SustainabiliTEA

ICED TEA TIP: Sweetening with Simple Syrup

The best time to sweeten iced tea is while it’s still hot (if you used the conventional “hot-brewed” method). This allows the sugar or honey to dissolve completely. But if you cold-brew your iced tea, or your iced tea drinkers prefer different levels of sweetness (or none at all), then your best bet is to offer simple syrup, which is basically sugar that’s already been disolved in water.

Simple Syrup Recipe: Bring 2 cups of cold water to a boil. Stir in 1 cup of plain granulated sugar. Reduce heat to low and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Add flavorings, if desired (about a tablespoon of any liquid extract). Let the syrup cool to room temperature, then pour into a clean glass jar and store in the refrigerator.

May 29 2009 | Iced Tea | No Comments »

Tea Term of the Month: “Orthodox”

Refers to the method of producing tea predominantly by hand, with great care and a high level of human involvement (as opposed to a predominantly mechanized approach). Generally involves hand plucking and often hand rolling, but occasionally includes some closely supervised use of machinery.  At Arbor Teas, all of our organic loose leaf teas are produced by way of orthodox manufacture (with the exception of our Japanese green teas, which belong to a special catagory of tea production all their own).  For an excellent example of orthodox manufacture, check out the hand-plucked and hand-rolled leaves of our Mao Jian Green Tea!

May 22 2009 | Tea Terms | 1 Comment »

German Study: White Tea Can Affect Life Cycle of Fat Cells

Growing concern over obesity-related diseases prompted a team of German researchers to investigate the effects of white tea extract on the human body. They conducted in vitro studies to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying fat metabolism, more specifically the effect of white tea extract on cultured human subcutaneous preadipocytes and adiopocytes (fat cells).

The study, published this month in Nutrition & Metabolism, found that white tea extract effectively inhibits adipogenesis (the production of fat) and stimulates lipolysis activity (the destruction of fats). According to the abstract, this means white tea extract “can be utilized to modulate different levels of the adipocyte life cycle.”

The abstract and full study can be found here, on Nutrition & Metabolism’s Web site.

May 22 2009 | Tea and Health | No Comments »

A Little Iced Tea History…

The 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair offered an opportunity for merchants from around the world to show off their wares. Little did tea merchant Richard Blechynden know it would also mark the beginning of America’s love affair with iced tea! In the midst of a sweltering St. Louis summer, Blechynden’s efforts to promote Indian black tea at the fair were proving unsuccessful. Hot tea was the last thing on the minds of those attending the fair. So, the enterprising merchant and his staff set out to develop an apparatus in which their brewed Indian tea would flow through iced lead pipes, creating a chilled beverage that was very well-received by fairgoers. Not only was Blechynden successful in promoting Indian tea at the fair, he also uncovered America’s seemingly endless thirst for iced tea – a thirst that has yet to be quenched to this day!

May 21 2009 | Iced Tea | No Comments »