So how are Cast Iron Teapots made to strict Japanese Tea Master specifications? Through special chemical treatment, impurities are removed from the cast iron during the production process. A coating of misty black enamel is then applied to help prevent the development of rust.

When using leaves, put a teaspoon of tea per cup in your warm teapot. Fill it with freshly boiled water (never boil water twice), stir slightly, and allow it to “steep” or sit for between 2 and 5 minutes, depending on how strong you like to drink your tea. Once the tea has steeped the appropriate time, stir it again before you pour. The British actually add milk and/or sugar to the pot before they serve the tea. Because there are so many sweetening options and milk types you may wish to pour the steeped tea and allow each individual to prepare their cup of tea to their liking.

Steeping the perfect pot of tea is an art and a science. Once you have steeped your tea you may find it is not exactly the taste you desired, so it is easy for you to make a few changes so that when you serve that particular tea in the future you achieve the desired taste.

You can use less tea per cup. If you are purchasing your loose leaf tea from a quality tea source you most likely will find that the tea is stronger and requires less tea to brew the perfect pot. You may also want to to switch the type of tea you are using to find your favorite tea. The most popular British teas are  Darjeeling, Earl Grey, English Rose, Orange Pekoe, and Imperial Gunpowder. All of these teas are very different so it might be prudent to purchase a cup of tea first and experience the flavor before purchasing a quantity of loose leaf tea.

Tea contains flavonoids which occur naturally in tea and are believed to have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants work to neutralize free radicals, which scientists believe damage elements in the body over time. Some of these elements are genetic material and lipids which can contribute to chronic heart disease.

Statistics are always a great way to drive the point home, so here are some convincing results from studies that have been conducted around the world. This is the kind of stuff that can make anyone drink more tea. It is an easy change to your daily diet that can have a big impact.

• A study of 3,400 plus men and women aged 30 to 70 from the Saudi Coronary Artery Disease Study were examined and 6.3% were found to have indications of coronary heart disease. They found that individuals who drank more that six cups of tea per day had significantly lower prevalence of coronary heart disease than non-tea drinkers (even after adjusting for age and smoking). Researchers also found that individuals drinking six or more cups of Black Tea per day had decreased serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations.
• Dutch researchers found that participants in their study who drank one or two cups of Black Tea a day had a 46% lower risk of severe aortic atherosclerosis, which is a strong indicator of cardiovascular disease. Individuals that drank more than four cups of tea a day had a 69% lower risk.
• A Harvard study examined 340 men and women who had suffered heart attacks and compared them to a matched control group. They found that those who drank a cup or more of Black Tea had a 44% reduction in the risk of heart attack as compared to non-tea drinkers.
• Another Harvard study of 1,900 people found that individuals that consumed tea during the year prior to a heart attack were up to 44% more likely to survive over the three to four years following the heart attack.

It is never too late to make some changes to promote heart health, and it’s as easy as enjoying a cup of tea a few times a day. With statistics like these you should have a whole new appreciation for drinking tea.

Here is an amazing fact, there are over 42,000 board games and accessories on the market with sales worldwide reaching over $5 billion. When we were trying to develop fun events for our customers we became aware that incorporating games and puzzles as activities would allow adults to play like kids. It’s okay to relax and have some fun.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that challenging your brain with mentally stimulating leisure activities such as board games and puzzles is great for your mind. Seniors who participated in these fun activities once a week over a 20-year period  reduced the risk of dementia by 7 percent. Those who played more often reduced their risk by an unbelievable 63 percent.

Learning to play board games is an excellent way to get closer to your family, strengthens your family bond, allows kids to practice essential problem-solving and other cognitive skills. So the first step starts with you, learn how to play like a kid and impress your family and friends that you know how to have fun and be fun.

