would not happen even with a very high quality green.

Most natural substances, especially when they are new and being introduced to your body, take time to work. Like ginseng, you need to take a fair bt of ginseng over time before it begins to have any real effect and your body begins to properly process it. The potency is variable from none to a small amount in natural substances for the most part, and things like narcotics/prescription drugs/alcohol need to be distilled and concentrated before they can give instant effects. Tea is not very concentrated, extracts are... which is why I suggested a liquid extract.

I actually take in a number of things like pomegranate juice, blueberries, acai, tea, etc. mainly because I enjoy them, but they are all high in antioxidants and any secondary benefits I receive are just icing on the cake. Tea is healthier than coffee/soda/beer no matter how you swing it, so at the very least it is beneficial to drink any and all the tea you can... wether it be a lipton green tea bag or a high quality fresh dragonwell. Just don't expect instant results and you'll do fine.

- Dominic Drinking: Pu-Erh Maidan

I was very surprised when I saw this post. Today I went to a very small neighborhood grocery store and all they had was about three or four Lipton flavored teas and that was it. Green tea was one of them and until I can get loose leaf, next week, I decided to buy a box and try it ($3.49 for 40 bags).

I came home and made a cup and let it steep for about 4 minutes. It still had a light color to it, but actually was very good to this tea newbie. And as I have said before, if I like this cheap stuff, what am I going to experience when I get the good loose leaf tea from Uptons or another online store? Delicious anticipation...

I have lost all interest in coffee now. I am really enjoying this and look forward to having tea several times a day.

Jane Hudson

As much as I can appreciate a high-end tea, I really tend to stay in a mid-range except for a few exceptions here and there. And even when I have $99/lb. Jasmine pearls, I sometimes crave a cup of $1.79/200g jasmine tea in the yellow tin. There is a large difference for sure, but I'm not too proud to still enjoy a basic teabag every now and then.

It isn't so much that there is anything *wrong* with the Liptons, and in fact it is very consistent which is a feat in itself... it is just that you can really appreciate and taste the major difference when you start to branch out and try some new teas. It is actually nice to have that base level to compare against.

As with anything you'd get tired of drinking nothing but 40 year old bordeaux every day, and sometimes you just want some plain old grape kool-aid... same with tea.

- Dominic

Best way to start in tea in my view is from the bottom where you have nowhere to go but up in tea! Too often I have seen people jump right into tea at the deep end of the pool and were left with too many disappointments. Part of the joy of tea is the anticipation from year to year of the new harvest! So you rightly already understand "tea anticipation"!

- Dominic

Must respectfully disagree here on this point Dominic! Decade upon decade of harsh bidding, clawing and fighting to get the best spring harvest of West Lake Long Jing from a speficic grower and consuming same said year after year has left me only wanting more and with this years price over $1,000USD a kg it's become a terribly expensive habit but one I have yet to grow tired of drinking! I have a similar pu'erh addiction and believe me that is another area that after decades I have yet to even feel a tinge of boredom!

Now as to the question in this string about Lipton's green tea.

Dominic is quite correct! It is a major feat to produce consistent tea in such a vast tonnage as Lipton does. This is what mass manufacturers like Lipton are famous for, blending tea to produce the same consistent taste. May not be the best taste and may not be to everyone's liking but nonetheless it is a constant in the market of tea.

As for the health benefits of Lipton's green tea versus others I point to several studies by the AMA, Johns Hopkins and others. These mass studies were done using similar "lowly" green teas such as Lipton's uses and not the "premium" green teas preferred by the likes of me. These studies indicate that green tea health benefits can be derived not just from green tea but equally from red (black) teas. It is my limited opinion that even Lipton's green will provide similar health benefits as mentioned in these studies. And perhaps because of Lipton's consistency the health benefits would be as consistent?

But the question here should be do I drink it because of the health benefits or because I like it? The tea I drink is the tea I like and I drink it for the enjoyment. If it has health benefits that is a bonus but certainly not why I drink tea!

Castor Oil has been proven to have great health benefits but trust me not since I was little and forced to drink it every Saturday morning by grandmom has castor oil passed my lips!

Allen Miller

Hey no offense taken, but I think my point is still valid. Sometimes you don't *want* to hunt for subtle nuances, sometimes you don't have the time to properly enjoy it, sometimes you just want plain and normal. At least I do. I would doubt that the only tea to cross your lips for decade after decade was purely West Lake Long Jing... c'mon, fess up :)

Variety is fine, it is normal, and generally the "low-end" product is created for mass appeal... it is not so much that it is low-end but just lacking certain characteristics that would not be universally appreciated.

Exactly correct. Freshness will undoubtedly increase the potency, but in something like tea it is a minor issue. As I stated with things like this, it is prolonged small doses that add up to offer some benefit. It is not a one week regimine that will turn things around. A long time tea drinker of say 10 years, will no doubt have gained some benefit. I know that I do not get sick as much and I would attribute some of that to tea, also just the plain benefit of drinking so much tea increases my water intake daily that I otherwise would not do and it is better for me than coffee or soda in a number of ways.

I still say that liquid extracts (still over a long time frame) are the best way if you are purely trying for the health benefits. Starting with an unhealthy body will decrese the amount of benefit is actually absorbed in any substance, absorbing 5% of standard tea benefits from a regular cup or 5% from a concentrated extract is no comparison.

I think it was Space Cowboy who said that he didn't dwell on the health benefits of the tea he drinks, if it keeps him alive one day longer... then great it was a bonus. (I paraphrased of course, but I liked the essence of the comment)

- Dominic Drinking: PG Tips w/Honey

Mark Oooooooooooooooout!