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Expectation from a 80's Pouchong Oolong - http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/feeds/4313137046335151415/comments/default

[-] By Kaitlin Koppenal

Green tea is thought of already as being a tea that raises the levels of antioxidants in the body to ward off heart disease and cancers. New studies, however, are showing that drinking tea might also help the process of weight loss. For some people, getting those few extra pounds off can be extremely difficult. No matter how often you go to the gym, or how long you run on the treadmill, those extra pounds will just not come off! For women, it seems that the feat of weight loss is much harder than for men. How awesome is it that by now drinking green tea, it can help you lose weight!

How does it work?

The key word to how this all works is “thermogenesis”. Thermogenesis is caused by body heat which is a result of the body digesting food, absorption, and metabolization. By consuming green tea, it increases thermogenesis and well as increases energy expenditure and fat loss! With a faster metabolism, you are able to burn off the fat before it is absorbed into your body.
Fact: It takes 3500 calories to equal one pound of fat!

Also, green tea is very rich in catechins, a type of polyphenol. Catechins, like antioxidants, have anticancer properties. It also possesses anti-inflammatory properties and affects the body fat accumulation and cholesterol levels. Studies have proven, when comparing green tea drinkers to non-green-tea drinkers, the people who consumed green tea, lost more than 2 times more weight than those who didn’t consume green tea!

How much Green Tea?

To achieve results, it is recommended that you drink at least 4 cups of green tea per day. By preparing it cold or hot, you can enjoy your green tea all day long.

Not only do the catechins in green tea help you burn calories, but it is said that it may help decrease body fat as well!

Fight Fat by Drinking Tea - http://insani-tea.blogspot.com/feeds/2663001926576867811/comments/default

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Tiny Touches of Spring - http://www.gracioushospitality.com/feeds/7399056930660568739/comments/default

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Alice in Wonderland — The Movie - http://friendshiptea.blogspot.com/feeds/5703444633979370369/comments/default

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By now, it’s not news to anyone that green tea is at the top of our Super Foods list.  Over the past 10 years or so there have been myriad research studies showing that tea has very powerful anti-oxidative effects that provide significant health benefits for numerous organs and systems throughout the body.  Recently, a new study was done that brought to light potential benefits to yet another important organ of the body - our eyes.

A recent study, conducted by Kai On Chu et al - leading researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Eye Hospital in Kowloon, Hong Kong, has shown that the catechins in green tea were able to pass the blood-retinal barrier and were found in varied concentrations in different parts of the eyes of rats that were used as subjects.  Gallocatechin (GC) was found in the highest concentrations in the retina and epigallocatechin (EGC) in the aqueous humor, with other catechin forms showing up in different areas of the eyes.  Interestingly, EGCG showed up only weakly in the different tissues of the eye.  The researchers also discovered that some of the catechins were maintained at high levels of concentration - in some areas, for up to 20 hours.

An important question here is whether having various catechins present in tissues (especially those other than the highly reputed EGCG) necessarily means there is a beneficial effect.  One of the ways to assess the health benefits of polyphenols is to determine if they have an anti-oxidative effect in the body.  Oxidative damage to tissues is the result of free radicals (reactive oxygen species) that can be destructive to cells and DNA.  Some of the most significant effects of prolonged exposure to oxidative stress in the eyes are the formation of cataracts, damage to retinal tissue, and glaucoma.  Kai On Chu and his colleagues measured the levels of 8-epi-isoprostane in the eyes of the rats, before and after administration of the green tea extract.  8-epi-isoprostane is a compound, the presence of which indicates oxidative damage to tissues.  The post-test measures of this compound in the eye showed significant decreases, maintained throughout the entire study period, showing that the catechins in the administered green tea extract had substantial anti-oxidative effects.

I believe there are two important lessons to take from this study.  One is that, as always, it is important to take the results of studies that use in-vitro or animal models cautiously, as these models don’t always translate to similar effects in the human body.  The second lesson of interest to me is the fact that EGCG had a weak effect in the eye.  I believe this is important because of the issue of using isolated constituents vs. the whole substance.  I have written about this issue many times before (you can read a related comment I made to a recent post), and believe it important enough to continue to repeat.  As a result of the findings of this study, we can extrapolate that if someone were to take a concentrated extract of just EGCG, they would not reap the benefits of the significant anti-oxidant effects that the other catechin compounds, like GC and EGC, have on eye tissue.

The take-away lesson here is to make sure that you drink a variety of teas that are of different types as well as within the same variety.  No two plants are exactly alike and each contains different concentrations of a variety of healthy compounds.  The same holds true for food.  Variety is more than just the spice of life; it is life itself.  I hope this helps you to see your way to drinking more tea.

