Benefits of Green Tea

[akkiluck20]

Just recently started drinking green tea after my friends recommended,any one drinking on a regular basis can you share the benefits ,my friend had high cholestrol and it went down after starting to drink it .

[biee]

I drink them everyday :)

I don't have high cholesterol or anything but I heard it helps with metabolism.

[nalababe]

Don't get too hung up about benefits. Do you like green tea? If so, drink it. If not, don't.

[jerrysiz]

It's good for your gums, apparently. My dentist has it to drink in his office and reccomends drinking it for good oral health. I drink it because I like the flavour and also because I drink my black tea with sugar, but my green tea plain, so it's healthier for me (it also has less caffiene then black tea).

[craftsman]

Caffeine contents in green tea will vary from green tea to green tea. Yes, not all green teas are the same as the term "green tea" refers to the process in making the dry tea from leaves. Like any true "tea", all of the green tea leaves come from one type of plant, but the plant takes on certain characteristics depending on growing conditions, soils,... therefore, creating a variation in the final tea itself.

In addition, brewing/steeping techniques will also vary the level of caffeine - ie longer steeping times, more tea leaves...

Benefits like caffeine contents may vary as well.... For a decent article on benefits, have a look at http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea

[jtcb]

Anyone tried mygreenteadaily.com? It has been feature in group buy a few times.

[duckdown]

Hate the taste of it.

[willdacanucker]

My metabolism shoots way up when I drink green tea. I drink about a gallon of iced green tea every day. Cold steep it every night before bed and pull on the gallon throughout the day.

[kear7856]

I always drink it but the macha power is pretty expensive

[craftsman]

Hate the taste of it.

Could be the way it's brewed. Most people brew green tea the way they brew black teas which is generally wrong. Black teas generally require an higher temperature (some of them need water at a running boil) while greens are generally much lower at 85 C or so. If the water is too hot, tea generally becomes bitter...

[Mr. Robo]

I don't drink green tea every day, but when I do, I drink 4 to 5 cups because you can make a lot of tea with one bag.

[Goonish]

Love green tea. It's my gateway between no caffeine and coffee. Every few weeks at work, I move from green tea to black coffee for the extra boost of productivity but I always try to wean myself off of coffee back onto green tea.

There's a noticeable boost in my metabolism when I drink 3-4 cups of green tea a day.

[jerrysiz]

Could be the way it's brewed. Most people brew green tea the way they brew black teas which is generally wrong. Black teas generally require an higher temperature (some of them need water at a running boil) while greens are generally much lower at 85 C or so. If the water is too hot, tea generally becomes bitter...

+1 I generally brew my green tea at about 80 C. Also, steeping too long can make it bitter. Black tea needs about 5 minutes, but green only needs about 2. If it's made with the right temperature water and not oversteeped, even the strongest green shouldn't be bitter (as long as you're using decent quality tea, though that should go without saying for all teas).

[TodayHello]

Don't get too hung up about benefits. Do you like green tea? If so, drink it. If not, don't.

+1 ...... IIRC, the studies show you need to drink like 1000 cups a day to derive the benefits everyone is (was) hollering about

That being said, Green Tea is great - I enjoy the taste - plain with no added sugar or sweeteners.

[craftsman]

It's good for your gums, apparently. My dentist has it to drink in his office and reccomends drinking it for good oral health. I drink it because I like the flavour and also because I drink my black tea with sugar, but my green tea plain, so it's healthier for me (it also has less caffiene then black tea).

You should look at some different black teas.... If you get the right black tea for your taste, you shouldn't need sugar.

[jerrysiz]

You should look at some different black teas.... If you get the right black tea for your taste, you shouldn't need sugar.

I've tried all kinds actually. There are some black teas I can drink without wanting sugar, but I find that's because the flavour is more similar to green tea, so I might as well just drink the green and get less caffene (generally) and greater health benefits (perhaps). I like stronger black teas, and find a bit of sugar balances out the tannins well. There's nothing like a good black tea with a bit of sugar to make you feel all warm and cozy inside. :)

[samkat]

No love for white teas and/or oolong ?

[BongoBong]

No love for white teas and/or oolong ?

Love oolong. Basically the only tea I make at home

[samkat]

Yeah ! A SHOUT OUT FOR OOLONG!!

Never find it to be bitter. I would define it between a green and black tea.

[jerrysiz]

Yeah ! A SHOUT OUT FOR OOLONG!!

Never find it to be bitter. I would define it between a green and black tea.

Yes, they are in between, they're semi-oxidised. You can add me to the oolong lovers, but I can't give you a shout out for white tea, it's too weak for my tastes. :)

[glover78]

I'm soon going to jump on the matcha bandwagon. Heard it has significantly more antioxidants and benefits than regular green tea since you're actually consuming the entire leaf instead of whatever comes out of from being brewed.

