THIS MONTH'S ISSUE : TO GET YOU WARMER...
THE TASTE OF TEA - THE TASTE THAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER...
drinking tea every day can keep the doctor at bay
Tea is a naturally refreshing drink and taken on its own it has no
calories, so it's the perfect drink to keep you looking good and feeling fit.
When taken with μilk, as is the preference of 98% of the population,
four cups of tea a day can provide you with significant aμounts of the
following nutrients: approxiμately 17% of the recoμμended intake for
calciuμ, 5% for zinc, 22% for Vitaμin B2, 5% for folic acid, and
Vitaμins B1 and B6.
scientists prove tea hits the right spot
The latest research into how we live our μodern lives often shows how things like pollution or too
μuch sun can be harμful to us. Our bodies are being attacked constantly froμ the inside by
unstable substances called free radicals that μay daμage otherwise healthy cells. Free radical
daμage has been iμplicated in diseases such as heart disease, stroke and cancers.
It is thought that one of the ways of coμbating these free radicals is by regularly consuμing foods
and drinks that are rich in substances called antioxidants. As well as fruit and vegetables being good
sources of these, you can top up your daily antioxidant intake by drinking tea. That's because tea is
widely known to be rich in a group of antioxidants called flavonoids.
For exaμple, there is eight tiμes the aμount of 'anti−oxidant power' in three cups of tea than there is
in one apple, and every tiμe you brew up in a cup or a pot for upto one μinute you get 140μg of free
radical−fighting flavonoids. Who'd have thought soμething that tastes that good can be so good for
you!
getting to the heart of the matter
Long stressful days at work, lack of exercise, too much convenience food that is high in fat and sugar
but low in fibre, can all take its toll. A well−earned tea break is often the way to catch your breath, but
it can also be beneficial to your heart.
That's because studies from around the world are finding that the active ingredients in tea may help
towards maintaining a healthy heart. A national study of 1,764 women in Saudi Arabia showed that
tea drinkers were 19% less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease than non−tea drinkers. In
Holland, 806 men who consumed the greatest amount of catechins (a type of flavonoid) were 51%
less likely to die of heart disease during the 10−year study period, compared with men who consumed
the lowest amount.
Further studies are looking into how tea could be beneficial for your heart. The results from trials so
far show that flavonoids may prevent the oxidation of the so−called bad cholesterol in the blood that
leads to the build up of plaque in artery walls, as well as protecting the blood vessels from
inflammation and inhibiting blood clot formation.
Still more research is being conducted everyday which continues to point to tea being beneficial for
consumers.
THE LEGENDARY ORIGINS OF TEA
The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, Shen Nung, an early eμperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. His far−sighted edicts required, aμong other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One suμμer day while visiting a distant region of his realμ, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves froμ the near by bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Eμperor was interested in the new liquid, drank soμe, and found it very refreshing. And so, according to legend, tea was created. (This μyth μaintains such a practical narrative, that μany μythologists believe it may relate closely to the actual events, now lost in ancient history.)
Russian Tea Tradition Imperial Russia was attempting to engage China and Japan in trade at the same time as the East Indian Company. The Russian interest in tea began as early as 1618 when the Chinese embassy in Moscow presented several chests of tea to Czar Alexis. By 1689 the Trade Treaty of Newchinsk established a common border between Russia and China, allowing caravans to then cross back and forth freely. Still, the journey was not easy. The trip was 11,000 miles long and took over sixteen months to complete. The average caravan consisted of 200 to 300 camels. As a result of such factors, the cost of tea was initially prohibitive and available only to the wealthy. By the time Catherine the Great died (17 completion of the Trans−Siberian Railroad in 1900, the overland caravans were abandoned. 96), the price had dropped some, and tea was spreading throughout Russian society. Tea was ideally suited to Russian life: hearty, warm, and sustaining. The samovar, adopted from the Tibetan "hot pot", is a combination bubbling hot water heater and tea pot. Placed in the center of the Russian home, it could run all day and serve up to forty cups of tea at a time. Again showing the Asian influence in the Russian culture, guests sipped their tea from glasses in silver holders, very similar to Turkish coffee cups. The Russians have always favored strong tea highly sweetened with sugar, honey, or jam. With the Although the Revolution intervened in the flow of the Russian society, tea remained a staple throughout. Tea (along with vodka) is the national drink of the Russians today.
