Black Tea Has Health Benefits
To begin with, you should be aware of the fact that tea aficionados around the globe tend to make tea in a similar way. Yet, it is true that certain methods of tea preparation may differ from country to country and from region to region.
Favorite Methods
For example, in India, black tea is often steeped with a combination of milk and hot water. In Great Britain and the rest of the United Kingdom, tea tends to be stepped quite strong, with milk or a sweetener such as sugar or honey added to enhance the taste. In the United States, it’s quite popular to microwave a cup of cold water in order to brew tea. However, it is a fact that many Americans are now opting for loose teas rather than tea bags.
What You Should Know About Black Tea
Black tea tends to vary in color from a shade of reddish brown to black. Interestingly enough, as black tea ages, it often becomes even more flavorful. In order to store black tea, you should place it in a location that is ventilated well, but you don’t really have to worry about the temperature of the location. In general, black tea is formed into cakes that can be round, square, or tube-like. How black tea smells and tastes may depend largely on the location in which it was harvested. As a result, scent and flavor may vary significantly from region to region.
Black tea is known for its therapeutic benefits. For instance, fans of black tea in China tend to have little problem with cancer or other degenerative illnesses. In fact, they may have better overall health than non-tea drinkers.
When thinking about buying black tea, it is important for you to know the varieties that are available. For instance, if you’re interested in a high-quality tea, you might consider Keemun. This type of tea has a strong aroma and can be consumed with or without milk and sweetener. Another superior type is Darjeeling, an Indian tea that is known for its delicate taste. Meanwhile, Assam is a less spicy version of Keemun, but it is also known for its rich taste.
If you’re interested in a Chinese black tea, you might consider Lapsang Souchong, which is characterized by an unusual smoky flavor. For a Chinese tea with a little bit of a kick, try Yunnan, which offers a hint of pepper.
If you really want to drink black tea in style, you should consider indulging in it at a tea salon. Such salons are ever-present, not only in Chinese cities such as Beijing, but also in Taiwan. You should be aware of the fact that menus at tea salons tend to feature a range of items. In addition, the décor can differ significantly from salon to salon.
For the people of the Orient, tea salons can be as trendy as Starbucks cafes are in the Western world. Salons tend to stay open late enough to accommodate late-night patrons. They are also a favorite of young people. Visit a tea salon in China and you may find dozens of different varieties of teas available.
Some of the teas may have been aged two decades or more, causing them to have an especially appealing flavor. One Pu-erh tea is actually more than a century old and is considered a national treasure among the Chinese.
The tea salons of the Orient may also have a number of different sections, each reflecting a different kind of atmosphere. For instance, one section may be considered more or less a reading room, while another is best suited for playing games. As a result of this, tea salons are definitely classified as a “destination location.”
There are certainly other entertaining ways that you can enjoy black tea. For instance, you might consider holding a tea-tasting party where you invite a group of friends to sample various black tea delicacies. Or you can plan a meal from the country of origin of your favorite blend of black tea. In other words, the possibilities for enjoying black tea are limited only by your own imagination.
Green Tea and Weight Loss
For many years now, several benefits are attributed to drinking green tea. Today, researchers have come up with newer proofs to solidify the belief that green tea can be used as a treatment for obesity and for weight loss.
It is held that more than half of the American population have weight problems or are obese. Conditions like these are almost always linked to certain complications like heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, gall bladder disease, and hypertension. Weight loss can aid in assuaging the symptoms of some of these conditions.
Scientists have tirelessly investigated on the weight loss benefits of green tea. They have found that green tea can actually enhance the total amount of energy spent by the body. From their findings, they were able to deduce that green tea has great potential for a weight loss benefit.
Other researches were able to confirm the weight loss benefit of green tea. A recent study at the University of Geneva had the conclusion that, “Green tea has thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se.” Where before it was generally believed that the caffeine content in green tea is the reason for its weight loss benefit, this recent study deviated from that theory. Green tea has other substances in them that are helpful in weight loss.
The same team who conducted the study on green tea’s caffeine content and weight loss banded together in Switzerland to perform another experiment. They were still able to come up with the same results – that green tea has several thermogenic attributes that make it perfect to use in any weight loss program.
