Bad AdverTEAsing

All my life I was under the impression that teas were supposed to taste earthy and rather disgusting. This is mostly due to a lack of exposure but also due to the general disinformation available in the market. America is inundated with people claiming their tea is the best for you. Whether it be a black iced tea or a green tea they tote all of the miracle powers of said tea and then add a bunch of sugar, honey, or other additives to make the grassy stuff bearable. 

Barriers in the way of uninformed people trying to start drinking tea:

1)People think that the best teas for you are Brisk, Lipton, Green, Earl Grey, etc. - False

2)People think that teas labeled as a Hot tea can only be served hot - False

3)People are conditioned to thinking that tea is not supposed to taste delicious - False

4)Tea is not something I can make for myself on the go -False

5)Tea is incredibly expensive - False and True (Although there are expensive brands they are worth it)

I recently have investigated more into the tea world and it has been a "Trial by Fire" type escapade. I began by purchasing an inexpensive box of pre-packaged Lipton Green Tea which was infused with Blueberry Acai...yuck. I steeped and served the tea the first time not following the instructions but simply "Winging it." Bad idea. 

LESSON 1: ALWAYS obey the instructions provided with tea - if you don't you will get a bitter/weak tea

I decided that I did not appreciate the grassiness of the green tea and sought to add a flavor to it without compromising the natural value of 0 calories and nutrients. I read and read and saw the most common suggestions being sugar, honey, agave nectar, raw honey, etc. I didn't want the calories or the carbs associated with those sweeteners and found that most experienced tea drinkers suggested vanilla extract or lemon juice. 

LESSON 2: Vanilla or Lemon juice should only be added to your CUP of tea, not a pitcher

Ultimately, the lemon and vanilla served little purpose past the grassiness but did give a better aftertaste to the tea. Seeking a less potent version of the tea I did some more research into tea and discovered several other teas that are less potent in flavor but also have MORE health benefits than a Green Tea. As it turns out, White Tea, Oolong Tea, and several others are just as nutritious as Green Tea or have more benefits and simply have less disgusting flavor. 

LESSON 3: Teas vary depending on the darkness of their final product and the amount of processing

I found when reading that several teas go through several different processes to get to the final product and most are named after what you will see in the cup or what they are made of - kind of obvious. What I didn't really know was that just because the tea becomes lighter does not mean that you are sacrificing on flavor. For instance, there are several White teas, which come out as a very light color, that have more flavor than a black tea, similar to a Lipton Iced tea. 

So I purchased a White/Green tea combo in tea bags by Stash (Brand name). I followed the instructions on the box to the letter and found that what they were claiming was very true. The tea was very much less grassy and I appreciated getting the nutrients of both a green and a white tea in one. I could still taste some earthiness, but the sweetness that they claimed came with white tea just wasn't there still. When we did some research (some of which my wife did at a local tea shop) we were informed that the main difference is in the quality of the teas that we were purchasing. 

LESSON 4: Loose leaf tea will ALWAYS yield stronger flavors than a pre-packaged tea bag

We purchased some loose leaf teas from our local Teavana. My wife purchased an Oolong tea in accordance with our diet and exercise program to help lose weight (Respectively we each have lost over 10 LBS in less than three weeks). One of the major benefits of Oolong is that it can help burn up to 150% of the fat you would ordinarily burn during a day with only two cups of the stuff. I chose a white tea because in my search for self improvement I am finding I appreciate mostly unprocessed and whole ingredients and White tea is the least processed. Coincidentally, Teavana has a blend called Snow Geisha which has cherries (one of my favorite flavors) so it seemed a natural choice. The concern that I had was that reviews said it can taste like medicine or that it can become very bitter. 

LESSON 5: Some tea drinkers can be very pretentious and others are not

Just like anyone else I took the reviews with a grain of salt. Ultimately the reviews that were saying it was bitter were minimal but several people who give a lot of reviews said it can get really medicinal tasting. In the end I chose the tea anyway because I like Luden's Cherry Cough Drops so even if that was the truth I didn't think I would mind. End Result? It tastes delicious. If you follow the instructions that the providers give you the tea comes out very tasty and not at all medicinal or bitter. I particularly do not like hot tea, so I brewed it hot and poured it over ice into a pitcher and as promised it came out cold and tasty. 

LESSON 6: Brewing a cold tea with 2x strength doesn't make less tea

I read the instructions for the cold tea at first and it seemed very nonsensical to brew a cold tea. My thought was that I could simply brew a hot tea and refrigerate it to get the cold delicious tea that I desired. I did this a few times and the tea tasted okay, but I didn't have much of the flavor that I wanted. With the Snow Geisha from Teavana, it's a rather expensive tea, so because I am a bit of a cheap-o I didn't want to waste one ounce of the stuff. The instructions said to brew the stuff twice as potent as you would for a hot tea. I was like, "WHAT?! So you're telling me that cold tea is twice as expensive as hot tea?" It doesn't really work that way because you are supposed to make the tea hot and pour it over ice. The ice is equivalent to the other half of your tea, so essentially you are making twice as much tea and cooling it quickly. 

LESSON 7: Cold tea should be cooled RAPIDLY

You could try and use cold water for a cold tea and you would get an okay result. The difference has to do with the speed in which the tea cools. The faster you cool your tea for cold tea, the stronger the flavor remains. 

After all is said and done, I am really enjoying the Snow Geisha White Tea from Teavana. It has a very subtle entry but has strong notes of cherry and florals on the exit/aftertaste, which is just what I wanted. I drink it cold because I'm not partial to hot beverages. It's a great way to get the benefits of White Tea, which can include better skin (antioxidants) and a lowered risk for cancer and heart disease. I wish tea hadn't been so poorly advertised to me as a child. This stuff is great!