1st September, 2008: Where did the summer go?
It happens every year — we think to ourselves: Is it Labor Day already? Although traditionally thought of as the symbolic end of summer, Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September since the 1880s as a federally recognized “day off” honoring American workers.
What are your plans this Labor Day? Perhaps attending a traditional end of the summer barbecue? Taking one last dip in the ocean before heading home? Traveling to New York City where the first Labor Day Parade was held? Maybe you’ll catch some of the 43rd annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis? We recently spoke about this event, and Muscular Dystrophy in relation to green tea, in our blog, Raise a Cup or Seven to Green Tea Health and Hope.
Whatever your plans, before you begin putting most of your white clothes away, be sure to relax with a tall, cool glass of your favorite iced tea! For great iced tea recipe ideas, go here.
Posted by Julie at 6:00 am | Comment (1)
27th August, 2008: Tea Time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Many of us have been glued to our TVs ever since the Olympics began. In addition to being entertained by extraordinary athletic moments, we have also learned a lot about Chinese history and culture. One aspect being promoted by China, as host of the 2008 Olympics, is tea…
Tea originated in China and is even older than the Olympic games themselves, which were first held in 776 BC in Greece. Tea was first discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC.
Afternoon tea is served every day in the Olympic Village in a traditional tea room situated alongside acupuncture and massage salons. While sipping tea, athletes are treated to three tea-themed classical dancing shows performed by tea experts.
As another bit of “tea hospitality,” the Chinese Traditional Medicine Association created a tea of honeysuckle, ebony, green tea and citric acid designed specifically to cool down both visitors and athletes alike.
Next time you take your tea, you can feel like an Olympian too!
For more about Chinese Tea History, go here and here
Posted by Julie at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
25th August, 2008: Uma Thurman Will Really Need Her Favorite Tea Now
Uma Thurman to re-marry! According to People, Thurman’s Rep, Stephen Huvane confirmed that Uma and boyfriend, Arpad “Arki” Busson have announced their engagement but have not yet set a date. Can’t you picture her spending an afternoon sipping her favorite white tea while poring over bridal magazines or drinking Chai to calm her nerves as she plans her guest list?
Would you like to experience the quiet consolation of two very special teas or do you just want to try something a little different? Bigelow offers a perfect blend of spices and black tea in an amazing Chai that will melt away your stress and a truly delicate White Tea with a touch of tangerine to lift your spirits.
Posted by Ruth at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
22nd August, 2008: Quilted Cups
Do you enjoy homespun hobbies? We’ve found the perfect craft for tea lovers. In just a few hours you can enjoy tea cup wall décor with the look of quilting, even though no stitches are required!
Designed by Annabelle Keller for Dow, this tea-themed design is unique and easy and perfect for your home or gift-giving. To create the quilt, you’ll need approximately one yard of total fabric (in your favorite patterns), white craft glue and Styrofoam backing. You’ll also need a few craft utensils, including permanent marker, scissors and straight pins.
To get started, review the full supply list and instructions on the Teatime Quilt project page. Next, download the free pattern here. Finally, cut and glue your way to a tea-riffic wall hanging!
Posted by Brenda at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
20th August, 2008: Is Green Tea Heart Healthy?
A recent Time article poses the question ‘Does Green Tea Help the Heart?’ Something many new and long-time tea aficionados are interested in knowing in light of the flurry of recent health claims. Dr. Nikolaos Alexopoulos of the Athens Medical School in Greece and his team answer with a new study. “The study…was a randomized trial involving the diameter measurement (dilatation) of the brachial artery of healthy volunteers on three separate occasions - after taking green tea, caffeine, and hot water (for a placebo effect). The measurements were taken at 30, 90, and 120 minutes after consumption. Dilatation of the brachial artery as a result of increased blood flow (following a brief period of ischaemia of the upper limb) is related to endothelial function and is known to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk.
“Results showed that endothelium-dependent brachial artery dilatation increased significantly after drinking green tea, with a peak increase of 3.9 per cent 30 minutes after consumption. The effect of caffeine consumption (or hot water) was not significant.”
More simply, arteries were kept flexible and relaxed allowing better blood flow and providing protection against changes in blood pressure.
“The American Heart Association does not yet include the beverage in its dietary recommendations, however, more studies like this one” and other insights provided by experts, like the information previously presented in this Bigelow® post or this Bigelow® post with videos may change that. But why wait? Be proactive. Think tea, drink green.
Posted by Ruth at 6:00 am | Comments (2)
19th August, 2008: Tea Cups for People on the Go
Modern society moves at an ever-increasing pace. In fact, the typical tea cup may now be out-of-step with our hustle-and-bustle world as much as we’d hate to admit it. As Alexis at the My Tea Cups blog notes, “tea cups are works of art, and I try to enjoy every bit of tea in a beautiful cup as often as possible. However, there are times when I don’t have those precious moments to sit and sip, and I have to take my tea on the go and drink it from an oh so boring paper cup.”
That’s the dilemma facing many of us. Until now, that is. Alexis’ post goes on to introduce a new type of to go cup. One that’s not only convenient, but that’s also environment-friendly. As Alexis describes it, her find is a “porcelain cup with silicone lid that looks like a paper cup.”
