THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF TEA

Things I’ve seen written about tea recently:

the bitterness of tea is symbolic of life’s suffering

the star constellations’ energy is connected to tea plants

tea readies the spirit for its journey and return (death & reincarnation?)

At Cottage Garden Teas, we believe that since tea is a plant, it was made by our Creator.  And like all things, they are sustained by that Creator. Thankfully, then, there will always be tea, although at times there may be a failure of tea crops at various plantations. But across the world, there will always be tea. That’s comforting to me, because I can’t imagine a world without it! 

The teas themselves, while they carry many health benefits including stress relief and mood lift, don’t have any spiritual value in and of themselves.  But we can use them in our times of spiritual connection with our Creator.  A cup of tea is frequently part of my routine when I’m praying or reading the Bible. It provides focus and relaxation from the chaos of life.

You’ll notice, if you’ve ever purchased a bag of our tea, that we put sayings on the back of each bag.  This is the only inherent spirituality our tea has – It gives Cottage Garden Teas a platform for encouraging people with words that have spiritual enlightenment and meaning. 

We hope you are inspired, and that you enjoy your tea!

Moringa . . . The Miracle Tree

Moringa…the Miracle Tree

What herb has* . . .   (*in powdered form, ounce for ounce)

  •  7x the Vitamin C found in oranges
  •  4x the beta carotene of carrots
  •  3x the iron of spinach
  •  4x as much calcium as milk
  •  3x the potassium of bananas
  •  Even more fiber than oats!

It’s MORINGA!  One of the most all-around healthy herbs from Cottage Garden Teas.

This hardy tree now grows in sub-tropic regions all over the world – including South Florida. It has been used for centuries to treat a wide array of ailments, from snakebites to stomach ulcers. Moringa’s high levels of essential vitamins, proteins, and minerals make it a powerful herb. If that were not amazing enough, moringa contains many antioxidants to prevent cell damage from free radicals. The plant itself is easily cultivated, making it perfect for many poor regions of the world to have access to its nutritional and medicinal value. 

For every 2 grams of carbohydrate in moringa, there is 1 gram of fiber.  Moringa also boasts all nine essential amino acids, which our bodies cannot produce naturally but require for normal function.

Moringa tea has been used to treat gastrointestinal issues, heart disease, high blood pressure, and many viral, fungal, bacterial, and parasitic diseases.  It has even been used to help with disorders of the nervous system such as epilepsy. Moringa can be consumed as a food to battle malnutrition or simply to add more nutrition to your diet.  Sometimes moringa is used externally to treat wound abscesses. It can also be used orally for gingivitis or applied to the scalp for dandruff.  It is easy to see why this plant is often called the miracle tree.

Cottage Garden Teas blends several teas with organic moringa leaf, including Moringa Morning and Persimmon Reflux Tea (one of our Adaptagenesis Teas).  We also carry local moringa in powdered form for use in your favorite smoothie! 

 

Stevia Herb as a Sweetener

Most people reading this have probably heard of using stevia as a sweetener. But where does it come from, what are the benefits, and how can we use it? Stevia is a native plant of South America with a high concentration of different glycosides which give the leaf its sweetness. Stevia has zero calories making it great for weight loss. It also has no effect on blood glucose levels, making it a safe sweetener for diabetics. Stevia extract has close to 200 times the amount of sweetness as cane sugar, thereby requiring only a small amount to sweeten a drink. Some sweetener companies add certain ingredients to the packet of stevia extract, such as dextrose, which is not advisable for people looking to eliminate sugar and simple carbohydrates. If you are looking for a more natural stevia, however, our natural herb stevia leaf may be your answer.

We have available raw dried organic stevia leaves which you can use in various ways as a sweetener. Often we advise that people add the leaves to their tea as it’s steeping. This not only provides a natural sweetness but also eliminates the additives frequently found in stevia packets. These leaves are also far less processed than stevia extract or stevia based sweeteners.

Another method is to grind the leaves into a fine powder, using a high-speed blender, to add to your tea. Stevia can also be used in many other drinks and dishes.  Try it in your next smoothie for a FAR LESS glycemic index than honey or agave syrup.  Use it in your cole slaw or to sweeten virtually any other recipe. With the current awareness that processed sugar is “the devil,” we can be thankful there is a natural solution!  STEVIA HERB!  

So Many Kinds of Tea…

All teas come from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis.  This shrub is native to east, south, and southeast Asia, but is cultivated all over the world.  The most common categories of teas are differentiated by the way they are dried.  The manufacture of green tea is simple, being just picked and heat-dried.  However, black tea and oolong tea are oxidized before being dried.  Black tea is oxidized slightly longer than oolong, creating two distinct flavors and aromas.  White tea is made by plucking only the buds and youngest leaves and drying them.  This light touch preserves the integrity of the leaf, and serves up healthful antioxidants. 

Teas also have subcategories, with even more varieties of unflavored teas. Pan-fired green teas for example are made by heating the leaves in an iron pan over a flame. This action reduces the “grassy” flavor of the leaves and creates a distinctly unique aroma and taste.  Some teas get their flavor from the area they are grown. Assam (India) teas have a different flavor and aroma than Ceylon (Sri Lanka) teas because of the difference in soil, humidity and altitude.

Some teas may even be grown and processed in the same place in the same way but have different tastes due to the time of year they were picked. Darjeeling (India) First Flush (the first harvest of each growing season) and Darjeeling Second Flush have very distinct qualities. First Flush is considered more complex, delicate and more highly prized. Second and Third Flush (Autumn) have more “body.”

With so many slight differences in the tea growing and drying process it is easy to see why so many types of teas exist.

Adaptogenesis Tea

CGT:   We call this newest proprietary line ADAPTOGENESIS TEAS.

