Watch Those Portions
When it comes to portion size, bigger means better for Americans. Unfortunately, that also means elevated weight and cholesterol levels. Compare that with the French, who manage to stay slim and avoid many health problems associated with weight gain despite enjoying some of the finest foods on the planet, many of which are rich in cheeses and heavy cream sauces. In fact, just 7 percent of French adults are obese, compared to 22 percent of American adults.
How do the French do it? Portion size. There’s a major philosophical difference between the two cultures where portion size is concerned. A recent study found that portion sizes in Philadelphia restaurants were, on average, 25 percent larger than portions in Paris. When you consider the obesity problem in the US, it’s clear the “supersize me” ethos isn’t a great idea on a daily basis.
Actually, portion-size control is relatively simple. Instead of slicing off the biggest possible cut of meat, make sure it’s no larger than your fist. Keep carbohydrates (i.e. pasta, rice, etc.) to one cup per person, and fill half your plate with vegetables, which will keep you filled up without busting your trouser button.
Get Some Breakfast
Breakfast is truly an important meal. It provides the energy you need early in the day and keeps you filled up. Kids who eat breakfast every day are less likely to reach for unhealthy foods at lunch and throughout the day than those who skip it. A breakfast rich in protein and fiber will keep you operating at peak efficiency and give a boost to perform well at work or school.
Fruit de Mer
It means “seafood,” but it just sounds better in French. If you’re an American, chances are you’re not eating enough of it. At least not enough fish, according to a 2016 article in HealthJournal magazine, which reported that nine out of 10 Americans don’t eat enough fish. A US Department of Agriculture study found that 90 percent of Americans don’t meet the recommended allotment (two times a week) of fish and/or other seafoods. By contrast, Americans consume 101 pounds of red meat annually.
Consider Your Gut
Great gut health is conducive to overall health, for both mind and body. And research continues to show that if gut health is lacking, it’s going to reverberate through all your internal systems.
It doesn’t take much to create a healthy gut microbiome, and there are plenty of wonderful foods that can help get you there: Dark chocolate, yogurt, pickles, miso, raw cheese, sourdough bread and even almond milk! That’s just a few you can consider when planning family meals. By incorporating some of these gut-friendly foods into your daily diet, your microbiome gets what it needs to keep your immune and digestive systems running and your weight and mood in check.
Eat Your Fruit and Veggies
It’s like you’ve always heard: Fruit and vegetables are essential to dietary health. Your body derives an abundance of healthful benefits from eating them on a regular basis. You get the fiber and vitamins you need, they help fight cancer because they’re rich in antioxidants, they’re good for your major organs, they help prevent diabetes -- the list goes on. If you’re not getting enough fruit and veggies, it’s in your family’s best interests to find ways to work them in every day.
Thinking through the kind of foods you eat as well as how much you eat is vital for maintaining a healthy body. Consider it a long-term investment in your health and that of your entire family.
]]>Once you have finished enjoying your cup or pot of green tea you can reuse the leaves. Simply press out as much of the water from the used tea bags or loose leaves as possible. You can place them on drying screens or in a colander or strainer or even a plain brown paper bag. If you wish, you can even put the leaves on a baking sheet or in a food dehydrator on low heat. Be sure to move them around a bit to ensure that they are dry throughout. Once they are dried, you are ready to use them in other areas of your home.
Here are some great ways to use green tea around your home that you may not have thought of.
Home Deodorizer – In countries such as Thailand, Burma, Vietnam and throughout Asia people sleep on straw mats. In Japan, these mats are called tatami. During the warmer, more humid months, these mats are cool and comfortable to sit and sleep on. To remove perspiration and bodily odors, the mats are washed in a tub with water and a solution of green or black tea. This helps to deodorize the mats. When dried, they smell fresh and clean again. Over time, the green tea will add a light brown or sage colored tint to the tatami mats.
Green Tea as a Cooking Helper - If you have the scent of onions, garlic, or other odiferous ingredients in your kitchen, green tea can help remove these smells from a cutting board or countertop, pots and pans, or even your hands. After cleansing these items and surfaces properly, simply go over them with a green tea bag or green tea leaves to get rid of those unpleasant odors.
Refrigerator Deodorizer - In the refrigerator, you can also recycle your used green tea leaves from the bag or loose leaf by letting them dry then put them in a small container in your refrigerator. Those leaves can absorb refrigerator odors for 3 -7 days. After you’re done, just add them to your compost.
Carpet Cleaning and Deodorizing – Slightly damp green tea leaves added to a bit of baking soda and sprinkled over the carpet and left for 20 -30 minutes then vacuumed up can help to reduce dust and eliminate odors. Persian or antique rugs can be fragile. Green tea provides an excellent yet gentle way to remove odors from them.
If you have pets that may have brought in fleas, you can use this mixture along with a bit of simple table salt to sprinkle on the carpeting. The green tea acts as a mild repellent while the salt will soften the bodies of the fleas and help prevent their eggs from hatching.
Kill off Dust Mites – Many people are allergic to dust mites. You can help reduce dust mite allergy reactions and prevent their growth by spraying with a very weak solution of green tea. Be sure to test the carpet, fabric or area for colorfastness or to prevent staining.
Natural Car Deodorizer – Add dried green tea leaves, lavender, rosemary or other fragrant herbs to a muslin or other fabric bag and place in your car to keep it smelling fresh without any of the harsh chemicals.
Deodorize Pet Beds and Litter Boxes – You can help pet beds smell fresher by sprinkling some dried green tea leaves on the pet bed or inside the bedding cover. Mix dried green tea leaves to cat litter to deodorize your cat’s litter box.
Soothing Bath Companion – Although green tea can be composted easily, you may want to reuse those green tea leaves in the bath, too. You can place loose bulk green tea into a cotton or muslin bag to let the hot water run over them while you are drawing your bath, or let them steep in the water. Take two muslin bags filled with green tea leaves, lay back and relax, letting the tea bags soothe your tired eyes. The tannins in the green tea will ease any swelling or puffiness around your eyes so you feel refreshed.
Green Tea as a Foot Soak –After a hard day at work green tea is a perfect way to relax and unwind. Rather than just brewing a cup of green tea, why not brew a little extra to soak your tired feet in? A strong infusion of green tea is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and can help reduce foot odor – and it feels pretty wonderful, too!
Green Tea for Healthy Plants – If you have a bit of leftover green tea in your cup or teapot simply water your plants with it! The nitrogen and other natural elements are great for your plants. You can also place the wet leaves as a thin layer around your plants at the soil line or mix it in with your potting soil to nourish your houseplants or favorite outdoor potted plants over time.
Green Tea as a Rust Preventer? – Believe it or not, yes! Oxidation is exactly what causes rust to form on iron. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants such as catechin. You can help keep rust from happening by taking green tea leaves in a muslin or cotton bag or other type of cloth and rubbing it over the surface of your cast iron cookware, grilling accessories, and hinges or wherever metal is exposed.