Playing “casual” (that means not electronic games) is an excellent way to kick back and relax.  A casual game developer conducted a survey and here are the results of their survey:

• 64% of respondents said they play games as a way to unwind and relax.
• 53% play for stress relief
• 42% believe that playing casual games is a great way to keep their minds sharp
• 75% of respondents with children said they see educational benefits for their children who play casual games

With all these amazing health, educational, and social benefits take advantage of game nights and afternoons to learn new games from around the world. You will never be bored if you are always exploring and learning how to play new games…and most importantly learning how to play like a kid!

Some of you have been calling the toll free numbers to diet programs so that you can look like one of your favorite stars that has lost 50 lbs eating prepared meals or have signed up for support groups that you join every year about this time. However, all weight loss professionals, psychologists, and therapists will tell you that making small life style changes can have big implications. There is no “big bang” theory for sustained weight loss. There is a common sense approach to living a healthier life and ultimately fighting the “Battle of the Bulge”.

Tea doesn’t have calories, unless you add sweetener and/or milk. So with some self control on how you prepare your tea can result in a healthy, great tasting weight loss drink. Consuming 250 or fewer calories from your drink consumption can result in losing one pound per week. That is if you are not compensating by eating more goodies.

Lot’s of people complain of having a slow metabolism as the reason they cannot lose weight and for some this is true. Tea increases your metabolism. Green tea has been shown to increase your metabolic rate so that you can burn 70 to 80 additional calories by drinking five cups of green tea per day. Over a five year period you could actually lose eight pounds by drinking green tea.  Add a 15 minute walk everyday and you can only imagine the results.

To truly enjoy and benefit from tea it is very important that the tea you are drinking is of the highest quality. We pride ourselves in only selling the highest quality tea leaves available in the world. So our teas are not from one source but from sources that specialize in the specific teas and herbs from the various locations in the world.

As a refresher this is a quick overview of the categories of teas that you should try to experience during Hot Tea Month. January is the perfect month to expand your tea tasting horizons. The following are the major categories of teas and herbals:

• Black Tea – this is the most popular category of tea and has been processed to provide strong bold flavors. Even though these teas have been processed for flavor they still contain antioxidants and about 70% less caffeine than a cup of coffee.
• Green Tea – mimimally processed tea leaf, orginating from China with the traditional classic green tea flavor. Because these teas are less processed they provide increased antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. These qualities help boost metabolism and the immune system.
• White Tea – these are the truly purest of all teas because they are uncured and unprocessed. The tea leaf brews to be a light and almost sweet flavor.
• Red and Rooibos (roy-bos) Tea – you will never believe this…these are an herbal infusion made from anything other than tea leaves. So if you are looking for no caffeine this category provides lots of incredible flavor choices with many healthy qualities. Red and Rooibos contain minerals including copper, iron, potassium and manganese.
• Peppermint Tea – contains Vitamin B, calcium and potassium, and have been known to soothe upset stomachs and ease irritable bowel syndrome.
• Chamomile Tea – a classic tea that helps soothe and relax the body. A great before bed tea.
• Oolong Tea – a traditional chinese tea with mild processing intertwined with the flavors of green and black teas.

So now that you know it is National Hot Tea Month you can get started experiencing the teas of the world…and just think by drinking tea every day for a month you will actually start enjoying the health benefits of drinking tea. We have 96 varieties of tea in all tea categories and with only 31 days in January (less the 4 that have already passed) you will only try about 1/3 or our collection. So get started, get healthy, and celebrate Hot Tea Month.

You may be thinking…how does this work? Well, it is due to the many beneficial phytochemicals that are in tea. Phytomchemicals are chemical compounds  that occur naturally in plants. Since the tea plant is a large evergreen shrub growing up to 8 meters in height, but normally clipped to 1.5 meter to facilitate harvesting. Only the tea leaves are used. The young, light colored leaves which grow at the top will produce the best tea. The phytochemicals in tea are:
Epigallocatechin gallate, Flavonoids, Tannins, Caffeine, Polyphenols, Boheic acid, Theophylline, Theobromine, Anthocyanins, and Gallic Acid.

So for those that wish to do a little homework you now have the list of phytochemicals that are associated with tea.