Sample Studies: Green Tea and Weight Loss
Green tea reduces body fat accretion caused by high-fat diet in rats through beta-adrenoceptor activation of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. Conducted by chief scientist J.J. Choo of the Department of Food and Nutrition, Kunsan National University, this study aimed to find out if green tea can suppress body fat and to find out whether this suppression is connected with thermogenesis spurred by the body’s beta-adrenoceptor being activated.
To investigate the weight loss benefit of green tea on rats, the scientists placed their subjects on a high-fat diet and provided them with green tea extract. It was discovered that even though the rats were on a high-fat diet, the green tea extract counterbalanced fat gain without affecting the amount of energy they took in. Green tea was said to have shown some weight loss benefits in the fact that it can prevent fat from being stored, can increase protein levels, and promote thermogenesis by triggering beta-adrenoceptor to action.
Recent findings of green tea extract AR25 (Exolise) and its activity for the treatment of obesity.
This study is a collaborative work between Doctors P. Chantre and D. Lairon of the Laboratoires Arkopharma in Carros, France. Published in the 2002 issue of Phytomedicine, this study aimed to find out if green tea extract has weight loss benefits and can be a potential cure for obesity.
In their study, they used an 80% ethanolic concentrate in green tea extract with standardized 25% catechins. They tested the green tea extract and were able to find that it could directly inhibit gastric and pancreatic lipases. These enzymes are the primary cause of fat storage and by delaying their actions; green tea extract therefore exhibits a weight loss benefit that can help solve obesity problems.
It was also discovered in this study that green tea can stimulate thermogenesis. Given to moderately obese patients, the green tea extract was said to have caused a decrease in weight by 4.6% and a reduction of waist circumference by 4.48% after only three months. The findings of the study clearly implicate the weight loss benefits of green tea.
The Wonderful Benefits of Green Tea
There are only a few herbs that can surpass the impressive history of Chinese diet green tea. Dating back more than 4,000 years, Chinese diet green tea has been long revered as a tasty drink that can ward off diseases and improve one’s well-being.
Since its first recorded use during the time of Emperor Shen Nung, the link between Chinese diet green tea and good health has never been severed. Today, further studies are made to test the benefits of the remarkable health elixir that is Chinese diet green tea.
Traditional Health Benefits of Chinese Diet Green Tea
According to tradition, Chinese diet green tea could cure anything from headaches, body aches, and pains to constipation and depression. Over the centuries, further more health claims are made on account of Chinese diet green tea.
Chinese diet green tea is said to increase the blood flow throughout the body. Because Chinese diet green tea contains a little caffeine, ingesting this drink stimulates the heart and allows the blood to flow more freely through the blood vessels. For the same reason that Chinese diet green tea stimulates blood flow, it also stimulates mental clarity.
Chinese diet green tea detoxifies the body. The presence of polyphenols, a naturally occurring antioxidant in Chinese diet green tea, the beverage is said to combat harmful free radicals and help keep the body free from diseases. In this regard, Chinese diet green tea helps maintain the overall well-being of the body. Antioxidants in Chinese diet green tea can boost immunity, preserve young-looking skin, and brighten the eyes.
Chinese diet green tea aids in digestion and banishes fatigue. Chinese diet green tea is also said to prolong the lifespan.
For many years, men of science remained skeptical about the health claims made by Chinese diet green tea enthusiasts. Their doubt was changed to a more positive reception when subsequent researchers proved the disease-preventing attributes of Chinese diet green tea and confirmed most of the health claims.
Chinese Diet Green Tea and the Heart
Study after study has shown that drinking Chinese diet green tea and eating polyphenol-rich foods reduces the risk of any heart complications. Drinking Chinese diet green tea also helps strengthen the blood vessels that provide oxygen and valuable nutrients to the heart and brain. It has been shown that men who drink Chinese diet green tea have 75 percent less possibility of having a stroke than those who don’t drink Chinese diet green tea.
Chinese diet green tea helps lower total cholesterol levels and improve the ratio between LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. Study shows that men who drink nine or more cups of Chinese diet green tea daily have lower cholesterol levels than those who drink fewer than two cups.
Chinese Diet Green Tea and Longevity
The role of Chinese diet green tea in promoting longevity has been investigated upon by many researchers. They found the premise of their study on observing that Japanese women who are greater-than-average Chinese diet green tea drinkers; have lower mortality rates compared to others. This led the researchers to believe that Chinese diet green tea has “a protective factor against premature death.”
