image via retronaut.com
Monthly Archives: December 2011
Tea , tea and more tea!!

I got a really fun shipment of tea in the mail yesterday — 4 oz. of Prosperous Peach Oolong, 2 oz. of Six Summits Oolong, Lemon Lime Kampai Rooibos, Torroco Ruby Orange Herbal and a sample of some sort of blend — All from Teavana’s Heavenly Sale. And no, I do not work for them — but I just love their stuff. If you haven’t checked out their once – a -year Heavenly sale, then don’t wait much longer because many of the teas are already out of stock. They are also putting new teas on their sale list — Zocolatte Spice is one that I ordered last night, along with Scarlet Cloud White. I’ve only spent about $40 so far and I’ve gotten TONS of great tea!
Teavana’s Heavenly Sale Starts Today
Lots of really good stuff is on sale. I got 2 oolongs, a green and an herbal! Enter the code: 5OFF30 and you will save $5 when you spend $30! We have a store where I live, but ordering online provided me with the opportunity to save even more. This is my favorite tea sale of the year and I look forward to it! I’ve had a gift card that I’ve been saving just for this sale!
Cozy tea
My cousin gave me this cute coffee/tea cup sweater! It’s perfect for my glass tea infuser! I have got to figure out how to knit one of these1
Persimmon Leaf Tea
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia
When I had my second baby, a friend who lives in Korea sent me a really cool “baby” gift: persimmon leaf tea. Great concept – new mommies need a little present as well, and for me, tea is one of the nicest gifts I could possibly get!
The following information is courtesy of Mother Nature to You Herbal Green Teas. Keep on reading…
According to multiple sources the Chinese Academy of the Sciences found that this particular tea contains a large variety of Vitamin C, tannins, flavonoids, rutin, choline carotenoids, amino acids. In addition, the tea were found to contain 10 elements: Magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), titanium (Ti), calcium (Ca), phosphorous (P), and more. These elements are found to aid to healthy bodily functions. Compared to other teas, persimmon leaf tea contains a higher level of health and nutritional benefits. Analysis has shown persimmon leaf tea
Persimmon Leaf Tea from Korea
contains up to 10 times the amount of Vitamin C, tannins, flavonoids, rutin, choline and essential amino acid(Study conducted 1980. CAS). A Korean Study concluded that persimmon tea contains 3.5~20.8 times more vitamin C than green tea!
In a study conducted by the Department of Food Science & Nutrition, at the Catholic University Of Taegu-Hyosung, Hayang 712-702, in Korea, it was found that “Persimmon leaves, which are a good source of important dietary antioxidants, such as vitamin A & C, and flavonoids, have been widely used as a tea in oriental countries. In particular, several tannins and flavonoids isolated from persimmon leaf were recently found to have antihypertensive, anticarcinogenic, and antimutagenic actions” . It is the tannins and flavonoids in Persimmon leaves that provide the anti-hypertensive, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-mutagenic properties.
Persimmon leaf, which contains astragalin, when taken orally, acts as a natural antihistamine and may help reduce allergic reactions as well.
Cute play tea!
There has always been play food…but lately, I have seen a lot of play tea! Check out this wooden tea bag steeping in its cup! Perfect for kid tea lovers, or mommies who desperately want their kids to become tea lovers.
’tis the season for holiday teas
I am not into sweets; when the dessert tray is passed around, I politely decline. There is one sweet holiday tradition, however, that I just can’t get enough of. Gingerbread is my little holiday dessert obsession. I only eat it this time of year, even though I could easily whip up a batch of cookies even in the heat of summer.
My aversion to sugar also transfers over to my love of tea. I don’t sweeten my teas. I’ll drink water over sweetened teas! I don’t think you can really appreciate the complexity of the leaf when you change it with a bunch of additional stuff in your cup! But — my tastes change during the holidays, and I really enjoy a gingerbread tea latte! This is totally opposite of my usual preferences! Anyway – if you embrace the flavors of the holidays like me then you’ll be happy to know that these are easy to make at home. Simply go through your tea pantry and find a basic black tea spruce it up with some spices. Most of us have ginger in our spice cabinet. Or — you can go the easy route and find a flavored tea from one of the big tea companies.
If you want to make it yourself, here is a yummy gingerbread syrup concoction (originally created to sweeten coffee – but it will work with tea) perfect for adding to a base of black tea. Sweeten to taste and leave room for a bit of half and half and you’ve got an awesome gingerbread tea latte.
If you want to try the flavored teas popular this time of year…get a good quality one. I’ve been happy with everything I’ve ever ordered from Adagio Teas.
