... It was bound to happen...

And so, as it would happen, I was sitting here writing with one of my
favorite teas beside me. Peach Melba from SBSteas.com. I adore this tea.
It's one of the ones that after purchasing an ounce for review purposes I
bought a pound. It is one of my all time favorite teas.

My little cottage has recently been rearranged so I only have my little
file box on the floor beside me. I sat my tea there. All of a sudden,
amidst deep thinking while answering an e-mail, I heard lapping. LOUD
lapping. I looked down and there was Moe, my lab-doby mix, lapping up the
tea with great delight.

I'm not sure this is something SBS Teas wants to use as a billboard ad,
but I thought the rest of you might get a kick out of it, and hey, now you
have both MY recommendation and my dog's.

You just never know what's going to happen when you get up in the
morning...

Labels: black tea, doberman, dog, email, laborador, peach melba, pets, sbsteas.com, teas

Sizzling Love Potion
by Rachel Johnston

1 cups water
1/4 cup honey
1 cup apple juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 oz SBS Teas Spicy Cabana Boy Tea

Prepare tea in a separate container
Bring water and juice to a boil. Stir in honey and cinnamon. Add the Spicy Cabana Boy Tea. Remove from heat. Let stand for a few minutes, add whip, sit back, sip and fall in love! Caution this beverage is hot hot HOT! :)

Camomile Tea

Outside the sky is light with stars;
There's a hollow roaring from the sea.
And, alas! for the little almond flowers,
The wind is shaking the almond tree.

How little I thought, a year ago,
In the horrible cottage upon the Lee
That he and I should be sitting so
And sipping a cup of camomile tea.

Light as feathers the witches fly,
The horn of the moon is plain to see;
By a firefly under a jonquil flower
A goblin toasts a bumble-bee.

We might be fifty, we might be five,
So snug, so compact, so wise are we!
Under the kitchen-table leg
My knee is pressing against his knee.

Our shutters are shut, the fire is low,
The tap is dripping peacefully;
The saucepan shadows on the wall
Are black and round and plain to see.

Katherine Mansfield (1888 - 1923)

For thousands of years, the Chinese people have been drinking tea because of its refreshing and soothing effects. Like all three of the major Asian teas in the market, black tea comes from the plant called Camellia sinensis. But the difference between the tea types lies in how the leaves are processed, not on where they come from.

In the case of black tea, the leaves are first dried and then fermented. Black tea undergoes full oxidation, which actually accounts for its aromatic and rich taste. Compared to green tea and oolong or black dragon tea, black tea has a fuller taste and tastes better with age.

However, black tea is not only known for its intriguing flavor (comparable to wine!). New research suggests that it may be a major contributor of health-promoting nutrients in the U.S. diet.

Black tea health benefits lies in the presence of flavonoids in tea. Before, scientists believed that the process of fermentation changed the beneficial flavonoid polyphenol in black tea into another form, which is not thought to have any beneficial effects at all. However, newer studies showed that polyphenol or not, black tea health benefits can certainly do you a lot of good.

Below are the top black tea health benefits enjoyed by those who love their cup of tea every morning:

Antioxidants

This is actually the one black tea health benefit you can get from drinking tea. Antioxidants are substances commonly found in vegetables, fruits, and beverages such as tea. Because of their disease-fighting abilities, antioxidants have been the subject of various scientific studies investigating their many benefits, from heart disease to cancer prevention.

Think of antioxidants as the rust-oleum paint that you put on your outdoor furniture to keep it from rusting. Just as oxygen in the air around us cause iron to rust, the oxygen particles in our blood can sometimes be destructive. In scientific circles, they call these highly reactive oxygen-containing substances as free radicals, and they are the reason why our body undergo massive cellular damage as we age or undergo degenerative diseases like cancer and heart illness.

The function of black tea health benefit antioxidants is to seek out these free radicals and destroy them. In so doing, these black tea health benefit antioxidants help protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution.