The polyphenols found in Chinese diet green tea may be held accountable. With its high amount of polyphenols, Chinese diet green tea seems to have a stimulating effect on the immune system. Stronger immune system as a result of drinking Chinese diet green tea helps reduce risks of acquiring any illnesses.
The Benefits of Drinking Green Tea with Hoodia, Rice or Ginseng
Green tea is considered to be one of the healthiest teas to consume. It is claimed that drinking green tea can help you lose weight, prevent cancer, provide health benefits related to multiple sclerosis, heart disease, arthritis and cardiovascular diseases.
You can combine green tea with other plants and extracts to further increase its effectiveness. Green tea products can include hoodia, ginseng or even brown rice.
Brown rice is unpolished and whole providing the body with all the nutrients and benefits that comes directly from the plants. There is no processing to deplete brown rise. The bran in the brown rice provides iron, phosphorous, fiber, niacin and thiamin, all nutrients which contribute to weight loss. Add green tea and the impact in elevated exponentially.
Ginseng is chock full of antioxidants which are essential in dealing with glaucoma, cancer, macular degeneration tec. Combine green tea and ginseng and you have the added benefits of an anti-allergen, anti-microbal and inti-inflammatory drink.
If you are struggling with weight loss and nothing seems to work, try hoodia and green tea. Many companies use hoodia to make diet supplements. The two combined will work to suppress the appetite and boost your metabolism to make your weight loss more effective and efficient.
Simply put is the ingredients have their own set of benefits due to their nutritional compounds which become amplified when combined together.
The Pleasures of Herbal Tea
A wonderful way to truly enjoy herbal teas is using herbs directly from your own garden. There are many herbs which will help your health. Choosing to grow those herbs means you have a source of a healthy tea when you use them to brew a cuppa.
There are teas that will help with fever, stress, blood pressure and even diabetes. I’ll talk about them in another posting. Herbs can be dried and used all winter long. Drinking tea daily is good for you and most enjoyable. There are many health benefits of drinking tea that is not associated with drinking coffee.
I like cold tea; I take fresh herbs with a pitcher of water, and about two cups of fresh herbs. Then in about a day your fresh herbs that you have grown in your new garden. Have the time to soak in the water. Now just sit back in the shade and enjoy a cold brew of your fresh tea.
Cup of Tea Anyone?
After years of being a die-hard coffee drinker, I find myself more frequently enjoying tea these days than coffee. I still drink coffee when I’m away from the house but for the most part, at home I drink tea. Not tea brewed from tea bags but tea brewed from loose tea.
Personally, I wouldn’t thank you for bag tea, which is why I don’t usually order tea when I’m out anywhere. I’ve become quite attached to the richness and variety of the flavours of tea that are out there.
Tea bags have a reputation for being lessor quality tea, which explains why I never acquired a taste for it when I was younger. My mother drank it on a regular basis and tried to get us kids into it but I just couldn’t see the draw.
There are decaffeinated teas on the market. Having learned that the United States has approved both the use of carbon dioxide and ethyl acetate in the process of removing caffeine from black tea, I’ll have the caffeine thank you very much.
I’ve discovered that seeking out tea shoppes can be rather fun. Each tea shoppe has its’ own unique flavoured blends of tea in addition to the many kinds of tea available. Exploring the various blends is an adventure which never ends. I have to admit to having formed some favourites. Teaopia is a shoppe in the mall east of me. I rather enjoy their Dublin Creme black tea blend and their Creamy Nut oolong tea.
The Dublin Creme is my breakfast tea of choice. The blend is full bodied with the black tea and the added zip of coffee beans to start my day with, the creamy flavour lets me drink the tea my favourite way, clear. (no milk or sugar)
The Creamy Nut oolong is a tea I enjoy later in the day, usually when I need that 3pm pickup or am getting a bit of an urge to snack. The gentler flavour of the oolong combines with apple, caramel bits, almond pieces and mallow flavour to provide me with a sense of having something sweet without it being sweet.
I’ve also ordered tea online from the Tea Shop in Ottawa. (site is not online at the time of this writing) They send out samples of another type of tea along with your order which is really neat. That allows me to try something different and then decide if I like it.
