When I first began to dabble in green tea, I absolutely hated it. It was bitter, drying to the mouth, wretched taste, and I was left for a long time feeling that green tea just wasn't for me. Many people I knew who drank black tea felt the same way, so I concluded that green tea was for the few who had the palette for it.

Of course, this was during a time when the only other tea drinkers I knew were buying Bigelow or Lipton bags and, like myself, just throwing them in some boiling hot water and coming back whenever we remembered to take the bag out, squeezing the bag thoroughly to get the last drops into the cup.

I shudder these days when I think about how badly I was scalding my first attempts at green tea, and I marvel that I enjoyed any tea at all, considering the way in which I was preparing it. This is a predicament many novice tea drinkers find themselves when it comes to anything other than black tea: you're scalding (and probably over-steeping it).

With all the research out there touting the health benefits of tea, it's a wonder that everyone doesn't drink a cup (or two) every day. Now there's one more reason. New research shows that drinking at least one cup of black tea a day reduces the likelihood of getting Parkinson's Disease by 71%.

The researchers specifically used black tea rather than green tea, which is unusual, but I suspect that's because the majority of Britton's(where the research was conducted) drink black tea. The testers don't really know how black tea reduces the risk of Parkinson's, but they think it's due to the antioxidant levels in the beverage. One industry backed researcher said "Tea is one of the strongest dietary antioxidants available."

Of course this is only the beginning and more research is needed. But wouldn't it be great if the scientists get things all figured out, and it turns out that all we have to do is drink tea every day to stave off life threatening conditions later in life? Ah tea, the miracle drink.

We've heard this for years about all kinds of black and green teas - not just Oolong - but now there seems to be even more medical evidence that it's true: drinking tea can help you lose weight.

Not to get all technical, but it seems that the polyphenol compound in tea enhances the function of fat metabolism, which helps you lose weight. Researchers in China have been studying this for five years, paying special attention to how it affects kids. And Oolong seems to work the best.

I wonder if the obesity-fighting is hurt if you add a lot of milk and sugar?

Having tea with milk or cream in it is not quite as popular in the US as it is abroad, but the practice is far from uncommon. Milk mellows the flavor of black teas and rounds them into a mild, satisfying drink. It seems that the addition of milk might also reduce the effects of some of the flavonoids in tea, so that those who take tea with milk are not getting all the "protective effects against heart disease" that they would be getting if they took their tea black.

This conclusion was published in the European Heart Journal just this month. The study looked at the ability of women's arteries to relax and expand after drinking tea, either with or without milk. The otherwise healthy participants showed a significant improvement in their blood flow after drinking plain tea, while the tea with 10% skim milk showed no benefits. Similar experiments were conducted on rats with the same results.

The New Year is always full of possibilities. There are meals to be eaten, recipes to try and, of course, a slew of new food trends that will shape the way we eat and what food issues will be at the forefront of the news. Of all the trends that seemed to be pushing towards the forefront in recent months, these are some of those that look like they're about to have a breakout year.

Single Origin Chocolates - Dark chocolate was the hot item last year, but more companies, including Hershey's, are introducing and promoting single origin chocolates with cocoa beans from one country - or even one plantation - for their unique flavor profiles.

Healthy Soft Drinks - Jones Soda has eliminated high fructose corn syrup from their recipes. Enviga has been fairly successful so far, thanks to the large amount of publicity that it has received, and Diet Coke Plus will be coming to stores in a few months. Look for other soda companies to follow suit.

Healthy Food Labels - Hannaford supermarket introduced a labeling scheme of their own to direct shoppers to healthier foods and the traffic light system was a success in the UK. Don't be surprised to see more obvious messages about what is and is not good for you.

After months and months of green and white tea based products, including Enviga, green tea lattes and even green tea vodka, some beverage companies are starting to go back to black teas as the inspiration for their drinks. Nestle and Coca Cola announced this week that they would be concentrating their joint venture project on black tea-based beverages after the group has rolled out Enviga in Europe in early 2007.

The green tea craze was all in the name of the various health benefits that have been attributed to it. Black tea is still a consumer favorite, however, and now there are studies that have shown that drinking any kind of tea can be good for your health, so there is no reason to stay away from it as a drink option. On top of that, green tea seems to have oversaturated the market for the time being and people are probably ready for a change. It will be interesting to see what the group comes up with, since green tea drinks tended to be far more innovative than the average flavored ice tea and perhaps some of the inspiration for those drinks will be applied to black teas now.

There are some coffee shops that have a wide variety of teas, usually loose-leaf, in addition to their selection of coffee and espresso drinks. On more than one occasion, I have seen customers become irate when trying to order tea, insisting that they "just want tea" as the girl behind the register gently tries to explain that there are, in fact, many kinds of tea. The shops should just keep a stash of Lipton teabags in the back for these types of customers because that is the generic tea that they are most often referring to. It is a tea that they have grown up with, though they often know little about it.

The mindset that there is but one type of tea is changing and the tea-drinking population is developing a newfound appreciation for different types of teas. As a result, even Lipton is coming out with some variety.