Tea 4 Free News > Teazine Issue 17 - August, 2004

Inside Issue #17:

1. Introduction
2. Tea4Free Winners
3. How to Decaf Teas
4. More Tea Beauty Tips
5. This Month's Featured Teas
6. More Green Tea News
7. Tea Recipe
8. Health News
9. TEA-mates
10. Once Upon A Tea Time
11. Next Issue
12. Credits

Congratulations to our lucky winner: Bonnie S. of New Tripoli, PA.

• Lincoln McLoud, of www.topshelfteas.com, presented the tea4free prize to our lucky  winner, Bonnie S. of New Tripoli, PA.

To date, nearly $7536.00 worth of FREE gourmet teas beautifully packaged have been given away to tea lovers throughout North America. That is enough tea to make nearly 73,100 cups of free tea. WOW!
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3. How to Decaf Teas
I have had many people come to me and ask if we have any decaffeinated teas. I tell them Green and White teas have the least amount of caffeine content, however, they are able to enjoy any type of tea by decaffeinating them on their own.

Here’s how:
Just prepare your tea the usual way and allow it to stand about 45 seconds. Pour off the resulting brew and brew the same tea leaves again. This is a good method for decaffeinating Black and Oolong teas. In the case of Green tea, I would suggest brewing the tea the normal time of 2 to 3 minutes. Then discard the liquid and brew the leaves again. Green teas, unlike oxidized teas (Black and Oolong teas) actually taste better the second time around. Tea experts refer to this tea method as "second infusion" tea. Tea that has been given the 45 second treatment will have about 90 to 95% of the caffeine removed. However, keep in mind that by discarding the first brew, you are also losing the many antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that are generated. (Even commercial decaf tea--or coffee--is not completely caffeine-free) Since tea varies in content from 10 to 50 mg per cup, this will result in a brew very low in caffeine.
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4. More Tea Beauty Tips
Chamomile is not just for drinking. After a stressful day, toss a tea bag into the bath and then relax for a half hour. Senses are soothed and you will feel great. Perhaps some nice background music would be relaxing as well.

Bath in Silver White Tips tea for its skin healing properties. It is highly concentrated in polyphenols, which are antioxidants that can protect the skin.

To relieve puffy eyes, soak tea bags and place in freezer for a few minutes. Then place them on your eyes, lay back and relax.

Try a ginger tea bath to as a daily bath scrub to prevent cellulite. These baths stimulate the circulation and raise the body’s temperature, therefore, activating the elimination process.

Use green tea leaves as a gentle exfoliant to give your skin a healthy glow. Now, with research indicating that green tea has even more antioxidant properties than other powerful vitamins, there is a surge in products capitalizing on its natural benefits.

These suggestions are for fun. We are not responsible for any adverse effects from these suggested Beauty Tips.
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5. This Month’s Featured Teas

Darjeeling Organic Green Tea Darjeeling Organic Green Tea’s unfermented leaf differentiates it from black teas, which rely upon fermentation for their flavour. Research has proven the health-giving benefits of antioxidants, like those found in tea. The mellow taste Darjeeling Organic Green Tea makes becoming healthier sheer pleasure. (100 grams/3.5 ounces)
Gun Powder Green Tea The “Green Pearls” or Darjeeling Gunpowder Tea leaves are unfermented. Gently steamed within hours of plucking, leaves are skilfully rolled into tight small pellets resembling gunshot. Gun powder tea maintains its delicate flavour and aroma far longer than other green teas. Rich in fluoride, calcium, and antioxidants, Gun Powder tea is known for its strong bitter taste, which is why coffee drinkers readily switch to green tea. This dark tea is best without milk. (100 grams/3.5 ounces)
Indian Darjeeling Green Tea Bags Organic Darjeeling Green tea is made from the unfermented leaf. This makes it different from black teas, where the characteristic of flavor and taste are the result of fermentation. Green teas have a mellow taste and formula and are best suited without milk. Ingredients: 100% Pure Organic Darjeeling tea. (25 Individually Wrapped Tea Bags)
Chinese Organic Green Tea Organic agriculture specialists and our proud farmers carefully select premium organic green tea leaves and these fresh spring crops are immediately transformed to tea bag cut. Organic Green Tea is emerald green in color and has a fresh aroma. (24 bags – 48g/1.68oz)
Chinese Sweet Green Tea Cultivated on nutrient-rich farmland in a special climate zone in China, Sweet Green Tea consists of puerile green tea sprouts chosen for their youthful properties and natural sweet taste. This healthy green tea is sweet tasting and yet is completely sugar free. Chinese herbalists designate this tea as being safe for diabetics and those who enjoy a less bitter cup of healthy green tea. Sweet Green Tea is a completely new product to North America and is presently only offered by Tea Connexions. (Steep longer for sweeter taste). (20 bags- 36g/1.26oz) To learn more about other teas or order any of these teas, please click here to find your nearest distributor.