Q:  Can you define ADAPTOGEN?

CGT:  It’s a natural substance (herbs in this case) which help us adapt to stress and normalize internal issues.

Q:  And why does Cottage Garden Teas call them ADAPTOGENESIS teas?  What does the name mean?

CGT:  It means, the beginning of your body’s path to better health and wellness.  We use specific herbs to help our bodies adapt to specific problems.

For example this is our Liver Cleanse Tea, available in a 3 oz. bag, which has all the “adaptogen” herbs for your fatty-liver syndrome.  This tea un-clogs our livers from all the toxins and visceral fats that prevent our livers from doing their work.  Hormones like insulin are not able to work their magic on our typical diet because of the fatty liver.  This tea is blended in small batches, as are all Cottage Garden Teas, so that each bag gets the proper amount of each ingredient so as to do its job.  Cottage Garden Teas prides itself on actually making these herbal teas TASTE GOOD, as we think no tea will help you with your health if you won’t drink it! 

 

Why Choose Loose Leaf Over Teabags?

If you have ever been to a specialty tea shop, they probably told you that loose leaf tea is better than tea bags. The reason behind this is in the tea manufacturing process. After the tea leaves are dry, they are packaged into either bulk loose-leaf tea containers, or into standard tea bags. If you look at the tea leaves in a typical teabag, you’ll notice they are quite small, and it’s often impossible to see any indication of an actual leaf. Higher end sachets and loose-leaf teas show full shapes of leaves and stems. During the final process, the top-quality tea leaves from the top of the batch are packaged in bulk while the remaining crumbs and pieces that fall to the bottom (we call it “dust”) are then packaged and sold as teabags.

What’s the big deal if I’m drinking tea crumbs vs the full leaf? Isn’t it the same thing?
The dust that you may find in tea bags has a higher chance of becoming stale, and the breaking of the tea leaves causes many of the natural oils and medicinal properties to evaporate. This causes this tea to taste quite different than loose leaf tea. Full leaf tea holds more of the natural flavors and nutrients inside the leaf, creating a more bold and complete flavor with much stronger medicinal properties. Not only that, but loose-leaf teas can be much more economical than tea bags. Since the flavor and medicinal properties are stronger, you don’t need to use as much to steep a cup of tea – and you can rebrew the leaves more than once.

Caffeine and Tea

How Much Caffeine does Tea Have?

Does tea have less caffeine than coffee?

One of the most often asked questions we receive is…”How much caffeine does this tea have?” It’s a complicated question, with a complicated answer! The industry has long been guilty of making contradictory statements about caffeine in tea. But now we can put some scientific evidence to it, and make some statements that are closer to reality.

Although tea is known to have less caffeine than coffee, there are many factors that enter into the equation. For instance, it used to be thought that the variety of tea – Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong, White – determined the amount of caffeine. Most published articles stated that black tea carried the most, while white carried the least. Oolong and green tea were in the middle.

Tea Science to the Rescue

A new scientific study has been headed up by Bruce Richardson, who, after owning his own retail tea business for 14 years, has become a leading author and authority on tea – a true tea maestro. Mr. Richardson partnered with Dr. Bruce Branan, Professor of Chemistry at Asbury College, Kentucky for a scientific study of caffeine in tea.

Seven well-known teas were tested, with careful attention to standardized procedures and using new state-of-the-art equipment. The Asbury study concluded that most teas contain approximately 55 milligrams of caffeine per 7-oz cup, regardless of tea type. Coffee, by the way, carries 130-200 milligrams of caffeine per cup. While these results would be expected from an Assam (commonly consumed because of its known high levels of caffeine), it was a surprise to find that the white and green teas also tested at this level.

Does Processing of Tea have an Effect on Caffeine Levels?

Richardson then consulted his contacts in the tea industry to find out how processing the tea can affect caffeine. He discovered that caffeine is most prevalent in the newest leaves of the tea bush. Although teas made from the youngest leaves are known to be higher in antioxidants and nutrients than teas made with older leaves, they are also higher in caffeine.

That means teas made with just the bud (like Silver Needles White Tea ) are the highest in caffeine, and teas made with two leaves and the bud (most green and black teas) have considerably less. Regardless of the variety of tea you consume, your intake of caffeine will likely be the same, assuming identical temps and steeping times.

How does Tea Grades Affect Caffeine Levels?

Generally speaking, broken tea leaves will infuse more caffeine into your brew than whole (loose) leaves. Grocery-store teabags often hold very broken grades of tea, tending to impart higher caffeine levels.

What Should I Do if I Can’t Tolerate Caffeine?

What does all this mean to the tea drinker? Water temperature and steeping times matter more to caffeine levels than the type of tea you drink. So if you want to reduce your intake of caffeine, use a lower water temperature and steep for shorter times. You will also get more infusions from your tea, as there will be flavor and caffeine left for your next brew. Or switch to a 50% blend of tea and fruit/herbal ingredients to lower the caffeine level by half.

What Teas are Naturally Low in Caffeine?

Rooibos and Fruit Tisanes are naturally caffeine-free, since they do not include any actual tea. Cottage Garden Teas carries many Caffeine Free and Decaf Teas for those who wish to remove all caffeine from their diets, as well as many fusions of tea with herbs for reduced caffeine levels.

replique montre suisse
nike air max 90 pas cher
nike air max 1 pas cher
louboutin femme pas cher
nike air max pas cher
replique montre
air jordan pas cher
replique montre
air max pas cher
air max femme pas cher
relojes especiales
réplicas de relojes
nike air max pas cher
nike air jordan pas cher
nike air max 90 pas cher
Nike Air Max 1 Pas Cher

For more information on Bruce Richardson’s study, read his article at

De-bunking the At-Home Decaffeination Myth