Now there is a study that I can get behind. I really like green tea…when there are other things added, including sugar and orange, sugar and tangerine, or sugar and lemon. Personally I think green tea by itself tastes like hay.

If you have been avoiding this healthy drink because you thought it needed to be sipped plain to get the benefit, or if you have been holding your nose and gulping this is some great news for you!

You can read more about this study at Science Daily. As for me?  I am headed to Teavana to see if they still have the Cloud 9 Tea ….it has marshmallows.

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The tea is a nice amber, almost diluted cola color with a pinkish tinge. The flavor is what is outstanding. I used a little sweetener and it brought out the complex flavors. I am really not sure whether to describe this as cherry coke or chocolate cherry or something in between. Fruity and sweet with just a slight tang…I think I lean toward cherry coke. Not the chemically cherry coke of the 21st century but the old fashioned cherry cokes where you mixed coke and a little cherry juice. I am pretty sure that this is going to be the next popsicle flavor at our house.

I really liked the strength and flavor of this tea, and the kids liked it as well. It would be a great base for punch, mixed with club soda for Italian sodas, or even slushees. Give it a try and see what you think. I am not a big fan of green tea but this one is superb.

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This is not the Enviga drink they came out with a few years ago..nope..this is seriously green tea flavored Coca Cola. Supposedly you can have the real thing and get your health groove on at the same time.

Is it still the Real Thing?

Now, I have a son that is stationed in Northern Japan so you can bet I am going to ask him to try this stuff..or maybe send me some of it. I like Coke, I just can’t figure out why they want to keep adding weird stuff to it.

Green tea?

And..not to be outdone Pepsi is countering with a Basil infused Pepsi.

Now, let’s see if  RC adds cilantro.

You can read more about this in  MSNBC

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The flavors they are offering are:

Organic Green Tea Acai White Cranberry : Regarded as a miracle fruit by many, the acai berry’s tantalizing tropical flavor blends exquisitely with white cranberry to create a uniquely flavorful green tea.

·          Organic Green Tea Original Green: The pure, clean flavor of perfectly brewed, all natural green tea … light, refreshing and rich in nutritional benefits.

·          Organic Green Tea Lemon Ginger : Delightfully subtle yet tart, its delicate, lemony flavor is balanced with the gentle spice of ginger.

·          Organic Green Tea Mango Lychee : Fantastically fruity! Juicy mango and exotic lychee combine for a unique and delectable taste of refreshment.

They are made with organic sugar cane and sound like they might be a nice change from cokes and other heavily sweetened drinks when you want something besides water or plain sweet tea.

I wish that when companies send out press releases they would also send samples because it is really hard for me to talk about something I haven’t tried. I like Bigelow Teas, and I like that they are increasingly becoming more involved with organics. Arizona has always made really good stuff so I expect this will be good as well.  How could you go wrong with Green Tea, Mango, Lychee? YUM! Anyway, if they offer me a sample I will let you know what I think. If you happen to try it, let me know what you think…deal?

image: courtesy of Bigelow, used by permission.

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Say it.  Go ahead.  You know you want to. Iye-Mon Cha……..

Fun, isn’t it?  You can almost hear the gong in the background.

Iyemon Cha is an imported Japanese green tea.  It comes in two varieties, green tea and roasted green tea.  I tried the roasted green tea first.  It just sounded intriguing.  Roasted green tea?  Roasted?

I had never heard of such a thing.

From the press release:

Iyemon Cha is the only bottled tea in the world to add a touch of matcha, a stone-ground tea of the highest quality, for extra richness. Matcha is made from the finest, youngest leaves of the tea bush, which is covered for several weeks before harvest to slow down growth, imparting a more intense sweetness and depth of flavor when pulverized into a fine powder. Prized for its superior quality, matcha is the centerpiece of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony and a unique, essential ingredient in Iyemon Cha.

Iyemon Cha is made entirely in Japan from 100% Japanese tea leaves using the purest refined water to bring out the best flavor. It is imported from Japan and bottled in a stylish, environmentally conscious glass bottle (12.2oz /361 ml) with a suggested retail price of $2.75.

