I really like hibiscus tea. In Mexico it is served cold and called 'agua de jamaica'. Instead of sweetening the cold version with sugar, add some lime juice. Really delicious.

Look at what you like to drink now. Get stuff like that.

If you are a soda drinker you are probably looking for something sweeter. Tea (black green or oolong) is not sweet on its own. I suggest you look into herbal infusions/teas/tisnanes. If you are shopping at the supermarket look for stash teas. It sounds like you are looking at Celestal Seasonings which, other then peppermint, typically have additives.

Some of the most exciting things you can brew might not be on the tea isle. If you have a bulk herb section at your food gathering spot check here. Open things up and smell them. If they smell good they will probably taste good if you put them in a muslin bag and pour hot water over them. Dried fruits can also make a lovely drink. I like fresh ginger and hot water too but that might be a little too spicy for some.

I hope you come to enjoy tea, it is a really lovely drink. Try black, green and oolong just plain from time to time. You can go hardcore with it and do bulk orders of obscure teas like I do from time to time from herelink text. On the other hand, like a lot of things, you can get a great experience without getting in to the nuances that make enthusiasts get all purple with their prose. Bagged tea is a fine start, I like Tazo and Twinings.

Stay with unflavored, genuine leaf or flower teas which are the least processed. There is a whole variety to choose from depending on your taste.

Yes tea! I am a sinologist too and I drink gallons of it. Probably more than I should. I have a little electric kettle, a gaiwan and probably 20 kinds of tea in my office, and many more at home. Mostly I'm into pu'er and weird oolong, and I love matcha too, but lately I've been drinking a lot of medium-grade Chinese green tea. I get a big mug, put half an inch or a little more of leaf in the bottom, fill it up with not-boiling water, wait for the leaves to sink, and drink it. When the water is like half gone I put in more boiling water. If you make green tea this way it'll last for hours. It's also good training for gongfu cha because you'll start to notice how the taste changes throughout the process.

You can get reasonably good green tea at any reasonably good grocery store. My recommendation is to get small samples of five or ten different kinds (Japanese and Chinese) and find out what you like to drink, then drill down. So if you decide you like longjing, get samples of five kinds of longjing. Don't buy in bulk until you're in love with something.

As for tea being your main source of hydration, I would say that I can function on tea and soup alone but if you only drink tea you're going to dry yourself out a bit.

I buy organic loose leaf tea from my local co-op store. The brand I drink is Rishi. You can buy them online, too. They have so many teas. My favorite is the Jade Cloud Green Tea. Here is a link: http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/jade-cloud-organic-fair-trade-green-tea.html

A lot of people seem to be intimadated by loose leaf teas. Don't worry! The quality and nutritional benefits are the highest with loose leaf teas. And it's easier than you think to make them vs. bagged tea.

If i'm on the go, I use this: http://www.teasetc.com/details.asp?prodid=19003&cat=19

If i'm at home, I use this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004RIZ7/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0006SYA34&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0Z8VCNKCX1HBAKREQXMK

Hope this helps!

My favourites are green tea, because it's refreshing (hot or ice cold with nothing else added) or Earl Grey. Early Grey is a black tea intended to be drunk without milk, so fine for non-dairy paleos or anyone fasting who doesn't want to ingest any calories at all.

As a student of Sinology I'm a huge green tea lover. Personally, I'd never use bags, the loose leaves are so much better. I would also NEVER EVER drink the flavoured stuff (like mango flavoured green tea,...). My favourite is Japanese powdered green tea called matcha, it's like the espresso of tea and quite strong (i can't drink it on an empty stomach, I have no problems with coffee though...). More over, the good quality ones are really expensive.

I've always loved to drink black tea, especially from Ceylon oder Darjeeling, and never drink any (artificially) flavoured tea. Then I like white tea, for example Lin Yun white downy or Formosa Oolong.

In the evening i prefer to drink herbal teas, for example my own blend of nana mint, verbena, elderberry-, orange-, mauve- and lime-blossom.

And I avoid using teas in teabags.

I don't drink very much tea, but when I do it is usually an infusion of mint and pineapple sage from the plants on my windowsill and/or rose hips and red clover that I've gathered around town. I've also purchased some blends (custom and premade) from the tea shop in my city (here) because the woman that runs it is very nice and knowledgeable about all things herbal and her shop is like the farmers market of tea.

I drink this tea all day every day: Rooibos (Redbush). I know that it gets exported from South Africa, but cannot vouch for availability in your area. Obviously, I skip any sugar / honey.

Copy and pasted from Wiki - am too lazy to summarize!

Rooibos is grown only in a small area in the region of the Western Cape province of South Africa.[2] Generally, the leaves are oxidized, a process often, and inaccurately, referred to as fermentation by analogy with tea-processing terminology. This process produces the distinctive reddish-brown colour of rooibos and enhances the flavour. Unoxidized "green" rooibos is also produced, but the more demanding production process for green rooibos (similar to the method by which green tea is produced) makes it more expensive than traditional rooibos. It carries a malty and slightly grassy flavour somewhat different from its red counterpart. [edit] Use

In South Africa it is common to drink rooibos tea without milk, but instead with a slice of lemon and sugar or honey to sweeten. The flavour of rooibos tea is often described as being naturally sweet (without sugar added) and slightly nutty. Rooibos can be prepared in the same manner as black tea, and this is the most common method.

Rooibos is becoming more popular in Western countries, particularly among health-conscious consumers, due to its high level of antioxidants such as aspalathin[3] and nothofagin, its lack of caffeine, and its low tannin levels compared to fully oxidized black tea or unoxidized green tea leaves.[4] Rooibos also contains a number of phenolic compounds, including flavanols, flavones, flavanones, and dihydrochalcones.[5]

Rooibos is purported to assist with nervous tension, allergies and digestive problems.[6]

Traditional medicinal uses of rooibos in South Africa include alleviating infantile colic, allergies, asthma and dermatological problems.

I concur with ChenZhen on Matcha - it's ground into a powder and you get a real blast of minerals/antioxidants. Where I might differ, is having the opposite reaction re drinking it vs. coffee on an empty stomach - there is a fair amount of theanine with green tea - alleviating the side effects of caffeine alone, certainly works for me.