Information about White Tea

All teas contain a high level of antioxidants; however white tea antioxidants are higher than in other types of teas. The high antioxidant level in the tea is caused by sunlight. Green plants get energy to grow from sunlight and chlorophyll, but sunlight can also be damaging to them. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation can be especially harmful to plants and antioxidants basically help protect plants from this possible damage.

Where do antioxidants come from? Living cells of plants can be destroyed as the plants are trying to protect themselves from the harmful sunlight rays. Free radicals are created in leaf cells by the UV radiation in direct sunlight. Animals are born with advanced immune systems that protect them from these free radicals, but plants are not. Plants instead produce chemicals (called phytonutrients) to protect themselves, antioxidants being the most important ones.

There is more to the process of antioxidant activity, such as searching for free radicals (chemicals created by sunlight hitting the plant leaves). The antioxidants attack the free radical cells and may kill them, causing the plants to age and sometimes catch diseases. Free radical activity is limited by the antioxidants. Since antioxidants are present in high amounts in white tea plants, it takes a lot of balance to keep the plants alive as this battle is ongoing.

There are many antioxidants contain in this tea, most from the catechin family, including epicatechin, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin. EGCG, or epigallocatechin gallate, is the most prominent antioxidant. Nearly half of the antioxidant is comprised of EGCG and it is a very potent ingredient. Laboratory tests have determined that EGCG is able to be 100 times more active than vitamins A & C. A cup of white tea is believed to have more antioxidants in it than a serving of broccoli, spinach, strawberries and other healthy vegetables and fruits. This is a perfect example of white tea antioxidants at work.

White tea antioxidants are mostly present in strong quantities because of the EGCG contained in it. EGCG has been proven to reduce several health ailments and diseases such as skin, lung and breast cancers. It also reduces the risk of serious conditions such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes. EGCG can also slow the aging process, prolonging youthfulness and health in the consumer.

White tea is the least processed of all teas so during the harvesting process the healthy antioxidants remain in stronger quantities than in other types of teas. The leaves are comprised of more than 30 percent of healthy antioxidants.

The antioxidants present in white tea help fight off many diseases and conditions, making it one of the healthiest teas to consume. Its preventative qualities are just an added benefit to this delicious choice of beverage. White tea antioxidants are important to maintain good health and reducing health risks.

Make Ginger Tea by Yourself

To alleviate an achy throat due to a cold or morning sickness ginger tea is the best and healthiest form of natural treatment.

As with many other things homemade, ginger tea is better done at home instead of being bought in the store in the form of tea bags.

Rather than buying a soda or other store bought iced tea, adding some lemon juice and honey to your ginger tea makes a great health drink both hot and warm. Either that make it on your own or you can purchase the organic tea.

Below is the procedure to make your own homemade tea

1. Buy a ginger root at about 2-21/2 inches long. This will get you about two cups of tea. First you will need to peel the ginger and then grate it. You may also cut the ginger in thin slices if you do not want to grate it.
2. Put the grated or sliced ginger in the water and put to boil. When the water has boiled the tea is ready to drink! You can either choose to filter the pieces out or you can keep them in your teacup and just wait for them to settle.
3. Then you can add the extras that are usually added into a regular cup of tea, such as lemon and honey, plus the tea bag depending on taste.

Tip - for best results and most extract boil for approximately ten to twenty minutes.

You can drink ginger just for the simple pleasures, or to cure anything from a regular cold and cough to serious stomach problems. This is because ginger is great for your health, an expectorant and thermogenic. If you are drinking it to heal a health issue, drink about 3-4 cups daily. Always then go for the best ginger bags of tea if you do want to make the tea yourself.

Good Metabolism by Consuming Green Tea

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has recently published the results of a study on the effects of green tea. According to the study, consuming green tea increased the metabolic rate of the subjects, thus resulting in higher energy consumption. These effects, once attributed to caffeine, have now been confirmed to be unrelated.

In the study, some subjects consumed green tea and the rest where administered the same quantity of caffeine in other manners. The subjects that were administered caffeine didn't experiment any changes while the others achieved a higher metabolic rate.