Green Tea as a Dye – You can get some wonderful subtle color for fabrics by using green tea. The shades can range from a medium sage green to a lighter shade of ecru, depending on the strength of the tea and how long you let it soak. Use three parts green tea to one part water. Let the steep without adding fabric for 20 minutes. Once you add the fabric you wish to dye, check after 20 minutes and soak longer if you wish to make it darker or until you reach the desired shade.
These are just a few of the many great ways you can use green tea in your home. Try a few and let us know how they worked out in the comments.
]]>Tea in China
The herbalists, healers and doctors of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are renowned for their vast knowledge of how to diagnose various diseases and illnesses as well as how to treat them through the properties found within the herbs. For millennia, these healers studied the properties of the plants and handed them down from teacher to student.
One of these ancient herbalists had managed to gather the healing knowledge of no fewer than 100,000 herbs and their healing secrets and properties. The master herbalist, being advanced in years, began to pass his knowledge along to his son. Over the course of a few years, the herbalist did manage to pass along the knowledge of 80,000 herbs and healing secrets to his son.
Unfortunately, however, the herbalist became gravely ill. He realized that he was not likely to pass on the remaining 20,000 secrets to his son before he died. On his deathbed, the herbalist made his son promise to come to his grave on the anniversary of his death when five years had passed. In return, the old herbalist promised that he would then pass along the remaining 20,000 secrets to his son and he would know all that he needed to in order to be an effective healer to others. The old man then closed his eyes for the last time and died. His grieving family buried him somewhere in the mountainous regions of China where he loved to spend time in nature and gathering herbs.
Exactly five years later, on the anniversary of his father’s death, the son kept his promise and returned to his father’s grave. In the spot where the master herbalist was buried grew a beautiful and fully mature tree. This tree was the tea plant. It is said that true the word given to him by his father, the young herbalist learned the remaining 20,000 secrets that his father knew just by working with this single plant.
Tea Legends of Japan
Tea is considered the official national drink of Japan. There are rules and ceremonies surrounding tea, such as how it is presented, brewed and consumed within Japanese culture. While scientists fully admit that tea originated in China and later migrated to Japan, one legend that is centuries old claims that it was a young dedicant to a Shinto or Shaolin temple who discovered tea during meditation.
As part of his penitence, he vowed he should not sleep for seven years. Of course, being young and inexperienced in the rigors of meditation for long periods, he fell asleep that same night. Furious with himself, he cut off his eyelids, and threw them onto the ground. Almost instantaneously, tea plants grew in the exact spots where they landed. The monk was so amazed by this he prepared himself a drink from the leaves of the plants that had grown.
People of every class all over Japan heard of the wonder that had happened to the young monk and came to witness it for themselves. The drink was both stimulating and relaxing and became inextricably linked within Japanese life. It is interesting to note that the kanji letter in Japanese writing used for the word eyelid and the word tea are based on the same character.
The Legend of Tea in India
The legend of how tea came to India is very similar to the one told in Japan. The People of India believer that in the year 500 A.D. it was Bodhidharma that discovered tea during a meditation exercise at a Hindu temple which lasted seven years. Bodhidharma, not unlike the Japanese monk, also began to feel exhausted during his meditation. Rather than succumb to sleep, Bodhidharma removed his eyelids so that he could continue to meditate without falling asleep.
In a similar fashion to the Japanese legend, Bodhidharma also cast aside the offending flesh and tea plants sprung up where they landed. Bodhidharma, however, did not prepare a beverage. Instead he picked a few of the leaves and ate them in order to help stave off the hunger in his belly. After eating the leaves, Bodhidharma noticed that not only had his hunger disappeared, but he felt energized and more wakeful than before.
Such legends give us clues as to how tea and its use spread across the world. People across Asia and India appreciate find that this particular legend wonderfully ties the consumption of tea to aspects of daily life, their cultural and spiritual practices and to meditation.
Tea Legends of Korea
The people of the Korean Peninsula also consider tea to be an important part of their religion and culture. Koreans know that tea originated in China and celebrate their own legend of tea’s origins. King Suro, who was descended from the deities of the sky, married Princess Heo Hwang-ok who came from the Ayuta region of India. She brought with her a boat laden with tea seeds as part of her marriage dowry. Korean monks had journeyed to China and learned how to plant, nurture and harvest the tea seeds. One of those monks, Yandi Shen Nong, is to this day regarded as the Korean saint of tea.
The Migration of Tea Around the World
Of course, because both green and black tea are so delicious and enjoyable, it managed to make its migration on its own to even more regions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East as well as Russia and Eastern Europe.
It wasn’t until the 17th Century that tea arrived in England and Europe. In 1669, was brought to England and was only allowed to be consumed by royalty and then later by well-to-do nobles. In that time, tea was something that only the wealthy could afford. Later, however, through the establishment of the East India Trading Company and other entrepreneurial merchants in England, tea came to be enjoyed throughout the ever-expanding British Empire and the world.
While the legends and history surrounding tea and its origins may vary depending on where you go, one thing is certain, tea production and consumption around the world has grown and is now enjoyed around the world today by nearly everyone.
]]>In this month’s article, we’re going to discuss the major geographic features, cultural must-knows, and tourist areas of this country so you can plan a trip, as well as some important travel information you should know before your visit. In America, the name Myanmar is used for getting visas so we will use this name here. Myanmar used to be known as Burma and both names are still common.
Basic information
Myanmar is a country in Southeast Asia a little smaller than the state of Missouri in the United States. It’s bordered by five countries: China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. If you can find India on a map, Myanmar is located just to the west of its furthest point.
The Chinese border is very mountainous, with foothills extending along the eastern side of the country. It is in these foothills that our tea is harvested in the Shan state. There is another mountain range extending from India down the west side of the country. The center of the state is a low valley with many rivers, the largest being the Irrawaddy.
Myanmar’s climate is mostly tropical, consisting of two main seasons, a very wet and hot monsoon season from May through October and a much drier and cooler season from the end of October to May. It is most recommended to tour Myanmar during the dry season as travel during the monsoons is treacherous without experience.
States
There are fourteen states in Myanmar, the largest being Shan where we source our teas from. Every state has tourism opportunities. After being isolated for so long, Myanmar has opened its doors to adventurous travelers who are willing to go off the beaten path and brave undeveloped countryside in order to see sights that few outside of Myanmar have seen in decades.
However, not all of the states are safe for travel. Before you plan a trip to Myanmar, you must be aware of the local situation. Your country’s visa authority will be able to tell you which areas are safe for travel and which need to be avoided. That said, tourists getting caught up in local trouble in Myanmar is rare so long as they don’t try to get involved.
Religion
The country is overwhelmingly Theravada Buddhist, though there are areas with strong religious minorities and the major cities do have smaller enclaves of other religions. It is against the law to malign Buddhism or images of the Buddha. If you plan on visiting any of the temples, reading a bit about how to interact with monks will go a long way. At a minimum, be respectful and, if you are female, avoid touching them.
