I like the idea of tea because of the philosophy associated with it;
for me, that would be Taoism; but am into green tea because of a
cancer scare I had in '02. Had the bladder operation removing the
cancer and have been clear since, perhaps because of my change of
diet. Doctors mentioned taking Saw Palmetto, but nothing about
drinking green tea.

I looked up newsgroups talking about cancer diets and read about
Chinese green tea. A nurse who noted my intake of vitamins and
supplements commented that, yes green tea is drunk in China, and
Chinese have a low rate of bladder cancer, but they also have a higher
rate of stomach cancer. Doctor advised me to avoid tea with caffeine,
drink herbal instead.

Long story short, I drink daily a couple large mugs of Chinese green
tea, removing 80% of the caffeine with a 30 second blanch. To do
this, I heat to steaming filtered water in a pan, blanch the tea, pour
out the water, and pour in some pure distilled water I have heated to
only about 140 degree f, steeping the leaves at least twice more. So
far, I haven't invested in a tea pot or tried the caffeine-free tea
bags; but I may.

Mostly, I rely on local Asian stores for my supply, but to get Dragon
Well I've had to go on-line and pay the freight for 1lb bulk. After
looking over the 25K-some posts archived at this NG, I deduce that the
following retailers are a good bet: 1) Upton, 2) Culinary Teas, 3)
SpecialTeas.

Regards, bookburn





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