wbwingert asked:

Souvia Tea on the SmartShopper program on ABC15

Lora

Teya Zary asked:




Making your own herbal tea bags can save you a ton of money if you have been buying your favorites in tea bags at the grocery or tea shop.

We have a few great tips to share with you so you can create your own delicious fillable herbal style tea bags at home.

The first step is to find some empty, fillable tea bags. These are usually available at a local tea shop and are sold by 50 or 100 tea bags in a lot. They will only set you back a couple of dollars. Most of these fillable tea bags have a fold over top and a wide opening, making it easy for you to fill your own herbal tea bags with ease.

Now, take a moment and think of your favorite herbal tea. Is it fruity and spicey? Maybe an apple cinnamon herbal tea takes your fancy, or maybe you like minty and soothing, like a sleepy tea, then peppermint chamomile is the one for you!

Only you can decide the best blend for you. It is common to have herbal teas blended with black, green or white tea as well, if you wish to blend loose tea with your herbs, just make sure you have some on hand.

So, let’s say you like apple cinnamon teas. Just take a 1/2 teaspoon of loose black tea, add 1/4 teaspoon of dried apple, and 1/4 inch of a cinnamon stick. Now fold over your tea bag and you are ready to go!

You can apply this technique to any type of herbal tea you like. No need to pay a high price for purchased herbal teas, just experiment and you will create some amazing herbal teas, and be proud to know you blended them yourself.

Jessica

Connor R Sullivan asked:




All around the world tea is replacing coffee as the new hip drink. Most have never ventured beyond the plain teabags offered in the supermarket, but many café style venues now offer all flavors of organic black tea, green tea, white tea and red tea. These can be served in the typical teabag style or simmered at the table in special cups designed to hold loose leaf tea. Some teahouses even offer medicinal tea. Medicinal teas are either Western style teas with usually one main herb designed to have a simple effect, such as calm the stomach or aid in sleeping, while Eastern style teas generally use many herbs in a specific combination for a more balanced effect.

There are whole businesses being grown around the use of tea in the healing arena. In many large cities tea markets have become so popular that businesses are able to sell tea for only one purpose, such as selling only tonics, which are teas that are made to strengthen various systems of the body. Pharmacies specifically for the use of teas used in a medicinal way are thriving. These herbal teas are used for every kind of ailment and must be prescribed by a practitioner such as a Licensed Acupuncturist, who has a large base of knowledge in Eastern herbal remedies. Large pharmaceutical companies have begun to take notice and are trying to incorporate such remedies into their market.

While Western medicine is quick to say that the effectiveness of these ancient Chinese healing teas is anecdotal, the practitioners and the patients who use them find that in many cases the teas are more effective and have less adverse effects than the stronger drugs used. Since Western medicine does not offer much in the way of strengthening or actually healing a system this is one area where people are definitely seeking out other means to get well. This is also why these teas are the ones most used in the general population.

The downside of herbal remedies is that they are often transported from overseas where the laws regulating health are different than those in the United States. Also, as many see herbal teas as benign, they take them without the guidance of a health practitioner. This can lead to wrong or over-usage, such as in the case of the overuse of Ma Huang or Ephedra, which is an excellent herb for opening the lungs, but when used used indiscriminately or for weight loss which is never the way an herb such as this would be used by an Herbal medicine practitioner, there have been cases of heart attacks and even death. This herb has been made unavailable here for this reason.

Even supermarkets have jumped on the tea wagon and are now selling tea in every combination, with every kind of fruit juice, and even adding vitamins and other supplements to increase the tea’s ability to sell. Gone are the days of quietly slipping a bag into hot water and silently sipping it. Tea is hip. Tea is cool. Tea is healing. And most of all, tea is marketable!

Dorthy

CoffeewizVideo asked:

www.coffeewiz.com Tavalon Tea Sommelier Chris Cason shares how YOU can use the innovative and revolutionary Gravity teapot to brew loose tea. When selecting loose tea consider your options; you may choose from one of four varieties green tea, black tea, herbal tea and white tea. Coffeewiz…

Mark

Ashley Kane asked:




It’s very apparent that drinking tea is becoming more than just a passing fancy for many people these days. Everywhere you look, there are different companies and brands and drinks. Tea is everywhere! And anyone who is a true connoisseur will tell you that in order to really be a part of that world, your first order of business is to find a supplier. You need to find a source that keeps you happy. Here’s how to find a good tea supplier.

First, it is a good idea to find a place that carries at least a handful of varieties of tea. You will want mostly loose leaf, but some bagged varieties never hurt if they are of high quality. You will want to find black, green, oolong and maybe a rooibos or herbal, along with some of their own concoctions and creations.

