A Little Tea With Your Coffee

I've never been a fan of coffee, but to each his or her own. Those who are not tea purists might be interested in a number of products that combine coffee with tea in some way or another.

Like kootee, although this tea that's made from the leaves of the coffee plant doesn't contain any coffee as we know it. Or you might go for some yuanyang, a beverage that mixes coffee with tea and which is said to be popular in Hong Kong.

Several coffee manufacturers have taken this notion to the next level, coming up with coffee blends that actually include tea. There's Spava, for instance, with a blend (Clarity) that includes white tea and one (Metabolism) that includes green. Or JavaFit Energy Plus, which tosses some green tea extract into the mix, and Fusion Diet FX, which tweaks the beans with green tea and yerba mate, among other things.

For more on this theme, check out this recent article in the Los Angeles Times.

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Free Tea Tied To Dow Jones Industrial Average

It probably hasn't escaped your notice that the economy, the markets and whatnot have been a bit out of sorts lately. To say the least.

The owners of San Diego's Infusions of Tea noticed the same thing. They decided, as their Web site puts it, to offer their customers "free cups of tea in the afternoon on any weekday that the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at a loss of more than 100 points." That offer stands until the end of October.

More about Infusions of Tea here.

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New Superberry Teas From Zhena's Gypsy Tea

Zhena's Gypsy Tea Brews Double Dose of Wellness With New Superberry Teas For Women
(from a press release)

Zhena's Gypsy Tea -- a brand recognized for fostering the growth of the Fair Trade, organic movement, introduces healthful and delicious Pink Superberry Tea, specially blended for women. Marrying the antioxidant superpower of superberries with the naturally occurring catechin polyphenols already rich in green tea, each signature offering of Pink is a lush harmonious blend of superior top-tier sencha green tea, and juicy, succulent superberries, full of health-boosting, age-fighting nutrition.

Pink offers five, delicious and delighting USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified, tea experiences:

PomBerry Green Tea, with Pomegranate, Acerola Cherries and Blossoms.
CherryBerry Green Tea, with Cherries, Elderberries and Blossoms
WholeBerry Green Tea, with Cranberries, Blueberries and Strawberries
AcaiBerry Green Tea, with Acai Berries, Blueberries and Citrus
CacaoBerry Naturally Caffeine-Free Rooibos, with Raspberries, Cacao and Dark Chocolate

Zhena's Gypsy Tea


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Hot Dog Tea

Never heard of hot dog tea? That's probably not surprising unless you've been frequenting the TeaChat forum over the course of the past few months. During that time there's been a discussion going on over the merits - or lack thereof - of a delicacy known as hot dog tea. That's tea steeped with water that was first used to boil hot dogs.

If you're not rushing to try this one...you're probably not alone. Though I could imagine the result being somewhat reminiscent of Lapsang Souchong, a type of smoky black tea that some find to be an acquired taste.


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Bigelow Tea Partners With Boston Red Sox

Bigelow Tea Partners With Boston Sports Icons Red Sox Manager Terry Francona and the New England Patriots
(from a press release)

Bigelow Tea and the Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball team have recently joined forces to celebrate the enjoyment and health benefits of green tea. Terry Francona, manager of the Red Sox and avid tea drinker, has become the newest Bigelow Tea spokesperson, alongside his long-time friend, Joe Torre, Manager of the Dodgers. A fan of Bigelow Tea's Green Tea with Pomegranate, Francona starts off each of his ball games with a cup.

Bigelow Tea has also teamed up with Boston's very own Classic Rock WZLX, which is part of the New England Patriots Radio Network and one of the top stations in Boston, for an exciting contest offering one lucky winner and their guest an opportunity of a lifetime. The grand prize will be roundtrip airfare for two to Philadelphia, PA. for a tour of the Showtime NFL Studios and a visit with NFL Legend Phil Simms. Since retiring from the New York Giants, Simms, also a Bigelow Tea drinker, is currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network.

For more information on the contest go here.

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Vintage Tea Art, Posters & Menus

If it's vintage tea art and advertisements that get you all riled up, here are a few sites that feature posters based on that sort of thing. Look here and here. Or you can feast your eyes on Gregory R. Suriano's book, Tea Art: A Modern Look at Vintage Tea Graphics. For more on the latter, refer to Katrina's review at The Tea Pages.

For some insight into tea's role in restaurants way back when, take a look at this searchable version of the Miss Frank E. Buttolph American Menu Collection at the New York Public Library.