If you have an interest in Buddhism or in Eastern religions, you will be spoiled for choice for destinations to visit. One example is the Shwemawdaw Pagoda, the tallest pagoda in Myanmar at 374 feet in height. It is located in Bago, a city in Southern Myanmar.
For sheer variety, the pagoda fields of Bagan has over 2,000 pagodas and temples to see and thousands more in various states of ruin. The field is very popular with hot air balloon tourists. From the higher vantage point, you can see the huge scale of the project. Bagan’s archaeological zones are perfect for tourists with a desire to experience ancient history. Bagan is also in Myanmar’s dry zone, so if your travel plans take you here during the wet season this makes an attractive stop.
A pagoda, in case you’re not familiar with the term, is a large structure often containing a chamber to hold Buddhist relics. Similar to how parts of saints are interred at some cathedrals, these chambers may also contain parts of individuals believed to be enlightened. Shwemawdaw Pagoda is said to contain two hairs and two teeth of the Buddha.
Resort Towns
Several towns have embraced the chance at tourism and have started development. One such example is Thandwe in West Myanmar. It is the home of Ngapali Beach, a two-mile beach that is a popular tourist destination for locals and foreigners alike, though more expensive than other locations due to its isolation. Other beach destinations include Ngwe Saung, Chuang Tha, and Kanthaya Beach. One thing to note is that the Burmese swim in t-shirts and jeans. While you can wear Western swimwear, choose modest fashions.
Inle Lake in Shan State and the surrounding area is also a major tourist attraction. While not a beach town, it is home to some of the most spectacular vistas in Myanmar. The Kakku Pagodas, not far from here, are a set of thousands of pagodas tucked away in the hills. You must have a local guide take you there by law, so if you are staying at Inle Lake, ask the front desk to arrange a visit.
Finally, we can’t forget talking about Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar and where you are most likely to fly into or through during your time there. It is here that you can experience Burmese tea culture in full force. It is quite common for locals to while the weekend away at a tea shop. If you are learning the Burmese language, this would give you a great chance to practice your conversation skills. Yangon also has a very well-preserved colonial center from when Britain ruled the country, another great place for history buffs to tour.
We hope that if you like our tea, you may one day take a trip to experience the culture and sites of Myanmar first-hand. It is truly a get-away-from-it-all destination for the adventurous traveler. While many tourist sites are still undergoing development compared to neighboring countries, if you’re willing to handle that then Myanmar has much to offer.
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How Tea Is Made
Tea, at its simplest, is any herb that has been placed in boiling water and allowed to steep long enough for the heat and the water to draw out flavors from the herbs. The herb most used for tea is from Camellia sinensis or the tea tree. Native to Asia, this plant is the start of what we call tea.
Just like grapes in wine, the growing conditions for each tea tree affect the flavor in different ways, resulting in hundreds of different sub-species of the plant as it has crossed to different countries and bioregions. This is why Shan Valley tea can taste different from, say, Assam tea, or a tea grown in Japan or China, even though it’s from the same plant.
However, how the tea leaves are treated after picking is even more crucial to creating different types of teas. Depending on when the tea is picked and how it is handled, the humble tea leaf can transform into a wide variety of flavors.
Core Types
Inside of a tea shop, tea is divided into several broad types. Understanding these types will start helping you get oriented in the world of tea. The primary difference between the types is the amount of oxidation that has happened to the leaves prior to drying them out. Here is each type, in order of oxidation amount from high to low.
Black Tea
This is the tea that most Westerners are most familiar with, the dark reddish-brown liquid found everywhere when you order tea at a restaurant. It is called black tea because the tea leaves are fully oxidized to a black color. Black tea has strong flavors and has the most caffeine of any tea type, another reason why it is so popular here in the West.
One point of confusion for Westerners going to Asia is that black tea is often called red tea instead, due to the reddish color of the brewed tea. A separate type of tea is considered to be black tea. Even more confusing is that there is a red tea here in the West brewed from the rooibos plant, which comes from Africa.
Key things to know: Full oxidation, bold flavor, high caffeine.
Puh-er Tea
This process for making this kind of tea is a closely guarded secret in China, but we do know that the tea is put through a special fermentation process with different molds. A few other countries have variants on this process, but Puh-er tea is the most well-known.
This tea fetches extremely high prices on the world market and there are a lot of counterfeit Puh-er teas for the most sought-after varieties. It is said to have unique medicinal qualities due to the probiotics used in the process.
In Burma, we do have a fermented tea but the leaves from it are actually used as a salad! Burma is one of the few countries that eats tea leaves like this. It is a widespread and very healthy dish there, eaten at every occasion. Check back on our past article on lahpet for more information.
Things to know: Rare and unique, expensive, probiotic
Oolong Tea
Oolong teas are at an in-between state between black and green tea, creating complex flavors. These teas are sometimes known as blue teas due to the color of the leaves. Special rolling techniques are used to create different shapes of the final product. In fact, this type of tea is probably the one that requires the most human attention due to the repetition of different tea preparation stages in the process.
The word Oolong is a corruption of a Chinese phrase for black dragon. Most Oolong tea is grown in China.
Things to know: Many flavors, types, and shapes. May have to experiment to find one you like.
Green Tea
Now to our favorite tea, and one that has been growing in world popularity. With green teas, the oxidation process is only allowed a brief amount of time before this process is stopped by heating. This can be done by a dry heat or by steam, each producing its own kinds of flavors.
Stopping the oxidation process early creates much less caffeine compared to black tea and preserves compounds that give green tea its health properties. Green tea flavors can range from very subtle ones to strong grass-like flavors. One of the reasons green tea is less popular than black is that black tea lasts a lot longer before the flavor is lost. A brick of green tea will stay fresh for about a year, but black teas stayed fresh long enough to be used as currency in some countries!
Things to know: Low oxidation, healthy, lower caffeine, use within a year.
White Tea
White teas are brewed from tea buds before they become full tea leaves. This creates the mildest of flavors and the lowest amount of caffeine, though there is still some present. There are high amounts of antioxidants in white tea, but its short growing season makes it too expensive for general consumption. Due to the delicacy of the buds and minimal processing, white tea differences are more due to the actual plant than the processing.
Things to know: Mildest flavor, short season, expensive.
The lines between these teas can be a little blurry, depending on the regulations in different countries for these tea types. There are also several kinds of teas made from the same plant that are very rare, such as yellow tea, or strange like kukicha, which is a Japanese green tea that uses the stems and branches instead of the leaves!
Additionally, some varieties of tea take these basic flavors and add additional flavorings to them. Earl Grey is probably the most famous of these with its use of bergamot, a bitter orange variety. And there are tea shops that experiment with all kinds of funky additional herbs to bring out other flavors.
But for the true tea connoisseur, the place to start is with the basics. Try our green tea or black tea samplers to experience the differences between one variety of tea. Then try going to your local store or tea market and trying others of the same kind. Keep notes on the smell, color, and flavor of the tea until you find the ones you like the best. Then move to a different tea type. With careful notes, soon you’ll have your own favorites!