Another site I’ve been recently exploring but haven’t yet place an order is Adagio Teas
Types of Tea
True tea originates from one type of evergreen bush, the Camellia Sinensis. Other teas are created from other sources like herbs but are not truly tea. Where the tea bush is grown, time of year when the harvest takes place and the processing determines the types and flavour of the tea. The most common countries for growing tea is China, India, Japan and Sri Lanka.
The time of harvest and the processing methods determines the four major types of tea; white, green, oolong and black.
White Tea
White tea is picked before the leaf buds fully open and are still covered with fine silky hairs. Only the top leaf and bud are picked from the tree. The buds are sun dried to produce some of the rarest and most expensive tea available. White tea is said to have three times more antioxidants than green or black tea.
I was given some white tea as a gift a few years ago. I very much enjoyed it, finding it to be a very mild tasting tea but refreshing. Another tea I’d be inclined to drink during the day rather than as a breakfast tea.
Green Tea
After the tea leaves are plucked and sorted, they are either steamed or pan fired. Green tea does not go through the oxidation (fermentation) process. Green tea does have less caffeine than black tea. The leaves are often rolled into different shapes before drying. Once the leaves are shaped, they are dried and packaged. This process retains many of the polyphenols, catechins, and flavonoids that are associated with the health benefits of drinking green tea. Green tea also has HGCG; the most powerful antioxidant known. and can only be found in green tea.
I drink a lot of green tea, at any time of the day or night.
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea falls somewhere between green tea and black tea in the amount of time the tea leaves are allowed to oxidize for less time than black. The leaves can range from being almost black to dark green depending on when oxidation is stopped. The longer the leaves are oxidized the closer to black tea they will become. Formosa Oolong is an Amber Oolong with a rich amber cup that is a little toasty tasting.) Se Chung leaves are not allowed to oxidize as long, so the leaves have a dark green appearance and produce a light yellow cup with hints of sweetness.
Black Tea
This is the most commonly found tea. This tea goes through the most processing. Black tea is allowed to oxidize which “ripens” the tea and creates a deep, rich, robust flavor with uniqueness based on the tea grower’s knowledge and skill. Once the leaves are picked they are left out in the sun to become slightly wilted. The leaves are then rolled to break open their tissue. The inner chemicals react with the air and begin to ferment. During the fermentation, the leaves darken and change from green to red and finally to black. After the fermenting is complete, the leaves are dried and them packaged.
As you can see, there is much to know about tea. Just for fun, I’ve started another blog called Tea Facts Galore to explore the world of tea. This article will appear over there at some point. Join me and enjoy.
Drop me a note, let me know your tea likes, dislikes or questions. Here or at the new blog.
If you like this post, please tweet it. Follow me on Tweeter here
Hosting An Afternoon Tea
Now, when you are hosting an afternoon tea party, the key to success is careful planning. A successful tea party is about the whole presentation. From the serving platters, cutlery, furniture, tablecloths and tea pots, you should plan the whole thing in advance.
The tea menu is also the most vital component in a tea party and you should plan the menu according to your guests’ dietary preferences. A typical afternoon tea party menu consists of a selection of savory finger sandwiches (small size sandwiches), baked rolls with cream and jam, and a selection of delicious cakes and pastries. All these mouth watering delicacies will delight your guests’ taste buds, but remember that the presentation must also be up to the mark.
Now, let’s come to the main part. Tea is definitely the center of attraction in a Tea Party. There is a wide selection of teas – organic white tea, organic green tea, organic black tea, and Herbal Tea. Selecting the right tea for the tea party depends largely on the weather. If the weather is cold serve the tea hot and on warm hot days serve the organic tea chilled. A popular tea for any tea party is Earl Grey tea. It is a light refreshing tea and is best served hot with or without milk/cream or sugar/honey/sweetener. It can also be used to make iced tea.
Serve your hot organic tea in a special traditional tea set or if you want to add fun, how about using a different set of tea cups and saucers? You can serve the iced organic tea in a big glass pitcher. The colorful shade of the chilled organic tea with fruits and herbs such as mint will lift up the atmosphere of the tea party.
The taste of the tea and the setting will decide how successful your tea party is. So, plan ahead to choose the right tea and enjoy every sip of the tea.
