Tea and Pregnancy
Pregnancy by Ola Czechowska When I learned I was pregnant, the first thing I did was a little research to find out the things I should eliminate or reduce from my diet. Smoked fish, soft cheese, alcohol, and caffeine topped the list. I love smoked fish, soft cheese, and alcohol, but they’re not things I consume on a daily basis. Caffeine, however, is in something I love and consume daily: TEA! I’m hot, hungry, and tired all the time, and on top of that I’m not supposed to have tea!? Let me look into this a little further. The Yale University School of Medicine published the results of their research on maternal consumption of caffeine during pregnancy in 2003. The concern was that caffeine contributed to low birth weight, but the study determined that “[t]his small decrease in birth weight, observed for maternal caffeine consumption, is unlikely to be clinically important except for women consuming Three other things worth noting: Considering how much tea I drank pre-pregnancy, there’s a good chance that I was consuming around 600 mg of caffeine. So, I have drastically reduced the amount of tea I drink, but I’m relieved that I don’t need to complete eliminate it.
600 mg of caffeine daily (approximately six 10-ounce (1 ounce = 28.3 g) cups of coffee). ”
Posted by Rachel at Tuesday ~ October 02, 2007 | 5 Comments
Category: Herbal Tea, Black Tea, White Tea, Tea Facts, Tea, Health Benefits, Green Tea
Demmer’s Satin White Bio Reviewed
Demmer’s White Satin Bio Back in August, on the T Ching site, Aaron of Art of Tea magazine wondered “whether you would rather learn the Chinese terms for all things tea related, via roman pinyin of course, or develop some kind of standardized English translation.” Pinyin, by the way, is the transliteration of Chinese using Latin letters. My preference is for pinyin. White Peony sounds lovely, but knowing it as Pai Mu Dan is far more useful. The best solution, I think, is using both the pinyin and English. I bring this up for a reason. I am sitting here sipping some Chinese white tea – White Satin Bio, to be exact. But beyond that English name, I have no information about this tea. And that’s a shame because there’s a good chance that if I walk into another tea shop wanting to buy this particular tea, I couldn’t do so. This could be a staple white tea. It has everything I tend to expect from Chinese white teas: sweetness, delicacy, a soft color. White Satin Bio, out of the bag. This is a large-leaf tea. The 50g of Oolong I bought fit into a cute little bag, but the 50g of this tea filled a large, clear bag (to my chagrin, actually, since clear bags and tea are not friends!). I placed 4-5 grams into the infuser, which filled it completely. I heated the water to around 75°C (around 170°F) and poured over the leaves and allowed them to steep for 4 minutes in My Daily Tea Pot. White Satin Bio, steeped. The result was not out of this world, but it is a tasty tea that I could serve to any guest. It’s smooth and uncomplicated, just what a late afternoon or evening tea should taste like. Overall 7/10 Flavor- 7/10 Aroma- 8/10 Presentation- 7/10
Posted by Rachel at Tuesday ~ September 11, 2007 | No Comments
Category: White Tea, Tea Reviews
Decaf your Own Tea
For some tea lovers having a cup is a two sided sword. One side filled with the elegant flavors and relaxing aromas and the other with caffeinated jitters. Personally I drink me tea in the morning to get a kick from the caffeine, but lots of people out there are sensitive to this stimulant. For those of you who want all the flavor without the jitters try this simple method to turn your caffeinated tea in to decaf. 1. Select tea you wish to drink, and steep it for 30 seconds in boiling water. 2. Take the wet leaves and steep in fresh boiled water. 3. Enjoy your newly decaf drink. This method will take away around 80% of the caffeine in your drink, which is also an excellent way to make tea at night if you get a craving and want to get to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Posted by CB at Thursday ~ March 15, 2007 | 4 Comments
Category: White Tea, Recipes, Tea Processing, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Green Tea, Tea, Health Benefits, Uncategorized
Read Tea Leaves
Tea has so many great attributes, everything from increasing mental ability to fighting off harmful bacteria. It doesn’t surprise me that tea has also been associated with mysticism. Looking in to the future by interpreting how tea leaves fall at the bottom of a steeped cup has been practiced by cultures in Asia, the Middle East and even ancient Greece. Each culture independently began engaging in tea leaf reading, which is known as tasseography. Well now you can give it a shot as well: 1. You make a cup of tea with loose tea leaves 2. Drink the tea, while making sure not to ingest the leaves. 3. Then comes the tricky part, letting your imagination spot symbolism in the way the tea leaves lie. Some symbols and their meanings aresnake (enmity or falsehood), spade (good fortune through industry), mountain (journey of hindrance), or house (change, success). A whole list of symbols and their meanings is available here. Vola, now hopefully you will be able to read the future! If you got the knack at reading the symbolism tell me what the heck is going on in the show LOST.
Posted by CB at Wednesday ~ March 14, 2007 | 1 Comment
Category: White Tea, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Green Tea, Uncategorized
23 Reasons to Drink Tea
Posted by CB at Friday ~ March 02, 2007 | 5 Comments
Category: Tea Facts, White Tea, History of Tea, Health Benefits, Green Tea, Tea, Uncategorized
The best way to prepare White Tea
It is not a well known fact that White tea may be the healthiest option of all the teas (debatable!). But what’s not debatable is the fact that it undergoes no fermenatation and very minimal processing. White tea contains little caffeine and has the same benefits as green tea. But a word to the wise: avoid white tea if you suffer from *ahem* stomach problems. Anyways, here is the best way to prepare yourself a great White tea experience: Recommended tea is Sri Lankan Ceylon Amount of Tea Leaf: 10g (0.35 oz, light 3 tsp.) Brew and Enjoy!
Water Temperature: Boiling
Water Amount: 650ml (22 fl.oz)
Brewing Time: 3 minutes
Temp. When Served: 80C (180F)
Amt. of Brewed Tea/ Cup: 120ml (4 fl.oz)
Whole Amt. of Brewed Tea: 600ml (20 fl.oz)
Posted by CB at Thursday ~ March 01, 2007 | 1 Comment
Category: White Tea, Recipes, Tea Facts, Health Benefits, Tea, Uncategorized