]]>First of all, we want to take a moment to thank the people who have taken the time to review our teas on social media. While we have a lot of local customers in our New Jersey shop, we hope to share our Burmese teas with everyone in North America and beyond. The best way we can do that is through the reviews our customers share. If you’ve enjoyed our teas in the past, we would like to ask that you share your love with other people by word of mouth, social media, or any other way that lets people know how much you appreciate our Burmese tea.
Also, if you are browsing our site and haven’t joined our social media pages, you can find the links to Facebook, Twitter, and G+ down at the bottom of our website. You can share brewing tips and food pairing suggestions for our teas, or anything else you like. And if you have any questions about our teas, we’ll be glad to answer them for you.
Amazon!
Another big thing that happened since our last post is that we opened up an Amazon storefront. If you prefer to order your goods through Amazon, you can get all of our products through them. We’d also like it if you left us reviews of our teas on those pages so more people can understand just how good it is to drink Shan Valley Tea.
A Special Thank You
We want to give special thanks to a YouTube reviewer, Robert Veach, who gave video reviews of two of our products. You can watch the reviews at these links:
If you haven’t seen these yet, check them out! And Robert, if you’re reading this, thank you very much for the review of our fine Burmese teas. We would like to make one small recommendation for your steeping process. Green teas should be brewed for 3-5 minutes. Seven minutes is too long! You must like your tea strong. :)
Green Tea for Weight Loss
Our green tea was also reviewed on the blog Fit Bottomed Eats last year. We appreciate the notice and hope that our green tea has helped you in your weight loss goals! If weight loss is a goal for you, you might want to read this post we made about how green tea can help you shed pounds.
Website and Product Updates
And since it has been a while since our last update, here are some of the changes you might have noticed on our website:
* We have several new products available, including new kinds of Burmese tea and canisters with single-serve tea bags. There are now five varieties of green tea and three varieties of black tea. You can order sampler packs of both to see what kinds you like before you splurge on a box of tins. Consider giving a tin to your loved ones the next time the holidays come around.
* We now offer free shipping on US orders of $50 or more! If you really really like our teas, this is a great way to buy a few month’s supply at a more reasonable rate. And if you’re a restaurant that wants to serve our teas, give us a call and we might be able to arrange a bulk rate!
* Our operations are continuing to expand. Check out all this tea we received from our growers last year in this Facebook post! As one of the first importers of Burmese tea to the US, we’re getting a lot of buzz from the growers who are eager to break into the markets here.
* We helped with a charity event for the American Burma Buddhist Association. Myanmar is a devoutly Theravada Buddhist country. Helping out with charity events like these helps to connect Shan Valley Tea to the local Burmese community and enables us to give gifts to members of the Sangha (the Buddhist monastic community). We hope for more opportunities in the future!
Whole Planet Foundation
We’re continuing to bring the wonder and flavor of Burmese teas to New Jersey locals. In addition to our storefront, we have also been blessed to have our teas picked up by several local Whole Foods stores. If you’re a New Jersey local, you might be lucky enough to live near one that carries it!
By doing this, we’re also helping our tea growers gain access to microcredit through the Whole Planet Foundation. This is a division of Whole Foods that extends microloans to poor farmers in areas where Whole Foods sources their products. By carrying Shan Valley teas in their stores through us, farmers don’t just get paid from our sales, but can also take advantage of low-interest microloans in their local region funded by Whole Foods. It’s an incredible opportunity for our growers to expand operations and improve their techniques.
Future Posts
We’re hoping to keep this blog more updated in the future, so be on the lookout for more stories about the benefits of tea and about the beautiful country of Burma (Myanmar), the source for all of our products. We’ll let you know when a new post goes up through our social media channels so you won’t miss a single one.
Once again, we want to thank you for reading this post and for being a supporter of Shan Valley. Burmese tea is still quite rare to find in the United States. Shan Valley is one of the first and foremost importers of this tea. We go directly to the growers to find the best products to bring back to share with you. The reviews of the teas made by people on this site are proof of how good they are. We firmly believe that Burmese tea is among the best tea ever grown, and the Shan Valley in Myanmar is the source for the best teas there.
If you have yet to try any of our teas and don’t know where to begin, we recommend starting with our first flush black or green teas. First flush teas are the earliest teas of the growing season and full of flavor! One sip and you’ll never want to go back to boring orange pekoe again.
]]>Thingyan is also an important time for tea harvesters. Some of the best tea of the year is harvested during Thingyan season. This is the earliest time that new tea can be harvested from tea plants. Be on the lookout for 2015 shipments of our first flush teas coming into our shop after they’ve been processed!
There are three sides to the Thingyan festival. First, there is the Buddhist side. Myanmar is a devoutly Buddhist country. People take trips to monasteries to observe special practices and to give alms to monks. This is also a time to honor elders of the family.
The second side is the symbolism of the water. The sprinkling of water is meant to wash away the trouble of the old year, but many people go far beyond a sprinkling. If you don’t like getting wet do not come to Myanmar during Thingyan! You can hardly get down the street without water trucks, hoses, children with buckets, people wandering around with squirt guns, and many other people trying to get everyone else wet.
The third side is the party side. A party far more wild than any Mardi Gras kicks in all over the country. Myanmar is a very reserved country most of the time. During Thingyan, all that pent up energy gets released. Many cultural taboos are lifted.
Visiting during Thingyan is like joining a nation-wide water fight, especially in the major cities. If that’s the sort of thing you really like to do, then there’s nothing like it. Again, if you don’t like getting wet stay home during Thingyan! There are plenty of other festivals in Myanmar you enjoy that don’t involve constant soaking and rowdy behavior.
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Green tea, like black tea, comes from the plant, Camellia sinensis. Unlike black teas, however, the leaves of green tea are not fermented or aged before they are steamed and dried, and so they are fresher.
One of the most important aspects of green tea, like black tea, coffee, and red wine is that they all contain large quantities of polyphenols. Polyphenols are a group of bioflavonoids that researchers have found which have antioxidant, anticancer, antibacterial, and antiviral properties within them. What this means in terms of skin care is that free radicals, cells or molecules that are missing an electron and are considered unstable. At any given time, free radicals can form in your skin. This happens because of exposure to UV radiation from the son when you don’t use sunscreen, for example, and can cause premature aging and even some forms of pre-cancer of the skin.
Over the years, there have been several scientific studies on the benefits of green tea extract on the skin. Several of these studies evidenced that green tea extract showed the ability to neutralize much of the damage that was caused by exposure to the UV rays of the sun. In one study, the extract was applied to the study subjects and it was shown to give dramatic protection from sunburn.
Exposure to the sun’s harmful UV rays is a major cause of both premature aging and for skin cancer. A study conducted in the United Kingdom showed that those who drank on average two or more cups of green tea per day had a risk 65% lower of developing squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. The addition of lemon, according to the same study, further emphasized the cancer prevention qualities of green tea. Of course, this does not mean you should forgo using sunscreen. When using sunscreen, make sure you use one that is zinc oxide-based. These zinc oxide-based sunscreens generally will not react when used in combination with green tree oxide on the skin because they are chemically inert.
