I don't know about the quality of bag teas where you live, but I would
go for loose tea instead in the mid-price segment. Again, I don't know
if there are tea stores in your area. But there are always internet
shops of course.

When I first tried green tea and just went to a teaasked for two green
teas, 2 ounces each. She gave me a Chinese Lung Ching (has hints of
peaches) and a Japanese Sencha (tastes a bit grassy and has an "oily"
quality to it).

I can also recommend Oolong teas which are half-fermented, being nott
exactly green teas but not yet black teas either (I guess green on the
inside, black on the outside (?)).

Taste - ranges from plain yucky to absolutely delicious.

Green tea is said to have positive health effects. I can't confirm
this by personal experience. What I find is, that it has a better
effect on me than coffee, which has an overpowering taste and affects
causes heart rate and blood pressure to increase a little. Tea usually
has a refreshing effect on me.

Regards,
Nils

Abouna wrote:

My father (a diabetic) has recently discovered the benefits of green
tea and has asked me to research it. I must admit I have found this
quite daunting. I too am interested in green tea but where to start?
I figured this would be the best place.

Though I have found several places that sell green tea I have found
nothing about qulities and quantities. For instance:

- What about quality? Are the green teas in bags at the supermarket
beneficial? If not, where to start with price in mind? I see many
teas selling for $30 for a few grams. This seems impossible
practically speaking for 2 people to maintain.

I don't see why the green tea bags in the supermarket would not have
similar health benefits to tea from other sources. But then again,
I haven't seen any studies.

There is no way you need to spend $30 for a few grams of tea to
get good green tea. I buy many teas - greens included - for something
in the neighborhood of $0.05 (5 cents) per gram, or about $25 per
pound (1 pound is about 455 grams). This isn't all that much more
than what standard grocery store bags cost, and it tastes a lot better.

I like the online vendor Upton teas (www.uptontea.com). Huge selection,
and a good selection of greens, many of which are modestly priced.
They also let you by samples for $1 or $1.50 each, which is very nice.

- Quantity? How many cups does an ounce of green tea powder or leaves
make/ I am trying to see how inexpensively this can be done.

A general rule of thumb is about 2.25 grams per 6 oz. cup of tea.
2.25 grams is roughly one teaspoon in volume, depending on how dense
the leaves are. I drink tea in 12 oz. mugs and infuse about 2 teaspoons
of leaf for that much.

More important rule: NEVER INFUSE GREEN TEA IN BOILING WATER!!! This
will result in a very harsh infusion. Most greens infuse best below 180
degrees F; some as low as 150 degrees F or even lower. An easy way to
do this is to boil the water, pour it into the pot or mug, let it stand
for 3-4 minutes, and then infuse. Don't infuse too long - most greens
infuse well around 2-3 minutes but some are better even shorter.

I am interested firstly in the health benefits and secondly in the
taste/pleasure aspect.

OK. Know that many studies have found health benefits from all kinds
of tea (black, oolong, green, etc.) as long as it is made from the
tea plant.


Randy

Nils,

Thanks for the follow-up.

Being new to the green tea thing I am looking for good information.
So far I have found many teas in the $30 per ounce range! For this
price I would like to know how many cups I'm going to get out of it.

I would prefer to go with loose tea but can;t find any data as to what
consitutes good tea and bad.


Basically I am trying the find the cheapest good tea.

the first poster stated that he was looking for tea for a diabetic,
there for the tea with brown rice is out. too many carbs. I am diabetic
and have wondered what it tasted like. rice is a no no for type two
diabetics because a satisfying amount has too many carbs. the brown rice
tea has too many carbs to drink more than one cup ,as a snake. that
would be a mighty thin snack.

Thanks to all of you.

This is what I wanted to get off on the right foot. Now at least I
have some information, better than none.

Basically, you told me what I wanted to hear, green tea need not be
expensive!

Thanks to all of you.

This is what I wanted to get off on the right foot. Now at least I
have some information, better than none.

Basically, you told me what I wanted to hear, green tea need not be
expensive!

"Sally P." wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I can't attest to the health benefits, but I do enjoy green tea. My
advice is to avoid the tea-bag varieties and stick with loose tea. If
you have any Asian markets in your vicinity, you can find decent green
tea at reasonable prices. You can also find green teas by online mail
order (I'd recommend www.specialteas.com and www.uptontea.com, in that
order.)

Some suggestions:

Gen-mai cha (brown rice tea): Japanese green tea mixed with roasted
rice, which gives a nice flavor. It's also one I recommend to friends
who find that other green teas don't have quite enough flavor for
them...

Lung-ching (or Longjing): A Chinese green, which some people find a
bit less "grassy" tasting than some of the Japanese green teas.
Special teas has a basic Lung-ching tea that sells for $4.65 for 1/4
lb. (catalog #533). It's quite good, and 1/4 lb makes a lot of tea.


