Green Tea

[Aegle]

I have been drinking green to for a very long time, though it has only made a really intense impact on my life when I recently stopped drinking coffee all together. Though I would never have too many cups of coffee during the day, I would only drink one cup of coffee in the morning and at the most two.

I find it completely fascinating and extremely compelling, perhaps it also has to do with my sugar intake as when I used to drink coffee I would have two teaspoons of sugar in my coffee. So maybe its the combination of completely reducing my sugar intake along with taking coffee out of my morning routine. As I no longer have sugar as I drink my green tea without honey or sugar as its the best way to get the full flavor of the green tea.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter and has anyone else experienced the same thing?


Much Peace and Kindness

 

[universecannon]

i really never got into drinking coffee... apart from sipping my moms dank french vanilla years ago in the morning from time to time

i love green tea, but even that i don't drink too often. Once a week or less, or if i have to really focus on a project or need a boost in the middle of the night. When i was working at 6 in the morning i'd drink it more often i guess, mostly just because i need something warm in the winter to sip when its 0F outside

I drink loads of other herbal teas throughout the day, just not anything with caffeine...i guess because ever since i cleaned up my diet I've just been wired with energy most of the time anyways. Still, i'd like to experiment with taking it daily again to see how it impacts me

 

[Aegle]

Universecannon

I think to feel the true benefits of green tea it is wise to drink it every day, I have about 3 cups everyday and it really has had an incredible effect on my life. As I am far more productive, clear minded and purely focused with access to limitless amounts of energy during the day much more than I have ever had before.

I have always focused on being healthy but until I started drinking green tea every day and cutting out my one or two cups of coffee a day I hadn't reached my fill potential. If you do start drinking green tea every day let me know how it goes and the effects that it has on your life, it would be greatly appreciated.


Much Peace and Happiness

 

[smoalker]

I drink one cup of green tea in the morning to have a nice functional stimulation all day and then at lunch time when Im starting to feel tired I have a coffee , This is my sweet spot for caffeine as drinking coffee too often for me reduces the mood lift and other pleasant effects.

 

[nicechrisman]

I too have been drinking green tea for many years. Coffee does weird things to my blood sugar that I don't like. I still enjoy the taste, but I don't usually like the way it makes me feel.

Lately I've been drinking matcha which is finely powdered green tea leaf. Supposedly you get much more of the health benefits this way as you are ingesting much more than just the water soluble components. It's a little more bitter and trickier to mix as it likes to clump up in the water. I pour a little hot water in the cup, add the matcha, wisk it vigorously with a fork (they make special wisks out of bamboo, but i've got lots of forks already), then add the rest of the water.

 

[Michal_R]

Thanks for this thread. It resonates with me because I also have been trying to lower my caffeine intake lately, and therefore strated drinking a lot of green tea. I have a question regarding possible negative health effects resulting from drinking a lot of green tea.

Do you have any information on this?

Sometimes this comes to my mind, as I tend to drink several litres of green tea daily lately (I prefer to make my tea rather "weak" by soaking high quality leafs for shorter time than normally recomended).

What is your usual daily intake?

 

[Aegle]

Michal_R

I have only about three cups a day which is generally the amount which is consumed in Asian countries as it is suggested that if you have about six cups or more you will start to experience negative side effects from too much caffeine such as palpitations, also green tea has diuretic properties and you might be putting your kidneys under strain.

I guess everything in moderation is always best, 5-HIA, an organic acid and component of the neurotransmitter serotonin seen in the urine tends to be elevated in coffee drinkers, which means they may be at risk for lower levels of serotonin synthesis in the brain.


Much Peace and Compassion

 

[Michal_R]

Thanks for the info, Aegle.

 

[Aegle]

Michal_R

No problem, I'm really glad that I could help...


Much Peace and Understanding

 

[Sayaqua]

Thank you for this thread ya'll. It's a reminder for me to get back to drinking green tea regularly. Like you Aegle, I also felt productive and clear minded. I hypothesized that it's a great way to hydrate (warm water being more friendly to the system) with the added bonus of nutrients.

Oolong tea is great as well. Check it out.

 

[spinCycle]

Interesting thread.

I have to admit I find it almost impossible to get started in the morning without a pint or so of coffee. At my worst (college days) I drank often 12 or more pints of strong coffee a day (basically every hour or so, or I would just crash massively), but I was usually sleep deprived, 4 or 5 hours a night for long periods wasn't unusual.

These days I rarely have any coffee after noon, or it will keep me up at night. One or two pints in the AM is my usual dose.

I've tried switching over to green tea, but it just doesn't have that 'kickstart' I seem to need to get going in the morning, even more so when I have to get up, get awake and commute to a job in the early AM. I am not a morning person, never really feel awake until at least the late AM and my best hours have always been in the evening and at night, but I am usually forced into a day schedule by work, etc...

Only time I have ever successfully quit coffee was when I was so sick that I basically could not eat or drink anything for two weeks without puking. Felt good to be without caffeine after that, but within a month I was drinking it again. Plus I just LOVE the smell of it brewing.

Any suggestions for how to convert over to green tea without the grogginess and low level headaches I get if I just go cold turkey on the coffee jones? It is the only substance I would say I have ever been genuinely addicted to.

 

[Aegle]

spinCycle

I would maybe recommend starting to very gradually replace one of your daily cups of coffee with green tea and each week continue to do this until you are only drinking green tea. Though if you are drinking more than three cups of coffee a day which you replace with green tea. I would highly suggest that you decrease your green tea intake to a daily limit of three cups, otherwise you end up putting strain on your kidneys and your heart.

