Like a phoenix form the ashes this tea blog has been reborn. I have no idea how long for but like tea itself it never truly dies – merely hibernates. Much like my fondness for the beverage. Which has been quite dead lately until recently when I had a good cup of Yorkshire Gold Tea. It was a great awakening.
Now onto the important stuff. TEA! It’s nice to see some sites out there haven’t yet lost their faith in this blog and so for my first new post I’ll be doing a rundown of some great tea sites on the net:
- Morning Coffee, Afternoon Tea – Showing that coffee and tea can get along just fine. Especially when biscuits are involved!
- Insani-Tea – Showing that tea really is more than just a drink. I’m a bit unsure of his latest posting about iced tea. Tis a strange drink to me.
- Floating Clouds, Gliding Eagle – This gentleman truly understands the meaning and esence of tea. You’d be wise to read his blog for some very interesting insights.
- Tea Guy Speaks – This bloke deserves a medal. He’s been around as long as me but he didn’t take a break for a year. Hats off to a true tea fanatic.
- Chocolate Obsession – True it’s not about tea but its a great site and tea is kind of close to chocolate….kind of.
I’m sorry if I’ve missed you off my list of great tea sites but I’m always open to hear of great suggestions form people. If you’ve got a site you think I may be interested in then let me know – thank you. 
life
Well we’ve had two recent news stories on caffeines health properties and they’ve been contrary to previous items suggesting caffeine is the 8th sin of the world.
Firstly we’re told caffeine can actually help to boost memory and helps focus. This was found after MRI scans were conducted on people shortly hafter drinking a caffeinated beverage such as coffee or tea.
The next story was one that linked liver-protectice properties to caffeine and this suggested 2-cups a day of either tea or coffee could help prevent liver disease.
So next time don’t feel guilty when someone ‘tuts’ at how many cups a day you have!
health, life
caffeine, health
For the tea-drinkers of old reading tea leaves was as natural as drinking the tea itself. However, since the advent of teabags the tradition has declined so now they’re rarely ever seen, nevermind interpreted.
So I’ve decided to give you all the oppurtunity to learn by pointing you in the direction of a good article on tea leaf reading at SoYouWanna.
facts, life, myths
Just found an interesting article regarding tea and its caffeine content. Summarry: Caffeine in tea is a good thing.
http://greentealovers.com/wordpress/
They found oral administration of green or black tea inhibited UVB light-induced complete carcinogenesis in the skin of SKH-1 mice(1). Green tea was a more effective inhibitor than black tea. Oral administration of decaffeinated green or black tea resulted in substantially less inhibitory activity than did administration of the regular teas, and in one experiment, administration of a high-dose level of the decaffeinated teas enhanced the tumorigenic effect of UVB. Oral administration of caffeine alone had a substantial inhibitory effect on UVB-induced carcinogenesis, and adding caffeine to the decaffeinated teas restored the inhibitory effects of these teas on UVB-induced carcinogenesis. In additional studies, topical application of a green tea polyphenol fraction after each UVB application inhibited UVB-induced tumorigenesis. The results indicate that caffeine contributes in an important way to the inhibitory effects of green and black tea on UVB-induced complete carcinogenesis.
facts, health, life
caffeine, health
I made this. Just today I had a craving but unfortunately there was a total lack of tea in the house so I had to make do with a drawing. I may begin a tea art competition if people send in their images of tea. Can be in any form you wish -0 doesnt have to be in a cup like this one. Could be a tea bag on a chair!!
life
If your going to drink green tea then never, NEVER get it in bag form. The only exceptions are when its Jasmine or Lemon & green tea.
Reason? I’ve tried numerous different green teas (Clipper, Twinnings, Whittards, etc) and NONE of them taste of green tea!! They normally taste of BAG! Tea bag that is. No matter which you get. No matter how long you brew them for. They always taste of bag. I reckon this is because green tea has a much lighter taste and so the paper of the bag can easily overpower it.
Your much better with leaves. Granted, it can be more awkward as you end up with leaves in the bottom and sometimes swallowing them – unless of course you use a strainer but I can never be bothered with that malarky.
