http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/61042
Julian Tai
May 07, 2008
Caffeine, long considered the perfect pick-me-up, has been getting a bad rap lately. Green tea caffeine is often considered to be gentler and less intense than that found in coffee or black tea. What is the caffeine content in different types of tea, and which one is right for you?
Types of Tea
All tea comes from the same plant, camellia sinensis. This plant grows in high altitudes in China, India and other Asian countries. The tea that ends up in our cups depends for its flavor and color on many different factors.
There are three main categories of tea: black, oolong, green and white. These are picked at different times of the year. The main difference, however, is in what happens to the leaves after picking.
Black tea is fermented, which makes it darker and stronger. Oolong tea is fermented less. Green tea is dried very quickly without fermentation. White tea is left to withered with the accompanying chemical changes with minimal cooking involved.
Caffeine Quality
Green tea plants tend to contain less caffeine than black tea plant, and far less than coffee.
In addition, the way our bodies absorb the caffeine is mitigated by the tannins. We tend to get a long slow boost from it instead of a sudden jolt. Because it is a gentler effect, green tea is an especially good choice for an afternoon or evening beverage. It can provide a pick me up without making you jittery or potentially keeping you awake when it´s time to sleep.
Loose tea provides less caffeine than bagged tea. Most tea leaves can be infused two or three times, with less caffeine making it into each cup. By the time you drink that last infusion, you may feel only a very mild lift.
Health Benefits
The popularity of caffeine has been decreasing lately. Perhaps all of those cups of strong coffee and energy drinks are finally taking their toll! In small amounts, however, caffeine is good for the health. It improves circulation, and helps in weight loss. It is invigorating and improves mental clarity and memory. It is even a natural antidepressant! Add that to the powerful antioxidants found in green tea, and you´ve got a healthful and restorative beverage.
]]>Published in the American Chronicle April 16, 2008
The green tea revolution is here! Whether you brew loose green tea by the cup, or grab a bottle of iced green tea, the popularity of this delicious and healthy beverage is growing by leaps and bounds.
Just about every major tea importer has at least one type of green tea available. While many of us are accustomed to popping a tea bag into a cup, brewing a pot of tea from loose leaves is the traditional method. Should you be using loose leaves instead of bags?
Lower Cost
There are many different kinds of green tea. This plant grows throughout Asia, and is harvested at different times in order to get different flavors. Like any product that is sold so widely, the price of tea can vary greatly. Generally speaking, loose teas are less expensive than those in bags. They require less work to get to market.
Higher Quality
When tea leaves are prepared for bagging, they are chopped into tiny pieces. This increases oxygen exposure, resulting in tea that gets stale more quickly. The tea itself stays fresher and more flavorful if it remains in its original form. Because they are going to be cut up anyway, often leaves of lower quality are chosen for bagged tea.
Tea bags are made from paper. Unfortunately, this paper is soaked in the water along with the tea. Of course, quality of tea bag materials varies from brand to brand. However, as long as you´re brewing a bag along with your tea you are not getting a pure tea experience. Loose green tea gives you a higher quality brewed beverage.
Caffeine Levels
The caffeine content of bagged tea is higher than that of loose tea due to the greater exposure area. Because green tea has a lower caffeine content than black tea, drinkers are probably not looking for that added burst. In addition, extra caffeine gives tea a bitter taste.
How To Brew
A great cup of tea is not difficult to achieve. Follow these easy steps to get the best possible result.
Use about 3 grams of loose green tea leaves. You only want to brew this tea one cup at a time, although you can reuse the leaves 2-3 times.
Pour water that is just shy of boiling over the leaves. Let it steep for 3 minutes, then strain. This will give you a fresh delicious cup of tea every time! And as you can see it is really no more difficult than brewing tea in bags.
Why are Americans drinking 4 times more in tea bags than loose green tea? Why is so special about authentic Chinese green tea?
Find out what the 10 facts and fallacies are in Green Tea Information guide.
Source: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/57793
]]>How enchanting to see the new growth in the backdrop of old – the nature’s cycle. It is now 10 years since first tea was planted in Doke in July 1998 and the Doke silver needle has been recognised worldwide.
The team lead by Sanjay Vishwakarma is happy to achieve ever growing tea arena around our area where Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, visited on 11th April and BTPA presented him a facilitation.