Truly I wish the best of luck and if you are able to make the transition please don't hesitate to share your result with us, it really would be greatly appreciated.


Much Peace and Respect

 

[Mickey_Mouse_33]

This is a neat little thread I saw it and decided to switch from my 1-2 cups of coffee a day to 2-3 cups of tea. After 2 weeks I do feel a subtle change! A little clearer, fresher of sorts. Hard to put the finger on, subtle, but definitely positive, I am keeping my tea as a new friend Cheers Aegle

 

[Aegle]

Miksiton

Wow that's such lovely news, truly thank you for making my day... The whole reason behind starting this thread was to inspire others to try drinking green tea so that they might see the health benefits that I have experienced as health really is incredibly valuable and precious.

I have been drinking only green tea for about 3 months now and my memory is functioning far more acutely, my ability to concentrate clearly has greatly increased, I have limitless energy during the day and I have been really glowing with happiness more so now than ever before. Its absolutely remarkable and all I needed to do was eliminate coffee from my diet.

I'm overjoyed that you have cultivated a new friendship with tea. ♥

Much Peace and Kindness

 

[NamahsNaicigam]

I love green tea, but I've been eliminating fluoride from my diet and have recently switched to Jasmine tea.

Fluoride & Green Tea

 

[Aegle]

NamahsNaicigam

Thank you so very much for the fascinating article... I do my best to drink the highest quality organic local green tea and I only drink green tea in moderation. I am interested in purchasing a filtering system to filter out the fluoride in my drinking water though. May I ask is jasmine tea comparable to green tea?


Much Peace and Compassion

 

[universecannon]

Interesting, thanks for the link!

After seeing findaspring.com i've just been getting water from a spring not too far from me for around 2 years. And i have 'natural' toothpaste, so i think i get very little fluoride from my diet, although theres always lots of domestic plant foods that are fed tap water so...
oh well :/

I had some green tea last night while studying for an exam (which i was completely unprepared for), and it definitely helped a lot in quickly memorizing the material. I crashed a bit afterwords but only needed 3 hours sleep to feel well rested- which i guess is fairly normal for me, however usually caffeine/marijuana makes me sleep more afterwords and this time it wasn't the case

I still haven't gotten around to trying it daily. 2 or 3 times a week at most it seems. Someday i probably will

i guess i've just never felt the need really, and i already drink tons of herbal teas throughout the day. I usually just make a mix containing a bit of cats claw, pau d arc (sometimes i leave these two out since they're dehydrating), white tea, echinacea, milk thistle seed, passionflower, rose hips, thyme, nettles, perhaps one or two other things, and maybe a dab of cinnamon. Sometimes i make chaga tea ( and no, thats not a typo ), but i recently read something by paul staments that cited how its much better to do an alcohol extraction of chaga, and then make a tea of the remains as well, so i'll be trying that next

 

[NamahsNaicigam]

"Jasmine Tea is actually a combination of Chinese green[, black, oolong or pouchong] tea with the additional flavor and aroma of jasmine flower petals. The jasmine petals are used at full bloom which occurs at night (after they are picked during the day), and the tea is made by repeatedly laying layers of jasmine petals and tea leaves over each other. Six layers of alternating leaves and petals effectively merge the scent of the jasmine flower to the green tea. After this "scenting" process is finished, the petals are removed for the tea leaves to be dried. The quality of jasmine tea is determined by the strength of the green tea base to absorb the scent of the flower. As far as health benefits, many believe that jasmine tea's benefits may exceed those of green tea. Some possible benefits additional to the antioxidant qualities of the green tea leaves are that jasmine tea may prolong life expectancy and lower cholesterol levels. Often jasmine tea leaves are rolled into balls which are called jasmine pearls."

Source: https://www.theteafarm.com/tea_jasmine.asp

 

[dreamer042]

The first sip is joy, the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, and the fifth is ecstasy.

Thanks for starting this thread Aegle! I wasn't aware that 3 cups was the most auspicious amount to drink, that's good information. :thumb_up:

I love tea!

My preference is for white tea as it's generally the least processed and considered the most prized. I figure, hey if it's good enough for the emperors of China, it's probably good enough for me.

I rarely ever experience a crash with tea and I definitely do feel calmness, clarity, and general well-being when I drink it.

Thanks for the reminder to include more of this wonderful gift in my life.

 

[SpartanII]

And i have 'natural' toothpaste, so i think i get very little fluoride from my diet, although theres always lots of domestic plant foods that are fed tap water so...
oh well

Yep, fluoride can come from many different sources, so you are wise to be concerned:

The MCLG (maximum contaminate level goal) that the EPA has suggested for fluoridated water is 4 ppm. Drinking Water Regulations | US EPA

Margin of safety:

This level can rise depending on how much fluoride you can ingest coming from multiple sources. The standards don't make allowances for fluoride exposure from other sources, which include food and beverages processed with fluoridated water, fluoridated dental products, mechanically de-boned meat, pharmaceuticals, teas, teflon coated cooking pans, pesticide residues on food, and wine. Not to mention bathing or showering in hot, fluoridated water, which may absorb through our largest organ of our body- our skin.

Sources of Fluoride - Fluoride Action Network

www.fluoridealert.org

Environmental Fluoride - National Research Council of Canada - Fluoridation-Free Ottawa

www.ffo-olf.org