Saturday! How I love thee. :)
I wasn’t always a huge green tea fan like I am today.
When I first started drinking green tea, I thought it was bitter and not overly enjoyable.
Green tea is an acquired taste much like wine; after time, you begin to appreciate the flavour and enjoy experimenting among different types. As I drank it more, my love for green tea grew and grew.
I also started to do a lot of reading about green tea because I wanted to know everything I could about it. I turned to one of my favourite books called ‘Foods That Fight Cancer‘ by Drs. Beliveau and Gingras.
What is so good about green tea?
- It is green ;)
- Flavanols, more commonly known as catechins, make up 1/3 of the weight of a tea leaf. Catechins are thought to be the compound responsible for the anti-cancer activity in green tea.
- Catechins possess anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties that allow the plant to resist invasion by a large number of pathogens.
- The most important catechin in green tea is known as EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate- now you know why they abbreviated it!) as it has the highest anti-cancer activity of all.
- It contains 4 times less caffeine than black tea
- Tea can become the ‘soul’ of one’s diet, representing a daily symbol of relaxation, meditation, and good health.
Not all green tea is created equal:
- The catechin content of green tea varies widely based on the type, area of cultivation, diversity of the plants used, harvest season, and processing techniques. Just because it says green tea on the label does not mean that it will possess high amounts of catechins.
- Further, the brewing time of the tea largely influences the final catechin content.
How do I know what types of green tea are good to drink?
- As a general rule, Japanese green teas have a much higher EGCG content than Chinese green teas.
[Source]
As you can see, Japanese green teas are superior in their EGCG concentration as compared to Chinese green teas. I always purchase Sencha because it is difficult to find Gyokuro and Sencha-Uchiyama tea in my area.
This is the 4’Oclock loose leaf Japanese Sencha tea that I am in love with.
In summary:
- Select Japanese green tea whenever possible
- Allow your tea to steep for 8-10 minutes which favours the extraction of catechins
- Drink freshly brewed tea whenever possible
Now that I have been drinking green tea for about 8-9 years, I couldn’t imagine not drinking it. I probably drink about 6-7 cups a day now! I also drink lots of herbal tea (Chamomile, lavender, and peppermint tea, etc) in the evening.
Little known fact: I often drink chilled green tea while working out as I find that it gives me a bit of extra kick!
Are you a tea lover or coffee lover? Why or why not? What types do you drink?
Eric and his family are the ones who got me drinking regular black tea. My mother in law is Irish and my father in law is English and they both grew up drinking tea. Eric used to get chilled tea in a bottle as a baby!! Apparently it is very common in Ireland…crazy, eh? I never liked black tea as much as Green tea though. I love how green tea makes me feel- healthy and energized.
I’ve never drank a cup of coffee in my life. I don’t have anything against coffee at all, I just got hooked on tea first and never yearned for anything else.
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I’m off to eat my new favourite hot breakfast:
I’m calling it cake because it is just that good. Exhibit A: Cake Batter.
I discovered it is also awesome COLD right out of the fridge. I had it for dessert one night and it was so yummy.
I’m making my next overnight batch on Sunday and will pop them in the oven early Monday morning. I’m thinking apple pie and pumpkin pie…yum! I’m going to play around with the nut to oat ratio too and will report back with my new recipes.
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Ron White Charity Shoe Drive
On the way to our in laws today, we are dropping off a bag of shoes for Ron White’s Charity Shoe Drive. If you are in the GTA and have gently worn shoes/boots, please consider donating them for those in need. It is a bone chilling (-16C/4F) today so please consider helping those in need of warm feet.
Even if you aren’t in the GTA, you can always drop off shoes to your local charity drop box!
Will blog from the in laws. Going to workout this big, strong heart and be rewarded with happy endorphins in return.
In my next post, I will be talking about how my first day of NOT multitasking went…OH BOY! lol
Very informative post!
Really makes me feel better that you didn’t like tea before! I don’t like it and think it is bitter and tastes like dirty water. I had no idea it was an aquired taste. Maybe I will try it a few more times. Thanks Ange!
Have a safe and fun trip today. :)
A lot of people think green tea is horrible & bitter because it’s often made using just-boiled water, which burns the tea leaves ;)
If you try it using 1/4 cold water and 3/4 freshly boiled water, putting in the tea after the water, it doesn’t burn and it tastes really delicate and lovely :)
Really informative post Angela! :)
sorry for the smiley overload…!