Green tea has also been shown as an effective anti-inflammatory agent. If you have a tendency toward skin redness, green tea extract can help alleviate this. In addition, green tea extract contains an active enzyme that will inhibit the production of collagenase. Collegenase breaks down collagen which helps maintain the skin’s elasticity which keeps the skin looking youthful and resist the effects of aging. Clinical studies have shown that subjects who used products containing green tea extract on a continuous basis exhibited both less redness in the skin and greater elasticity in their skin.
You could save your spent tea leaves to make a poultice the next time you get a sunburn and try out this remedy for yourself. Mix the tea leaves into a paste with warm water and leave it on the burn for 30 minutes. See how it feels!
**We are not doctors. Any information in this blog post is purely for entertainment purposes, and does not constitute medical advice under any circumstances. ]]>
Today, modern researchers conducting various studies on the positive health effects of green tea have seen some connection between the regular consumption of green tea on health by assisting in weight loss and keeping more serious health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and some types of liver disorders at bay.
Over time and today, green tea has been considered to be one of the beneficial beverages to overall health in the world. One reason for this could be because green tea contains within it especially high levels of antioxidants. All teas contain antioxidants, but green tea has within it more than any other type of tea on the market. The health-giving antioxidants are known as polyphenols. These polyphenols are what give green tea its healthful benefits.
Green Tea and Dental Health
One of the more unexpected effects of consuming green tea is the benefits that it provides to overall dental health. While good oral hygiene is always necessary, studies have shown that green tea catechin can help prevent the formation of plaque on the teeth, help tighten and support the gums around teeth that hold them in place. A number of harmful bacteria in the mouth when left unchecked can cause halitosis or bad breath as well as causing plaque and other dental health issues that can have a negative effect on your smile.
Green Tea and Potential Cancer-Fighting Effects
Those countries in the world where the consumption of green tea is the highest tend to see lower rates of cancer. Of course, it isn’t really possible to know if the consumption of green tea is what is preventing cancer in these populations, mostly across parts of Asia, but it is believed that consuming green tea along with other healthful lifestyle factors may have some effect on this.
In a recent study by the National Cancer Institute, researchers found that the polyphenols that are contained within green tea have shown significant effect in the decrease in the growth of some types of cancers in laboratory animals. Some researchers believe that similar benefits can affect humans as well. One study at the Institute showed that promise that green tea extract was shown to shield the body against the sun’s harmful UV rays.
While 2005 the FDA said that the benefits of green tea could not be proven, studies hinted there may be a connection. One study on the positive effects of the consumption of green tea indicated that those who drank between two and ten cups per day were far less likely to develop certain forms of cancer such as cancer of the pancreas. Similar studies indicate that cancers of the bladder, breast, ovaries, stomach, and prostate were less in those patients who reported regularly consuming green tea. Most likely this can be linked directly to the higher levels of polyphenols contained within green tea that stop cancerous and pre-cancerous cells from growing.
Feeling Refreshed with Green Tea
All teas contain caffeine even in trace amounts. Over time, researchers realize that a little caffeine can be extremely beneficial to the body with the exception being those people who are very sensitive to it. The caffeine levels found in green tea have been shown to stimulate almost every organ within the human body. This is especially true within the heart, liver and central nervous system. The stimulating effects of the caffeine found within green tea are particularly noticeable when the subject is tired or even sleepy. After consuming a cup of green tea, the mind becomes less cloudy and seems to sharpen the mind. Perhaps this is why so many people consume tea or coffee in the morning after a night of sleep or when burning the midnight oil. Studies have shown that the practice around the world of consuming tea in the afternoon does seem to help offer a bit of a recharge for the body to help it get through the remainder of the day.
**We are not doctors. Any information in this blog post is purely for entertainment purposes, and does not constitute medical advice under any circumstances.
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Tea has been grown throughout Asia for several thousand years. Tea from the Kyaukme Shan Valley is especially fine since it is uniquely suited to grow fine green tea that comes from the Camellia sinensis or tea plant. The altitude is high enough and wet enough to produce the high quality leaves that tea connoisseurs demand.
To grow a quality green tea, it takes between 3 years before these plants are ready for their first harvest. When tea is harvested, it is only the top one or two inches of the mature plant that are harvested. These tea plant buds are called flushes. It takes 7 - 15 days for a new flush to be produced. When teas take a little longer to reach this level of maturity, it tends to produce a better tasting tea. The second and third leaves are the only ones that are plucked in order to make the best tea. This is called fine plucking. Plucking more leaves along with the bud is called course plucking and produces teas of lesser quality. A tea bush will produce a few thousand leaves per year. While this may sound like a huge number of tea leaves, it produces roughly just one pound per bush in one year.
When the leaves for green tea are harvested, they are not left to oxidize. Generally, leaves that have been freshly harvested will be laid out and allowed to dry for between 8 -24 hours to allow most of the water that is contained within the leaf to evaporate. It is at this point that the leaves are steamed or even pan fried. This prevents oxidization which causes the leaves to appear more green than black teas, for example. The next portion of the process is to roll the leaves according to the type of tea that it is. The tea is then left for final drying before being packaged and sold.
Shan Valley offices are located in the United States but we work closely with our growers in the Shan Valley that help us to offer some of the greatest green tea available on the market today.
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In a recent study for cancer prevention conducted at the University of California, scientists indicate that the antioxidants and other constituents within green tea that act as a cancer-preventative can be attained in consuming as little as two cups of green tea per day. Other studies indicate that you should consume as much as 10 cups per day in order to see real benefit. Perhaps a figure somewhere between 2 - 5 cups of green tea per day is more than likely enough for most people who are interested in maintaining overall good health without any serious side effects.
If you want to avoid the potential of consuming too much caffeine try to pay close attention to how much green tea you drink. Most people who consume green tea don’t even have to think about this even if they consume green tea all day. So, even if you tend to be able to tolerate a relatively high intake, it is a good idea to try not to drink more than 12 - 15 cups per day. The equivalent of a cup of tea is one tea bag infused in hot, not boiling water, for an average steeping time of 7 -10 minutes. This longer steeping time is better for health benefits, since the water will have more time to extract valuable compounds from the tea. However, it will make the tea bitterer than normal.
You may want to consume less than this if you have heart or liver problems, high blood pressure, anemia, glaucoma, osteoporosis, suffer from insomnia or anxiety. So while green tea can be good for you, at times it is possible to get too much of a good thing. Also, be sure to check with your doctor to make certain that any medications you may be taking do not pose a potential problem with the caffeine contained within green tea.
Very high consumption of green tea can decrease the body’s ability to absorb folic acid. Folic acid is very important for women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant in the prevention of birth defects. If you are pregnant or considering pregnancy, try to drop your green tea consumption down to no more than 2 cups per day.
