Would I like green tea?

[mextex12]

I'm really not sure whether to try green tea. The only tea that even comes close to green which I'm familiar with is Darjeeling. It was a mid-range, broken leaf variety and I found the muscatel taste revolting. Should I try green tea, I'm doubtful. And is so where/how should I begin?

[iannon]

oh where to start! ? There are so many "varieties" of Green tea. Chinese, Japanese..I might suggest trying a couple of each. Adagio has some sampler tins that may be a good start. For Japanese greens you should also definately get the Den's Sampler for 3 bucks shipped. that would give you a good taste of what they are like.

[aya_s]

What sort of tea and what sorts of flavors in beverages do you currently enjoy?

[beachape]

I think he/she enjoys tex-mex. Perhaps a tea with some kick....green puerh?

Den's sampler is great for $3. Perhaps adagio for some cheap Chinese green samples. The green pekoe is certainly not bad for price/performance.

[brad4419]

Welcome to teachat mextex12!

First thing Is that green tea is certainly worth giving a try.

Oh there are so many ways and places you could start out with greens its just a matter of jumping in. Check out the Tea Vendor guide here on the forum to see the many good places to buy from.

Our host adagio http://www.adagio.com/ is a great place to start because you can get samples of a wide variety of greens and even throw in some old favorites

As many have already said check out dens $3 sampler for Japanese greens
http://www.denstea.com/index.php?main_p ... &cPath=377

If you want to try Chinese greens I can recommend teaspring because thats where I go every spring for my greens and so far they have been excellent. They sell 25gram samples of everything at a good price, shippings under $4. http://teaspring.com/

[mextex12]

Well thank you for all the suggestions, I've never ventured far from black tea, and I've always preferred Indian/Sri Lankan teas that have a little natural sweetness.

I'm tempted to try green teabags, theres a pack I've seen in the supermarket, a selection of "green tea" (which I don't know) with Cranberry, Apple & Pear, Acerola Cherry, Blueberry and Mango. Though I'm aware this is sacrilegious to some of the connoisseurs amongst you.

[Chip]

... well it really won't let you experience green tea taste, you will likely just taste the added flavors.

[debunix]

If you prefer black teas with natural sweetness, you should try some higher quality green teas and find out how to brew them to bring out their natural sweetness as well.

[rmisra9]

Hi mextex.

Like you, I'm just trying out Green Teas myself, and I'm used to black teas.

I've just trying out Darjeeling Flowery Pekoe Green Tea from Golden Tips (Goldentipstea.com), and well, it's not bad. I have nothing to compare it to, so I'm hardly a fair judge. Still experimenting with leaf quantity and water levels, so any pointers would be great.

I guess you really need to try it out. Try to avoid the tea bags since it's hard to pinpoint what exactly you liked/hated about the tea... the tea itself, the quality, the tea grade, and so on. Since you're seriously asking yourself if it's something you might enjoy, give it a fair shot. Try some samplers and see how it goes.

[britt]

I'm really not sure whether to try green tea. The only tea that even comes close to green which I'm familiar with is Darjeeling. It was a mid-range, broken leaf variety and I found the muscatel taste revolting. Should I try green tea, I'm doubtful. And is so where/how should I begin?

Since you like black tea and green tea is so different, I'd suggest you try Japanese Houjicha which is a green tea that's been roasted. It has a more forward flavor, is typically very easy to brew (it's difficult to make it come out bitter), and most types of Houjicha can use hotter water than regular steamed sencha. Ocha.com and Yuuki-cha have excellent Houjichas and you can also find this tea in high quality teabags from Hibiki-an. I think it's a good starting point for someone coming over from the stronger black teas.