Coffee Tea Questions and Answers

Green Tea is one of the best teas and serves a great way to energize your body. The caffeine from tea is absorbed at more of a paced rate, causing you to get the good effects (Energy! =D) and the bad effects from caffeine crash are greatly lessened. Fruit is also a great source of natural energy. Try capitalizing on both these fronts with a delicious fruit tea recipe. http://www.squidoo.com/fruit-tea-recipe

I too grind my tea leaves in a mortar and pestle, but I read recently that it actually causes the cured tea leaves to oxidize faster as a powder and lose flavor that way. Regardless, I would venture a guess and say it's probably not a noticeable amount of flavor unless you are the ultimate tea snob. On the plus side, It makes sense that it could hasten the release of antioxidants that way as well. It may even allow for the release of more antioxidants in a ground up or powdered state. The difference between a powder and ground up state could make a difference too. "Matcha" is made by actually putting green tea leaf powder in the drink itself, usually along with other powdered things. If you are one to just grind your tea leaves a little and use them as loose leaf tea after that, then go for it. It Doesn't exactly matter what others do, be original and enjoy your tea!

I grind my green tea in a mortar and pestle actually, I've read that it helps to release the antioxidants faster because more of the tea leaves' area is exposed. I grind it into an incomplete powder with some small flakes still visible. It makes the tea concentrated and brews incredibly quickly. You can drink the tea leaves afterwards since they are so small and they're pretty harmless if you do so, kind of like drinking matcha but in a somewhat cruder form. I've never been much of a coffee drinker so I can't really say much for the experience comparison, but it's something you might want to try. When you grind it you really don't need very much to get a full-strength pot, maybe half a teaspoon to one teaspoon max of the ground tea. Good luck, and enjoy!

I think someone is pulling your leg about grinding tea leaves. You can buy incredibly fresh tea leaves from many sites, both on line and in stores. If you want to be an "in" tea drinker, just refrain from tea bags and have on hand sell-sealed jars of tea leaves your friend never heard of and you'll be fine. Follow the proper instructions for brewing tea that are listed on this site. Who knows you may turn your coffee drinker friend into a tea drinker too.