From the category archives:
Teazine
Here is where you will find blog entries, articles and reviews. Items of interest, herbal news, events, and general miscellaneous thought provoking articles.
by TeaLady on May 18, 2012
Chocolate as “Health Food”
People sometimes forget that chocolate, like wine and tea, starts out as a natural product. Chocolate comes from the cacao bean (the seed of the fruit of the cacao tree) which is a particularly potent source of antioxidants. The antioxidants are part of a large class of compounds called polyphenols. Dark chocolate and cocoa are particularly high in a sub-class of these compounds called flavanols, which are also found in red wine and tea. These flavanols are key to heart health, and their promotion of heart health has really grabbed researchers’ attention. If you eat raw cacao, you are also getting a concentrated source of anti-oxidants, magnesium, chromium and vitamin C.
[click to continue…]
by TeaLady on March 13, 2012
A while back we did a facebook contest asking people to share what they know about the benefits of nettle. WOW! we got some pretty indepth responses; and each of these participants received a free bag of Take Charge Tea’s nettle blend.
Teresa Bowden:
Nettle tea is quite rich in a large number of vitamins, apart from calcium, iron, folic acid, potassium, magnesium, carotene, and zinc. Along with that, it also comprises of protein in high quantities. [click to continue…]
by TeaLady on February 7, 2012
Chinese tea fields
If you have been curious about white tea but were not sure what it is, here I intend to clarify this once and for all. White tea, Green tea, Oolong tea, orange pekoe and black tea are all derived from the same plant. Camellia Sinensis. There are many different strains of this plant and from different countries or different geographical areas of the same countries the plants will be very different to the taste. Even from the same location, the tea’s are grown differently to produce different effect. Harvesting times, and methods such as covering the plants to simulate a shade effect creates a million different subtle flavours to choose from. The Green tea is all the different types of leaf that have not necessarily been aged or fermented although sometimes they are slightly, they remain green. The black teas are dried and treated and aged in many different ways; too many to put into a blog post. But as the name suggests, they are no longer green. White tea is very special because only the young and new tops of the tea plant are harvested. That characteristic white “downy fur” on the leaves are common to many plants when they are very young and tender. This precious freshness is what makes the white tea so special and delicate to taste.
It is said that black teas have the most caffeine and green teas have less, and white teas have even less caffeine. While this is a loosely true guideline, it is impossible to predict the exact amount of caffeine which a tea will contain as there are too many variables. Season (what was the weather like when it was growing?), harvesting time, soil conditions, how long that product was on the shelf before you purchased it, exact ratio of tea to water, water temp and steeping time. Don’t get caught up in numbers or measurement of caffeine. Use your judgement, be moderate and listen to your body. If caffeine is an issue, keep in mind that the second and third infusion contains a dramatic drop in caffeine levels. Tests have shown that the levels of caffeine become barely negligible by the third infusion actually. Most of the caffeine then is highly soluble and the best jumpstart comes from your first steeping. I have heard from some worldly TCT customers who have encountered asian green tea drinkers who “pour off” the first infusion anyways; so this is an option if you love green tea but find that caffeine causes your body stress. Because this is a plant, there are so many healthful constituents to it and so many advantages of choosing to drink tea instead of coffees, colas, or sugary juices.
The benefits and pleasure derived from imbibing this wonderful, age-old, healthy beverage makes Camellia Sinensis the number one drink in the world.
by TeaLady on February 6, 2012
Several years ago, during Asian Heritage Month, I attended a workshop on the Vietnamese Lotus Tea Ceremony. We learned how to make Vietnamese sweets, and then Rebecca Craig from Camellia Teas presented a wonderful slide show and story about the Lotus tea ceremony from Viet Nam.
Because it was a while ago my memory for detail may be somewhat lacking, but I will never forget how entranced I was and I regret not recording it sooner. The story goes, that during the Imperial era, in the 17th century or before even, the lotus tea was only for royalty. And it was a revered ceremony for only the very important people. Only special utensils were used and they were only “bathed” in lotus water before use, as well.
What made the tea so divine, precious and enchanting was the method in which it was collected. Only the best tea leaves were used and those leaves were taken by the young girls in rafts silently gliding through the reeded waters at dusk. Those leaves were reverently, precisely and gently placed into the centre of the blooming lotus flowers to sleep there when the petals of the lotus folded themselves and closed for the night. At dawn, the flowers began to open to the sunshine and the maidens ventured again in their silent boats to recollect those tea leaves which had been infused with the scent and flavour of the lotus. These girls also were tasked with the job of collecting the dew from the petals which they were to drop in dedicated jugs and returning them to the palace. The dew was actually what was used to bathe the tea utensils. Then the lotus tea was reverently prepared according to very strict and deliberate procedure of the day for tea ceremony.
During this workshop, we had the pleasure of tasting some modern lotus tea which had been brought by someone who recently visited Viet Nam. I was positively enamoured and enchanted so from that day forward I vowed to make a lotus tea blend. Eventually I did, but a consistent source of lovely lotus petals still eludes me. Once in a while I find some, or find an importer who has some. Then, and only if they are fairly fresh, I make a batch. Very special Indeed.