Whether or not the supplier you choose is online or off is completely up to you. Some people love to see the tea in front of them, while others are content with ordering online. There is no right or wrong. Just do whatever suits your personality best.

Next, you will want to sample and shop around. Since the taste and overall feeling you get from drinking the tea will guide your ultimate decision, it is important to try different teas before you decide on just one supplier. Visit tea shops both online and off to find what you are looking for.

The bottom line is, drinking tea is a very individual pursuit, and it is supposed to be an extremely enjoyable part of your life. You want your overall experience from browsing, to selecting to drinking to be a pleasurable one. Just let your instincts guide you and remember to keep an open mind.

It may take some time, but if you are a tea lover, you know that find the right supplier is of the utmost importance when it comes to the ultimate cup of tea.

Marilyn

CoffeewizVideo asked:

Watch Tavalon Tea Sommelier Chris Cason as he introduces you to making the perfect cup of tea without the hassle of plungers, paper filters, and clunky tea balls thanks to Tavalon’s gravity teapot. The 18-ounce teapot uses direct immersion to create full-flavored teas. To make tea, simply deposit loose tea leaves into the teamaker and add hot water. After steeping for 3 to 5 minutes, teas ready. Placing the teamaker on top of a mug triggers the gravity-flow filter, pouring tea into the cup while keeping leaves in the maker. When your cups filled to the brim, just lift the brewer and the flow stops.

Joseph

EnJie Song asked:




Office workers increasingly indulge in their favorite loose leaf teas at the office. All of us need to reward ourselves at various times as a motivator to keep going for additional effort or attention. At other times we need time-out to recover our sense of ourselves and calm down.

Office kitchens can thwart our attempts at achieving that perfect brew of our expensive boutique loose leaf tea. Whilst standard office kitchen equipment often supports cafe style coffee machines in support of the coffee addicts, the most the tea drinker can expect is a hot water urn.

The traditional tea pot could solve these issues but the modern office only allow a certain amount of space. A teapot will consume too much and may not suite your image at the office (ie not a masculine look for the tea loving guys).

Tea takes time to “draw”(brew) – the modern office worker can’t afford to be seen loitering too long in the kitchen. Once the cup is poured, there is usually some tea in the teapot left to stew before serving a second cup.

A tea pot may work well for a group of tea enthusiasts. However enthusiasts all have their particular favorite with the issue of who decides which tea will be brewed today for morning tea?

With a teapot in the office there is also the need for tea strainer to get rid of the leaves (more equipment to bring to work!) so they are not scattered around the sink after rinsing the cup.

Some will use the hot water urn to fill their cups with a quantity of loose tea leaves and drink from the cup as this brews. This is workable – but not ideal. It has the advantage that the tea can brew at the desk and be consumed at the same time. It does not however allow optimal brewing to taste. The result is that tea can become bitter unless consumed fast and repeated infusions are more insipid.

A solution to these dilemmas can be found in the “tea infuser all in one” – a glass cup with a glass infuser chamber/lid on top. There is a mechanism to release the tea once brewed from the chamber via the strainer into the glass vessel serving as a cup below.

o Loose tea leaves are placed in the chamber and filled with hot water.
o The tea is released from the chamber to the tea cup or mug when brewing is completed – according to tea instructions for that tea type. The colour of the brew can be observed as an aide – since the infuser chamber is transparent.
o The tea can then be consumed – with infuser detached.
o The tea infuser supports repeat infusions, since the tea leaves are not stored in a brew.

This solves the issues of brewing tea at the office since the “tea infuser all in one”:

1. Is compact and office friendly: is a cup, pot and strainer in one vessel.
2. Differs from a coffee plunger arrangement adapted to brew teas, since once the tea is brewed, it is drained. The tea leaves are not soaked to make the tea too strong, too dark with a rather bitter and unpleasant flavor.
3. Tea leaves are held by the infuser (ie they don’t float in the cup).
4. The detachable infuser facilitates easy removal and disposal of tea leaves.
5. The whole process supports tea brewing at a desk – no mess to wipe up.

You can now brew easily at the office by loading your “tea infuser all in one” with loose tea at your desk, walk to the office kitchen, fill with hot water to brew on the walk back to the desk/meeting room. Repeat infusions can be enjoyed at a time that suites (ie after the meeting), and leaves cleaned and discarded easily at a time of your choosing.

The “tea infuser all in one” is compact, convenient and very easy to use. It can make a day in the office easier, healthier and more enjoyable. The “tea infuser all in one” also makes a great gift for the office warrior you know. There are different types and sizes, with a larger version available for those generous enough to want to share their indulgent brew with others.

