Post: #101

I brought a whole lotta Japanese matcha home from Thailand.

Great stuff, enjoying it everyday.

I used to drink buckets of black coffee everyday, now I only crave one cup in the morning.
During the rest of the day I'm sipping on green tea.

Post: #102

I'll recommend "Shizouka Tea." A friend gave it to me as a parting gift from Japan. The taste is good.
http://shizuokatea.com/s-llt/organic-list.php

"Gyokuro", is the highest quality Japanese-leaf green tea that is picked the first harvest and is grown in the shade.
   
Sencha and bancha, are also good loose leaf Japanese green teas but they are grown in direct sunlight.

She also bought me a tea set with a strainer that holds loose leaf inside the pot. Loose leaf has a better taste. This is standard equipment for most Japanese offices/ schools. Every breakroom has them. Just add the loose leaf, hot water, wait 1-3 mins or so and thats it.
   

Post: #103

From a weight loss aid to targeting pancreatic cancer, green tea has evolved into a medicinal drink that caters to a myriad of illnesses. The reality is there are surprising benefits to reap from this magical drink in just one cup. Green tea is considered one of the world's healthiest drinks and contains one of the highest amount of antioxidants of any tea. Drink up!

Post: #104

I just started taking my green tea bags out of my mug when I am done an wiping my face with them. I saw on some AOL video of all places that it was good for the skin around your eyes or something. I drink 2-3 mugs of hot green tea everyday and wipe my face every time. My skin is noticeably better. I used to get kind of red sometimes flaky skin around my nose and facial hair but its all gone now. An my pores seem smaller or something... I don't know it just looks better to me. Even though it seems kind of strange to tea bag myself... I will keep doing it

I also mix my tea with honey.... some maybe that combo is good for your skin... maybe its all in my mind.... maybe its maybelline

Post: #105

^^^^^^^^
Crippin -
you can also chill the used bags.. that is throw them in fridge when you're done with your drink and use them later for the cosmetic purposes you describe

Post: #106

I've been drinking all manner of tea my entire life. My grandmother is English so it started with black tea with milk as a kid. Early attempts to switch to coffee in my teens were met with terrible stomach aches, so tea has been my caffeine vehicle my entire life. While I usually keep a black tea around for when I'm in the mood, the majority of my consumption is oolong or Chinese greens. The Chinese greens are a bit earthy and malted compared to the more popular Japanese varieties popular in the US.

I drink Tiekuanyin oolong out of a gaiwan all day long at my work desk. A gaiwan is simply a small tea bowl that you both steep and drink from. Here is the one I use.

http://smile.amazon.com/Moyishi-Chinese-...B00F6X60XC

I simply drop a scoop of tea into the cup when I get to work and fill up an electric kettle I keep at my desk. The leaves last all day long and make 7+ bowls of tea with each steep getting gradually weaker. This method is sometimes called "Grandpa Style" tea, a very low effort method compared to the highly ritualized gongfu tea ceremony traditionally associated with oolong. Here's a good article about it http://www.marshaln.com/whats-grandpa-style/.

I have the stuff to do the gongfu style when I feel like it, but grandpa style chinese tea has been my go to method for many years now. I buy most of my tea from http://www.silkroadteas.com/. The owner personally sources the tea from China every year and the prices are reasonable. You will pay much more for lower quality chinese tea from most US tea sites like Teavana or Republic of Tea. Generally speaking, avoid tea vendors with a lot of hype and marketing. Bagged oolong is usually terrible. The stuff they sell at Starbucks is mediocre quality and the baristas are not trained to make it correctly. The stuff I drink now is around $150/lb and worth every penny. I would not suggest that someone new to oolong purchase tea at this price point. Look for something around $40-$50/lb to start with.

I've been drinking Chinese tea for well over a decade since a Taiwanese neighbor turned me on to it. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them.

Post: #107

I drink 4-5 cups of green tea everyday, some loose leaf and some in bags, decaffeinated after 4pm.

One thing that I read in a great book which I recommend to everyone, Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life, is that green tea really needs to be steeped for at least 10 minutes for the tea leaves to let the antioxidants out. Lots of people just put the bag in for a few minutes, that's not enough, and there are plenty of high level scientific research backing the author of Anti-Cancer's suggestion to steep longer.

I put the tea in boiling water and leave it there. After 30 minutes the water can be a little bitter to those who only drink extremely weak tea, but to me it tastes great.

Edit: Another important fact about the antioxidants in green tea: after one hour those antioxidants are not effective any longer. So making a lot of tea an drinking it over the day is not helpful after the first hour or so. Again, this info came from that book.