A new study shows the green tea antioxidant EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) significantly slowed breast cancer growth in female mice.
Previous studies have suggested that this antioxidant may protect against breast cancer and other cancers, but this research has been limited, and the mechanism behind these effects isn’t clear.
Researchers say the results suggest that green tea’s anticancer effects may be largely because of its high content of EGCG, which helps the body’s cells from becoming damaged and aging prematurely.
Behind Green Tea’s Anticancer Effect
In the study, presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2008 conference, researchers examined the effects of the green tea antioxidant on several indicators of breast cancer growth in laboratory mice.
One group of the female mice was fed a solution of the antioxidant in water for five weeks while the other received regular drinking water. During the second week of the study, researchers injected both groups with breast cancer cells.
At the end of the study, researchers measured tumor size, weight, and density as well as VEGF protein levels associated with tumor growth.
The results showed that treatment with the green tea antioxidant decreased tumor size by 66 percent and weight by 68 percent compared with the control group. Mice fed the antioxidant also had significantly lower density of small blood vessels within tumors and VEGF protein levels.
Researcher Jian-Wei Gu, of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, says the green tea antioxidant may work against breast cancer by suppressing blood vessel growth in breast tumors as well as slowing the proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/07/health/webmd/main4000087.shtml
]]>April 01, 2008
Green tea has shown far greater antioxidant protection than the well know polyphenols in antioxidant vitamins such as C and E. Green tea is 6% more potent as an antioxidant than black tea.
Well, did you know that green tea as well as black, white and oolong teas are all derived from the same plant – Camellia sinensis. The only difference is the way of processing. Green tea, as opposed to black and oolong, is the one that´s processed the least – the process of oxidation is skipped here. This is the reason why it retains its green color.
Green tea is already well known for its health benefits. Now black tea is also showing to have benefits. Some components in black tea, such as theaflavins and thearubigins, may be considered as insulin substitute.
Green tea is produced by lightly steaming the fresh cut black tea leaf, whereas black tea, the leaves are oxidized which destroys some of the compounds which have the potent antioxidant and anticancer properties that green tea has.
Viral & Bacterial Agents Lowered:
Green tea has shown to inhibit the spread of disease. Tea catechins are strong antibacterial and antiviral agents which make them effective in treating everything from tooth decay and HIV. Green tea can also relieve influenza and diarrhea.
Black tea has been found to increase the presence of certain anti-bacterial proteins in the body. Not just by a little bit either, but a considerable amount. When compared to coffee drinkers, tea drinkers actually had a concentration of disease preventing protein that was 400% higher. Clearly, these are significant health benefits to be had from drinking tea. The are even more benefits though. Mental acuity can be increased as well. A study of elderly people found that those who drink tea actually reduce their risk of mental problems by half when compared to people who don’t drink tea.
Cholesterol Reduction:
Researchers have found that by drinking green tea the “bad” cholesterol can be reduced, and tea drinkers can eat almost twice the foods containing cholesterol as those who don’t drink green tea, but still have an equal cholesterol count. This is important to note if you are an off-season bodybuilder and may be consuming hi amounts of cholesterol.
Tea is the only natural source of fluoride for humans. We already know that fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and decreases mouth bacteria. Tea makes a great mouthwash since it inhibits the growth of E. coli and Streptococcus.
Another benefit of green tea consumption is improved endurance capacity. The energy provided for the enhanced endurance is again from the increase in fat oxidation. With other words you will last more when running or doing any other intense physical activity, while using fat for energy.
Tea helps boost metabolism because it contains Vitamins B1 (Thiamine) and B2 (Riboflavin.) These B vitamins are also found in eggs and nuts. They are necessary for converting food into energy the body can burn. Riboflavin also helps the body metabolize proteins. Insufficient store of B vitamins has been linked to strokes.
Source: http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/57127
]]>Posted 3/31/08
MONDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News)—Green tea can help antibiotics be three times more effective in fighting drug-resistant bacteria, even superbugs, according to a study by researchers at Alexandria University in Egypt.
Green tea is common in Egypt, and it’s likely that many people there drink it while taking antibiotics.Therefore, the researchers wanted to determine if green tea would decrease or increase the effectiveness of antibiotics or have no effect.
