Green Tea

Green Tea // Photo: Cheryl SpeltsI’ve never liked coffee or tea. I was a waitress for years, working mostly breakfasts – since it’s the most profitable time period, but don’t tell anyone! It’s one of the best kept secrets in the restaurant world… So I served more coffee in a few years than most people have seen in a lifetime. And smelled it. And cleaned up the grounds. But I never got hooked on drinking it. And tea held no appeal at all to me. I was always a Diet Coke drinker! Even for breakfast! I loved that big dose of caffeine and the taste – definitely a Diet Coke girl!

But times change, and two years ago I gave up Diet Coke. I still drink it occasionally, socially, but it’s not my daily drink anymore – more like my monthly splurge drink!

And I love water, so I haven’t really missed having a “drink” anymore – just give me some water and I’m happy.

But I keep reading about the health benefits of Green Tea…

And it would be kind of nice to have a drink again…

So, I decided this morning that I’m going to learn to like Green Tea.

But is taste something you can just decide? I mean, seriously, is taste a static thing? Can we decide to change what we like? I’m not sure, but I’m going to try.

I decided to start with one cup of regular strength tea, and then add enough water and ice to make 32 ounces. In other words, I decided to start with an extremely diluted version of tea – more like tea-flavored water. And it’s not bad! It’s not good either, but I don’t mind drinking it. And does it really matter if I drink one cup of full strength tea and my regular amount of water separately, or if I combine the two?

I also did a little Googling and found some tips on how to make Green Tea – from what I’ve read the key is to not get the water too hot – 180°F is perfect – and to only steep it for two-and-a-half minutes. If you use too hot of water or steep for too long, it supposedly gets bitter.

I knew that Green Tea is a powerful antioxidant, and that supposedly people who drink it have lower occurrences of heart disease and certain kinds of cancer. And during my Googling I ran into lots of references to Green Tea being good for weight loss – though I’m not sure that’s been proven conclusively yet – but hey, if it is true, that would be great!

I don’t know yet if it’s possible to change my taste, and learn to like Green Tea, but hey, it’s worth a try… Wish me luck!

5 Replies to “Green Tea”

  1. Good luck … 🙂

    I’ve tried Green Tea … I don’t mind it, but I’m like you in that I’m happy w/ water. Once I have my one cup of coffee in the morning for the caffeine, I usually drink water all day.

  2. Do you have to drink it plain? I have never been a plain tea drinker…I require sweetener – even if just a little honey…

    Oh, and sidenote…they had lot’s of green tea in Korea when I was there in 2006…they had shops that had all their treats in green tea flavor – I was so excited – I think I got a green tea ice cream cone – frozen yogurt or whatever, lol…I don’t think that’s what peeps have in mind when they say it is good for weight loss tho;)

    Anywho, I think it is good for you, even if only marginally, the tea(not the frozen treats)…

  3. In my Googling I found recipes for Green Tea Ice Cream – so evidently it’s a pretty big thing, Who knew? But for me, right now, I just want to make it as palatable as possible, without adding anything bad to it. So drinking it weak seems like the best choice for now. But if I was making it stronger, I might need some honey to mask the flavor… And it really is good for you Elisa – I don’t know about the weigh loss claims – but there’s lots of evidence of it helping in all kinds of other ways. I was sort of stunned by some of the things I read – on legit sites – which is why I’m up for trying to change my taste!

  4. From what I read there was a study where men who drank green tea, burned 80 calories more per day, than men who drank water – which would amount to 8 pounds a year. So honestly, I don’t think the weight loss claims are all that big a deal – but the fact that it’s such a powerful antioxidant is more than enough reason to drink it!

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