Tea Drinkers please:?

Question

I just started drinking tea and had a nice box of Ceylon Tea from Sri Lanka, well that tea is gone, so I go to the store to pick up a box (a little overwhelming) and grabbed a $2.99 box of Lipton Green Tea..... went down the "Asian" isle at my supermarket and they had a box of green tea for .69 cents... now I'm all for a bargain, and I bought it home and it tastes a little "earthy" but maybe that's how green tea is supposed to taste?, I don't know, never had it before (except in bottles of course, all sugared up and such).

Is there a huge difference in say, Lipton Green Tea for $2.99 and my "Walong Marketing, Inc." brand green tea for .69 cents???

I'm not ready to go get the good stuff yet, I'm still trying to find what I like.

Thanks.

here's the product I got - except of course from my grocery store:
http://www.veryasia.com/astasgreente.html

here's the product I got - except of course from my grocery store:
http://www.veryasia.com/astasgreente.html

Answer 1

Try some non-store bough brands of tea and compare them with a few store bought ones to see which you like more.

Usually i buy a couple of boxes of green (if i dont like it i always have people i can give it away to) a couple boxes of black, red, white, all with diffrent flavorings and what not, then i make like 3 or 4 cups of diffrent teas and i compare which i prefer.

Its sort of like wine tasting, except its TEA tasting.

The thing is, for me, i couldnt really tell all the peculiarities and flavor compositions of the teas unless i had it side by side with a similar tea, or a diffrent tea altogether, like lets say comparing black and green.

When you start tasting teas in this way you really appreciate all the levels of flavor the tea has , and how the flavors change as it cools, or as you ad lemon, or the flavors that you bring out when you add milk. For me its a big joy to really to and compare all these teas on my palate.

So you may prefer the cheap tea in the end, or the very expensive ones, but the goal should be your ability to decipher the diffrent flavors that each tea presents.

For example, i prefer Twinnings Earl Gray to Bigelow Earl Gray, the twinnings tastes fresher and more bergomoty to me.

The store bought teas i have really been a huge fan of are the LIPTON PYRAMID teas, this isnt about marketing at all, there is actually nothing like that in FLAVOR that i have found, absolutley nothing.

Also, thigns to consider... teas in pyramids or in satchels brew more like loose leaf teas , the actual tea leaves are very large and chunky instead of being all ground up like they are in a regular teabag, this makes for a HUGE diffrence to me, the taste is much fresher and perkier then.

Once you can taste all the diffrent things the tea is displaying you can try mixing teas, for example, i mixed RED with WHITE and the flavor is divine. It smells sweet and straberry like and the flavor is a very mellow and smooth, but with a straberry finish. (it was straberry red tea)

Anyhow, enjoy all the teas, try anything that looks intresting to you. All the store bought teas are at most 7 dollars, you can afford to tea expeirment without your wallet taking a big hit.

Also, make sure to use two tea bags per 1 cup of water.
In america the amount of tea in a tea bag is half the amount in a british tea bag, so because of this i always double up , and well the diffrence is SIGNIFICANT....... all those flavors that it says the tea is on the box suddenly come to life.

Enjoy tea, its magical.

(umm i seem a bit fanatical, ohh well, do TEA not DRGUS)

Answer 2

Hello, I am an avid tea drinker and have read a lot about it. I think I just scratched the surface, there's so much tea info out there! Anyhoo, I think it's a great idea to explore different teas. The Ceylon tea you had was most likely black tea. Grown in Sri Lanka. It's called this becuase the region was once called Ceylon, I believe.

There are basically 4 types of real tea. Black, Green, Ooolong, and White tea. Black is the one most processed. Green and Ooolong tea is processed a bit less. White tea comes from the youngest tea leaves and is processed minimally.

Green tea tastes a bit woodsy and earthy, but is supposedly one of the more healthier teas, as far as having the most antioxidants and EGCG (major catechins in tea).

White and Ooolong teas have a more subtle taste. You might like white tea which is one of my favorites. A lot of times, it will come flavored with fruit or honey and taste really good. Of course you can also buy it plain which is also good.

Now to answer your question, is there a huge difference? I don't think so. What I would check is to see if there's an expiration date. Lipton usually has one..Not sure about Walong. Regarding taste, all green tea tastes a little earthy, and i bet the Lipton's Green tea will taste similar if not the same. The only way to find out is to buy it and do a taste test.

My favorite brands are Celestial Seasonings and Tazo. Republic of Tea is also good. good luck in your tea explorations!

Answer 3

I'd stick with the Ceylon tea, also, some other brands I love are Earl Grey and Wazah. Lipton tea taste so bland compared to these. You can easily find them at Mediterranean or International stores. Also, have you ever added cardamom pods/seeds to the hot water, gives it a really exotic kick.

Answer 4

Yes, there's a difference in the 2 teas. And that would be national advertising on the part of Lipton. Someone's gotta pay for that. Green tea is a bit earthy, I find. Congrats on not falling for the hype of a nationa brand.

Answer 5

I bought some "bargain" tea at an inexpensive ethnic store once, and it tasty earthy too. Actually, it tasted a lot like wood chips smell. If you want smooth taste, you have to pay for it. I like Earl Grey teas, and the herbal teas offer by Republic of Tea. Celestial Seasonings has a few good flavors too, but sometimes the ones that have spices in them are overpowering.

Answer 6

I drink the Lipton tea,and it taste very good but I have never tryed green tea.

Answer 7

I order my green tea from Herbasway but it's rather expensive, about $28.00 per bottle. If you ever decide to try it you will never buy another brand of tea because it is definitely worth the price.

Answer 8

whatever tastes better, i like tea w/o lemon,