Now WHICH green tea is best? Well I’m going to have to come across as pretentious here and say genuine Chinese green tea……..from China. I’ve currently got two which I use. One lot I got as two big bags from a friend who brought them over from China. The freshest most crisp tasting green tea I’ve ever tried. The Chinese really know how to do green tea well.
The other came in a little box from a Chinese supermarket in Nottingham. Gunpowder tea its called and it the leaves seem to be all curled up. Not sure why. The tea seems darker and ‘dirtier’ too with more bits. But don’t let this put you off as it tastes fantastic. In large doses it takes on a smoky taste which leads me to believe it may well be lightly smoked green tea.
Anyway enough about green tea.
life, methods
green tea, methods
Not my cup of tea I’m afraid. Ok the first time I tried these bags was after their funny plastic packet had been open and dried out for a good 6 months and so they probably weren’t their best. BUT they just taste weak! Now theres nothing worse than watery tea. I like a tea to kick me in the face – in a nice way of course!
PG Tips reminds me of a sick, weak hamster. Yeah a hamster.
Whereas Yorkshire! Now Yorkshire is a fantastic beast of a drink. I cant remember if I’ve already mentioned it….if I have you can probably tell I like Yorkshire.
Now I know tea bags are supposed to be good for two cups but I always have a Yorkshire tea for one cup and its brewed for at least 5 minutes and then squeezed to death!! That way you get a cup of TEA rather than a funny tasting water.
life, review
I came back from the dark path and had my first cup of tea in 3 days. What was the result I here you ask? Something inside me clicked…………I felt a change, ever so slight at first, but then. A sudden rush of euphoria consumed me as the tea filled me with its warm glow. Reinvigorating every inch of my soul and bringing me from the brink of a dark precipice. Quite simply I was reborn and I had been accepted. From this day forward things will be different.
I suggest the next time you feel like your straying and have hankerings for tea then pick up a jar of the ‘finest’ coffee you know of and drink it all. I garuntee you’ll be back and ten times better once you are. It makes you realise what you’ve lost. I shall leave you with a few words:
In Nomine TEA Es Spiritus Sancte
coffee, life
Well being a tea drinker is much like being part of a religion. If that is the case I have the feeling I’ve fallen from grace. I have been drinking a lot of coffee lately!! Yes, I know. I have tasted the forbidden brew!
I have strayed but I shall repent that you can be certain of!
What coffee did I drink? I shouldn’t talk of such sins!! But if you need to know it was Nescafe double chocolte mochas. Apparently there addictive or so I’m told by numerous people who get it from under their desks at work. Its………nice…..but! I shall be drinking tea again. Tomorrow will be the day. The coffee is finished and I’m back on the tea!
lacrimosus
coffee, life
coffee, life, philosophy, tea
I was doing my usual tea based research recently and came across a quite horrifying find!
Now I’m aware a number of ‘partys’ were had in America during the colony era but I never knew that anyone would stoop so low as to have a Tea Party!!
Now for those who don’t know. The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was an event in which a number of American ‘patriots’ boarded a ship of the East Indian company and threw all of the tea onboard into the sea!! When I read this I was literally moved to tears. To think all of that tea mercilessly dropped into the ocean left to rot in COLD dark waters, possibly being nipped at by fish with no respect for teas natural beurty and essence. Clearly something you’d expect from a land of coffee drinkers and rebels.
The Boston Tea Party has quite clearly got to be one of the most tragic events of the 18th Century.
Now although the reason for the Boston tea party’s occurence is quite inconsequential, I suppose an explanation is worth giving, however I am not the best story teller so I shall borrow a quote from a nice site you can find here
“The Boston Tea Party was a reaction to the Tea Act of 1773 that was passed by Parliament to save the British East India Company from bankruptcy. The Tea Act essentially eliminated all taxes on tea except the three pence Townshend tax. More importantly, it offered Americans tea at a lower price than that of the colonial smugglers. Hence, the British East Indian Company would be saved from bankruptcy, the colonial smugglers would be out of business, and the principle of parliamentary taxation would be upheld.”
Now I dont know about you but I don’t feel that is a good enough excuse to vandalise such a wonderful, almost omnipotent plant that provides such joy for millions of people worldwide.
I shall light a candle for the lost tea and I shall begin campaigning here in the UK for sanctions to be placed on the US for such a brutal display towards tea.
history, horror, life, news
history, horror
