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Re:L-Theanine: a 4,000 Year Old Mind-Hack by ekanes on Tuesday January 11, 2011 @01:06PM (#2092842)
Thanks, but I think the grandparent was looking for help in what to choose. "It depends" is true but not helpful

What tea should we be drinking? :)

Re:L-Theanine: a 4,000 Year Old Mind-Hack by silentbicycle on Wednesday January 12, 2011 @12:25AM (#2095103)
Well, what other food and drinks do you like?

If you like scotch, try lapsang souchoug - it's a smoked Chinese black tea.

If you like sushi, try Japanese sencha or gyokuro - the same umami flavors in nori and kombu come through in the tea.

Etc. Etc.

If you were me, I would suggest a "malty" Assam (or an Irish breakfast blend) for most mornings, lapsang souchong for cold winter weekends, bundled up with crossword puzzles or programming texts, cheap-but-decent Assam as a base for making masala chai (with fresh cardamom and vanilla sugar), and good Sencha for the office. Citrusy green teas are great for summer pitchers of iced tea.

A good tea shop will be able to find matches for what you like, though. (Also, somebody at Tea Gschwendner (in Chicago) taught me that, after smelling lots of interesting teas, the best way to reset your sense of smell is to smell your clothes. FWIW.)

Re:L-Theanine: a 4,000 Year Old Mind-Hack by tony584 on Tuesday January 11, 2011 @01:27PM (#2092921)
Anything you like, it is best to approach tea by taste, not by health benefits... start with experimentation -- whites, greens, oolongs, yellows, blacks, pu-erhs all have extremely different tastes.
Re:L-Theanine: a 4,000 Year Old Mind-Hack by huertanix on Tuesday January 11, 2011 @02:28PM (#2093103)
Personally, I'm a fan of Maté for its high caffeine content and wood-esque flavor.
Re:L-Theanine: a 4,000 Year Old Mind-Hack by silentbicycle on Wednesday January 12, 2011 @12:06AM (#2095070)
I like maté too, but it isn't tea - it's a different plant (which also contains caffeine; apparently it's an easily synthesized pesticide).