As a note, we are not physicians, nor do we intend to offer medical advice. Any information offered here is for entertainment value only.
]]>Skin care with green tea
After a cup of green tea, you can take the contents of your tea bag, or the lose tea and use it as a nourishing mask treatment. Add to the tea a bit of honey to make up a paste. Apply directly on the skin and leave it on for ten to fifteen minutes then rinse it off to reveal softer, glowing skin. You may also choose to add a bit of baking soda to act as an exfoliating agent. The baking soda will also tighten pores and help pull impurities out of your skin.
Another mask is to use a few tablespoons of plain yogurt with some loose green tea or contents of a green tea bag. Simply mix the two ingredients together and spread lightly on the face. Now just lay back and relax. After about ten or fifteen minutes, rinse off the green tea and yogurt mixture to reveal soft, dewy looking skin.
Do your eyes feel or look tired?
Take the tea bag you’ve just made your last cup of tea with and use it on your eyes rather than just throwing it away. The tannins contained in green tea act as an astringent which can shrink the pores of the skin. A cool teabag on the eyes can help reduce any swelling and tighten the skin around the eye area. After a few minutes you will definitely see and feel the difference.
Facial scrubs
Green tea can also be used in making facial scrubs as well as the nourishing mask mentioned above. Since green tea helps to tighten the pores, using it in a facial scrub can also be very beneficial for facial skin. Use the tea in your used tea bag along with some granulated sugar to make an exfoliating scrub. This particular scrub can be made easily and any extra can be stored in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.
Hair care
Green tea can also add shine and luster to your hair. Put 3 or 4 green tea bags into boiling water then let it simmer on the stove 10-15 minutes. Allow this mixture to cool completely, or for optimum results, let it infuse overnight. When you go to shampoo the next day, use this mixture to wet your hair down. Leave it on for about ten minutes, then rinse. You can then shampoo with your favorite shampoo and conditioner.
These are just a few of the was that green tea offers health benefits outside the body as well as the ones that are experienced internally when you drink green tea every day. Don’t be afraid to try other mixtures and tips or come up with your own ways to enjoy the benefits of green tea.
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Catechins
Because of the lack of fermentation, the amount of antioxidants and other healthful substances such as polyphenols, flavonoids and catechins are higher than other teas. These substances act as a deterrent within the body to help stop free radicals, thus protecting the cells in the body from damage. The cumulative damage on the part of free radicals can contribute to illness and disease. One of these substances is epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG as it is more commonly known.
Green tea has also been attributed with increased concentration and “brain power” thanks to the caffeine in it. The caffeine acts to block a neurotransmitter, adenosine, which affects levels of other neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine. These aid in mood improvement, focus and concentration. These same neurotransmitters are also attributed in helping to inhibit the deterioration that is often attributed to both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Theanine
Laboratory tests have also indicated that the amino acid L-theanine found green tea aided in the restoration of damaged brain cells and helped to prevent other cells in the brain from deterioration. It also assists in preventing some forms of depression.
Weight Loss
Widely publicized is the effect that green tea can have in weight loss. Green tea increases the metabolism and the levels of fat oxidation and increases the rate at which the human body can turn food into calories. Green tea also assists in regulating glucose levels by slowing the body’s rise in blood sugar that occurs after eating. This slowing can help to prevent insulin spikes and assist in helping to control some forms of diabetes such as Type II diabetes. Reducing insulin sensitivity and reducing blood sugar levels helps the body to maintain optimum health and prevent extreme highs and lows that often afflict diabetic patients.
Heart Health
Initial tests indicate also that green tea works to help keep blood vessels stay relaxed and more readily able to handle changes in blood pressure by working on the linings of blood vessels. Similarly, it may also prevent blood clots from forming, thus preventing stroke or heart attack.
Cancer Prevention
Recent studies indicate that drinking green tea can decrease the incidence of some forms of cancer. Green tea increasing the levels of antioxidants in the body that can help to prevent all kinds of cancers which include breast, esophageal, prostate and colorectal cancer. Many studies have been conducted and it does appear that overall, regular drinkers of green tea have a much decreased risk of cancer.
Dental Health
Green tea has also been known to help stem tooth decay. The antioxidant catechin found in green tea destroys bacteria in the mouth that can lead to dental caries, gum recession, and other dental conditions including tooth loss. Tooth decay and other dental issues have also been linked to increase in heart disease.
More than just a coffee substitute, just taking the time to take a break to relax with a cup of green tea can do much to add to your overall health and sense of well-being. Try one of Shan Valley’s exceptional green teas today.
]]>But enough about history. Let’s turn to the tea. This is another full-leaf tea suitable for multiple steepings. An interesting thing about this tea is that it smells oxidized a little more than a standard green tea. It has a very savory flavor, almost like tea leaf jerky!
The color of the finished tea is also darker than most green teas. It is a dark straw or almost apple juice color. The smell of the warm tea retains some of the savory scent of the dried leaf, but with a lighter bounce to it. It has a bit of a buttery mouthfeel. More body than the Shan First Flush Green Tea, but nothing like the Kokang Green Tea. The first impression that I get is a light sweet marshmallow combined with that savoriness, followed immediately by a bitterness similar to a light black tea. If I was going to serve green tea to my friends who prefer coffee, this would be an excellent choice. As I enjoyed the cup, the savoriness increased.
I don’t know if I would add sugar to this given the sweetness on first state, but some milk might cut the bitter on the backend if you don’t like that flavor. Alternatively, you could try our Shan First Flush Green Tea, which is the lightest of the green teas we currently offer.
Some might consider this tea to be on the edge between green tea and oolong tea. Try it for yourself and see what you think. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
]]>This is a loose leaf tea suitable for multiple steepings. The smell of the leaves is extremely vegetal. It’s almost like wakame seaweed, but cleaner. As with all our green teas, we steeped some at 175 degrees for 4 minutes in 10 oz of water. The brewed liquid still retains a faint scent of the wakame, but the dominant note is the astringent green tea scent.
First flush teas tend to be very light in flavor compared to tea later in the season, and Shan First Flush Green Tea is no exception. This is a very delicate tea that should be drunk without added sweeteners or milk. These would overpower the flavor. There is definitely a green tea flavor, but it’s very ephemeral. It floats into the palate. If you have a loved one that doesn’t like standard black teas, they may like the far more delicate flavor of this tea.
This would be an excellent tea between courses or for an afternoon tea. It is a tea to taste slowly while sitting on your porch. Subtle and sensitive, Shan First Flush Green Tea is an excellent addition to your tea cabinet. Try a sample today and let us know what you think of it.
]]>I steeped a teaspoon of the tea in a tea ball in freshly boiled water for 2 minutes. The tea is tightly rolled like coffee grounds, so be sure to use a tea ball that doesn’t have large holes. This tea is quite rich to the nose, not weak like standard store-bought black tea. It has depth and vigor.