Image: New York Public Library

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Salada's Announces "Unbottle Your Tea" Campaign

Salada's "Unbottle Your Tea" Campaign Shows Health, Cost & Environmental Benefits of Drinking Freshly Brewed Tea over Bottled Tea
(from a press release)

Salada Tea recently announced the launch of its national "Unbottle Your Tea" educational campaign to promote the consumption of freshly brewed tea as a healthier, less expensive and more environmentally friendly alternative to bottled teas. Consumers that switch from drinking bottled tea to freshly brewed tea made with tea bags will take in approximately 95 percent more antioxidants, help decrease pollution and greenhouse gases, and save money.

Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water and over the last 10 years, sales of ready-to-drink tea have grown nearly 10 fold. The amount of plastic bottles wasted per year increased by nearly 1.5 billion pounds from 1998 to 2008, according to the Container Recycling Institute. Today, 200 million beverage containers are wasted each year, which is nearly double the amount recycled.

For more information, visit the Unbottle Your Tea Web site.

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Zenlet Green Tea Bracelets

Ever since green tea became shorthand for "miracle elixir that cures all ills" a number of offbeat products have come on the market that have attempted to cash in on this notion. Among the most peculiar - if you ask me - are Zenlet's Green Tea Bracelets.

Green Tea Bracelets, according to the manufacturer, allow "the green tea to absorb into your skin and body through a process called transdermal absorption. The bracelets should be worn for eight to twelve days before the green tea is completely absorbed. The bracelets are made with all natural ingredients and colors with no metal or plastic and environmentally safe."

Which is as good a gimmick as any, I suppose, but I'll stick with absorbing my green tea through my mouth for now.

Image: Zenlet.com

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All In This Tea Still Making The Rounds

All In This Tea has been mentioned in these pages before, but as the filmmakers noted in a recent email update, it's still making its way around the United States, playing in various venues. If you can't make it to any of these showings, you can also pick it up on DVD or perhaps catch it on one of the cable channels.

All In This Tea is a documentary film that follows "world-renowned tea expert David Lee Hoffman to some of the most remote regions of China in search of the best handmade teas in the world." The film is directed by Gina Leibrecht and Les Blank.

More info here.

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Free Tea At British Airports

There's no such thing as a free lunch. But if this article in the Telegraph is to be believed, everyone arriving at a British airport may soon be offered free tea and biscuits.

Here's another article from the Telegraph, this one announcing that Orange Pekoe has been named the best tea to drink with a fry-up. Which, for those not in the know, is a traditional British breakfast made up of fried eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding, mushrooms and baked beans.

What does the Queen eat for breakfast? More here, including some info on royal tea-drinking preferences.

Also from the British press, an account of a visit to the tea tasting room at the Taylors of Harrogate HQ.

Finally, here's a brief piece on the importance of tea in British culture.

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Clinical Trial Shows Cardiovascular Benefits for Rooibos

Clinical Trial Shows Cardiovascular Benefits for Rooibos, Popular Antioxidant Herbal Tea from South Africa
(from a press release)

The first-ever human clinical trial on a popular traditional South African herbal tea was recently conducted, testing whether the tea can possibly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The new trial also generated the first human safety data in a controlled clinical trial environment, scientifically showing that short-term consumption of rooibos tea is safe for the liver and kidneys while keeping various blood parameters (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc.) in a normal range.

Provisional results from this study indicate that rooibos tea protects the body against oxidative damage, as seen by the approximate 21% decrease in conjugated dienes in the blood. Conjugated dienes are products formed in large numbers during the early stages of oxidation (destruction) of important cellular components such as fats (lipids). These lipid peroxidation products may be implicated in the development of vascular disease.

The trial (entitled “Modulation of blood oxidative stress markers and DNA damage by rooibos tea in volunteers at risk for coronary heart disease”) was conducted by Jeanine L. Marnewick (PhD), senior researcher at the Oxidative Stress Research Centre at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Guayaki Launches San Mateo Yerba Mate

Guayaki Launches San Mateo Yerba Mate
(from a press release)

Each of the yerba mates from the various regions of South America offer a unique flavor and style - just like regional specialty coffee, tea, wine and cocoa. Guayaki is celebrating yerba mate (pronounced ‘MAH-tay’) diversity with the announcement of San Mateo Loose Yerba Mate. Sourced from the rainforest in the San Mateo region of Southern Brazil, this air-dried organic yerba mate provides Guayaki customers with yet another delicious and invigorating yerba mate style to enjoy. San Mateo Yerba Mate provides “the lift of coffee, antioxidants of green tea, euphoria of chocolate and nutritional profile of wheatgrass” - all in one delicious eco-friendly beverage.