IMAGE 1 | IMAGE 2

new evidence as to why everyone should see their way to drinking more tea - http://www.tching.com/2010/03/new-evidence-as-to-why-everyone-should-see-their-way-to-drinking-more-tea/

[-] Everything stops for tea. Indeed.




Buy Loose Leaf Tea in Canada
RedUmbrella Tea, Canada’s Loose Leaf Tea Co.

Everything Stops for Tea - http://www.teaguyspeaks.com/feeds/149245088075802425/comments/default

[-] by CORAX

Photo: Corax

When Argo Tea opened its first locations in Chicago, its founders were quoted as wanting Argo to become the 'Starbucks of Tea.' Quite apart from the questionable decision to refer to their tea houses as 'tea cafes,' to couch one's aspiration in terms of Starbucks puts the discourse once again in terms of coffee. The logic behind such an urge is completely obvious, but it is not the less undesirable for all that.

Be that as it may, since its inception in 2003 Argo Tea has had quite a bit of commercial success, with already ten locations in Chicago and three more in New York. The casual onlooker might easily infer that these Argonauts are well on their way toward garnering that Golden Fleece of tea commerce: their stated goal of becoming the 'Starbucks of Tea.'

But you really never do know what's next. At this particular moment, the coveted 'Starbucks of Tea' label seems likeliest to be awarded to another, rather surprising contender: Starbucks.

Photo: CFP

Just a week ago, Starbucks launched its new line of tea products -- in China. If this strikes you as a bad case of coals to Newcastle, you are hardly alone. Here we have Yanks importing Yankee capitalism to Communist China -- using Chinese-grown goods as merchandise. Apart from the baroque intricacies of those economic implications, -- will Chinese consumers trust laowai to be able to purvey, without getting it seriously wrong, a commodity so foundational to the daily life of China?

This is by no means Starbucks's first beach-head in the People's Republic. There are several hundred Starbucks shops there already (over 350 by the beginning of 2009). Indeed, until 2007 there was a Starbucks just outside the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing; when controversy arose over this placement, the store was closed.

Photo: Ng Han Guan [AP]

But new locations will be all the more carefully chosen. And the teas on offer in Chinese Starbucks will not be the Tazo tea bags so familiar in the US: on the contrary, the first tea selections in China are three carefully-chosen Chinese teas -- a white, a green, and an oolong: bai mu dan, bi luo chun, and dongfang mei ren.

If anyone can successfully engineer such an audacious undertaking, it is likely to be Starbucks. But -- even with top administrators who are themselves Chinese -- can even Starbucks overcome presuppositions about Westerners and tea culture? An arguably more problematic issue: what long-term impacts might such a juggernaut have on tea culture and the tea industry in China?

The 'Starbucks of Tea': A Surprising Turn - http://chadao.blogspot.com/feeds/5340000971084361946/comments/default

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Ok, as many of you know, I rarely if ever review products on my blog, yet, I was so surprised with this one, I made an exception. I have always wanted a thermal that would do what it was designed to do - make great tea! Unfortunately, the products that I have test have all fallen short, except this one. I think CopCo had stolen my mental design since they created exactly what I have always pondered would make a great travel buddy.

Here are the Stats

Stainless Steel Thermal

Durable stainless steel construction with non-slip silicone grip

Removable infuser cap allows user to pour hot water directly over loose leaf tea or bag tea

Twist-to-stop steeping feature incorporated in sip-through lid

The function that I enjoy the most IS that I can remove the leaves without removing the basket! - Just a twist of the top dial voila! DONE! The leaves are removed from the infusion. You don't even have to discard the leaves until you are ready since twisting the dial, it creates a barrier between the water and the leaves. Lastly, for this thing to leak you practically have to play catch with it which means no spills to work, school, shopping, or what have you. It's great!

For more info : CopCo

CopCo Stainless Steel Thermal - http://ancientteahorseroad.blogspot.com/feeds/6394630134136525346/comments/default

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Here are some gorgeous glass teacups for you to enjoy... so delicate, and perfect for showing off the colour of the infused tea!















Wishlist Wednesday - Glass Tea Cups - http://joiedetea.blogspot.com/feeds/8941128276252910070/comments/default

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Several days ago Austin wrote a blog posting he called “Mediocritea – Plight of the Tea Entrepreneur.”  I hadn’t had a chance to read it until today.  Rose Brown, a second mom to me for seventeen years (long story, which I will not go into here) passed away two weeks ago, and I found her dead in the shower when she didn’t return my phone calls.  Aside from my partner and best friends, the most immediate outpouring of love and support came from the tea community.