If you need to take your tea time on the run, be sure to check this out for yourself here.
Posted by Brenda at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
13th August, 2008: Raise a Cup or Seven to Green Tea, Health, and Hope
It is a certain thing that everyone knows about Jerry’s Kids. After all, Mr. Lewis has devoted himself to a lifetime of raising the public’s awareness of Muscular Dystrophy; offering information and support through the auspices of MDA, to the families who live with it in their midst each day.
The optimism and the research never stop. A recent study suggests that a high intake of green tea might protect against muscle cell death in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Researchers have found that an intake equivalent to seven cups of green tea per day decreased muscle wasting in one type of leg muscle in dystrophic laboratory mice.
There is an increase in oxidative damage when dystrophin is abnormal, and it has been suggested that the tea acts as an antioxidant and helps to combat oxidative stress. This result has not been tested in humans but green tea is generally safe for individuals with neuromuscular conditions to drink.
So, even though more research is required to back up these initial findings, you can raise a cup of green tea to hope and health.
Posted by Ruth at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
12th August, 2008: The Making of a Teapot
Bigelow Tea is the provider of more than just wonderful tea. They also carry teapots that are functional, decorative and in some cases crafted by hand, as in the Beehive Tea Set pictured below which you can find on the Bigelow Tea website. So what does functional and decorative mean and how does the artisan go about creating the items that round out our tea experience? Russell Andavall and Maja Tarateta explain the differences:
Beehive Tea Set, a touch of decorative whimsy
Russell Andavall is a multi-media artist and the owner of FireGod Arts. He writes this about functional ceramic art:
Functional Ceramic Art reaches quintessence when the potter achieves a well-balanced teapot that pours without dribbling, is not too delicate for use or too heavy to lift, and has a lid that does not tumble off while pouring. The well-crafted teapot also includes the basic design elements of artistic pottery.
Maja Tarateta from bnet.com discovers for us, through a series of interviews with gallery owners, that Functional Ceramic Art achieves Decorative Ceramic Art when an artist takes something we use daily and re-creates it as an abstract sculpture. The teapot form becomes a blank canvas to be turned into something that everyone can derive pleasure from.
Creating a Teapot
Our thanks go out to Neil Patterson Workshop for providing this image
For Viewing: Video Step by Step How to Make a Teapot with Clay
Posted by Ruth at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
8th August, 2008: Noritake: The Story behind a Tea Set
The beautiful tea set from Bigelow Tea pictured below was manufactured by a Japanese company known as Noritake, whose table ware and decorative items from the past and the present are prized by collectors today for their beauty and craftsmanship.
Noritake was founded in 1878 by Baron Ichizaemon Morimura in the decade following the opening of Japan’s doors to the rest of the world for trade. He established “Morimura Brothers” in New York for the purpose of importing china and other items. In a bid to ensure that the highest quality Western style tableware was being produced for his import company “he founded a new company called Nippon Toki Gomei Kaisha in the village of Noritake, near Nagoya, on January 1, 1904” and began work on producing what is, to this day, some of the most desirable china in the world. Noritake Co. Ltd. was established in the United States in 1947. ~ See sources below ~ quote taken from Histories of China Manufacturers: refer to sources.
A Modern Day Noritake Tea Set
For viewing: A photo of an artisan at work in the factory circa 1955
For Viewing: A photo of the inside of the Noritake museum — a working factory
Of Interest: International Nippon Collectors’ Club
Source: Noritake Japan
Source: Histories of China Manufacturers
Posted by Ruth at 6:00 am | Comment (1)
6th August, 2008: Green Tea Extracts Might Put Obstructive Sleep Apnea to Rest
Is obstructive sleep apnea a nightmare for you? If it is, you are not alone. This disorder affects more than 12 million people in the United States, but there is some suggestion that green tea extracts might allow sufferers to rest easier.
ScienceDaily reports— “Chemicals found in green tea may be able to stave off the cognitive deficits that occur with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a new study published in the second issue for May of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.” The study, conducted on 106 male Sprague-Dawley rats, suggests that Oral supplements of green tea–derived polyphenols reduces the neural susceptibility to intermittent hypoxia during sleep.
The researchers divided the rats into two groups that then underwent intermittent oxygen depletion during the 12-hour “night” cycle for 14 days. One group received drinking water treated with GTP; the other received plain drinking water. Afterwards, researchers tested the two groups for markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, as well as for performance in spatial learning and memory tasks — namely a water “maze” in which the rats had to memorize the location of a hidden platform. The IH-rats that received the green tea-treated water performed significantly better in the water maze than the rats that drank plain water. “GTP-treated rats exposed to IH displayed significantly greater spatial bias for the previous hidden platform position, indicating that GTPs are capable of attenuating IH-induced spatial learning deficits,” Dr. Gozal wrote, adding that GTPs “may represent a potential interventional strategy for patients” with sleep-disordered breathing.
Perhaps a cup of green tea may be worth a try if restful sleep is eluding you…
Posted by Ruth at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