Caffeine

Unless you consider yourself a coffee connoisseur, one black tea health benefit that you would surely appreciate is its caffeine content. Black tea does the job that your coffee does – that is, to give you a little push as you wake up in the morning after pulling up an all-nighter. But while coffee has the unfortunate reputation of causing heart palpitations because of too much drinking (and hence, too much caffeine), your chance of suffering the same with drinking black tea is nil. That’s because black tea has two to three times less caffeine than coffee. An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg. caffeine, while black tea contains only 30 to 40 mg. per cup.

Rene Graeber graduated from the University of Munic in Educational and Sports Science and from the Paracelsus School of Medicine in Hamburg from Naturopathic Medicine.

A note from SBS Teas:

Articles, contents, and informations presented on this site are for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional.

Be sure to browse the large variety of flavored and unflavored Black Teas and Accessories that SBSteas.com offers for your everyday needs.

Green tea has been used as for medical remedies in China since ancient times. It was said to have many health benefits and be a remedy for many ailments. It is also said that the Japanese owe their slim figures to green tea.

Today, scientist in Asia and the west are providing scientific evidence that green tea is a benefit to our health. An anti-oxidant call EGCG that is in green tea is the main cause of this.

Green tea has been shown to do many things including:

- Inhibit the growth of new cancer cells and kill existing cancer cells

- Promote weight loss helping the body burn up to 10 percent more body fat.

- Increase energy expenditure up to 4 percent.

- Prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol.

- Reduce the risk of colon, breast, and lung cancer.

- Boost the immune system.

- Have an anti-inflammatory effect making it a good supplement for those with arthritis.

- Help in the prevention of tooth decay.

Green Tea Differs from Other Types of Tea

What makes green tea different from other tea is the process in which it is made. Made from the plant of Camellia sinensis, the leaves are steamed after being removed from the plant so that oxidation of the leaves is prevented. By doing this the leaves remain green and active substances that are contained in the leaves keep their healthful qualities.

Side Effects of Green Tea

There are no reported harmful side effects in drinking green tea or taking green tea extract capsules. Thus making green tea one of the best supplements available.

Use of Green Tea

There are many ways of supplementing your diet with green tea:

- Drinking green tea: 2 to 3 cups daily.


About the Author:
Josie Anderson is a personal trainer and is the owner of http://www.weight-loss-program-101.com providing weight loss resources to help with many weight loss goals and overall general health.

A note from SBS Teas:

Articles, contents, and informations presented on this site are for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional.

Be sure to browse the large variety of Green Teas and Herbal Health Tisanes that SBSteas.com offers for your everyday needs.

Here at SBS Teas, we offer organic lavender buds and lavender sugar. Recently a wonderful customer asked how to use our lavender sugar. Here are some tips on use and a nice recipe.

Lavender sugar is great in pink lemonade, over desserts, on top of cake frosting and much more. It is really good in earl grey and regular black tea.

The fresh organic lavender buds actually flavors the tea in a natural way instead of using a chemical type flavoring.

Brenda Hyde of Old Fashioned Living offers up this recipe:

Lavender Lemon Shortbread

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest of one large lemon
1 tablespoon lavender flowers, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lavender sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until well blended and light. Sift the flour and salt together in another bowl, and add to the butter and sugar mixture. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and lavender. Mix thoroughly. Roll the dough into a ball and wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Press the dough into an 8-inch square pan. Sprinkle with lavender sugar and chill for another 45 minutes. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes until the shortbread is lightly browned. Cool in pan and cut into squares.

Enjoy! And let us know what other recipes with lavender you come up with.

____________________
Stay Steeped!
Rachel - Founder
http://www.SBSteas.com
Brew our Tea, Taste the Magic!

That the active constituents in green tea are powerful antioxidants called polyphenols (catechins) and flavonols.

One cup of green tea can provide up to 10-40 mg of polyphenols and can yield antioxidant effects that are better than eating a serving of broccoli or spinach. Just one more reason to add fresh loose green teas to your life!

When brewing tea, you use 1 teaspoon of loose tea for each 6 oz cup of water.

For a full range of quality loose leaf teas from SBS Teas, click here.