The book has a lot of great info, but sometimes is a little too emotional for me since its for people dealing with cancer. But the info is top-notch. I've read the book maybe 30 times, just trying to drive all of it into my subconscious.

Post: #108

(07-29-2014 06:22 PM)game_ethic Wrote:  I've been drinking green tea for years. It's a habit I picked up when I used to live with my grandmother. Whether she was eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner, she would always
make sure she drank a cup of green tea with it. She says it's a Cuban tradition that's been in her family for a while. Anyways, Cr33pin's post kind of got me interested in what
the benefits of drinking green tea are since I've been oblivious to what they are. I did some searching and this is what I found.

• Green tea contains catechins. Catechins are supposedly more powerful than vitamins C and E in halting oxidative damage to cells and appear to have other disease-fighting properties.
• There are studies that show there's an association between consuming green tea and a reduced risk for several cancers, including skin, breast, lung, colon, esophagael, and bladder.
• Regular consumption of green and black teas include a reduced risk for heart disease. The antioxidants in green, black, and oolong teas can help block the oxidation of LDL(bad) cholesterol, increase HDL(good) cholesterol and improve artery function. Consumers of oolong or green tea showed a 45-46% reduction in hypertension risk compared to non-consumers of green tea.
• To reap the full benefits of green tea, the ideal consumption amount seems to be three cups per day. Allow the tea to steep for 3 to 5 minutes to bring out its catechins.
• Decaffeinated, bottled ready-to-drink and instant teas have less catechins. (I wonder if that includes Lipton's packaged green tea as well)
• Though there's not much evidence of this, green tea is said to help with wrinkles and signs of aging due to its high content of antioxidants.
• Green tea—or any tea—can impede the absorption of iron from fruits and vegetables; adding lemon or milk or drinking tea between meals will counteract this problem.
  

I looked back over the previous posts, this one is spot on.

The research I read said 10 minutes of steeping and drink within one hour to get the benefits.

Post: #109

Hey Cr33pin:

That's a great tip on applying the used tea bags to your face. You can also re-use tea bags generally for a second cup of tea (whether you should do that after applying the tea bag to your face is another story).

I used powder, not tea bags. Any advice on applying the powder to my face? Maybe it's maybelline...

Post: #110

(02-23-2015 07:44 AM)Yeti Wrote:  Hey Cr33pin:

That's a great tip on applying the used tea bags to your face. You can also re-use tea bags generally for a second cup of tea (whether you should do that after applying the tea bag to your face is another story).

I used powder, not tea bags. Any advice on applying the powder to my face? Maybe it's maybelline...

Used tea composts pretty well. If you keep houseplants, a teabag put in the pot makes will repel many insects as well. It will work for outdoor balcony planters and herb pots and stuff too. If its a planter that is subject to direct rainfall, try not to let the plants get any 'rain tea' in the soil, the caffeine isn't good for them.

Post: #111

I just put some organic coconut oil in my tea... shit was delicious. Its kind of like that bullet proof coffee stuff only less manly.

So as mentioned above I tea bag myself after drinking my green tea. So now with green tea, honey, and coconut oil being rubbed on my face I'm going to have that mother fucking J-Lo glow!!!

Post: #112

I bought Costco green tea and it is shit. I still like binglow, but this thread has inspired me to up my green tea game.

I fucking love green tea. I also like fucking asians. Coincidence?

Post: #113

(02-22-2015 10:00 PM)ball dont lie Wrote:  I drink 4-5 cups of green tea everyday, some loose leaf and some in bags, decaffeinated after 4pm.

One thing that I read in a great book which I recommend to everyone, Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life, is that green tea really needs to be steeped for at least 10 minutes for the tea leaves to let the antioxidants out. Lots of people just put the bag in for a few minutes, that's not enough, and there are plenty of high level scientific research backing the author of Anti-Cancer's suggestion to steep longer.

I put the tea in boiling water and leave it there. After 30 minutes the water can be a little bitter to those who only drink extremely weak tea, but to me it tastes great.

Edit: Another important fact about the antioxidants in green tea: after one hour those antioxidants are not effective any longer. So making a lot of tea an drinking it over the day is not helpful after the first hour or so. Again, this info came from that book.

The book has a lot of great info, but sometimes is a little too emotional for me since its for people dealing with cancer. But the info is top-notch. I've read the book maybe 30 times, just trying to drive all of it into my subconscious.

I just wanted to chime in and agree that Anti-Cancer is a phenomenal book.

