When I go shopping this weekend, I’m going to be purchasing some green tea, as I’ve heard/read it to be healthy. So, I was wondering, what kind of green tea should I get and should it be hot or cold? Thanks guys.
I assume by ‘hot’ you mean loose leaf or tea bag so you can brew it ‘hot’ (and therefore fresh) yourself?
If so, I would prefer to do the brewing as I feel cold tea does not necessarily retain the same efficacy/concentration of beneficial compounds as when it is freshly brewed.
Best TYPE of green tea? It’s called Dragon Well (that’s not a brand, either). It is loose leaf and tastes AMAZING compared to Sencha and Matcha (the more common but lower quality) green teas often sold in tea bags everywhere. Gunpowder green tea, often rolled into balls that expand in hot water (don’t get the kind mixed with Jasmine, just get regular green tea), is second best from what I hear among the loose leaf varieties.
Max benefit: squeeze fresh lemon in your tea before drinking, as they say Vit C greatly increases the uptake of the EGCG and anti-oxidants in the green tea.
ah, yes, Ponce, I meant hot as in self-brewed or cold as in bottled or kept in the fridge. sorry about the lack of clarity.
thanks for the info, bro. when I go to the store this weekend, I’ll look for some dragon well tea.
I bought lipton green tea bags. Seems to be okay so far.
I like Genmaicha (green tea and roasted brown rice).
I think green tea is an acquired taste, especially for people new to tea in general. You really can’t go wrong with most green teas available at asian grocery stores. I personally prefer Sencha the most of other varieties, but I still haven’t tried Dragon well.
Berardi likes Matcha.
http://transform07trainer.menshealth.com/2007/01/grocery_supplem.html
I am not a tea snob, but I know it is much like a bottle of wine. The average person thinks green tea is all the same but that is definitely not the case. I mainly drink white tea.
The problem with tea bags - all kinds of tea, really - is the amount of garbage found in the bag on top of the tea leaves. Lots of dust/dirt because bags are produced en masse, so it’s expensive and difficult to make bags out of pure, high quality leaves.
At least with leaves you can smell and see them before you weigh them out and buy some. Dragon Well tastes amazing, much better than Sencha or Matcha which are both considered lower quality teas (hence why they are also more commonly used in green tea products/beverages).
Oh, and I don’t mean to be a tea snob but in my culture we drink a ton of black tea, so that was enough of an education for me growing up. By the way, if any of you put milk in your (black) tea…please go outside and jump in front of oncoming traffic 
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
…please go outside and jump in front of oncoming traffic
[/quote]
Will that improve the effects of the tea? ;}
Agree with the genmaicha being the best.
Genmai is “easy to like” and a good starter tea IMO. It’s usually cheap too, but the cheapest ones will have low quality “left over” tea leaves in it so don’t buy the cheapest type. The flavor isn’t too strong, and the roasted rice flavor is just yummy. I also like raw Pu’er, it has quite a strong smell and flavor though.
Whatever you end up buying, just make sure you don’t brew the tea for too long or the taste can turn bitter. If you buy an expensive tea you can usually brew several cups/pots from one “serving” of tea (for single cups, concider getting a “tea egg” that you use just like a tea bag).
The cold bottled stuff often has various additives so read the label before you buy.
[quote]cynical kane wrote:
Gunpowder and mint is my favorite green tea. But Gunpowder is the only green tea I can stand to drink.
Don’t buy iced tea. Make your own double strength then pour it over ice. It’s cheaper, tastier, and free of additives.[/quote]
CK that avatar is hilarious!
Where do you guys buy your dragonwell and gunpowder tea from?
They’re all pretty much the same to me. If you go to an Asian market it’s usually the cheapest I’ve found, otherwise you’re looking at $8 for 3 oz of Dragon Well leaves.
Waterbury recommended the Sencha Shot - iced green tea, compact can, but VERY expensive. Like $1.39 at Whole Foods for about 6 oz can, but it was very refreshing. If I could afford it I would drink 3-4 of them a day.
Sweeeet. Im going to order some dragonwell and gunpowder tomorrow.
I just drink the stuff at my job… Bigelow Tea… Drinking it right now in fact…
I prefer black tea to green tea, because of the stronger flavor. Green tea just doesn’t taste “ripe” to me, somehow. But whatever tea you choose, get the fresh leaves from an Asian market or one of the online sources listed in the post above. The difference in taste is amazing. You will never use tea bags again.
Actually, that stuff in the tea bags is really stale tea “dust” not leaves.
Tea is like marijuana. Get the good stuff, the buds, not the remnants.
I like Tazo’s China Green Tips. Green tea flavor and nothing added.
[quote]TShaw wrote:
I like Tazo’s China Green Tips. Green tea flavor and nothing added.[/quote]
+1. I also drink the tazo Zen green tea.