The Best Green Tea

So, I was reading on this blog about how 5 cups of green tea a day can help with weight-loss. An easy way to help lose a little weight, and I’m sure the constant running to the bathroom will help burn some calories, too…

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Stash Tea is a tea company based out of Oregon. Since I’m still new to all the various brands, I figured I’d give this one a try on recommendation of a co-worker.

The one I picked up at the store was Mangosteen Green Tea. Mangosteen is a type of fruit from the Indonesia that’s purple on the outside, but has fleshy white meat on the inside. Mangosteen has been described as citrusy with hints of peach, so I expected this particular green tea to be different from any I’ve tried before – and it certainly was. The Mangosteen Green Tea also has Matcha (powdered green tea) mixed in among the the tea leaves.

I opened up the package and what surprised at what I saw – it looked like potpourri . There were different reds, oranges, yellows and browns mixed in with the more familiar green tea leaves. The scent itself was also interesting; rather citrusy but pleasant.

Brewing up a cup of tea, I’ll be honest… I was kind of excited to try out this crazy looking stuff. Being a novice, I wasn’t even aware that such a tea existed. The first sip was rather pleasant; I immediately tasted the citrusy notes with just a little bit of sweetness. The flavor itself was very nice and refreshing. I imagine it would great on a cool summer’s evening. The taste of green tea was really just a hint, and it had an interesting pear aftertaste that really brought the idea that this was a fruit tea to the forefront of my mind.

I definitely enjoyed this, as it was different and had lots of subtle flavors that I no doubt will be exploring as I continue drinking it.

My review:

Taste: Interesting citrus notes, some sweetness (I don’t add sugar to my teas, so I noticed it right away), and nice green tea/peach after notes.

Color: A bright green tea, which is in definite contrast to the lightness of its green tea taste compared to typical green teas.

Bottomline: A very nice, refreshing tea. Lots of complex flavors and certainly a good choice for someone who’s looking for a more adventurous tea.

Stash Premium Mangosteen Green Tea, Tea Bags, 18-Count Boxes

Technorati Tags: citrus, green tea, mangosteen, stash tea, sweet

So, since I still have a full box of the Lipton’s that I reviewed here, I have to trudge through that before moving on to a good loose brand. But one of the best things about loose is that you just more stuff to play with, like this awesome submarine infuser.

So, I was reading a walletpop blog about how drinking green tea can actually reduce the chances of getting lung cancer, even if you’re a smoker. Apparently, smokers who don’t drink green tea have a 13x higher chance of getting lung cancer if than smokers who do drink green tea. Seems like even though we know so much about green tea there’s still lots of things we haven’t discovered. I wonder if the anti-cancer properties work in delicious shortbread form?

So, I mentioned in my first post that when I began drinking green tea regularly, my first choice was Lipton’s. Not because it was special, or from word of mouth or even because I like Lipton brand tea… but because it was convenient and what I considered a “safe” choice.
See, I was walking down the coffee and tea aisle in the grocery store when I just saw a ridiculous selection of teas; Tazo, Adagio, Mighty Leaf, Bigelow… all what seemed like big brands — all names I was unfamiliar with. Scanning that wall of tea my eyes rested on Lipton Green Tea.
Ah, good old Lipton’s.. the name itself conjured up images of refreshing iced tea on a hot summer’s day. Well, this wasn’t summer and it certainly wasn’t hot outside, but it was a brand I was familiar with and anyway, with all those other crazy brands who knows what I was getting? I absent-mindedly grabbed a box of their 100% Natural Green Tea off the shelf and was on my merry way.

Now, let me be clear, I’ve had green tea before. Most frequently of the Japanese variety and most often when I’d go out for sushi with friends. One thing I’d noticed about Japanese green tea was the flavor — it was very plant-like, or, as someone else put it, a vegetably flavor. Growing up, I’d usually drink black tea so my tastes buds weren’t quite used to the flavor of green tea, but I grew accustomed to it.

Ok, back to my story (and my eventual review). I got home and immediately began preparing a cup of Lipton’s. After letting it steep for a few minutes, I had my first taste. It was definitely… strange. I’d never had a green tea like this before; it was somewhat flavorless (certainly lacking in the strong vegetably flavor of Japanese green tea) with just a hint of bitterness. It tasted almost like a very very weak black tea. The color itself was much more of a brown than any kind of green. I finished off a cup, and rather than reusing the same tea bag (as I usually do), I brewed with a brand-new bag just to see if the results would be the same.

They were.

Now, I’m not going to say that Lipton’s is horrendous, or undrinkable, but if you’re a tea aficianado (and not just a newbie, like myself) then you will be sorely disappointed with the quality. Of course, if you were well-versed in green tea, you probably didn’t need me to tell you that Lipton’s isn’t good, hah.

My review:

Taste: Very, very weak. Much closer to a very weak black tea than an actual green tea, in my opinion.

Color: Brownish. Not green at all.

Bottomline: Eh. If you think the flavor of regular teas is too strong, and you don’t mind an unappearling color, then you *may* want to give this a shot. Otherwise, I’d pass on it.

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