Despite the strong nose, the taste of the tea is quite fresh and delicate for a black tea. It’s quite cleansing to the palate. There is bitterness on the back of it, but that is to be expected with a good black tea. It’s about as bitter as a weak cup of coffee. If you prefer less bitterness, try steeping it for two minutes.
Kyaukme Black Tea is also excellent as a pick-me-up in the morning. This would make an excellent coffee replacement for someone who doesn’t like the bitterness of coffee. It’s strong enough to not lose flavor with a spoonful of sugar, but don’t overwhelm the freshness of this tea by adding too much sweeter or honey. You could add milk or chai mix if that is your taste. You could even make a batch of very fancy iced tea!
If you like black tea that smells good, tastes clean, and you can’t find any normal supermarket you’ll definitely want to try Shan Valley Tea’s Kyaukme Black Tea for your next cup.
]]>It is shipped as a full-leaf tea, so you may need to break up the leaves to make them fit into a tea ball, or use a tea strainer to brew it. The leaves themselves smell to my nose like good mushrooms with tiny hints of straw. It’s a very earthy and delicious smell.
After brewing, the tea itself looks almost the color of a white wine. It’s very bright and clear. The scent of the brewed tea is complex and delicate. The flavor of the tea has a wonderful straw flavor with hints of green beans, with a mild astringency. I could drink this tea all day. I recommend not adding anything to it without tasting it in its original form. It does not need any help from sugar, honey, etc.
Using full-leaf tea
If this is your first full-leaf tea, you should know that you can steep the tea leaves multiple times and get a complex range of flavors through the steepings. Depending on the tea, you can get as many as 15 steepings out of the same leaves! Between steepings, take the tea ball out completely and watch your steeping times closely. You can experiment with steeping times to yield different flavors. Some do it longer for fewer steepings, and others do it shorter for more steepings. It’s up to you.
Doing multiple steepings like this helps you to enjoy Kokang Green Tea for as long as possible. One package of it can last quite a while if you perform your steepings correctly. With a tea this good, you won’t want to waste a single steep.X]]>Kokang Region
Kokang is a small special region in the northeast corner of the Shan State of Myanmar on the border with China bordered by the Salween River. The region is populated by the Kokang people, who are descended from Han Chinese who fled there in the 17th century.
Kokang has been an intersection of the tea trade between the Chinese, Burmese, and parts of Thailand for centuries. The people of Kokang have been able to distill the knowledge gained from traders to develop their world-class teas. However, due to the remoteness of the region and the problems with the opium trade, these teas have had difficulty being sold in the West.
Historical events lead this region to become a strong producer of opium poppy through most of the 20th century. In the early 2000s, Myanmar lead a wide crackdown on the growing of opium poppies in their country, causing many problems in the region. Now many of the former opium farmers have turned back to tea. By supporting Shan Valley’s efforts to bring Myanmar-based teas to the US, you get to help keep the price of tea profitable for these farmers and stop the cultivation of opium poppies in Myanmar. How’s that for a fair trade?
Consider trying our Kokang Green Tea today for an exceptional tea experience. Tea connoisseurs describe Kokang teas to have a fruity or flowery mouthfeel with only slight bitterness. Be sure to follow the brewing instructions carefully so you can fully enjoy this tea at its peak.
]]>The tea harvesting season is in full swing in Myanmar, and we’ve just got back with some special first flush teas from there. We’ll be talking about them in future posts. In this post, we’re going to talk about how tea is harvested.
First steps
In general, tea is grown at high altitudes because it gives better flavor. Once a tea plant is at least four years old, the tea can be harvested without damage to the plant for around 100 years. On many plantations, picking the leaves is still done by hand. Machine harvesting can damage the leaves too much before processing. For special teas like first flush teas, hand-harvesting is a must to preserve the highest level of quality.
Another consideration is which leaves and buds are picked off the plant during harvest. Older leaves have a stronger flavor, so some plantations focus only on getting the top two leaves and buds from each plant for fine flavored teas. Due to the small size of tea leaves, women do a lot of the harvesting because their hands are more nimble.
Initial drying and rolling the leaves
The next step in the process is to dry the leaves. Tea leaves contain a lot of water; as much as 75%-80% of the leaf is water. If this water isn’t removed before packaging, the leaves would mold. However, this water must be removed in stages. First, the leaves are spread out over an area and allowed to dry out for a time.
Once the leaves are dry, they must be crushed slightly in order to release more water for evaporation. This is normally done by rolling the leaves by hand or by machines. Both methods of rolling can impart distinct changes in the final result of the tea. Machine rolling results in a more uniform product, and is used in mass-produced teas.
Fermentation and final drying
After the leaves are crushed, the liquid in the leaf will begin to “ferment”. It’s technically an oxidation process. The leaves are placed in a warm room with high humidity. Depending on the length of time the leaves are oxidized, the tea leaves will change from green tea to black tea. It takes about four hours from the start of fermentation to make black tea.
Once the leaves are fermented, all the remaining water has to be removed. These are done in high-heat rooms that drive the water content down to 4%-6%. The leaves are then sorted by size and packaged.
For more information about tea, take a look through the rest of our blog posts.
]]>Whether you prefer a white or a green tea such as a Young Hyson , a traditional Japanese Bancha or Genmaicha, or if you prefer a cup of black tea, such as a Darjeeling, a Nilgiri, an Assam Earl Grey, there is a right way to brew tea.
Every good pot or cup of tea begins with cool, fresh oxygenated water. The most widely accepted measurement is one teaspoon of tea for each cup. A popular English method is to add just one more teaspoon “for the pot”.
Heat the water in a kettle. For green teas, heating it to the point just before it comes to the boil; or just when the bubbles are starting to release and the water is on its way to boiling. For black tea, the water should be brought to a gentle rather than a rolling boil. Even if you don’t have a whistling tea kettle, listening to the sounds of water being prepared for that satisfying cup of tea is all a part of the ritual that makes tea such an enjoyable indulgence.
When steeping the tea, you can use a tea infuser or tea ball, or pour directly into the pot itself. The tea leaves need room in order to expand and to fully unfurl themselves, so don’t pack them too tightly if you use an infuser or tea ball. If you put the tea directly into the water in the tea pot, use a strainer when pouring the tea into a cup.
Green teas take approximately 1 – 2 minutes to steep, as will a black tea. White teas, surprisingly take a little longer Green teas will generally be heated to a temperature of between 180 -200 degrees Fahrenheit, while black teas are prepared at a hotter temperature of between 212 -215 degrees Fahrenheit.
The best thing to remember about any tea, whichever you prefer, is that to make a perfect cup, you have to give yourself the time to enjoy it, one cup at a time.
]]>There is no single “Shan Valley”, but there is the Shan State, a region in the northeast part of Myanmar. For scale, the whole of Myanmar is roughly the size of the state of Texas and the Shan state covers about a quarter of the whole country. The Shan State is a very mountainous region, containing foothills that eventually culminate in the Himalayan range in China, Nepal, and India.