Healthy Bones: Research indicates that drinking tea does not negatively affect bone mineral density and studies indicate that it may actually play a role in healthy bones. Researchers have found that older women that drink tea had higher bone mineral density than those that did not drink tea. There are also further indications from many studies that the flavonoids in tea may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Healthy Teeth: The flavonoids in tea inhibit plaque forming by the bacteria in your mouth and the fluoride in tea may support healthy tooth enamel.

This tea thing is looking really healthy so check back to read my next teastastic blog as I continue to explore the many advantages of learning about and drinking tea.

Studies have found that tea may actually reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Heart attacks and strokes are caused by unwanted blood clots comprised of cholesterol and blood platelets. In other words your pipes are clogged. Drinking tea helps to keep your arteries smooth and clog-free just like certain chemicals keep the drains in your home clean and flowing.

There was a 6 year study done in the Netherlands which found a 70% decrease in heart attacks and strokes in people that drank tea at least 2 to 3 cups of black tea daily as compared to non-tea drinkers. So how does tea work? Tea contains flavanoids which have antioxidant properties. It is these antioxidants that work to neutralize free radicals in your circulatory system. Free radicals work insidiously over time to damage parts of our bodies and contribute to chronic disease.

As you can imagine, there are volumes of studies regarding the benefits of all types of teas, but the point here is that adding tea to your daily diet is a good thing. In future blogs the various types of teas will be explored for the specific benefits of each category of tea.

As we checked in our inventory, any dishes that were not perfect were placed in a craft bin so that people that do mosaics and other crafts can purchase these “craft” pieces at 5 cents per ounce. This reinforces our approach to building a “green” business. Everything has potential to be something else with some creativity. This is a recent story that really made us feel good about finding homes for even the not so perfect beauty.

A new friend, Sandy, bought some “craft” tea cups. Tea cups that fetched a pretty penny when they were perfect. Each had a very small chip or crazing so we could not sell them as part of the vintage china in our store. Sandy bought three teacups for less that $1.00 and said she was going to put candles in them. Well, not being the most crafty person myself, I pictured putting a regular candle in them and thought at the time that it was a cool idea. Well Sandy posted to our Facebook Wall her candles and I was totally amazed at what she had created. She made Soy Candles and poured them into the cups. Maybe they have a little chip or a line in the bottom but she saw the potential and truly made the most beautiful candles I have seen. We want to thank Sandy for inspiring us and opening up our minds as to what can be done with something beautiful but not quite perfect. Take a moment to look at these beautiful candles.

So how many cups of coffee do you drink a day? On average, American coffee drinkers drink 3 cups of coffee a day so the caffeine meter is pegged at over 400 mg. of caffeine a day just from coffee…add in some colas and you are out of control. So it is fair to say that tea is a healthy alternative that will help you control the amount of caffeine you intake on a daily basis. Calm down, break the addiction to the caffeine “rush”, and sleep a lot better by drinking tea.

Caffeine can effect the body in many ways. If you suffer from panic disorder or anxiety, caffeine is not your friend. Caffeine can actually create panic attacks and interfere with any medications you may be taking to calm you down. Caffeine reduces dopamine, a chemical produced by the brain that affects the brain’s pleasure centers. You actually may want to try an herbal tea to avoid any caffeine and we have many choices that are quite tasty.

Have high blood pressure or diabetes? Caffeine can actually raise your blood pressure and increase your sugar level. So why not exercise some caffeine control rather than being only dependent on medications to control your conditions. Talk to us and we will help you select teas that are great tasting and good for you.

Your body needs balance to work properly and for you to feel good. If you are drinking too much caffeine you may experience indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, and many of the gastric responses associated with stomach and bowel discomfort. Controlling caffeine intake may surprise you at how much better you feel when are not going for the jolt but calming down, making wise choices, and enjoying the benefits of a reallly good tea.

We will soon have 96 teas to choose from, comprised of white, green, oolong, black, and herbal teas. Let us help you to try some teas that help you gain control of your caffeine intake, get control of your health, and add some really good taste to your day.