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6. More Green Tea News

• According to BBC News, scientists in Japan have found a component of green tea can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells, which is how the virus spreads. Their laboratory tests suggest a chemical called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) protects cells.

• A team of researchers based in Tucson, Arizona, announced that a study of the use of green tea extracts for polishing the magnetic heads in hard-disk drives has yielded a compound that works three to four times faster than conventional compounds. If the findings can be reproduced in an industrial setting, the compound could reduce the cost and environmental impact of hard-drive manufacturing, the researchers said.

• Researchers from The University of Kansas measured the antioxidant content of green tea and found that it is 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times better than vitamin E at protecting cells from damage believed linked to cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

• Green tea contains polyphenols and it seems that in addition to the numerous health benefits already discovered, we can now add green tea to the oral hygiene arsenal. Researchers think that adding green tea extracts to mouthwashes and toothpastes may help kill both bacteria and viruses, including the microbes that cause sore throats. In this study and in some others, green tea was demonstrated to be more effective to kill bacteria and viruses than the other types of tea. Moreover, it appears that caffeinated green tea is a lot more efficient than the decaffeinated version.

To submit your Green Tea news, email me at daisy@teaconnexions.com and the chosen one will receive a free box of Organic Green tea!
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7. BeauTEAy Recipe
Soothing Skin Spritzer
This recipe is courtesy of http://www.ivillage.co.uk

Simply steep 100g of green tea in half a litre of mineral water at room temperature for at least one hour. Strain the liquor and it's ready to use! It's better to make small quantities and use it fresh but surplus liquid can be poured into clean, sterilised bottles and refrigerated.

The liquid can be used as a spritzer, to freshen up the face, or cotton pads soaked in it can be particularly soothing for tired or strained eyes. It has antiseptic properties, so can be used to treat minor cuts and rashes, and is surprisingly effective when applied to spots and blemishes. It can even be used as a treatment for sunburn - soak a cloth in the liquid and leave on the skin until the area begins to cool.
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8. Health News
To submit health news, e-mail us.

TEA AND CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
Recent findings have noted that the antioxidant properties of tea flavanoids may play a part in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease by decreasing lipid oxidation, decreasing the instances of heart attacks and stroke, and may aid in blood vessel function. These are all important indicators of cardiovascular health.

TEA AND REDUCTION OF ABNORMAL CELLS
Tea flavanoids may lower the risk lower the risk of certain cancer cells by decreasing the oxidative damage from free radicals. Tea may also help promote programmed cell death and prevent the rate of abnormal cell growth.

TEA & KIDNEY STONES
A recent study has showed that those with kidney stones taking tea routinely will reduce the likelihood of recurrence. After the study of over 100,000 participants, there was a smaller percentage of the risk of kidney stones to re-develop.
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9. TEA-mates: Members of the Tea Connexions Buying Group
Tea Connexions is dedicated to providing the highest quality gourmet teas. Packaged beautifully, they make an ideal gift for tea lovers, health enthusiasts, and connoisseurs of fine art. Our mission is to offer you beautifully packaged gourmet teas distributed by an elite group of independent distributors that offer you superior service and exceptional value. Your satisfaction is assured; all of our products carry a 100% money back guarantee.

More than 100 distributors look forward to serving your tea and gift giving needs. For an updated list, click here. If a distributor is not in your immediate area, please choose the closest distributor. Please note, this list represents distributors whose online stores are live and active; missing are distributors whose stores are still under construction. To choose your nearest distributor, using a clickable image map, click here.
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10. Once Upon a Tea Time . . . Submit Your Fondest Tea Memory to Win Free Tea
Whether it's childhood memories of granny's kitchen, mom's healing hands or toasts to success, each month Tea 4 Free News - Teazine features favourite tea stories. We would love to hear yours. If we choose your story, we will send you a FREE carton of Darjeeling tea bags.

This featured Tea Story is from Eva Auker of Lancaster, PA

Tea will always remind me of my mother and her particular evening ritual. She raised three opinionated, busy daughters, and every night, she’d finally settle down into her chair in the living room and ask if one of us would get her ‘face-cleaning stuff,’ and one would fix her tea. The cup would sit by her chair and steep while she pulled back her hair and used cold cream to remove her make-up. The smell of steeping tea and the light scent of cold cream mixed together will forever transport me back to those evenings at home, when mom could finally put her feet up and relax. Now that I have a three-year-old running rampant through my house, mom’s advice almost always includes the admonition to find some time for myself and settle down to have a cup of tea.

Tea—keeping multiple generations of moms in our family from going off the deep end.