Clipper Pure Green Tea

Clipper Pure Green Tea
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I am of a generation that doesn't seem to enjoy tea all that much. The majority of the time I would much rather have a cold drink rather than a hot drink. That being said over the past few evening I have started to notice to a distinct change in the weather. Not so much so that you need to stick the heating on but there is a definite nip in the air. My parents love there tea but usually just the normal version. Whilst at their house I noticed the Clipper Pure Green tea Variety and I decided to give it a try.
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About Clipper Tea
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Clipper Teas was founded in 1984. They are free trade teas in that the producers are meant to get a fair price for their products. Their name is a reference to the Clipper Ships which where large masted sailing ships that transported tea from Asia to Europe. I believe that the Cutty Sark is the sole remaining Clipper Ship.

The teas themselves are organic and come in a number of varieties including the pure green tea, green tea and nettle (yes the stingy stuff), also ginseng, lemon and even some white tea varieties.
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Where to buy?
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I have seen this for sale in all of the major supermarkets. A box of 25 tea bags currently costs £1.29 in Tesco.

About the health benefits

Great Tea originates in China and is made solely with the leaves of Camellia Sinensis. This is a plant which undergoes very little oxidisation during the growing process. There are quite a few health claims with Green Tea for instance it is supposed to reduce the chances of heart problems. Some of the claims are at various stages of being proved but here is a list of some which are still being looked at:

Helps reduce the negative effects of bad cholesterol.
Helps stop diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
Helps treat Multiple Sclerosis

Claims have also been made that 5 cups a day can help fight of an extra 70-80 calories
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My opinion
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I was pretty impressed by this drink as the main reason I took it was to keep the cold of and it did its job well. The clipper box itself is green and comes with some pretty obvious instructions on how to make a cup of tea. It says you such use clean water, boil it, and then let it stand for a minute, pour it over the tea bag and leave for three minutes. I did this and also stirred it a wee bit. The tea bags where normal size for some reason I had maybe hoped they would be green and the tea would be so green it would even turn the tea green. Sadly however they were not and the tea did not appear to be all that green. It was a bit lighter than normal tea but that was about it.

The tea itself tasted quite nice and im not sure if it was all the hype but it felt like was drinking something that was good for me. The aroma from the tea was quite light and could be described as clean smelling.

I could believe come of the research and claims. For instance when I drank the tea I actually got quite warm and broke a bit of sweat. Not overly but I had the impression I was being cleansed as I drank this.

On the downside I ended up drinking three cups of this cause I was also thirsty. I didn't use any milk. As a result of the three cups I obviously needed more loo trips but I also found it difficult to nod off come bed time. I don't see caffeine listed in the flavours or ingredients but im pretty sure it was the green tea that kept me awake.
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Overall
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Ultimately I enjoyed this drink and it made a pleasant change from what I would normally opt for. I will definitely get it again especially as the winter approaches. There are a lot of health claims out there about this tea and sure if at least one of them turns out to be true then this definitely is a tea worth drinking.
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More Information
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For more information please visit http://www.clipper-teas.com/
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