My Tea Break

Rediscovering Tea around the world

Tag Archives: tea


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Victoria Wood’s Nice Cup of Tea

Comedy legend Victoria Wood travels the globe to explore Britain’s love affair with Tea in a two-part special on the little plant that changed the world.

From the back streets of Kolkata to the mega city of Shanghai, Victoria reveals how the cozy cuppa united east and west, triggered wars and helped us win them. Along the way she peeks into a fascinating world of chai wallahs, opium smokers, Assam Tea pickers and grumpy elephants. She asks: how did this strange exotic leaf become such an important part of British life?

What is it about Tea we love so much, and how did we all end up hooked?

Put on the kettle for a nice cup of Tea and check out Episode 1 here:

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Happy Tea Break.

Tania


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Dinner at Roka

I recently had dinner at Roka, one of my favourite restaurants in London. Roka focus on contemporary Japanese robatayaki (open-charcoal grill) cuisine. At the centre of the restaurant there is a robata grill where you can see the chefs preparing your food.

I’ve been a few times and I always leave happy with the quality and consistency of the food and service. The service is great, the ambience nice and relaxed and the food among the best I have tasted.

Since I visited the Green T. House restaurant in Beijing , I am always looking for dishes and drinks that bring the culinary use of Tea into life and Roka is a great place for that. We started the meal with some sushi and Tea inspired cocktails. I had a Green Tea & Pear Bellini which is composed by dried green Tea, mashed pears and prosecco. The sparkling from prosecco together with the sweet pear flavour is a delicious combination. Luis went for a non-alcoholic version and had a Jasmine Tea with almond, mint and peach which was also delicious…

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As a main we chose some of their Robata signature dishes such as the Black Cod marinated in Yusu Miso which is unbelievable.

I didn’t want to go for a desert but one could not resist the Chocolate to Matcha Pudding Yo-nashi Ausi - a dark chocolate and matcha green Tea pudding with crunchy jivara and pear ice-cream. Sooooooo good!

If you’re looking for a special dining experience in London I highly recommend Roka.

Happy Tea Break.

Tania


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Happy International Women’s Day

Today is the International Women’s Day so time to celebrate it with a nice cup of Tea!

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

Source: sublimeeuphoriarapture.tumblr.com via My Tea on Pinterest

Happy Tea Break.

 


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Tea Wishlist @ My Sea Story Blog

My friend Joana has an amazing blog about her life at Turks and Caicos – My Sea Story – and she also loves Tea. She kindly invited me to guest blog on her blog with a wishlist of Teas. It’s very difficult for me to choose 5 favourite Teas as I get into Tea phases where I drink more green Tea or more Oolong Tea.

Here are my Tea choices for this month (as you can see I am currently going through a Green Tea phase):

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1. Rare Tea Company Whole Leaf Tea – An exquisite Chinese Green Tea that is meticulously hand-crafted. It has a refreshing and light smoky flavour which is the antithesis of bitter, mass produced Green Tea.

2. My Tea Break White Peony – A delicious introduction to Chinese White Tea. This Tea has a creamy and soft taste with a refreshing and sweet aftertaste. You can drink it at any time of the day.

3. Tea Pigs Jasmine Pearls – Little pearls of hand rolled green Tea tips which have been delicately infused with pure jasmine flowers. An amazing refreshing and floral taste.

4. Argo Tea Moroccon Mist – This moroccon mist Tea, a natural gunpowder green Tea from China blended with a refreshing burst of mint, always brings me great memories of travelling with Joana in Morocco.

5. Lahloo Tea Puerh Shou Vintage – Produced by the Mannong Project, a fair trade cooperative, in the heart of a 1500-year-old ancient forest in Yunnan, China. Not everyone’s cup of Tea, but such a special deep, dark, sweet and smooth Tea.

6. Harney & Sons Caribe Blend - This exotic blend of green and black teas enhanced by tropical flavours, such as hibiscus, guava, coconuts and strawberry, marigolds and cornflowers. Perfect if you live in an island like Joana.

Thanks Joana for the invitation!

Happy Tea Break.

Tania

 


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Health Research: Tea may lower the risk against prostate cancer

U.S News reported recently that Tea  may lower the risk against prostate cancer due to its high concentration of flavanoids.

                                                                                        Source: oolongdragon.com via Tania on Pinterest

This  preliminary research involved 1,900 patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was found that those whose diets included the highest amount of flavonoids were 25 % less likely to have been diagnosed with the fastest-moving and harshest form of the disease compared to those who had been taking in the fewest flavonoids.

Susan Steck, associate professor at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health and author of this study says that this study was aimed at comparing men with low agressive disease to high agressive and the impact of flavonoids on reducing the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. The authors identified Green and Black Tea, as well as orange and grapefruit juice, as the prime sources of flavonoids consumed by study participants. Strawberries, onions, cooked greens, kale and broccoli also were popular flavonoid-rich foods.”They may not affect your risk for getting the cancer, but it may mitigate against the kind of cancer you would get” she added.

Susan Steck and her colleagues will discuss their findings at the annual cancer prevention meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, in Anaheim, Calif.

There are also other health studies that show that these particular antioxidants may help reduce cancer risk by fighting inflammation, oxidation, cell death and tumor cell growth.

Happy Tea Break.


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Bai Hao Oolong Tea

Bai Hao Oolong is a famous Oolong Tea from Taiwan. The name Bai Hao refers to the appearance of the Tea leaves which are mostly dark in color but ends with a silvery tip. This Tea is also known as Dong Fang Mei Ren or Oriental Beauty, a name given by Queen Elizabeth II when she tasted this Tea for the first time.

This Tea is known by its sweet fruity flavour but the processing of this Tea is even more interesting. This Tea is made not only by man but also by insects. Yes… Insects…  The farmers wait that some tiny green flies attack the Tea leaves before harvest. The Tea leaves that were bitten by the green flies will change into a yellow colour and the Tea leaves produce an antibody which gives its characteristic fruity flavour. Only the damaged leaves can be selected which makes it an incredibly labour intensive process from start to finish.

There are many stories about the origin of Bai Hao Tea. According to one Taiwanese Tea book, a Tea farmer in Beipu (Taiwan) noticed that small green insects resembling grasshoppers had damaged the leaves of his newly picked spring crop. Rather than destroying his crop, he decided to process the leaves and was very surprised by its strong sweet fruity flavour.

A truly Oriental Beauty…. 

Happy Tea Break.

Tania

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