Post: #114

What's the final verdict on green tea daily?

Of course there are plenty of proven and supposed health benefits. But I've also heard it can decrease your testosterone if you drink it too frequently.

Daily and frequent drinkers, what are your thoughts on this?

Post: #115

^^^^^


All the scientific evidence puts green tea in rare company, one of the best things a person can add to their diet.

I drink it all the time and feel incredible. I was at my physical peak drinking it 5-7 cups a day. Drink as much as you can.

Read Anti-Cancer, a book that contains all the health benefits of all sorts of foods.

Post: #116

(09-15-2015 02:45 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  What's the final verdict on green tea daily?

Of course there are plenty of proven and supposed health benefits. But I've also heard it can decrease your testosterone if you drink it too frequently.

Daily and frequent drinkers, what are your thoughts on this?

I guess my question back to you is: how old are you?

I was a religious green-tea drinker for years: drank at least four cups a day.

I'm mid-30s now, and I clearly can feel my test levels go down when imbibing green tea. I suck ass in the gym and lose any libido that I may have had. It never used to be like this before. I have sub-clinical levels of testosterone, so I think any food substance that causes a small drop in testosterone exacerbates my low-T symptoms. I've also noticed this with flax seed, which I used to eat religiously: I've cut them out and have noticed a small improvement in my low T symptoms (gym workout's a little better, slightly higher libido, etc.).

I've switched to drinking black tea or pu-ehr tea. The former dilates your blood vessels more (good right before exercising), the latter's excellent for reducing LDL.

This could all be a nocebo effect, so try it out and see what you think. I do drink some white tea and have noticed no side effects.

Post: #117

^ 22.

I've heard plenty about the positives of course. I just want validate if the negatives are true or not.

Post: #118

If you're young, kicking ass in the gym and horny as fuck, then you won't notice any downside with green tea. Definitely go for it. Just be cognizant that it will lower test by a small bit, but if you're test is high to begin with, then it will amount to nothing.

Post: #119

Green tea lowers testosterone? Please share some links to reputable studies or science journals.

Post: #120

(09-21-2015 09:09 PM)_GQ_ Wrote:  Green tea lowers testosterone? Please share some links to reputable studies or science journals.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7575552
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2789276/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12065214
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18936213

Green tea does affect hormones, whether positively or negatively. Most studies have been performed in rats and seem to indicate that it slightly suppresses test and increases aromatization. Anecdotally I've noticed lower mood and libido after drinking some green tea. I was a chronic green-tea drinker for years (my teeth would become very stained and I'd have to get them polished every six months at a dental hygienist). I never noticed anything different until about a year ago, but I've also been shown to have low test (319 ng/dL was last reading two weeks ago), so I think I notice it more because I don't have much test circulating around to begin with.

Satisfied? I told Nascimento to go ahead, he won't notice a difference on his test levels, and there's obvious health benefits associated with frequent consumption of green tea.

Post: #121

I been drinking green tea daily for years and years and my test levels stays around 1000 ng/dL

Might have something to do with me injecting Testosterone once a week doe

Post: #122

If you are a green tea lover try get your hands on matcha. Supposed to be 10x more powerful than normal green tea in antioxidants. Its cheap as fuck in japan packet of 50 kettle bags only $4.

Would like to hear from any experts on matcha not sure if its already been mentioned .

Post: #123

Just chiming in - I have tried numerous variations of green tea, however quality Matcha tea was the only one that gave me effects I really felt during the whole day.

Post: #124

^^

Is matcha powder as good as the teabag variety?

Did a quick check on Amazon and I don't see anything but the powdered form of it, is that what you guys are talking about?
Is something like this worhtwhile?

http://www.amazon.ca/Organic-Matcha-Gree...tea+powder

Post: #125

(12-13-2014 02:38 AM)memcpy Wrote:  I'll recommend "Shizouka Tea." A friend gave it to me as a parting gift from Japan. The taste is good.
http://shizuokatea.com/s-llt/organic-list.php

"Gyokuro", is the highest quality Japanese-leaf green tea that is picked the first harvest and is grown in the shade.

Sencha and bancha, are also good loose leaf Japanese green teas but they are grown in direct sunlight.

She also bought me a tea set with a strainer that holds loose leaf inside the pot. Loose leaf has a better taste. This is standard equipment for most Japanese offices/ schools. Every breakroom has them. Just add the loose leaf, hot water, wait 1-3 mins or so and thats it.

I saw this one on teavana, it is expensive as f*ck

I bought like 20g only... but it is very good - and you can reuse it two times like