I just wanted to talk about my love for green tea,I am honestly in love with it.I drink it plain,no sugar...nothing.It took me a couple of weeks to get use to the taste,but I pressed on.One of my friends swore by it,and I kept reading good things about it.Well let me tell you,I don't know if it prevents cancer but I will say I feel better.Drinking this,and doing cardio has really improved my health.I'm only 28 but before this I was already having trouble going up stairs! My blood pressure was 130/90! and at times I felt dizzy after I ate.Even if I've gone without doing any cardio in days clearer....my lungs seem to be working better.I can't prove it but I feel like my heart is just working better.I know that the cardio is doing half of the work but I personally feel that the green tea is no slacker either.

I have been a huge advocate for green tea for a while. I, too, drink it straight up. I am a tea fiend anyway- you name the tea and I'll drink it.. unless it's lemon. The Black Tea is something that I've really gotten into as well. I suggest you also try that.

oh do,in fact I drank black tea before I ever even thought of green.

Where does everyone get their tea? I've wanted to started drinking green tea, but never knew where to start. Do I get tea bags from the store and brew my own, order loose tea, or buy bottled tea? I'm pretty lost on the subject but would like to reap the benefits of drinking green/black tea!

Rebecca,

I'd recommend buying it from the store. The bottled does NOT do it justice. It's really simple to make. Just boil some water, pour into a  cup and drop in the tea bag. Great for fall weather.

Is there a specific brand that you would reccommend?

I learned to love green tea living near Tokyo.  For the first few months, I drank it to be polite, then I started to actually like it.  Try various brands and see what you like.  Personally, I prefer the green teas grown and packaged in Japan to those grown and packaged in China, but then, my first three years of green tea was mostly grown near my apartment.  I usually buy it in an Asian food store and follow the directions in an English language book about Japanese food.  

Best suggestion regarding brands - experiment.  I like loose teas better than bagged, but for convenience stick tea bags in the pot in my coffee maker (I hate coffee) and heat the water as if I was making coffee.

One more thing - I love Earl Grey Tea (Thank you, Capitain Picard of ST:TNG) and when I saw an Earl Grey Green Tea thought it would be great.  Definitely in my Top 10 Things I Never Want To Taste Again list.  Two great tastes that taste horrible together.

I love black tea!  And recently really started to enjoy green tea in the afternoon and evening.  I started drinking tea again to wean myself off pepsi and now love and look forward to a nice cup of tea so much more than icky pepsi (wow, never thought I'd ever utter that!).  When I was younger I loved just the regular ol' Lipton tea bags you buy at the grocery store, but my taste is a little more uppity now!   I started buying tea at The Tea Chick, Ono Tea, I especially love the Simply Slim and Energizer Yogi.  Once I tried her Darjeeling and did a little research I started to buy Darjeeling black and green from Boston Tea Campaign.    Oh how I love the Darjeeling tea!!  I bought 2 huge packs (a 2nd flush and a green) from them and don't drink anything else now.

I traveled extensively throughout China last year and while there, fell in love with Jasmine Green Tea--I like plain green tea but I adore it with jasmine---it's very hard to find, and a little pricier than ordinary flavored teas, because it is the loose green tea leaves rolled into little teeny balls with the jasmine flowers around them. The jasmine gives the green tea just a hint of sweetness and it is my favorite. I still have some that I purchased there and couldn't tell you the brand as it is in Mandarin, but I have been able to find it on the internet by searching for it.

I too love tea and drink it unsweetened.  I found that in the grocery store there is Good Earth brand that offers some great flavors.  I LOVE the Good Earth Green Tea with Lemongrass.  It smells and tasts great.  I also really enjoy the Good Earth Vanilla Chai.  I don't add any milk to it, I love it straight up.  It comes decaf or regular too which is great as I can't have too much caffeine anymore.

I am always looking to find new flavors.  Good thread!

Louise

 I like all versions of green tea, but more than a glass a day and I'm running to the bathroom---guess tha's the diet effect, huh?  Anyone else have loose BMs as a side effect?

AND has anyone else discovered  white tea?

I drink 6-8 cups of green tea a day.  Yes, I said 6-8 cups! lol  I love it, I actually just started drinking it a few months ago (I drank it before but never to this extent).  I have found that it does, in fact, help with weight loss.  I mean, you obviously have to put in the rest of the work, but certainly seems to be giving me some extra added help!  What I've heard is that the "good stuff" in green tea is mostly preserved in loose leaves, bagging it removes some of that good stuff, decaffeinating it removes more, etc.  Now how accurate that is I have no idea but it's what I've read!  Enjoy your tea!