A tea drinker for more than three decades, I’ve consumed lots of different brands of green tea, and loved most of them. So I brought home a box of this Lifestyle Awareness Organic Green Tea for review today, and am sipping a big mug full right now.
As far as organic green teas go, Lifestyle Awareness tea is among the best I’ve sampled, and this is only my first cup. As with my long-time favorite green tea (Salada), this one has a clear, light green consistency with virtually no bitterness. It accepts stevia or agave nectar sweeteners quite well, and Lifestyle Awareness is not overly expensive, though it does cost significantly more per serving than the Salada and Great Value green teas, to which I’m so accustomed.
This is also the first organic green tea I’ve ever sampled, and I’m quite impressed with the flavor. It may even taste better to me than my Salada. But I’ll have to drink a few more cups over several weeks to know that for sure. But if it turns out that buying organic green tea is the only way to get a flavor this smooth, and that lacks that shivery feeling I get when drinking some green teas, than I’ll become a forever-organic-convert.
Features, Benefits, Advantages, and Pros
Easy to find in larger stores. Walmart currently carries this green tea. So far, this is the only place I’ve seen Lifestyle Awareness products. But since my local Walmart is convenient for me to visit, I should have no trouble buying more of this product.
Organic, without GMOs. This product is certified organic by the USDA, and contains no ingredients other than organic green tea.
Individually wrapped teabags. These tea bags are individually wrapped for freshness, and as a second measure to preserve the delicate green tea flavor, each box comes wrapped in cellophane.
Low bitterness. The lack of bitterness really sets this 100% organic and natural green tea apart from so many others. But some bitterness crept in, if we allowed the tea bag to steep for too long. The instructions call for two to three minutes of steeping time, and they warn that bitterness will occur if steeped for much longer. They’re correct.
Expected amounts of caffeine. Caffeine levels here seem on par with other brands tested. So, we experience about the same levels of withdrawal symptoms should we skip drinking this organic tea for a few days.
Can quell hunger. Lifestyle Awareness green tea exhibits the same appetite suppressing effects as the many other green teas in my repertoire.
Thermogenic properties for more effective weight loss. We’ve found that green tea promotes weight loss due to, as the experts say, its thermogenic attributes. It revs up metabolism, and we sense that happening anytime we sip a mug. However, be careful, as this can actually make you feel hungrier depending on how long it’s been since you’ve eaten. Still though, when dieting in earnest, and that knee-weakening hunger surfaces, you may be able to numb it for several hours, by drinking a large mug of this tea.
Responds well to sweetening. As mentioned above, this tea sweetens very well with stevia glycerite, stevia extract, and other stevia-based sweeteners. Stevia sweetens the tea without destroying the signature green tea flavor that I’ve come to enjoy so much, and is especially apparent in this organic beverage. Stevia adds no calories either. So you can enjoy sweet green tea without blowing up your diet.
The packaging is 100% recyclable.
Gluten free.
Vegan-compatible.
Disadvantages, Concerns, Problems, and Cons
May yellow teeth. The dental hygienist knows we drink green tea when she sees the mild stains it deposits upon the teeth. However, the health benefits of organic green tea are worth the nuisance of those tea-bathed, slightly-harder-to-clean molars.
A bit addictive. Particularly when we’ve not taken green tea for some days, we might feel dizzy when again consuming it; especially when riding in a car after drinking it. It can induce nausea when out of practice consuming it.
Flavor easily masked. Honey, when used to sweeten this drink can completely cover up the green tea flavor if you add more than a small amount. In fact, any flavor advantage obtained from the use of organic products may be lost if you put too much honey or maple syrup in this tea. The flavor of just about any green tea is easily neutralized by flavored sweeteners.
May go stale more quickly. Though the bags are individually wrapped, this wrapping appears not to be air-tight, as a strong tea aroma greeted me as I removed the outer box plastic. So this tea may not keep as long on the shelf once opened, unless you put the paper-wrapped bags into a sealable plastic bag or other air tight container.
Sticky bag wraps. Sometimes when removing the tea bags from the protective cover, they stick to it with such force that we could not pull them apart without tearing the bag itself. Lifestyle Awareness should be careful that these protective covers have completely dried from manufacturing before inserting the tea bags. Or, they should make sure that the tea bags themselves are not even a trifle moist before encasing them in the wrappers.
Ingredients
Organic green tea leaves.
Supplement Facts
Serving size: 1 tea bag. Servings per box: 20. Organic green tea leaf: 150 milligrams.
Our Rating
This drink is a winner, and I’d certainly buy it again, even though it costs roughly $3.27 for 20 teabags. That’s a bit more than I’m used to paying for green tea. But the organic certification is likely why this product costs extra. I’d recommend it to any green tea lover, whether a novice drinker or a tea aficionado. I’d rate this organic tea at 100 out of 100.
Where To Buy Lifestyle Awareness Organic Green Tea
Look for this organic green tea in the green and white box with green and brown lettering at Walmart. So far, I’ve only ever spotted this brand of green tea there.
References
- Green Tea on Wikipedia
- Lifestyle Awareness Organic Green Tea Web Page
- Organic Food on Wikipedia
- Where to buy Lifestyle Awareness Organic Green Tea
Revision History
- 2015-01-21: Added bold-font summaries to each bulleted item above.
- 2014-11-24: Adjusted placement of ads, added whitespace for easier reading, and updated content.
- 2012-04-06: Originally published.