[jerrysiz]

I'm soon going to jump on the matcha bandwagon. Heard it has significantly more antioxidants and benefits than regular green tea since you're actually consuming the entire leaf instead of whatever comes out of from being brewed.

It does. It's an acquired taste though, much more tea-y (for want of a better term) than brewed tea. Make sure you get good quality stuff or it's just awful, and mix it really well or you'll get gritty tea or clumps. Also, don't buy too big a bag as it will start to oxidize as soon as it's exposed to the air, you can store it in the fridge and that will make it last longer.

[B0000rt]

+1 ...... IIRC, the studies show you need to drink like 1000 cups a day to derive the benefits everyone is (was) hollering about

That being said, Green Tea is great - I enjoy the taste - plain with no added sugar or sweeteners.

I recall the studies showed that one required 4-5 cups a day to reap the benefits...

In any case, I prefer my White Jasmine and Black Irish Breakfast with a cup of Earl Grey here and there.

What do you guys use to steep your tea?

I've been using this for a while and it's pretty damn good:
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

[Tijuana]

+1 ...... IIRC, the studies show you need to drink like 1000 cups a day to derive the benefits everyone is (was) hollering about

That being said, Green Tea is great - I enjoy the taste - plain with no added sugar or sweeteners.

Or just take green tea extract pills. Much more convenient.

[craftsman]

I've tried all kinds actually.

Not to make a mountain out of mole hill but what kinds of you tried? I'm assuming that you have gone into the typical "tea" shop and when through a selection of normal blends - Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, some kind of Afternoon Blend... - or if you are lucky, they have Assam or Darjeeling (which I also consider a blend as they are made up of teas from the region so that the taste is consistent - unfortunately, more often than not, consistently poor).

The blends represent the common market for teas - good for the average consumer who wants consistency over quality of experience.

A good tea is like a good wine - they are associated with an estate and a year. The best types are also defined by the time of the year that the tea is picked. In the past, I have sampled some excellent Darjeeling black teas which have a good amount of sweetness with no bitter tones. I have also had some poor quality blended Darjeelings with no estate connected to it (I'm not even sure it was really a Darjeeling as there is more Darjeeling tea sold than grown every year - lots of counterfeit tea).

[craftsman]

Yes, they are in between, they're semi-oxidised. You can add me to the oolong lovers, but I can't give you a shout out for white tea, it's too weak for my tastes. :)

Depends on the white tea... A good white tea estate is Doke out of India. Nice strong bold favours for a white tea.

[craftsman]

What do you guys use to steep your tea?

I've been using this for a while and it's pretty damn good:
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

I'm using the LibreTea - http://libretea.com/ - glass and poly. Easy to use but having a bit of an issue with the seal.

[craftsman]

Or just take green tea extract pills. Much more convenient.

The problem is that you really don't know what's in the pills... sure it might come from "green tea" but which tea? Remember that "green" is just the process and it says nothing about the quality of the leaves.

[Tijuana]

The problem is that you really don't know what's in the pills... sure it might come from "green tea" but which tea? Remember that "green" is just the process and it says nothing about the quality of the leaves.

NOW's EGCG product

Green Tea Extract(Camellia Sinensis)(Leaf)(Standardized Extract)(Contains 4 Mg Of Caffeine)[Min. 98% Total Polyphenols, 80% Total Catechins, And 50% EGCg (Epigallocatechin Gallate)(200mg)] 400mg *
Decaffeinated Green Tea(Camellia Sinensis)(Leaf) 450mg *

You take Green Tea for the anti-oxidant benefits and more importantly, EGCg.

[B0000rt]

I'm using the LibreTea - http://libretea.com/ - glass and poly. Easy to use but having a bit of an issue with the seal.

How do you keep the tea from steeping too long in that thing?

[Stryker]

I've been drinking a daily cup or two of green tea for the last few years now. Nothing fancy. I just buy the Sencha tea bags imported from Japan, available at most east Asian grocery stores. I usually steep the bag in a cup of hot water for about ten minutes. When the bag cools down after taking it out, I squeeze it into the tea. I occasionally have just plain green tea, but most of the time I add a quarter teaspoon each of powdered ginger and also turmeric. I then sprinkle in some freshly ground black pepper. Took a while to get used to the taste, but now I look forward to it each morning.

[ShoNuff2]

Vit C can greatly increase the absorption of the catechins in green tea...most teas for that matter.
If you want to increase the bioavailability of antioxidants it's a good idea to mix lemon, or other citrus juices, with the green tea.

[craftsman]

How do you keep the tea from steeping too long in that thing?

Turn it over. The leaves can be held in the lid so the steeping happens when it's upside down. Once you have completed the steeping, just turn it right side up and open the lid.

[akkiluck20]

yes green tea is a good antioxidant ,am enjoying a cuppa hot lemon tea now

[TheRealVinsanity]

I try to drink green tea 3-4 times a week as well. Good for the gums :)