The researchers believe that this discovery can be used in the future for weight control. They have achieved a 4% increase in energy expenditure in the first 24 hours. Given that this supplementary energy expenditure took place during the day, the researchers estimated a 35-43% increase in the metabolic rate during the day.

Coupled with a weight loss diet, green tea is believed to provide great results. Even if you do not follow a diet, consuming this tea will help you lose weight and will increase your overall energy. You need however to be wary as you must consume the tea with water. Failing to do so can cause side effects like stains on the teeth.

You should however avoid relying completely on the green tea to the weight losing for you. Its effect show best when used at the same time with a diet and an exercise program. If you have a high muscle percentage you will burn fat a lot quicker and the efficiency of this tea will multiply.

Herbal Tea

Infusions or decoctions, herbal tea may be called either. The names come from the preparatory procedures that essentially comprise 'soaking'-leaves and the flowers and 'boiling'-roots, stems and fruits, the herb(s) in hot water. They fit in well for other beverages and unlike just the taste or the flavor.

Herbal teas bring forth a fair amount of benefits that people often seek through surgical or non-surgical methods. However, an overnight benefit cannot be expected from singular herbs; except for a few like incontinence or dysuria treated with caltrop. Any degree of such disorders is curable with caltrop within 24 hours or Aloe Vera; the latter in known to cure diarrhea within a few hours. It will take an appropriate combination.

Unlike pharmaceutical medications that fight the symptoms alone, Herbs strengthen the system from the insides while fighting the symptoms; and we all know multi-tasking takes more time. That applies to anything from hemato-cardiac unrests or neural fusses or even the bone and joint unhinges.

It's not that herbs are always the sweet-smelling froo-froo goodies; sometimes they are as bitter and pungent as Hell itself. A perfect example is the Che Dang; an extremely bitter tea made from the Ilex cause leaves. But they comprise enough goodies to let go off, so an easy way was devised to blunt the bitterly experiences. Herbal tea was born to take care of some of them. The process is simple: pour some boiling water on crushed herb, allow steeping for some time and the drink is ready.

There are two choices: First is, buying it from herbal tea stores and next, growing it in a tea herb garden. Indoors or outdoors, designated or non-designated, it entirely depends on the planter. However, there also stays a third choice present; befriending someone with an herbal tea garden or making someone start a herb garden. You may often get free supplies besides what you buy from the person.

Growing and harvesting herbs - contrary to what commercial producers claim - is something easier done than said? Fennel from a homegrown herb garden shall brew as good as its commercial variety; of course, it won't look as good. Just put in a few hours every week and a quarter of the money you'd spend to buy the OTC herbal teas, your herb garden at home will be ready.

However, to derive the most of the herbs, they need harvesting early in the day, during the end of the season, just before frost sets in. The perfect time is in the cool of the morning, when the dew has dried but the herbs still lush from it. The active ingredients in the herbs reach their peak this time, just before blooming. You are; however, not supposed to tear/crush them for storing; this shall make the essential oils and other beneficial stuff to get wasted. They must be crushed only before the boiling water is poured.

Crushed herbs require a teaspoonful (flattened; not heaped) to make a cup of (any) herbal tea with the strength and the flavor balanced. For fresh leaves, it comes up to 3 teaspoonfuls a cup. Lemon Basil is a good choice to start with; gradually, Chamomile and Fennel could be added as experience grows. Mint and rosemary or lavender is wonderful herbs to plant if you want to make herbal teas a staple for your guests. A little tip here: whether a tea tastes good or bad depends on the combination of the herbs. If the combination smells good, it shall taste good as well. The teas supposed to be taken cold taste much better if a tenth is fruit juice; that way, you'll also learn to make the herbal punch.

Spicy Chai Indian Tea

Having worked for many years in the technology sector with many fine people of east Indian heritage and/or origin, I not only developed a taste for spicy hot curries and overall Indian cuisine, but also for a type of spiced tea which has become popularized in the West over the last decade or so. This is "spiced chai", or "chai tea". What is amusing is that "chai" is the name for tea. So the phrase "chai tea" is really just a repetition in two languages. What is spiced chai? It is when you mix together strong black Indian teas with a spice blend called "tea masala". Tea masala popularly contains ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and clove. Mint leaves can optionally be added into the mix for a pleasant flavor variation.

