Does anyone add citrus juice?

[Delta223]

Hi all,

I'm sure some of you health conscious drinkers know that drinking green tea with a citrus juice greatly increases its available antioxidants:

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2007 ... 4-095.html

They say lemon juice is the strongest amplifier, but I personally have a jug of orange juice for the price and taste.

How much citrus are you guys adding to your tea? I'm putting 1 part orange juice for 3 parts green tea (2 oz in an 8 ounce cup) But i have no idea what I'm doing!

Thanks

[Marco]

I add some to a mediocre green tea. If it is a good green I want the original taste. If you like it do it, if not don't.
And if you want to add some just for health benefit. You can also drink some juice before drinking tea.

[Delta223]

Personally I don't like the taste of tea so I prefer to mix the OJ in.

[debunix]

You're a whole lot better off eating the orange and skipping the juice.

[msmeghann82]

I've cut up fresh limes, lemons and oranges and put them in tea (usually iced teas) that I plan on drinking that day. Feels healthier than the store bought juice. But I don't do that too often as I like plain iced tea just as much.

[Delta223]

You're a whole lot better off eating the orange and skipping the juice.

What makes the real food so much better? I think think of dietary fiber as one benefit but not much else.

[debunix]

The fiber is huge, not just in terms of helping to keep you regular, but more importantly blunting the impact of the sugars on your metabolism that stress your pancreas and eventually increase your risk of diabetes. Plus, not all of the good stuff in the orange ends up in the juice.

[Victoria]

Interesting article, I have never heard this before. Still most of us here are here for the love of tea, not for the health benefits. Health benefits are definitely a plus, but this board exists due to the enjoyment of the natural flavor of tea.

That being said, anyone interested in this theory, might be inclined to eat/drink some citrus with their tea.

[debunix]

I've certainly happily consumed many an orange, tangerine, tangelo, clementine, mandarin, blood orange, along with my tea.

[Tead Off]

As Victoria has said, most of us are interested in taste and aroma of various teas. For myself, citrus will never be eaten or drunk with my teas as it kills the flavor and enjoyment of tea instantly. I don't think any green tea can stand up to the impact of citrus on your taste buds. However, I can see adding matcha to juice as a health practice or taking citrus after a session of drinking tea.

Even the eating of various foods or 'tea treats' can adversely affect our taste buds and make it difficult to taste the tea we are drinking. At the prices charged for most of the teas talked about on this board, it would be a waste to drink in this fashion. Better to take tea bags of the cheapest stuff and mix with whatever one wants.

[Dresden]

The only citrus I add is when I brew up some ceylon based iced tea. I find that the ceylon has natural citrus notes to it and the lemon gives it that little extra oomph. I little bruised mint leaf in the glass makes a refreshing summer drink as well.

Cheers,
Mike

[Chip]

Although I do not ever mix citrus with tea (except possibly and rarely iced), I do often have orange along side dark chocolate ... which is pretty sensory overloading and not for the faint of heart. Not sure when I picked this habit up, but it was decades ago.

But tea and citrus, nope! You gotta draw the line somewhere after all.

[aya_s]

My friend enjoys making fruit tea a lot and adding chopped pieces of fresh fruit and honey. I usually drink my tea straight, but I've found when I add fresh-squeezed juice to hot tea, I make it 20% juice and 80% tea. Too much juice and the tea flavor is killed and it tastes like watery juice. That percentage seems to balance the fruit flavor of the juice and the flavor of the hot tea best for me.

I've only made fruit tea with black tea, never with green. Sounds interesting.

[TwoPynts]

What makes the real food so much better? I think think of dietary fiber as one benefit but not much else.

Fresh squeezed juice is good, but whole fruits contain a bit more nutrients found in the non-liquid part of the fruit as well as the fiber. Store bought juices can have additives and are processed, loosing valuable nutrients in the process. Many store bought juices are essentially flavored sugar water with non-naturally occurring vitamins/minerals re-introduced.

I sometimes do lemon or lime in a iced black tea. Never with green. Also sometimes with barley tea, though it doesn't really need it.

[bagua7]

Well, according to TCM the spleen provides energy to the heart. Citrus juic weakens the spleen, hence the heart is weakened. When the heart is not pumping blood strongly, the overall blood circulation naturally gets sluggish and causes blood stagnation, and the main organ affected by that is the liver (while the heart is the king or supreme commander over all body-mind functions, TCM describes the liver as the general or long-range planner).

If you are so concerned about health don't ruin the benefits of green tea (excellent for the liver due to its affinity to it...green, spring, movement) by adding a health damaging substance.