Austin and Zhuping immediately offered their support in any way I could possibly need.  I discovered Mom on a Saturday night, and Sunday morning, rather than sit home and cry, I went into work and opened the Botanical Gardens teahouse, where Mom loved to visit me, and served her favorite tea – Big Leaves Puer with rosebuds – to anyone who wanted to honor her with me.  Zhuping came by to lend her support and tell me what to do for the traditional Chinese observances, and for the rest of the week I offered free tea tastings of Mom’s favorite Puer with roses.  Tea patrons cried with me and left little offerings for her in front of the Guan Yin statue at the Gardens.  The rest of the Seven Cups staff offered their support.  Long-time friends and customers from Seven Cups and the Mahjongg nights came by the Gardens to visit and bring food.  Over and over again, I reaped a harvest of support, love, and sympathy from the communitea Austin and Zhuping created through Seven Cups.

While cleaning out her apartment (which is still ongoing), I found her jar of old Teavana cherry green tea, still almost full from seven or eight years ago, sitting unused since she discovered what good quality tea really tastes like.  Next to it were bags and bags of almost empty Seven Cups teas, which she savored.  She’d been on disability since 1995, and some months couldn’t even afford all of her medications, but she always made sure she had good tea from Seven Cups.  She also had agoraphobia, and hated to drive or go out by herself, but she met me at the teahouse again and again,  and got to know some of the teahouse people.  When I opened up the teahouse at the Botanical Gardens, she came often to visit, and got to know several of the staff and volunteers there as well.  Tea had opened up her life like nothing else ever could.

This past Sunday we had her memorial service at the main Seven Cups teahouse.  Again, we served her favorites, and Zhuping helped me organize things in a respectful and auspicious traditional Chinese way.  Most of the Seven Cups staff came to say their goodbyes, and even Rene’s husband, Arik, handled the cremation for us, going way beyond his duties as the manager of a mortuary.  Needless to say, the tea community made possible by Seven Cups in Tucson dramatically influenced and enriched our lives, and continues to do so.

Even before Mom died, I had told Austin and Zhuping many times over how amazing it is that we have this beautiful community all made possible by Seven Cups and our shared love and passion for good tea.  And Austin was right in his last post – once you taste the good stuff, there’s just no going back.  And there’s something unifying about that insider culture, or the cult of hedonistic appreciation, or even just the reverence toward an ancient culture that gives us such riches to enjoy.  We are an extremely diverse group of people all brought together by a shared passion, and the bringing together enriches us as we experience and appreciate all of our differences.

At the memorial service, Linda brought her special North African stew.  Zhuping made Sichuan noodles.  We had cream puffs from Belgium, moon cakes from China, and a cornucopia of other great foods – and of course we had great tea.  And as I sat there appreciating all the people who came I was struck by a thought: almost everyone there had a connection to the teahouse just as tangible as their connection to Mom.

For those of you who aren’t fortunate enough to have a Seven Cups in your town, I encourage you to create your own communitea, even if it’s just on your front porch.  When I was going to school in Santa Fe several years ago I took a bunch of great Seven Cups tea with me, and made sure to take a travel teaware set, a great Yixing pot, and some tasting and fragrance cups.  The result was that my little rented guest cottage downtown became the epicenter for tea culture in Santa Fe for those few months, even though Santa Fe has a relatively well-known tea shop of its own.  My classmates couldn’t believe how great tea could be, and we had our own little tea culture communitea to bring us all together every day.  Those are memories I’ll always cherish, and many of my old classmates are still enjoying good tea because of those months.

There’s something about knowing where your tea comes from, how it’s made, how the flavors and attributes change over the infusions, the story behind the tea, and the ceremony of making and sharing it that elevates tea into so much more than a product.  In Cafe culture I’ve certainly felt a sense of community, but it was more about the establishment; the coffee or Italian sodas were just peripheral.  But over and over again I have seen people bond over tea with or without a teahouse.

Even my tiny little outpost at the Botanical Gardens has its own thriving communitea.  On Friday a group of African women came in to the teahouse and we shared cultures – me sharing tea culture and them sharing the cultures of Tanzania and Cameroon.   Sunday night, during Mom’s service, they came in to the main teahouse on their way out of town, thinking Seven Cups was still open.  When I heard their voices I had to go up front to say hello.  When they found out why we were all there after closing, they cried with me, giving me the warmest and most healing embraces I’d felt in a long time.  For that moment, these travelers from across the world were family, and before they left they invited me to visit them in Africa.  That beautiful moment would not have happened without tea and the incredibly rich and nurturing culture we enjoy as a special gift.

Mom would have loved that.  In her living, she gave me more gifts than I could ever imagine.  In her passing, she is still giving gifts of memories and family.  And that family is made much larger and richer by this wonderful sense of communitea.

Be well and love to all,

Eric

Communitea – Gift of the Tea Drinker - http://www.sevencups.com/2010/03/communitea-gift-of-the-tea-drinker/