This is probably a stupid question, but does serving green tea hot (tea bag & boiling water) versus cold (bottled iced tea) make a real difference in terms of the benefits of drinking it? I’ve heard it is quite helpful for fat loss and has anti-inflamatory effects as well, but I am not a big tea drinker. So I wanted to try it different ways in order to find which one I find most palatable. Then the above occurred to me. Your thoughts are appreciated.
i drink green tea every morning and my preference is hot, but i do know all the cold green teas (bottles) have added sugar and stuff regular tea doesnt offer. if i were you and u like it cold boil and ice it down. or set it in a fridgerator
However you like it drink it. I would simply make a big pitcher of my own HOT and chill it.
Oh stay away from the canned variety. There waqs a study not to long back how th canned teas were worse for you as far as tooth decay etc (I think thats what the negative effect was) that even regular or diet soft drinks. Due to an interaction in the can and teas or something crazy been a few months cant recall it exactly think it was an LEF study.
I don’t think it matters if you drink it hot or cold. But if taste is what you’re going for, here are a couple of bits of advice. One, tea bags are generally low-quality tea, and they go stale very quickly. Try loose leaf green tea if you really want it to taste good. Also, green tea shouldn’t be brewed with boiling water - it burns the tea and makes it bitter. Use water that’s around 170-180 deg. F. You can use a thermometer, or just heat the water till it’s steaming but not boiling. Don’t let it steep too long either. 1-3 minutes should do it, depending on the exact type of tea and on your personal preference.
I cannot stand green tea.
The good news is I love black tea and each cup of black tea has ~ 40-50% of the antioxidants and other good stuff in green tea so I just drink a few cups a day.
Don’t make a habit of drinking the bottled or canned stuff. It is usually mostly sugar water. Brew your own.
My sister was out in CA and brought me back some green tea from Peets Coffee & Tea (her last name is Peets, so she thought that was cool). It is way better than the bagged stuff, although much pricier. There are some good tips on their website re: brewing, etc.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
I cannot stand green tea.
The good news is I love black tea and each cup of black tea has ~ 40-50% of the antioxidants and other good stuff in green tea so I just drink a few cups a day.
Don’t make a habit of drinking the bottled or canned stuff. It is usually mostly sugar water. Brew your own.[/quote]
Lipton’s is tolerable and actually tastes decent.
I stick 4 teabags in a gallon of water and let it sit in the fridge 24 hours. Tea for a week.
When you cold brew coffee like this it makes it super caffienated, im not sure of the effect on tea and antioxidants tho.
How about the powdered green tea concentrate that you just throw in a jug of cold water and shake up?
Kind of like the Crystal Light things, but with green tea. Anybody know how good/bad those are compared to brewing it?
[quote]Bauer97 wrote:
How about the powdered green tea concentrate that you just throw in a jug of cold water and shake up?
Kind of like the Crystal Light things, but with green tea. Anybody know how good/bad those are compared to brewing it?[/quote]
Read above.
I’ve become addicted to bottled diet green tea with honey (as often as I drink it, I can’t think of who makes it now, one of the name brands). It has zero calories and carbs, and tastes OK. I’m sure it has some kind of carcinogenic artificial sweetner and a bunch of other nasty ingredients, but it breaks up the monotony of water while on T-Dawg.
I don’t know if it is available in all areas of the country, but in general I have found R.C. Bigelow Teas to be head and shoulders above Lipton
Thanks all! All these quality answers and not one “tea bag” joke? I am shocked!
Get a can of Teavana brand green tea. They have several varieties blended with other herbs too. This is the old fashioned teas with whole, dried herbs. Not the crap you get in little pouches. Brew a large batch and chill it in a pitcher. Great stuff, even unsweetened.
[quote]deanec wrote:
My sister was out in CA and brought me back some green tea from Peets Coffee & Tea (her last name is Peets, so she thought that was cool). It is way better than the bagged stuff, although much pricier. There are some good tips on their website re: brewing, etc.
[/quote]
Heh peets, what a worthless place. Overpriced crap targeted for people that dont want to throw money away at starbucks, Instead you throw it away at peets.
This stuff is damn good and excellent quality: http://www.revolutiontea.com/
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Lipton’s is tolerable and actually tastes decent. [/quote]
Yeah, I have their lemon ginseng green tea, and it’s not bad at all.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Bauer97 wrote:
How about the powdered green tea concentrate that you just throw in a jug of cold water and shake up?
Kind of like the Crystal Light things, but with green tea. Anybody know how good/bad those are compared to brewing it?
Read above.[/quote]
Prof, are you referring to the posts that talked about the “canned” or “bottled” stuff being full of sugar?
The stuff I’ve been using is 4C Totally Light Green Tea mix, and is sweetened with Splenda. Anybody have any knowledge/opinions of this sort of thing? Or do I need to start buying tea bags?
[quote]Bauer97 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Bauer97 wrote:
How about the powdered green tea concentrate that you just throw in a jug of cold water and shake up?
Kind of like the Crystal Light things, but with green tea. Anybody know how good/bad those are compared to brewing it?
Read above.
Prof, are you referring to the posts that talked about the “canned” or “bottled” stuff being full of sugar?
The stuff I’ve been using is 4C Totally Light Green Tea mix, and is sweetened with Splenda. Anybody have any knowledge/opinions of this sort of thing? Or do I need to start buying tea bags?[/quote]
Tea that comes in little tea bags are decent, but not all that great either. Like I said earlier, you’re better off getting a can of Teavana brand teas. By can, I don’t mean ready-made beverages, but cans of the dried tea herbs. You can get some at their website:
I usually brew my own and drink it cold. I like my tea pretty strong so this works best for me.
I’ve noticed that the variety’s of green tea that are not plain ol’ “green tea” have less antioxidants per serving, ie: lemon, jasmin etc…