“We tested green tea in combination with antibiotics against 28 disease-causing microorganisms belonging to two different classes,” Dr Mervat Kaseem, of the university’s pharmacy faculty, said in a prepared statement. “In every single case, green tea enhanced the bacteria-killing activity of the antibiotics. For example, the killing effect of chloramphenicol was 99.99 percent better when taken with green tea than when taken on its own in some circumstances.”
Kaseem and colleagues also found that green team made 20 percent of drug-resistant bacteria susceptible to cephalosporin antibiotics, an important type of antibiotics to which new drug-resistant strains of bacteria have evolved resistance.
In almost every case and for all types of antibiotics they tested, the researchers found that drinking green tea at the same time as taking the antibiotics appeared to increase the action of the antibiotics and reduce drug resistance in bacteria. In certain cases, even low concentrations of green tea were effective.
The study was to be presented Monday at a meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Edinburgh, Scotland.
“Our results show that we should consider more seriously the natural products we consume in our everyday life,” Kaseem said. “In the future, we will be looking at other natural herb products such as majoram and thyme to see whether they also contain active compounds which can help in the battle against drug resistant bacteria.”
Source: http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/080331/green-tea-boosts-antibiotics-for-superbugs.htm
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http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/25/stories/2008032555021300.htm
National
Tea factory to be open to tourists
Special Correspondent
Kolkata: One of the highest tea factories in the world where equipment installed way back in 1854 has been zealously preserved, the Happy Valley tea factory in Darjeeling, located at an altitude of 6,800 feet, will soon be opening its gates to tourists.
Tea museum
They will be given access to a unique working tea museum, set up at a cost of more than $ 1 million and witness the entire tea manufacturing process including withering, processing, rolling, drying of tea leaves till it are finally sorted and packaged.
On display will be the equipment of a by-gone era including the single piston slow-speed engines, and the shaft machines — all in working condition.
Interactions with workers
The “Happy Valley experience” on offer for the tourists, who will have educated youth drawn from the families of the estate’s employees as their guides, will include interactions with workers explaining the intricacies of tea plucking and other field activities across the estate’s 435 acres.
“This will be the first working tea museum of its kind in the country and the intention is to provide a first class experience of how tea is manufactured and why it is so unique,” Sanjay Bansal, chairman of the Ambootia Tea Group that owns the tea estate told The Hindu on Monday.
“We have had to dismantle the old factory that was in a derelict condition after taking it over in March 2007 and erect a new one. But we have been careful in preserving much of the old machinery that will be on display at the museum with four floors which we plan to open in June,” he said.
]]>We are often asked if our products are ‘Fair Trade’ certified. They are not. Instead of paying an organization to certify product and providing the source grower or supplier with a marginal amount of the proceeds, we have made a decision to source products directly from the grower or producer whenever possible.
By buying directly from growers, we are able to ensure that all of the proceeds are helping the development of the growers business, the working conditions and even the local economy. In today’s economy this direct relationship is very plausible and is in fact the way Cargo & James would like to shape the procurement of all it’s supplier partnerships.
It is ironic that tea has been traded for thousands of years and now in the new millennium we are going back to the roots of the tea trade. We are putting consumers directly in front of the growers and benefiting both.
This transformation will take time and energy, and some creative travels, but within the next 5 years, our goal is to be sourcing at least 80% of our products from source growers and producers who give their team members all the advantages they can.
Current Direct Supplier Relationships:
Lochan Tea Limited – Since 2003 Cargo & James has worked directly with Lochan to procure teas directly from a variety of Indian and Chinese tea growers.
Doke Tea Garden – Since 2007 Cargo & James has been working directly with the Doke Tea garden to help market the tea produced and support the growth and development of the tea garden infrastructure.
Hunan Tea Company – Since 2005 Cargo & James has worked with the principals of the Hunan Tea company to source the base green and black teas that we currently use for all our flavoured teas.
More to come VERY soon!
]]>I have been asked on a regular basis to keep people posted on the most recent developments of Cargo & James Tea…. so yesterday I created a page on Facebook where I can try to keep everyone updated on a regular basis.. I will try anyways..
Here’s the link:
Tim
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