Good green tea, properly brewed, is a very delicate taste

I heard at my TOPS meeting that green tea in a bag doesn not have enough of the stuff that is suppose to help you. Loose tea is recommended but I have never seen loose green tea. As for the taste I take a regular lipton decaf bag and a green tea bag and brew them together. The taste of the green tea is masked with the other tea bag. I use different flavored tea bags as well with the green tea. Want chai tea add a green tea bag too. Double duty.

As a long time green tea drinker, I can't say I've ever heard that. It is true that the green tea that comes in bags isn't as good quality in terms of taste as the loose tea. Good green tea, properly brewed, is a very delicate taste. It shouldn't need masking. The most common error is using too much tea, which produces a bitter taste. A pinch that you can easily hold between your thumb and forefinger is sufficient for a cup. The water also should be below boiling. Purists will discard the first cup and then drink the 2nd cup using the same leaves.

Loose green tea is available in any Asian grocery, in most health food stores, in many large supermarkets, and online. I prefer Dragon Well (Long Ching) from China. It comes from the Hangzhou area, famed for having the most beautiful women in China (I think it's true), and was the favorite of Zhou En Lai. The very best grades, made from the earliest tiniest leaves in the Spring, fetch as much as $50 an ounce. Most of the decent ones cost about $4-5 an ounce.