Does anyone know a particular brand of green tea that’s of higher quality than your typical commercial store bought brand? I just can’t imagine lipton or celestial seasonings making green tea with any kind of high value from a nutritional standpoint. So which is the goooood stuff?
Yeah, I figure just about any brand besides Lipton would be a decent bet.
I’d like to know as well.
I always buy Republic of Tea green tea, but I can’t vouch for the quality. I just like the various flavors. It’s expensive though.
The best green tea’s would be purchased from a tea shop in loose leaf. They will be able to tell you how fresh the tea is. The shelf life of green tea is only about 6 months from the day it is packaged.
You should ask them where it comes from (china, japan, india, etc.), how old it is/how long ago was it packaged and how long it has been on the shelf.
Barring that, find oxygen free packaging.
Don’t trust chinese tea. Loaded with pesticides, heavy metals and other crap…Tea from Japan and Taiwan are better. Anyway it’s best to go organic though I still wouldn’t trust chinese organic green tea unless the green tea grower is supervised by some trustworthy western/japanese/international organization or company.
Check out SpecialTeas.com. They are a very well respected vendor and sell only top quality tea.
Good thread and I’ll be interested to see the responses. I know Berardi prefers macha tea which I hear you can find at Asian markets (although it is expensive).
According to a Men’s Health article, the best one is Stash Darjeeling Organic Green Tea. You can read about the other teas here:
[quote]allenkt wrote:
Good thread and I’ll be interested to see the responses. I know Berardi prefers macha tea which I hear you can find at Asian markets (although it is expensive).
According to a Men’s Health article, the best one is Stash Darjeeling Organic Green Tea. You can read about the other teas here:
[/quote]
That’s an interesting article. Although I would agree that Stash is probably pretty good all around, if you are only concerned about catechins then white tea would be even better than green.
Almost all of it is pretty good over here in Japan. Shame I can’t read any of the labels to recommend names!
Stash has a “Green & White Fusion” tea which I hear is good. I’ve never tried it but I’m going to see if I can find it tomorrow.
A brand called ten ren
I forgot where I got it
but the stuff tastes really good I make it really strong like 3x the strength with no bitterness or harshness at all
I have a tub of the “dragon well” green tea
expensive stuff but it is really good
there cheap normal store bought stuff is good also
Most Japanese loose green teas are good, you can find them at Asian grocery stores. Interestingly, Costco carries a bagged version of an expensive Japanese brand (Ito En) which is quite good IMO.
www.teavana.com - Good Sh*t!
thanks people…i appreciate your input!
Christ, why didnt I think to look for good tea at an Asian Supermarket? Good tip, I’m going to check out the chain we have here in Boston.
I was really wanting a tea expert to speak up and state what teas are of excellent quality, because I am in serious need of Green Tea other than Lipton!
[quote]Oquendog wrote:
I was really wanting a tea expert to speak up and state what teas are of excellent quality, because I am in serious need of Green Tea other than Lipton!
[/quote]
That’s www.teanation.com not www.T-Nation.com . I can see how you got confused 
[quote]Flatfoot75 wrote:
Oquendog wrote:
I was really wanting a tea expert to speak up and state what teas are of excellent quality, because I am in serious need of Green Tea other than Lipton!
That’s www.teanation.com not www.T-Nation.com . I can see how you got confused ;)[/quote]
Haha, smart-ass! 
If you make it to an asian supermarket, try the japanese green tea with brown rice. It’s the best stuff ever. I used to think green tea tasted like grass, but I’m addicted to this stuff.
Good green tea - loose leaf, Dragon Well is a good grade - will cost you around $100 / lb. I pick up maybe $10 (0.1 lb) worth per month, and use the leaves for 2-3 infusions. I drink maybe 4-6 cups a day with lemon juice (Vit C supposedly boosts the anti-oxidant effect of green tea).
Loose leaf tastes WAY better than tea bags.