Archive for April, 2008
Famous Yellow Tea Video Podcast with Zhuping
Posted: April 24th, 2008
ALL Video Podcasts
Welcome to our weekly video podcast with Andrea Serrano and Zhuping Hodge, Tea Master of Seven Cups. Today we join Zhuping for Part 1 of her special tea tasting of this famous tea.
Today’s topic: Jun Shan Yin Zhen Yellow Tea
Thank you all for your comments regarding our video podcasts. We would like to create future podcasts on topics you all are interested in, so please contact us with ideas.
Don’t Digest That Tea?
Posted: April 18th, 2008
Heres an article that urges us to do the unusual - to stop digesting our green tea in the name of preserving half of its antioxidant quality. I’d rather just drink twice as much.
“The anti-cancer effects of green tea was cut by 50 per cent when the extracts were digested. But the tumour-fighting abilities of catechins in black tea were unaffected by digestion.”
Interesting to note the study found that black tea’s healthful compounds jive well with the digestive process. The complementary nature of darker teas (ie more oxidized) to the digestive organs is one of the fundamentals of traditional Chinese medicine’s understanding of tea and health.
Andrew
Green Tea Reincarnated As Green Paper
Posted: April 16th, 2008
What do you do with used tea leaves? Chairman Mao ate them, my dad likes to compost them, and Japan’s green tea giant has a new suggestion.
Andrew
ITO EN, Ltd., a major manufacturer of green tea and tea beverages, and the Pack Corp., a package manufacturer, issued a joint statement that they have developed a new type of paper bag that employs used tea leaves left over from ITO EN’s tea beverage production process. The companies decided to consider used tea leaves not as residue, but as an untapped material that absorbs and fixes carbon dioxide.
[From Japan for Sustainability - Used Tea Leaves Contribute to Combating Global Warming]
Is a cup of tea the answer to everything - even anthrax? | Laboratory News
Posted: April 14th, 2008
At last, I feel more secure against terrorism. I think you coffee drinkers are still at risk, at least according to researchers in the UK. Hmmm, do I detect a bias towards English breakfast tea?
[From Is a cup of tea the answer to everything - even anthrax? | Laboratory News]
Austin
Spring Tea, Cold Winters, Currency Fluctuation, & Labor Reform
Posted: April 14th, 2008
It’s spring time and the early green tea has been harvested. Although the crop is very good, prices will be up this year for a number of reasons. The winter in China was a long and cold with a lot of snow. While the snow was welcome in some areas that did not get as much last year because of the early spring, still the prime picking season was shortened this year. During the Spring Festival this year, hundreds of thousands of travelers were stranded by the storms from one side of China to the other. Especially hard hit this year were the green tea growing areas. The shortened spring caused the supply to be greatly reduced causing the price of quality green tea to rise.
There are other factors driving up the price. The price for good quality pickers has risien for a couple of reason. The first is a labor reform law that was passed this year the requires employers that pay 28% of a workers wages for a type of social security to help for retirement and other social benefits. While this is a great benefit for workers it raises the cost of tea production. There is another issue involved in raising the price of good quality tea. A lot of pickers have left the country for the city. This is a nationwide issue in agriculture in general, and because good pickers are very skilled, the shortage has also raised the price.
The other major factor is the weak dollar. The trend will probably continue over time as the Chinese economy continues to grow, the strength of the RMB will continue to grow too. China has tried to keep the RMB low to aid the price of exports, but they have started to adjust it against the dollar. The days of cheap imports from China are gradually starting to come to a close.
Of course, quality tea has never been cheap in China, but with the Chinese economy doing so well, the competition for the best tea is increasing. With the new restrictions on Chinese tea exports, ( I will write about this later) Chinese tea producers are seeing the domestic market as being far more attractive than the subsidized export market. This could have an affect on the number of producers that are organic certified. As a long time supporter of organics we will continue to help producers pay for organic certifications, but it may reduce the overall number. This may not happen, however, because the domestic market is becoming better informed and more demanding about the safety of the Chinese food supply. The environmental movement inside of China is also gaining momentum. It will be interesting to see what will happen over the next few years. Certainly things are changing and changing rapidly.
Austin
The Business of Tea-How We Buy Our Tea
Posted: April 11th, 2008
ALL Video Podcasts
Welcome to our weekly video podcast with Andrea Serrano and Austin Hodge, owner of Seven Cups. Look for more video podcast with Austin entitled “The Business of Tea”
Today’s topic: The Business of Tea- “How We Buy Our Tea” -organic, traditionally made and high quality
Thank you all for your comments regarding our video podcasts. We would like to create future podcasts on topics you all are interested in, so please contact us with ideas.
Antioxidant Found In Green Tea Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth In Female Mice | April 10, 2008 | AHN
Posted: April 10th, 2008
Yes, even more anti-cancer research related to tea. This is a note worthy article, not simply for the research it details but for the way the news writer handles the terminology involved. Note how “EGCG”, the darling antioxidant compound, barely receives a definition. As tea and health research continues to be picked up by news and industry marketing fanfares, highly specific and technical terms like “EGCG” or “polyphenol” are creeping their way into the popular vocabulary. Some powerful stuff is at work, without a doubt.
Andrew
Antioxidant Found In Green Tea Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth In Female Mice
April 9, 2008 11:34 a.m. EST
Cecilia Arceo - AHN
Jackson, MS (AHN) - Antioxidant found in green tea can significantly decrease breast tumours in mice, giving hope for the development of new drugs for patients with breast cancer, says researchers.
[From Antioxidant Found In Green Tea Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth In Female Mice | April 10, 2008 | AHN]
Tea Makers with Keiko
Posted: April 4th, 2008
ALL Video Podcasts
Welcome to our weekly video podcast with Andrea Serrano and special guest Keiko Naito, manager of Seven Cups teahouse.
Today’s topic: Tea Makers
Thank you all for your comments regarding our video podcasts. We would like to create future podcasts on topics you all are interested in, so please contact us with ideas.
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