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Green Tea Extract Capsules

Posted: Apr 28th, '06, 22:04
by T
Hello, I've been drinking green tea since late 2005. I've just started taking the green tea extract capsules this week.

I'd like to read opinions and get more information about green tea extract capsules.

Posted: Apr 28th, '06, 23:17
by Warden Andy
Those capsules are just a way for certain individuals to make money. If you are taking it for a diet, you won't get the results you would if you drank the tea. Probably, the reason tea is effective for dieting isn't just from the caffeine and healthy stuff in the tea. The reason tea is good for dieting is probably because it leads to a healthier lifestyle. If you love green tea, fruits and vegetables will appeal to you more, and you would think fast food is disgusting.

Stick to just drinking the tea.

Posted: Apr 28th, '06, 23:22
by T
Thanks for your comments

Posted: Apr 29th, '06, 02:00
by MarshalN
Actually, I remember reading recently that the capsules can actually be bad for you. While green tea and its antioxidants might be a good thing, in the unnatural concentration that you'll get in the capsules, I remember reading that it could actually backfire.

Take at your own risk.

Posted: Apr 29th, '06, 10:11
by cookster
Doesn't sound very natural

Posted: Apr 29th, '06, 16:47
by Chip
..I'd rather drink tea than swallow it in a pill!!! That would take all the fun out of it. It's the whole tea culture thing, you can't put that in a pill. You can't relax over a nice tea extract pill.

By the way, a lot/most of those bottled iced teas out there are not made with "tea," but with green/black tea extracts and flavor/fruit extracts("natural flavors" can include extracts)...HMMMMMMM!!! One more incentive to make even your own iced tea and read labels!!!!

Posted: Apr 29th, '06, 18:11
by dejj
If you want tea in a more potent form, forget the pills, and consider matcha. It's usually gyokuro (sometimes made with other teas), ground into a fine powder, so when you consume the tea, you're actually consuming the tea leaf.

Posted: Apr 29th, '06, 18:24
by T
I dont know how to properly prepare matcha. I bought the powder one time and consumed it with ice cream, and got a headache afterwards.

The guy from the tea company in Japan said in an email that I could consume the matcha powder with anything such as ice cream, french fries, etc.

Posted: Apr 29th, '06, 19:42
by procarel
Hi T, Matcha tea is made with about 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of powder to a cup of very hot water. It mixes best with a special bamboo wisk called a chasen but I suppose a small kitchen wisk might work to wisk it thoroughly so you get a little foam on the top. There are also some excellent recipes on this site that use matcha tea that are very good. Check them out and I'm sure you will find some that you like.

Posted: Apr 30th, '06, 12:34
by Phyll
T wrote:I dont know how to properly prepare matcha. I bought the powder one time and consumed it with ice cream, and got a headache afterwards.
T, could it be the ice cream? Brain freeze?

Posted: Apr 30th, '06, 15:01
by Chip
T, Matcha and french fries...????????

From your posts I assume that you want the health benefits of tea...making french fries and ice cream with matcha sounds counter productive. Not to say that I never eat french fries, but I would not try to kid myself by thinking I was making them healthy by adding tea.

Try using matcha in healthier alternatives and staples since you need to consume tea daily in order to fully gain the health benefits.

I make matcha rice at least once a week, making enough to last several days. It is easy to make too. Just wisk matcha (any wisk will do) into the water prior to adding rice. Use good rice, an Asian food store is a good source!!! I usually add about .5 teaspoon per cup of uncooked rice. You can add more matcha if you want stronger flavor. Prerinse the rice and then cook the rice in the tea water according to label directions. The rice will come out greenish in color and have a mild matcha flavor.

Just my 2 cents worth...of course you could always drink it...

Posted: Apr 30th, '06, 18:06
by T
Ha, I was surprised when he said that I could use the matcha powder on ice cream or fried potatoes.

Well, this recipe that you put here sound pretty good.

Posted: May 2nd, '06, 11:54
by Kestrel
Matcha, because you're consuming the entire tea leaf, has a much higher level of caffeine than normal tea does. In fact, according to a study done at the college I attended, a comparison per-volume of prepared matcha and prepared coffee (like, 1 liquid ounce of matcha to one liquid ounce of coffee) showed matcha has more caffeine than coffee does.

So if you're relatively sensitive to caffeine, that might be your culprit.

Posted: May 2nd, '06, 13:03
by Chip
Kestrel wrote:Matcha, because you're consuming the entire tea leaf, has a much higher level of caffeine than normal tea does. In fact, according to a study done at the college I attended, a comparison per-volume of prepared matcha and prepared coffee (like, 1 liquid ounce of matcha to one liquid ounce of coffee) showed matcha has more caffeine than coffee does.

So if you're relatively sensitive to caffeine, that might be your culprit.
Kestrel, riddle me this...
I was curious, in that study, did they compare matcha to other teas and if they did, was it based on equal volumes of prepared tea or the equal weights of dry tea leaves to matcha powder. The reason I ask is because I was under the impression that almost 90% of caffeine leaches out of tea leaves in the first minute of brewing because caffeine is very water soluble. Therefore, a matcha preparation should only have around 10% more caffeine if you prepared teas with equal weights of tea leaves and matcha powder.

If however they did the study based on equal weights of leaves to powder, and the caffeine was still much higher (significantly in excess of a 10% differential) in the matcha preparation, then we are not receiving accurate info on the solubility of caffeine from the tea industry.

Posted: May 2nd, '06, 17:28
by jogrebe
That's nothing a certain company who won't be named went to the point of making puerh tablets for weight loss and other health benefits which is just plain wrong from the perspective of a puerh lover.