I’m a tea lover and a coffee lover . . . and so is my bf. I have about 10 cups of coffee a week and about 20 cups of tea a week.
I’m SO EAGER to hear about your day of non multitasking . . . I’m not sure how to figure out how to do it, I didn’t realize what an addict I was.
I drink it all! Tea, herbal tea, and coffee, but I typically have only one caffienated beverage a day.
Green tea is definitely an acquired taste. I used to not be able to stand it, but now I drink it on occasion, especially if its flavored with mint or something.
I love unsweetened iced tea – green or black – and hot tea too now. You are definitely right about it being an acquired taste! However, there are a couple tea brands that make really good tea that tastes spicy sweet – have you ever had Good Earth tea (original flavor) or Harney & Sons tea (the Cinnamon Spice flavor has the same type of spicy sweet going on)? When I want something sweet and soothing I love having a glass of those teas :)
I love both coffee and tea.
It really depends on what I feel like drinking.
Love green tea! Thanks for the info!
I am a tea drinker and like just about any flavor but my favorite is Good Earth Sweet and Spicy. As for coffee, I hate it! I don’t even like the smell.
I love hot tea :) Though I’m working on drinking it unsweetened (I use a little stevia). I love Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Chamomile tea at night to relax before I go to bed. I like green tea when I eat sushi.
Do anyone have any tips for drinking unsweetened tea? If I don’t add stevia, I never end up finishing the glass…
I’m a tea addict – I absolutely love me some regular black tea (with milk) and my being half-Irish has a lot to do with it! I don’t like coffee, and I really dislike iced tea.
As a rule I don’t like herbal / green tea, but that’s just because I don’t want to like them – I’m happy with my milky tea with two sugars. It’s my treat, my lift and my spirit rejuvenator. And I love it.
I’ve been drinking green tea for a while, and I had no idea as to why it was good for me. Thanks for sharing the info!!
I usually just stick to one cup 3-4 times a week b/c my body is very sensitive to caffeine. I only drink it when I need it during the semester. I didn’t have any during winter break. :)
I got into the green tea habit while living in Korea; I’ve sort of fallen off the green tea bandwagon now that I’m back in the US but still love an afternoon cuppa. :D
Green tea and rooibos tea are my favourites!
i’ve also never had a cup of coffee ever either!
I have a strong love affair with coffee…but I enjoy tea, too. Usually, I MUST have coffee in the morning, and I have tea in the afternoon. I’m currently in the process of experimenting with new teas. I have a lot to learn about the tea world!
I love both tea and coffee. I only drink coffee with breakfast, though, because it has a tendency to keep me up at night otherwise. So after that morning cuppa, I stick to tea, green, black, rooibus and herbal, I love it all!
I love me some tea. So much better than coffee, which makes me feel icky. My fave is black tea with milk :) Although I actually have a new favorite that I’m going to blog about soon!
Oooo, I’d like to hear about the black tea :) Always looking for good ones. My current favorite is Numi Chocolate Puerh – wonderful! Has probiotics as its fermented. Very healthy :)
green tea is a healthy habit i need to adopt, pronto! i can only drink it with a ton of creamer or soy milk and sweetener.. i much prefer coffee :( but maybe i can slowly incorporate it into my diet if it’;s an acquired taste!?! i tried your cake batter as a snack – soooooooo good!!!
Thanks for the info on green tea :) I’ll admit- I’ve tried it before and just wasn’t into it. But if it’s an aquired taste then maybe I should keep trying it. I’ve been diggin the Celestial Seasonings Gingerbread tea!
Great post!!!
I like to share the love. Tea and coffee for me (not at the same time of course). I go through phases where I have tea in the morning, and then I change and it’s coffee. It can depend on how I wake-up too ;-)
I got onto Sencha Green Tea after I read it in a few of your posts, I even managed to find it in a place not to far from home (not that easy to do in Paris). I love it! Just that bit sweeter than regular green tea. So thanks for that.
Very informative! Great post!! I am both a coffee and tea lover!! I drink coffee in the mornings and then tea throughout the day. I am more of a black tea fan though, just have never really gotten into green tea. But after this post, I am going to give green tea another try! Do you find it better health-wise and taste-wise to use tea bags or the free tea leaves? I have never used tea leaves, which is why I am asking!! :)
Love this post, especially because I’m thinking about drinking it.