This is not meant to b e a recipe so I will not state amounts. I rarely work from recipes. It is more fun to just experiment. What you should do to make a proper sort of spiced chai is to get some loose CTC cut Indian tea from an Indian market or online. Popular Indian brands are Wagh Bakri, Taj Mahal, Lipton Red or Yellow Label (the Indian versions NOT the American Lipton, which is a weak American blend unrelated to the Indian brands), or any other strong Assam black tea that you can find. The CTC type of tea looks like little tiny balls. They are basically a "cut tear curl" cut of tea which infuses very well into water, making a strong black solution. Take a few cups of water and boil in a pot.

Put in several teaspoons of this CTC or other strong black tea and let it simmer for a few minutes with a spoon of the chai spice blend, the tea masala mentioned earlier. Let the tea and the spices mix in a slow simmer for about 5 minutes. You can now add milk (enough to lighten to a nice creamy muddy color) and turn up the heat until it hits a boil, then back off and simmer for a few minutes. You can either add sugar or sweetener to the whole batch or by the cup. This is a drink meant to be sweetened. If you do not want sugar or are diabetic, you can use artificial or another sweetener.

I prefer stevia but xylitol also works well. (xylitol can be fatal to dogs - not that you would give the chai to a dog but I mention it anyway) Now you can use a strainer to catch the loose tea leaves when you pour the hot spicy brew into cups, or a tea kettle, for serving. Indian people use fancy tea brewers for this whole process. If you desire precise amounts, you can easily find them online through any of the major search engines.

Spicy chai is a refreshing and lovely spiced tea drink. In India they have roadside tea stalls and vendors that sell it by the cup. Using a proper spice mix (or your own grinding of the listed spices) and a good quality strong Indian Assam tea is the way to go. Do not use the pre spiced bags of tea except in dire situations when you cannot do better, like if you are at work. Tea is a healthy drink and the spices in spiced chai are very healthy for digestion and overall well being.

Cinnamon alone is great for keeping blood sugar levels in check, especially if you sweeten your chair with stevia or another non sugar sweetener. Strong Assam tea contains many more antioxidant properties than weak industrial tea that many the in the West and in America think of when they think of tea. Many people who claim to dislike tea just never had anything except the pathetically flavor lacking types they find in the local supermarket. A good quality black tea should look at dark as fresh brewed coffee when completely steeped in water.

Spicy chai can open up another world of flavor sensation, and it can be as satisfying to the taste buds as an entire meal, without the calories of a full meal. Get yourself some tea masala and some Assam black tea and try it for yourself. You won't be sorry.

Tea Blends

Blending is a process of blending different teas together to enhance the flavors and create a new or favored flavor profile. Tea blends can be blends from different growing regions or leaves can be blended with herbs, dried fruits and fruit zest and flowers. Perfumes, flavorants and essential oils are often added to add flavor and aroma.

Black Blends

Breakfast teas are blends of different black teas that together are more robust and full-bodied in flavor than the individual; eaves. English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast and Scottish Breakfast are all popular blends of robust black teas.

Afternoon blends are also blends of black tea. These blends tend to be lighter in flavor than breakfast blends. Breakfast and Afternoon Tea are often enjoyed at any time of day.

Flower Blends

Jasmine tea is a well know blend of green le with jasmine flowers, resulting in a delicious brew that is mildly flavored and scented by the jasmine flowers. The jasmine flowers are usually removed after the flavor and scent have been absorbed.

Chrysanthemum tea is often pure chrysanthemum flowers, although sometimes the blend contains black or green tea leaves.

Herbal and Fruit Blends

An herb that is commonly blended with tea is mint. Mint is often used alone as an herbal tisane, or blended with black tea. Fresh mint is often used as a garnish as well.

Dried fruit and fruit zests are popular. Citrus zests combined with cinnamon and spices are popular in "Russian" blends. Bits of dried cherry, mango, cranberry, peach and other fruits are often combined with tea leaves and spices.

Spice Blends

Spices are often blended with tea, especially in Indian, African and Middle Eastern cultures. Chai and Thai Tea are popular spice blends. Spices used most often include ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cassia, black pepper, clove, anise, fennel, bay leaf, nutmeg, mace and vanilla.