In South America, where yerba mate is a cultural phenomenon, techniques for processing yerba mate vary from country to country. In Paraguay and Argentina, many people prefer mate that has been wood dried and aged. Whereas in Brazil, “cruda yerba” (yerba mate which has not been roasted or aged) is often preferred. Guayaki’s new San Mateo blend is crafted in the Brazilian style by using an air dried, smoke-free drying process that yields a bright and lively herbal flavor and a clean finish. Unlike other brands in North America, Guayaki uses a premium cut which blends the whole leaf, tender stems and leaf powder to capture the potent ‘whole plant’ energy of the yerba mate tree.

San Mateo Loose Yerba Mate can be brewed like coffee in a French press, coffee machine or espresso maker, or it can be enjoyed the traditional way with a gourd and bombilla (metal filtered straw). Guayaki provides San Mateo in an economy sized 16-ounce bag for an SRP of $13.99.

Guayaki


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Argo Tea, BoilingPoint & Twisted Tea

Is Argo Tea poised to take on Starbucks? Well, perhaps that's overstating things a bit, but a pair of recent articles about the Chicago-based chain both dropped the name of the coffee giant. Read what the Chicago Sun Times and the restaurant trade magazine QSR had to say about Argo.

Looking for a gadget that claims to brew tea directly in the cup? Look no further than the BoilingPoint. More here.

For iced tea fans with a desire for something a little stronger, here's Twisted Tea, a "hard iced tea" that comes in a variety of flavors.

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Dilmah 'Single Origin' Ceylon Tea Expands In U.S. Market

Dilmah 'Single Origin' 100% Pure Ceylon Tea Expands U.S. Market Penetration With Availability at Major Grocery Chains and Specialty Gourmet Outlets
(from a press release)

Dilmah and Unity Brands Group have joined together to bring the splendor and quality of Dilmah Teas to the U.S. and have announced that they have expanded availability of the Dilmah Gourmet, Dilmah Single Estate and Dilmah Green Tea brands throughout the Eastern Seaboard and Southeast. Grown, handpicked, cured and packaged by family-owned company Dilmah Teas, the premium brand has emerged as a gourmet alternative to mass-produced, "blended" products and is currently the leading single origin, ethically produced Ceylon tea in over 90 countries.

The luxurious Dilmah Single Estate teas are among the most exclusive, boutique teas in the world and include Lover's Leap Estate, Somerset Estate, Dombagastalawa Estate, and Nilagama Estate. Among the traditional varieties in the Dilmah Gourmet Series are Earl Grey, English Breakfast, English Afternoon, Irish Breakfast, and Ceylon Supreme. The Dilmah Green Tea offerings include renowned Ceylon Green Tea with Real Cinnamon, Real Ginger, Natural Lemongrass, Moroccan Mint, and Natural Green Tea.

Dilmah

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Sweet Leaf Tea Growing Rapidly

Sweet Leaf Tea Named One of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies
(from a press release)

For the first time in its 10-year history, Sweet Leaf Tea, makers of premium and all-natural ready-to-drink beverages, has been named to the Inc. 5000 Index, Inc. magazine's annual list of the nation's fastest-growing, privately-held companies. Known as well for its irreverent corporate culture as its award-winning products, Sweet Leaf Tea has been ranked # 891 on the 2008 Inc. 5000 list.

According to industry reports, ready-to-drink beverages are a $2.8 billion industry with the premium segment growing at an annual rate of 25%. Sales of ready-to-drink teas are expected to top $4.4 billion in 2011.

Sweet Leaf Tea was founded in 1998 by Christopher, then 25, when he couldn't find a bottle of iced tea that tasted like the delicious, homemade tea his grandmother used to make for him when he was growing up in Beaumont, Texas. Shortly thereafter, Christopher's childhood friend, David Smith, joined the company and the two began production brewing their homespun tea in 50-gallon crawfish pots, using pillow cases as tea bags. Made from all-natural ingredients, including purified water, pure cane sugar and high-quality organic tea leaves, Sweet Leaf Tea is made and brewed based on Clayton's grandmother's recipe and technique.

Today, the company sells 11 classic iced-tea flavors as well as three lemonades, including a series of limited-edition lemonades sold in the summer months in environmentally-friendly, reusable Mason jars. Retailers who carry Sweet Leaf Tea products include Kroger, Safeway and specialty food stores, such as Whole Foods, nationwide. Retail prices range from $1.00 to $3.99.

Sweet Leaf Tea


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