I'm REALLY trying to cut back on my diet coke intake. It's pretty bad, and I know I need to not drink so much.

I don't like coffee. Blech.

I don't like tea, either. But I need to get caffiene SOMEHOW. I'm a serious addict, so until I weane myself off of it I want to try and get it in the form of tea.

What's the best type of tea for beginners? I don't like tea and I never really have, but I want to try!

Help meeee.

If you're at all already accustomed to the usual iced tea, I'd start there. That's black tea. The fruit flavored ones are tasty was less sugar. I like mango black tea, and I've had a black currant black tea I like in a restaurant but haven't found it in bags yet. Chai is also nice, but beware the powdered mixes, they're full of creamer and sugar.

To me, green tea I'm having trouble with, even with fruit flavors. But many others love it, so maybe it's just me.

I'm not a fan of the taste of green tea either, but it will give you a caffeine boost if that's what you're after. I like plain old black tea, too.

Fruit teas can be really yummy or really gross, but a lot of them do not have caffeine. I'm a big fan of Tazo Awake and Tazo Passion (non-caffeinated). I do put honey in my tea, so I have to count it. I also love love love the tea store. There is a tea "house" here that sells loose-leaf tea in bulk and serve by the cup. They make these blends that are out of this world and will turn just about anyone on to tea. What got me hooked was a loose-leaf hibiscus with a lemon citron-type honey.

Mighty Leaf (sold at places like Whole Foods) has a Green Tea Tropical. If you can drink 3 cups a day, you'll cut your risk of breast cancer by 50% (new study on green tea was on the news last week). I have it with a bit of Stevia. It took me 3 tries to cut out the diet coke and I don't think I would have lost all this weight had I not done it becasue it was making me hungrier. I wish you lots of luck. You can do this!

Thanks for the tips. I will look for those.

If you're going to go with loose-leaf tea, try white tea. It's much milder (if you don't like that "tea" flavor) and it is also high in antioxidants like green tea. It has a little caffeine, but not much. I go to this site to order my tea, they sell small samplers so you can try different flavors without buying a huge amount.

Oh, they also sell this amazing strawberry green tea. It smells SO yummy and just a hint of strawberry and it's very mild green tea, it's delicious!

I like green tea. With a little honey. However, that doesn't have much caffein. But I drink it for the antioxidants and it's supposed to increase metabolism.

Mmmmmm...iced Tazo Passion tea with no sweetener......yummmmm. It's a gorgeous color too!! I keep those bags in the house but love getting it from Starbucks.

I also keep a pitcher of iced black tea in the fridge that I sip.

Me too! But I think anything tastes better in a Starbucks cup...

I'm trying to get into teas too. I knew that I wanted to go oraganic and free-trade if possible.

I've ordered from Mountain Rose and they have a ton of teas! I just got some Oolong tea from them the other day and am trying it out. They also have a sampler but I haven't tried it yet.

You probably just want to start trying different teas and see what you like!

I order from Harney & Sons tea company - they have some great blends.

www.harney.com

Oolong is a great tea... I like it a lot. Also have trouble with straight green, but a good green/black/floral blend is really yummy.

If you like orange and clove, constant comment is good. There are other citrus flavored teas I can't stand. You may want to go somewhere where you can buy samplers of teas or pick out 3-4 kinds at the grocery to sample.

Certain brands of tea taste better than others, even black tea. I like all sorts, and one of the fun things for me is to try different varieties. Go to the tea section in a supermarket. Our break room has teas and such, so you might be able to try some there. If I find a kind I don't like, then I leave the box for someone else.

If you like spices, I'd recommend Good Earth. Mmmm, I need to get some of that. Delicious especially in the fall. Earl Grey is another I like that is good without sweetener.

I order a lot from Adagio Teas {there's usually some kind of ad for it on 3FC}. They sell high grade, loose leaf tea. It's more expensive than the bagged stuff, but MUCH higher quality and fresher. We consistently order the "Silver Needle" and "Green Anji" {high in caffeine}. For a black tea, I like Golden Money {from Adagio} or Blood Orange Black {from Teavana}.

Ummm I'm in the UK so I'm guessing you don't get pg tips over there? I have no idea what 'kind' of tea it is... just another variation of english tea? Used to drink diet coke etc as you do but gave it up and went cold turkey. Also (slowly but surely) eradicated any sodas, drink decaf tea and don't use sweeteners in it anymore