One key is preparation -- don't use water that's boiling, just heat
the water up to the point at which it seems about to boil (that is,
watch the surface to see when it's steaming but not bubbling). It
tastes a lot better that way... I use a small tea pot with a strainer,
or just one of the paper tea filters you can order in packs from
vendors like specialteas or upton. Very easy to do...

Sally

Now this is interesting to me. I have found a jasmine tea that I like, but
my water temp doesn't appear to affect the way it tastes. IE boiling water
and a 3-minute steep is just fine. Little astringency (sp?) and only the
slightest bitterness (which actually reminds me of the way life is most
times, sorry to digress) but fairly full body (which is what I find most
pleasing). I tried steeping for 5 minutes with water that had boiled and
then sat to cool for five minutes, and it was quite bitter and very
astringent. 3 minutes would probably not have been so astringent or bitter,
but I already have that with *boiling* water, so what's the diff? Am I
doing something wrong? Also, someone said that green teas run the gamut
from bad-tasting to delicious, and while I enjoy this tea (Chung Feng
Jasmine Tea) or Foojoy Yin-Hao, I would not call either of them delicious by
any stretch of the imagination. How can any (unsweetened) tea be
"delicious"? I can only imagine "pleasant" and "satisfying." Thanks for
any help.

Ignorantly yours,

Dave

"Sally P." wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I can't attest to the health benefits, but I do enjoy green tea. My
advice is to avoid the tea-bag varieties and stick with loose tea. If
you have any Asian markets in your vicinity, you can find decent green
tea at reasonable prices. You can also find green teas by online mail
order (I'd recommend www.specialteas.com and www.uptontea.com, in that
order.)

Some suggestions:

Gen-mai cha (brown rice tea): Japanese green tea mixed with roasted
rice, which gives a nice flavor. It's also one I recommend to friends
who find that other green teas don't have quite enough flavor for
them...

Lung-ching (or Longjing): A Chinese green, which some people find a
bit less "grassy" tasting than some of the Japanese green teas.
Special teas has a basic Lung-ching tea that sells for $4.65 for 1/4
lb. (catalog #533). It's quite good, and 1/4 lb makes a lot of tea.


One key is preparation -- don't use water that's boiling, just heat
the water up to the point at which it seems about to boil (that is,
watch the surface to see when it's steaming but not bubbling). It
tastes a lot better that way... I use a small tea pot with a strainer,
or just one of the paper tea filters you can order in packs from
vendors like specialteas or upton. Very easy to do...

Sally

Now this is interesting to me. I have found a jasmine tea that I like, but
my water temp doesn't appear to affect the way it tastes. IE boiling water
and a 3-minute steep is just fine. Little astringency (sp?) and only the
slightest bitterness (which actually reminds me of the way life is most
times, sorry to digress) but fairly full body (which is what I find most
pleasing). I tried steeping for 5 minutes with water that had boiled and
then sat to cool for five minutes, and it was quite bitter and very
astringent. 3 minutes would probably not have been so astringent or bitter,
but I already have that with *boiling* water, so what's the diff? Am I
doing something wrong? Also, someone said that green teas run the gamut
from bad-tasting to delicious, and while I enjoy this tea (Chung Feng
Jasmine Tea) or Foojoy Yin-Hao, I would not call either of them delicious by
any stretch of the imagination. How can any (unsweetened) tea be
"delicious"? I can only imagine "pleasant" and "satisfying." Thanks for
any help.

Ignorantly yours,

Dave

Dave wrote:

Also, someone said that green teas run the gamut
from bad-tasting to delicious, and while I enjoy this tea (Chung Feng
Jasmine Tea) or Foojoy Yin-Hao, I would not call either of them delicious by
any stretch of the imagination. How can any (unsweetened) tea be
"delicious"? I can only imagine "pleasant" and "satisfying."

Although some in this newsgroup may sneer and jeer, try adding a bit
of sugar to your oolongs and greens. For many of them, I find this
makes them "delicious" in addition to "pleasant" and "satisfying".

Now adding milk, THAT would be horrid and would justify sneers and
jeers.


Randy

(Abouna) wrote in news:c75e6f31.0410111543.5911d025
@posting.google.com:

Basically I am trying the find the cheapest good tea.

I have gotten sample packs from funalliance.com. The details:

"Here, you get to pick 3 kinds of Chinese tea for $7, including s&h. You
will get:
1) for Oolong class tea, enough for 1-2 serves with a 6oz teapot;
2) for other classes, enough for 1-2 serves with an 8oz glass."

I've ordered two packs, and found a couple of teas I really like. I can't
say whether it's the best place to buy from, but at least you can sample
different things.

