I love drinking tea… while Iam working, I end up drinking endless cups of tea…like most of us...of late I started realizing how much damage I was doing to myself and decided to look for alternatives …found green tea to be a good one..But found so many of them that got confused .One of them claims to relax, one rejuvenate and one even claims to help lose weight...I decided to try one at a time and then find the one that works for me…on my way to do that I noticed while many people do try different types of this tea, not much has been written about them, relatively that is and not from a consumer point of view..So far I have only tried the ones that come in sachets and are sold online and off the shelf .I havnt tried the ones that they sell on TV and medical stores and to be honest, have no inclination to do so.
Of course this goes without saying this is just my personal view and Iam even not sure if this is legal or not!
So far I have tried different flavors of Twinings, GTee, Tetley, Taj Mahal, Organic India and in that order...
Twinings- I got this from hyper city supermarket.
Green Tea & Lemon
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This tea is more of a lemon tea than a green tea and has an orangish tinge to it. Lemon is the predominant flavor. I do like lemon but in small quantities…especially in tea…hence I dint really like this.
Green Tea & Mint...
This has a strong flavor of mint but unlike the lemon variety it doesn’t overpower the actual flavor of tea leaves...refreshing…I found I like it best when I go to somewhere early in the mornings…the memory of having this tea when the sun hasn’t risen fully is a something that I really cherish. Next time when I have to get up really early, I know what would be my pick-me-up! Btw this is actually green in color.
Gtee - I got this from Vijetha supermarket.
To this date I don’t know what made me buy this brand…I tried this brand right after Twining mint tea…I went looking at the nearest supermarket but wasn’t sure if I would find Twining mint tea there…I saw this and the box told me it was kind of a local brand… I dint expect it to be tasty but since it seems like a herbal drink it would be good. I couldn’t be more wrong… It was bitter and one sip told me I am not going to buy this...Ever…there were tea granules at the bottom of the cup. Iam a kind of person who can eat anything as long as it is vegetarian and healthy..But no I can’t torture myself with this. To my credit I did manage to finish the 10 sachet box though!Tetley - I got this from Vijetha supermarket.
Green tea with ginger, Mint and Lemon-
Not too strong but not in a good sense...more like watery ginger tea with a stale minty feel… leaves a bitter taste in the mouth after some time...Very orangish...I thought I would like it because it comes from the house of Tata’s …the founder of my hometown but …naah
Green tea –
Watery and bitter …. Wanted to add some sugar /honey but stopped considering fact that they would kill the benefits… I think it can be best taken as a medicine and not as refreshment.
Some of my friends at work do prefer this brand and tell me they like it because it is not too strong…but that is precisely why I don’t like it!
Green tea.
The less said the better. This is yet again a watery tea .Packet says it is made up of fine Darjeeling tea... I don’t think so... I know only one person who likes it...but then she says she just drinks this because she is too tired (or lazy!) to brew normal tea and just needs a cuppa to drink ...She doesn’t have any specific reason to choose this brand. This is light to dark brown in color..
I have seen the iced tea version of this tea in supermarket and intending to try it...
Organic India – I saw it first at a Fab India outlet but I purchased it from India plaza website (http://www.indiaplaza.com/tulsi-green-teabags-foods-food20110628org017-10.htm). Recently found it to be cheaper on indiatimes shopping.
Tulsi green tea –
This one wins hands down...It makes me feel Iam actually chewing tulsi. The rich aroma of tulsi has a therapeutic effect …I had a severe headache once and having this tea helped me a lot. I used to have this twice a day at work..The trick with this is you got to add tea bag first and then hot water. I used to make two cups. The first cup was a strong one and the second cup was more of green tea with a hint of tulsi … .This is dark brown in the 1st cup and light brown in the 2nd.
The only reason why I would not choose this tea is because I dint like the flavor of jasmine in my green tea. The tea is good otherwise…not too bitter and I liked it when I would dip the tea bag in the hot water and not the other way around. ..Light to medium brown in color.
Down 2 Earth I bought this off a website called craftsvilla.com.http://www.craftsvilla.com/health-beauty-craftsvilla-1/green-crafted/herbs-craftsvilla/down2-earth.html
This is the one Iam using right now..One of the best ones I have come across so far. The website promotes handmade products from all over India... When I got the package I was like wow.. it came in those local cardboard boxes…nothing too fancy …but it worked for me because nothing turns me off like showoff…When I opened the box , I found the sachets were in a aluminum cover(that preserves the aroma I guess)..When I further opened the cover I found they were in little aluminum covers..The sachet was not made up of paper but some kind of cloth. I dint find this kind of bag in any brand...I think that helps in better transfusion. What I liked in this tea was, it was more of herbal concoction than actual tea... refreshing. It made me feel I was treating myself to something really healthy.. It helped me sleep better and that is saying something because I have a lot of trouble sleeping. …right now Iam using this brand and Iam sure gonna continue with this for quite a while now..I have this one while Iam working and one before going to bed. I was actually thinking of having this after my breakfast as well but then I kinda confused if I can actually have it more than twice a day…It has a kind of earthy aroma to it I can’t really pin point as to what it was but felt cinnamon.
I have also made a chart in which I gave them rating as per my preference…as you can see Iam still looking for my perfect green tea!
Nutrition | Value for money | Taste | Overall rating | |
Twinings Green Tea & Lemon | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Twinings Green Tea & Mint | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Gtee | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Tetley Green tea with ginger, Mint and Lemon | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Tetley Green | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Taj Mahal Green | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Organic India Tulsi green | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Organic India Tulsi jasmine | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
down 2 earth | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Apart from these, there are many others which Iam planning to try. Also going to add some herbs I found in craftsvilla, brew tea leaves in a kettle (I have seen a nice earthen kettle at Shilparamam!)..Would update this as and when I can..So if you find this useful and would like to join me on my journey to find the perfect green tea, I would be honored...
Namaste!
