Research Shows Tea Reduces Risks

In recent animal studies, green and black teas have been associated with a reduced risk of skin cancer and a reduced number of tumors in the stomach and intestines. Epidemiological studies also suggest that a lifetime consumption of black tea is associated with a reduced risk of some cancers.

The Tea Association of the United States of America reports that promising preliminary studies have shown a correlation between tea consumption and the reduced risk of certain types of cancer, including breast, lung and skin cancers and cancer of the mouth.

Several in vitro studies describe possible mechanisms for the anticarcinogenic potential, including tea flavonoids’ ability to bind directly to carcinogens, to induce cell death and arrest, and to inhibit other actions believed to be involved in cancer risk. – TEAUSA.org

Tea is a healthful food that tastes delicious. To read more about ongoing cancer studies visit Tea and Cancer at TeaUSA.org

Well Thanksgiving weekend is over and it was just as I had hoped, good food, being around the ones you love and a time to give thanks. I went to a service this morning and I heard “be the miracle”. To me, there could be no better way to end these last few days…enjoy what we have, love and give to others unconditionally, and appreciate all the blessing in our lives. Make every day special…what ever the day might entail.

We each have the chance to make a difference, we each have the opportunity to make the lives around us better. The greatest gift of Thanksgiving day is it makes us take pause to remember what is truly important…okay now time for a cup of tea!

Charleston Tea Plantation

Almost 200 years ago, tea planters brought their finest ancestral tea bushes from China and India to Wadmalaw Island near the historic old city of Charleston, South Carolina. On May 11, 2006, R.C. Bigelow was able to celebrate the historic occasion of re-opening the fully-restored Charleston Tea Plantation.

Established in 1888 in Summerville, South Carolina, the Plantation was a national producer of black tea until 1915. It was then derelict for 45 years. In 1960 the Lipton Tea Company purchased the Plantation and moved it to the present, more suitable location on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina. By this time the plantation was the only functional, commercial tea plantation in North America.

In 1987, Lipton sold the Plantation to tea expert Bill Hall and his partner. The next year they created the American Classic tea brand from the tea leaves grown there.

R.C. Bigelow purchased the Plantation in 2003. Since then Bigelow Tea has made significant investments working closely with Bill Hall to modernize the Plantation, make it capable of processing high-quality black tea, and fine tune it to make it visitor friendly.

Today the 127 acre Charleston Tea Plantation is open to visitors. Direct descendants of the original plants brought from China and India almost 200 years ago have been lovingly restored to their former grandeur in the Charleston Tea Plantation, a lush subtropical tea farm.

Tea American Style

In the western world, America is second only to Great Britain in tea consumption. We drink nearly 50 billion cups every year – 40 billion of those are iced tea. Iced Tea is, in fact, an American phenomenon. It was an instant hit when hot tea was served over ice at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. How cool is that?

For the Best Hot Tea:
Bring fresh cold tap water to a full, rolling boil.
Use one teaspoonful of tea or one tea bag per 5-ounce. cup of water.
Poor the boiling water over the tea.
Brew 3-5 minutes.
If you prefer your tea less strong, add more water after the brewing period.

For the Best Iced Tea:
Follow the directions for making hot tea, but use 50% more tea to allow for melting ice. For example, use 4 tea bags to make 4 cups of hot tea, but 6 tea bags to make 4 glasses of iced tea.
For a two-quart pitcher, add 15 tea bags or 1/5 cup loose tea to 1 quart of freshly drawn cold water brought to a full boil.
Stir and let stand 5 minutes.
Stir again and remove the tea bags or strain into a pitcher containing 1 quart of freshly drawn cold water. .

Tea goes well with any meal or snack. Sip tea year round with breakfast, lunch or dinner. In the afternoon, pause for a tall refreshing glass and a light snack, or treat yourself to a hot mug of tea on a blustery winter night.

I do not know if any of you are Pumpkin lovers (actually I did not even know that I was!) but I have to tell you I LOVE the new tea my sister just created; it is a black tea product called “Pumpkin Spice”. It may sound like a commercial, but I think it is so good I had to tell you….the secret is in making it up just right — Steep 4 minutes till it is very strong, add milk and sweetener. I am telling you…it is great!!!!!!!!

The Journal, Psychopharmacology, published a research study by University College London that revealed new scientific evidence that black tea has a positive effect on stress hormones in the body. The study showed that people who drink tea four times a day for six weeks reacted to stress more quickly than those who drank a tea-like substitute. What the study found was that the tea drinks had lowered levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in the bloodstream after a stressful event.

Bill Gorman of The UK Tea Council said; “This new research adds to the evidence that drinking tea is good for you. Not only does tea hydrate and offer some protection against heart disease and some cancers, it’s now proven to de-stress too. It’s great to know that a cuppa, one of life’s great comforts, can be enjoyed not just for the taste but also for its health benefits.”

Wanted to share with you a very special experience.

I had the honor of talking to almost 200 women a couple of weeks ago who were trying to start their own businesses. What an invigorating experience to be around that many women with the entrepreneurial spirit.

I had the good fortune to talk to them about leadership, bringing out the best from their teams, and the value of developing themselves by getting out in the community and giving back.

Every once in awhile, you look back at what just happened and you take pause. I think about what they are trying to do and what my grandmother did 61 years ago.

Ruth Campbell Bigelow was quite a pioneer back in 1945. I think she would have been proud to know that the company she started back during the depression is now being used as a role model for the woman of today — it really goes to show life is a full circle.

What does a supermodel do when she’s working? If you’re British beauty, Kate Moss, you hang around at home wearing a baggy sweater, drinking tea. Then you take a call about your latest contract.

It’s all part of Kate’s new commercial with Virgin Records in which she waits at home, while a friend goes to find her a contract — for her mobile phone — at the Virgin Record store.

Kate’s a huge fan of drinking tea — she drinks up to 12 cups a day. She’s also a hidden hobbyist of reading tea leaves. A friend’s mom reads Kate’s tea leaves for her. . . .I wonder whether Kate’s leaves predicted that she would get a phone call from a friend at the Virgin mobile store? Kate’s ad appears online at Kate Moss Contract.

After ten years of research , scientists in the U.K. say that drinking four cups of tea daily might be better for you than drinking water. Principle researcher, Dr Carrie Ruxton, stated, ‘There is now overwhelming evidence that drinking tea every day can be beneficial to heart health.”

Contrary to the popular belief that pure water is the best for hydration, tea has additional positive benefits over water, it fights the harmful cell damage of oxidants.  So that cup of tea Mom brought when you were sick was the right idea. Pass on the tradition with confidence that tea also offers the healthful effects of antioxidants.

As more and more men are trying green tea because of all of the health benefits, we were delighted to learn that Joe Torre, Phil Simms and Chris Simms all drank Bigelow Green Tea. All three had unique stories about how they started drinking Bigelow Green Tea, starting with Joe Torre. Joe’s nutritionist told him to make green tea a regular part of his diet after his bout with prostate cancer in 1999, and so Joe drinks anywhere from six to eight cups of iced green tea during each game:

During the sixth inning of every game I have a soy shake and throughout the game I will drink anywhere from six to eight cups of iced green tea. Both are supposed to play a preventive role against prostate cancer and since I like the taste, it’s not a problem.

For me, it was so great meeting Joe Torre during our advertising photo shoot in Central Park in New York City. He was a complete delight with all of the fans that day.

Growing up I was a huge Willie Mays fan and followed the San Francisco Giants every year. When I told Joe about being a Willie Mays fan, he said he also grew up a New York Giants fan and loved watching Willie Mays play. Green tea and sports legends like Joe Torre have made my job very exciting!