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How is black tea
graded?
After the tea leaves are crushed, fired and dried, they
pass through screens for grading. Tea leaves vary in size
and are sorted by the size of the leaf. The grade designates
leaf size only, not quality.
There are four grades. The main division is between "leaf" grade
and "broken" grade. Teas designated OP-Orange Pekoe (pronounced
peck-o) are comprised of whole leaves that are classified by size.
BOP-Broken Orange Pekoe designates a high quality grade of leaves that
have been broken, either deliberately or not. A lesser quality grade
of very small pieces is called "fannings." Finally, "dust" grades are
used primarily in tea bags.
In addition to the grading process, the tea industry classifies tea
leaves from where on the tea plant they were plucked, and also what
time of year the harvest took place. A "fine picking" is comprised of
the top "two leaves and a bud" of the tea plant. The "bud" is the
immature leaf tip. Early in the growing season the young tips have a
golden color. Teas produced at this time are referred to as Golden
Flowery Orange Pekoe-GFOP. When the number of golden tips is
relatively high, the designation of TGFOP is used, indicating Tippy
GFOP. Indian teas are occasionally designated FTGFOP1 for Finest TGFOP,
grade 1 and SFTGFOP1 for Super-Fine TGFOP, grade 1 or "I" for Imperial
grade.
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How much
caffeine does tea have?
A cup of black tea, brewed for five minutes, contains one-third
as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. This information is provided by
Kaiser Permanente, Department of Nutritional Services study, 1986.
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Are there any teas which are caffeine-free?
Decaffeinated teas are processed using
pure carbon dioxide. This method removes 99% of the caffeine content
and leaves no residual chemicals. Tisanes and herbal blends do not
contain any tea leaves (therefore there's no caffeine). Tisanes
are made from pieces of dried fruit and flowers. Come in and ask to
smell the fruity tisanes -- they will delight your senses. [back
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Can tea
help prevent cancer?
There are more benefits from drinking tea than you
probably realize!
At the National Institute of Health, as well as at research centers
throughout the U.S. and abroad, scientists are finding that tea
protects against cell damage that causes cancer and helps keep
cholesterol from clogging arteries.
Many studies indicate that drinking tea reduces the rate of a
number of cancers, including colon, skin, stomach, breast, esophageal
and liver.
In literally dozens of studies, tumors of the esophagus, colon,
liver, pancreas, and mammary glands have all been inhibited when
various rodent species were given tea in their drinking water." At the
Skin Diseases Research Center of Cleveland's Case Western Reserve
University, scientists have found that green tea either in the
drinking water of mice or applied directly to their skin, protects
against skin cancers caused by the sun. In some studies the mice
developed only 1/10 the tumors of those not treated with the tea. . .
The animals received the equivalent of about four cups of tea a day.
In a recent study at Rutgers University, mice were given
carcinogens that normally cause skin tumors. A fourth of the mice were
given green tea, a fourth got black tea, another fourth received
decaffeinated black, and the last fourth consumed plain water. Results
showed that the green and black tea-drinking mice developed 70%
fewer tumors than the other mice, who drank water. The decaf
drinkers had 60% fewer tumors.
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More good news: tea lowers the risk of heart disease!
A fifteen-year study in the Netherlands on 552 Dutch men,
found that those who drank more than two cups of black tea
daily, were 50% less likely to have a fatal heart attack.
The same study found that those who drank five cups a tea a
day were 69% less likely to suffer a stroke than those men
who only drank half as much tea.
Dr. Vinson, University of Scranton in Pennsylvania performed
studies which found that the "activity of tea antioxidants reduces LDL
cholesterol oxidation and lowered blood cholesterol levels."
Studies in both Norway and Israel found that tea drinkers have
lower blood cholesterol. Tea is full of phytochemicals, which act
as powerful antioxidants. Studies show that the phytochemicals in tea
are the most potent inhibitors of LDL oxidation, which causes clogging
of arteries. In fact, one compound in tea was found to be 20 times
stronger that the potent antioxidant vitamin C.
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Drink your tea...it does your body good!
One of the most potent antioxidants are catechins,
found in red wine and tea. A glass of red wine contains 300
milligrams of catechins, a cup of black tea contains 210
milligrams, and the winner is a cup of green tea containing
a whopping 375 milligrams... and you can drive home
afterwards.
When you drink tea on a daily basis, it keeps an uninterrupted flow
of antioxidants going through your cells, cleaning up the damaging
oxygen, killing dangerous bacteria, neutralizing carcinogens, lowering
your cholesterol, preventing cancer, and keeping your veins from
clogging.
Tea contains a high level of fluoride, and thus helps
prevent tooth decay in several ways: it fights the kinds of
bacteria in the mouth that cause gum disease and tooth decay, and it
kills streptococcus mutans, the greatest cavity-causing bacteria in
the mouth.
To receive the benefits of tea, the beverage must be brewed from
real tea leaves, known as Camellia Sinensis. Herbal beverages
such as chamomile and peppermint do not contain any tea leaves, and
even though they are sometimes referred to as herbal tea, they do not
have any of the benefits of tea discussed above.
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The PERFECT pot of
tea.
Just
follow these simple directions …
-
Fill kettle
with freshly drawn cold water. Bring to a boil.
-
Place
stocking into teapot.
-
Place one
scant teaspoon of loose tea per cup into the tea stocking.
-
Add boiling
water and allow water to steep for 3-5 minutes.
-
Remove
stocking, stir, and enjoy!
If you prefer the iced version …
-
Prepare a double strength
infusion (follow instructions above) of hot tea.
-
Strain and cool to room
temperature. Pour over ice into a pitcher or glass.
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Everything you've
always wanted to know about the pineapple...
Just follow this link:
www.levins.com/pineapple.html
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