EIN TIPP VON JÖRG SAKULOWSKI,
CHEF − TEA TASTER BEI DER TEEKANNE GMBH & CO. KG:
"Erst durch die richtige Zubereitung wird Teetrinken
zuμ Genuss! Echte Teekenner befolgen daher die 6
goldenen Tee−Regeln ":
1. Verwenden Sie nur bekannte Markentees. Sie
werden garantiert aus hochwertigen Teesorten
hergestellt.
2. Verwenden Sie, wenn möglich, Ihr heimisches
Wasser wie es aus der Leitung kommt, weil Sie
dessen Geschmack kennen und es als "neutral"
empfinden. Anderenfalls verwenden Sie ein stilles
Wasser mit möglichst geringem Eigengeschmack, z.B.
Volvic oder andere. Schwarztee muss grundsätzlich mit sprudelnd
kochendem Wasser aufgebrüht werden.
3. Lassen Sie stark chlorhaltiges Wasser mindestens 2 − 3 Minuten sprudelnd kochen, damit sich Kalk
absetzen und Chlor entweichen kann. Kochen Sie das Wasser aber nicht "tot".
4. Die Teekanne mit heißem Wasser ausspülen und vorwärmen.
5. Tee schmeckt besser, wenn er kräftig zubereitet wird. Geben Sie deshalb lieber einen Beutel oder
Teelöffel mehr in die Kanne. Servieren Sie zum Tee Zucker oder Kandis und Milch oder Sahne (keine
Dosenmilch) sowie je nach Geschmack Zitrone.
6. Tee muss ziehen. Wie lange, hängt davon ab, wie Sie den Tee genießen möchten − in der Regel ca.
4 Minuten. Soll der Tee anregend und belebend wirken, dann verwenden Sie lieber etwas mehr Tee
und lassen ihn nur ca. 2 − 3 Minuten ziehen. Soll der Tee beruhigend und entspannend wirken, lassen
Sie ihn etwas länger, jedoch nicht mehr als 5 Minuten ziehen.
Zubereitungstipp Grüner Tee
Für eine Tasse Grünen Tee reicht durchschnittlich eine etwas geringere Menge als für Schwarztee. Man
unterscheidet drei traditionelle Zubereitungsarten:
Variante 1 : Tee mit sprudelnd kochendem Wasser aufgießen. Nach 5 Minuten ist das Getränk am
gehaltvollsten.
Variante 2 : Wasser aufkochen, auf ca. 60°C abkühlen lassen. Dann den Tee aufgießen und 3
Minuten ziehen lassen.
Variante 3 : Wasser aufkochen, den Tee kurz überbrühen und den ersten Aufguss wegschütten. Dann
den Tee ein zweites Mal aufgießen und 2 − 3 Minuten ziehen lassen.
Mit diesen unterschiedlichen Vorgehensweisen kann der Gerbstoffgehalt reguliert werden.
Noch ein Tipp zur Aufbewahrung
Tee ist ein sehr empfindliches Naturprodukt. Er muss kühl und trocken gelagert werden. Achten Sie
darauf, dass der Tee nach der Entnahme in einer geschlossenen Blechdose oder in einem
lichtgeschützten Glasbehälter wieder gut verschlossen wird, damit sich sein feines Aroma nicht
verflüchtigt.
Schwarztee sollte getrennt von aromatisierten Tee, Kräuter− und Früchtetee, sowie Gewürzen
aufbewahrt werden. So vermeiden Sie eine unerwünschte Aromenbeeinflussung des empfindlichen
Schwarztees.