Letha

Jon Stout asked:




Traditionally, the marketplace for loose leaf tea drinkers in the United States has been limited.
Although loose leaf tea was extremely popular in colonial times, the consumption of loose leaf tea gradually changed and recently the American market for tea has been generally confined to iced tea and tea in bags.

Loose leaf tea was introduced to America at the same time of introduction to Europe. As early as 1650 Dutch traders were active in the tea trade and Peter Stuyvesant, as an early governor of the New York colony, brought the first tea to New York. Loose leaf tea was so popular in colonial New York that at one time the small colony consumed more loose leaf tea than all of England. This popularity was equally evident in the other colonies.

Gradually however, the American tea market changed. America made two unique contributions to the tea world in the form of iced tea and the tea bag and both were invented in the early 1900’s. Presently, 80% of the tea consumed in the United States is iced tea and of the remaining 20% of tea consumption, most is consumed in the form of bagged tea.

There is growing resurgence of demand for loose leaf tea in the United States however, driven by a greater awareness of the health benefits and quality of the loose leaf tea experience. As demand increases, new opportunities arise for the entrepreneur who wishes to market and sell loose leaf tea.

The total number of loose leaf tea products and annual volume and value levels within the U.S. have reached record levels. In fact, 2003 sales levels of loose leaf tea sold in the U.S. reached nearly $1.1 billion, representing an increase of 15% over total retail volume sold in 2002. Total sales of all types of tea–conventional and specialty–products sold in the U.S. topped $5.1 billion in 2003 with virtually all of the volume and value growth being derived from value-added, loose leaf teas.

The 5th Edition of the “Tea is ‘Hot’ Report,” which is published annually by Sage Group International, Seattle, WA, forecasts tea sales will reach $10 billion by 2010. This conclusion is based largely on the projected demands of American “baby boomers”, who are increasingly embracing loose leaf tea as their primary daily beverage. In 1990, annual sales of all specialty and conventional tea in the U.S. totaled less than $1 billion.

For much of the last five years tea-based beverage products made from and packaged as “conventional tea” have been experiencing flat or declining sales in the face of mounting “cannibalization” of the category from “new age” drinks specialty coffee and soda pop, while most loose leaf tea categories are experiencing double-digit growth, primarily in U.S. natural foods supermarkets. Annual sales growth of 15% or even higher has been common for many loose leaf tea lines between 2000 and 2004, especially those offering certified organic, chai, green and functional tea beverages.

The key factor in this rapid growth and demand however, is quality. Loose leaf tea is all about quality and only those tea companies that maintain consistent product quality will grow along with the market.

Elsie

Eric Cho asked:




For centuries, China medicine has included green tea as one of the most popular supplements for overall health. Today, western cultures have studied the effects of green tea and focused heavily on the effects green tea has on the body in regards to weight loss. Green tea is one of the most effective supplements when you want to lose weight and keep it off.

o Increasing metabolism – Green tea is a natural source of caffeine. Caffeine helps to increase the heart rate and thus increase the bodies expenditure of calories. The more calories the body needs, the more it will burn and the higher the body’s metabolism. Green tea can be consumed in tea form or taken as a supplement to increase overall body metabolism.

o Natural Fat Burner – Along the same lines, the increased metabolism will cause an increase in the bodies need for calories. Once the carbohydrate stores are used up, the body will turn to fat as a source of fuel. Green tea helps to increase the bodies metabolism and thus the fat burning on a daily basis.

o Glucose Regulation – Green tea helps to regulate the body’s natural glucose levels. When glucose levels dip sharply which commonly occurs after a meal full of carbohydrates, the body feels the need for another boost of quick energy. These cravings are a huge downfall during dieting for weight loss. Green tea helps to balance these glucose levels so you never feel those cravings.

o Appetite Reduction – When using green tea on a regular basis, the appetite tends to balance out. The less hungry you are from meal to meal, the less food you will eat and the more weigh you will lose. In one study, rats were injected with green tea and the results were a reduction in appetite leading to a calorie consumption 60% less than the rats not using the green tea.

o Calorie Reduction – Believe it or not, the caffeine amounts in green tea are very similar to those found in that morning cup of Java. Unfortunately, many people do not drink coffee black, and the added sugar and creamer drive the calorie amounts for coffee through the roof. If you want to get that morning going right, substitute your coffee in the morning with a fresh cup of hot green tea. You will see the difference on the scale!

Green tea is one of the most highly researched natural supplements used today. If you want to naturally boost your metabolism, eat less and lose more weight, green tea consumed as iced tea, hot tea and through the use of green tea supplements is a great choice for your waist.

Vanessa

zhiteavd08 asked:

www.zhitea.com Dr Oolong will show you how Steeping Loose Tea Is Easy With A Teapot! Also, visit his blog at www.doctoroolong.com

Lora