Most blends are made with black leaves, but green blends are becoming popular because of their additional health benefits. White tea can be easily overpowered by strong flavors, so it is used with only very delicate flavor blends.

Look for Quality Specialty Blends

Blending tea with these flavor enhancers is a common technique used to boost the flavor of poor quality leaves, so it is important to know that you are purchasing from a high quality purveyor. Often these blends will sell at a premium over the cost of the individual leaves, so you want to get the quality you are paying for.

Prepare Goji Berry Tea by Yourself

Goji berry tea is truly worth trying - not only for its refreshing flavor and taste, but for its many health benefits also. The benefits associated with this tea are many. Goji berries were originally grown in Tibet and China, for the purposes of making tea only nearly 1000 years ago. People decide to include this tea in their daily diet for several of its medicinal properties. Those who have such tea regularly are known to benefit in many ways which includes increasing life span, improving sexual functionality of a human being, improving eyesight of an individual and gives a boost to the immune system along with many other health benefits.

Goji berry tea is becoming very popular now, loved by youngsters and well accepted by them in their daily life. It is prepared in small parties, in get-together and in any small event which involves a group of people of different age groups. Those who wish to stay awake, late into the night love to have this type of tea, as a great boost to stay awake. This is considered to a mid day booster in many offices and business establishments which refreshes employees and helps them to cope with the stress and strain. Preparing it is a very simple task and can be done in a few simple minutes. Just as it is done in the case of normal tea making, you need to pour boiling water in a pot. Then you need to swish it around and remove the water. This is done to make the pot warm so that in the next stage, best flavored tea can be prepared. Once this is done, you need to place around thirty-thirty five dried goji berries inside the pot. There is no specific need of having this tea inside any kind of infuser or bag.

You need to fill the entire pot with hot boiling water and then put the lid inside the pot, so that the berries can remain soaked in such boiling water for as long as eight minutes. You will soon start getting a pleasant and mild aroma which is quite noticeable. Once you get such an aroma it will indicate that your goji berry tea is ready to be consumed. As it happens always, it's your turn for serving the tea now. You can pour this lovely green tea in a cup but do not add sugar. The berries usually have a very tangy taste and it has a very natural sweetener, so no need to add any kind of sweetener separately.

You can consume your goji berry green tea and then also have the berries which have settled down in your tea pot. This way you shall get the dual benefits of antioxidants which are present in the leaves. You will surely love the tea flavor which is associated with these mystical goji berries.

Goji berry tree is natural with no traces of caffeine and are glutten free making it a complete loved drink all over the world.

Become a Tea Connoisseur

If you are involved in the regular drinking of tea in any way, you've likely heard the term 'tea connoisseur.' I'm sure the meaning of this term can vary quite a bit from person to person, but most will agree that a tea connoisseur is someone who is really into tea. They will know about the different types, and processes, and subtleties....and of course they will love to drink tea.

If you love tea, but don't feel you are quite there yet and want to become a tea connoisseur, here are a few things to keep in mind as you make the transition.

First, ditch those tea bags and start drinking loose leaf. Any real connoisseur or expert will never let you into the club if you aren't drinking it as it was meant to be enjoyed. Loose leaf tea produces a much more flavorful cup, and it is a must if you are ever to obtain connoisseur status. When the water circulates around the leaves it creates a flavor that just can't be matched in bag form. Not to mention, the health benefits are dramatically increased when it is left in its natural state.

Second, learn a lot about tea. You can't really be considered a connoisseur of anything if you don't know a lot about the topic. Read as much as you can about the history and cultivation of tea leaves. Learn about how it is processed. Learn about all the different tea producing parts of the world. Learn about all of the different varieties and sub-varieties. Learn about the best ways to prepare each different type. In short, learn all there is to know about the world of tea.

Third, keep in mind that to be a real connoisseur, you have to enjoy yourself. You may have an image of the snobby, nose in the air tea drinker, but you don't have to be that way. People have been drinking tea for thousands of years. It is a way of life in many cultures, and there are thousands upon thousands of tea drinkers who came before you who are very down to earth.