Also, it takes a while (for me; I'm in Florida, they are in Hong Kong), but
on the other paw, the proprietor seems like a nice guy.

Just food for thought.

--
fD

(Abouna) wrote in news:c75e6f31.0410111543.5911d025
@posting.google.com:

Basically I am trying the find the cheapest good tea.

I have gotten sample packs from funalliance.com. The details:

"Here, you get to pick 3 kinds of Chinese tea for $7, including s&h. You
will get:
1) for Oolong class tea, enough for 1-2 serves with a 6oz teapot;
2) for other classes, enough for 1-2 serves with an 8oz glass."

I've ordered two packs, and found a couple of teas I really like. I can't
say whether it's the best place to buy from, but at least you can sample
different things.

Also, it takes a while (for me; I'm in Florida, they are in Hong Kong), but
on the other paw, the proprietor seems like a nice guy.

Just food for thought.

--
fD

RJP wrote in
:

Dave wrote:

Also, someone said that green teas run the gamut
from bad-tasting to delicious, and while I enjoy this tea (Chung Feng
Jasmine Tea) or Foojoy Yin-Hao, I would not call either of them
delicious by any stretch of the imagination. How can any
(unsweetened) tea be "delicious"? I can only imagine "pleasant" and
"satisfying."

Although some in this newsgroup may sneer and jeer, try adding a bit
of sugar to your oolongs and greens. For many of them, I find this
makes them "delicious" in addition to "pleasant" and "satisfying".

Now adding milk, THAT would be horrid and would justify sneers and
jeers.

I don't, myself, have much problem with a *little* sugar. It's kind of
like, oh, a seasoning. It's still a far cry from the creamy syrup so
many of us enjoy with black tea (disclaimer--I usually enjoy three cups
when I make (black) tea-- one with sweetener and milk, one with just
milk, and the final one straight. I can't say which one I enjoy the
most).

"Sweetener"? Yes; I use Splenda. Sneers and jeers, anyone? :O)

--
fD

RJP wrote in
:

Dave wrote:

Also, someone said that green teas run the gamut
from bad-tasting to delicious, and while I enjoy this tea (Chung Feng
Jasmine Tea) or Foojoy Yin-Hao, I would not call either of them
delicious by any stretch of the imagination. How can any
(unsweetened) tea be "delicious"? I can only imagine "pleasant" and
"satisfying."

Although some in this newsgroup may sneer and jeer, try adding a bit
of sugar to your oolongs and greens. For many of them, I find this
makes them "delicious" in addition to "pleasant" and "satisfying".

Now adding milk, THAT would be horrid and would justify sneers and
jeers.

I don't, myself, have much problem with a *little* sugar. It's kind of
like, oh, a seasoning. It's still a far cry from the creamy syrup so
many of us enjoy with black tea (disclaimer--I usually enjoy three cups
when I make (black) tea-- one with sweetener and milk, one with just
milk, and the final one straight. I can't say which one I enjoy the
most).

"Sweetener"? Yes; I use Splenda. Sneers and jeers, anyone? :O)

--
fD

There are many good greens out there that don't need amelioration with sugar or
milk, and would suffer from it. For a newbie I would advise staying away from
a couple of staples of ye corner tea shoppe such as Young Hyson and Gunpowder
and Sow Mee, which tend to be quite bitter or lackluster.

You should be able to find a green that suits you within five to 10 samples
from a reliable seller. After all, there are hundreds of different ones,
though they fall into fairly distinct categories. Also remember that greens
are fragile and lose freshness rapidly...part of the reason for finding a good
retailer.

I hesitate to recommend specific teas, but since the OP said price was a factor
-- two greens that I have found remarkably good, consistent and inexpensive are
Everyday Green from Imperial Tea Court (via internet) and Stir Fried Greens
from Silk Road (via phone/mail order). For something with a headier sweet
aroma, Lin Yun White Down from SpecialTeas (my memory from a year ago).

Best,
Joe Kubera

There are many good greens out there that don't need amelioration with sugar or
milk, and would suffer from it. For a newbie I would advise staying away from
a couple of staples of ye corner tea shoppe such as Young Hyson and Gunpowder
and Sow Mee, which tend to be quite bitter or lackluster.

You should be able to find a green that suits you within five to 10 samples
from a reliable seller. After all, there are hundreds of different ones,
though they fall into fairly distinct categories. Also remember that greens
are fragile and lose freshness rapidly...part of the reason for finding a good
retailer.

I hesitate to recommend specific teas, but since the OP said price was a factor
-- two greens that I have found remarkably good, consistent and inexpensive are
Everyday Green from Imperial Tea Court (via internet) and Stir Fried Greens
from Silk Road (via phone/mail order). For something with a headier sweet
aroma, Lin Yun White Down from SpecialTeas (my memory from a year ago).

Best,
Joe Kubera