But what did I think?

It was different.  I seriously have never had a flavor like this.  I tried it unsweetened and  then added sugar. I prefer this tea lightly sweetened.

It smells of wheat grains when they are being ground.  Matt says that it smells somewhat like Sugar Smacks.  Definitely malty- grainy.

The first flavor is the grassy character of good green tea followed closely by a roasty complexity that is reminiscent of grain.  It is almost like beer without the yeasty flavor.  But not.

There is a slight acidity on the tongue in the aftertaste, very pleasant.

As you may have guessed this has been hard for me to describe.  It is a very unique tea and if you like complex, roasty flavors this is one to try.

The bottle is nice to hold.  I know this sounds odd but I have touch sensitivity and often have difficulty with they way things feel.  This bottle just feels good.

Might be hard to find, depending on where you live.

image:marye audet

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Teatulia Green tea was a nice surprise for me because….ummm..I don’t care for green tea. Well, o…I haven’t in the past.

I may have changed my mind.

The liquor is honey gold with a nice bright cream swirled over the top.  The aroma is fresh and clean and grassy, like fresh, clean hay.  That is definitly better than it smelling like old not clean hay, right?

The tea is flavorful, and maintains the fresh, herbal quality.  The only way I can explain it is to say that when I ws a child I spent summers on my aunt and uncle’s farm in Michigan. In the early morning a breezer would blow across the hay and alfalfa fields and wake me up with the freshness of that scent.  I would invariably scramble into my clothes and head for the hayloft in the barn to have a few moments of thought.  The combination of the smell of the fresh hay and the green growing grasses are captured perfectly in the taste of this tea.

If that is too verbose for you then : I liked it alot.

I don’t think that Teatulia knows how to make a bad tea.

image:marye audet

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Yesterday it hit 100. Was it only a few weeks ago that it was cold? It seems like it. Now the house gets too hot in the afternoons to do much other than read a book in front of the fan.

Actually, like many of the modern amenities I think that air conditioning is highly over rated. Yes, it keeps you comfy and cool..but consider that we have been taken far out of the natural cycle of things. Summer afternoons were a time to slow down, sit on the porch and sip a lemonade or iced tea, and watch the world go by. Now, summer, winter fall and spring are all a long cycle of sameness.

It is sad that we have caused ourselves to be so driven. While we have more helpful gadgets than ever we are working longer hours, relaxing less, and stressing out more. Maybe we all need to take a day, turn off the A/C and just relax in the back yard with our feet in the kiddie pool. Or maybe go fishing…or play in the hose.

That’s Matt, a few years ago, after he taught himself how to catch catfish by hand. No hook, no bait. The kids lives and breathes fishing. He kept disappearing up into his room over the last few weeks, and finally emerged with this:

He taught himself how to make a fishing net.

Anyway… Here we freeze our backsides off in the winter and overheat in the summer..and we like it that way! LOL!

This green tea slush is so refreshing that it will cool you down almost instantly. Vary the flavors of the green tea, and of the fruit, to vary the slush..and don’t forget about the Monin coffee syrups. You can make a huge variety of drinks with those!

Green Tea Slush

3 cups prepared green tea
1 cup ripe watermelon, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 cups crushed ice
1 Tbsp. honey or sugar, to taste

Blend in a blender until slushy and smooth. Pour into frosted glasses and serve garnished with mint.

Image:Morguefile

Images:Marye Audet 

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I don’t normally get Lipton but lately they have been trying some new things with their tea and some have been interesting.

I am not enough of a tea snob to care what company makes the tea, although I prefer Fair Trade/Organic, as long as it is good. So, while I drool over Adagio’s descriptions, I also know that many of us will pick up a box of bags once in awhile at the grocery store. Fair enough.
I saw the Lipton Green tea with orange, passion fruit, and jasmine and figured it was worth a try…
This tea tastes like watered down Tang, but only if you put alot of sugar in it.

So, my verdict is that unless you really like watered down Tang, don’t bother.

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