The northern part of this region has been known for tea cultivation for centuries. The founders of Shan Valley Tea started selling their teas in a small town called Kyaukme. This town is primarily known today for its bamboo paper creation, which is sold in Chinese markets. It is still a small town, but very active economically.
In this region of the world, many families grow their own tea bushes. Due to various reasons, Myanmar hasn’t encouraged tea production on the state level. This means that we can get very unique teas as each family will have their own methods for growing and preparing their teas. At Shan Valley we have made trade connections in Myanmar to provide high-quality teas for our customers. We are very choosy about the types of teas we select so that we can bring you the best in Myanmar tea.
Try one of our green or black teas today and bring in a small part of this vibrant country into your home. If you have traveled to Myanmar, share your experiences with us in the comments below.
]]>Tea leaves are used in the creation of a dish called Lahpet Thoke (lah-pay toe), or pickled tea leaf salad. In Myanmar, you can find people serving this dish out of stalls and homes throughout the country. It is a very popular way to end a meal, and it’s quite tasty as well. It’s also almost impossible to find in the US. Myanmar is one of the few places where tea leaves are eaten as well as made into tea. In fact, the best tea leaves are reserved for Lahpet Thoke.
There are recipes online, but here’s the general process. Start with fresh tea leaves, or soak dried whole leaves in hot water until they are soft. Remove any stems, then squeeze any liquid out. Place the leaves in lukewarm water and mash with your hands. Pour the water out, then pour cold water on the leaves and let it stand for a few hours. All this soaking removes the bitterness in the leaves.
Drain and squeeze out the water again, then chop the leaves up finely. Mix some fine-chopped spices or other greens into the mix. Popular blends include ginger, chilies, scallions, garlic, salt, and lime. Cover the dish tightly and let it ferment for two days in a dark place, then store in the refrigerator.
When this dish is served, it’s traditionally surrounded by various condiments like roasted sesame seeds and peanuts. This lets guests pick the flavor combinations they want to use. For a dressing, try frying some garlic in peanut oil, then pour that onto the leaves along with a bit of fish sauce and a squeeze of lime. Finish with salt.
If you can find whole tea leaves, or know a Burmese friend, you’ll want to give this national dish a try. But don’t forget to drink some green tea afterward!]]>However, are these supplements effective and is there an advantage to them that exceeds just drinking green tea? Let’s take a closer look at this.
Types of extracts
There are four main methods that green tea extract manufacturers use in their green tea extract products:
The problems with green tea extracts
Why would people want to turn to an extract rather than just drinking green tea? There are a few reasons. They may just not like the taste of green tea or want to drink as much green tea as they need to get the same sort of impact as the extracts claim. There’s also a mentality that concentrated versions of healthy natural products are better in the supplement field.
However, there are several drawbacks to taking extracts. First, extracts are processed with various chemicals, which may have an adverse effect on both the health benefits and on the bodies of certain people. Second, some extracts don’t have the concentrations necessary to really cause a shift in health. Finally, by replacing a warm cup of tea with a pill, these people are removing one of the major pleasures of taking green tea for health.
If you choose to take a green tea extract, look for one with a polyphenol content of 90% or higher. This will signify that these extracts are significantly concentrated and purified. However, these varieties are likely to be more expensive. Cheaper green tea extracts won’t have enough compounds to make it worth your while, and may be adulterated with other ingredients for processing.
Why drinking tea is better
The healthy components of green tea aren’t just limited to catechins. There are many other compounds as well that are extracted by water infusion at the proper temperature (around 175 degrees Fahrenheit). By preparing tea in the traditional way, you can take advantage of these additional compounds, such as polyphenols.
You also know exactly what is going into your body. Simply green tea. There’s no worry about the additives in an extract causing an adverse reaction in the body. Green tea is very gentle on the body. Nearly everyone can drink a high quantity of tea without any problems.
Finally, drinking warm tea is quite enjoyable for many people around the world. Why try to remove this experience from your life? If you’ve tried one of our teas, you’ll discover that drinking tea regularly might be a good habit to get into just for the flavor.
In the end, yes, there are some extracts that are sufficiently purified enough to be safe and have a positive effect on health. Is it worth giving up drinking normal green tea though? We don’t think so.
]]>A study was run on Japanese men as to the effects of the green tea on their weight. They were separated into two groups. The first group was drinking tea fortified with green tea extract. The second group drank simple oolong tea without the green tea extract.
There was a significant difference between the two groups after three months. The first group lost twice as much weight as the second, where the only difference was the green tea extract. In addition, cholesterol levels went down.
"These results suggest that catechins contribute to the prevention of and improvement in various lifestyle-related diseases, particularly obesity," wrote researcher Tonomori Nagao of Health Care Products Research Laboratories in Tokyo.
Catechins are part of a class of chemicals called flavonoids, which are natural anti-inflammatories. In fact, this class of chemicals used to be called Vitamin P, but that term fell out of disuse. It was first found in cocoa, and has also been found in peaches, acai berries, and many types of berries. However, the highest concentrations are found in unoxidized green tea.
Green tea extract is flooded with catechins. 27% of all the compounds in green tea are catechins. Oolong tea delivers almost the same benefits at 23% composition. However, black tea loses most of these compounds, with only 4% remaining.
Inflammation is considered to be a contributing factor in obesity, heart disease, and several other major diseases. Thus, green tea can be a major tool in your weight loss journey. Not only that, but these compounds also inhibit an enzyme that breaks down norepinephrine, a hormone that increases your metabolic rate.
So drink up! Try one of our excellent green tea varieties today and start losing weight with green tea today.
]]>What is a tea flush?
It has nothing to do with a detox program! Instead, it tells you when the leaves were picked. All teas come from the same plant, but the flavor of the tea will vary greatly depending on many factors. Leaves from the tea plant are generally harvested at four different times per year. These harvests are called flushes. Tea lovers prefer different flushes depending on tea type, with earlier flushes generally considered to be of higher quality overall.
First Flush
One of the offerings that we have here at Shan Valley Teas is our Shan First Flush Green Tea. As the name suggests, this is tea that is picked at the beginning of the season from late February to early April, depending on growing region. It’s sometimes also called the Easter flush for this reason.
These teas have a strong fresh flavor that is brisk but mild. It is this brisk and mild taste that makes first flush teas highly sought after. In fact, first flush teas are some of the most desired teas of all. Some companies go as far as to work with tea plantations that will guarantee they get the very first pick of the season. These so-called First Invoice or First Pick teas can command very high prices.
It doesn’t take very long for the fresh flavor of these early teas to begin to change, so if you can get your hands on a first flush tea, we recommend giving it a try to see the difference.
Second Flush
The next round of harvests happens in May. Spring is now in full swing, and the taste of the tea becomes more complete. Second flush tea is not as delicate as first flush, but it is still lighter than later harvests. If first flush tea is too delicate for your palate, try a second flush tea. Second flush tea is very popular in Japan, and growing in popularity in America.
Summer Flush
Summer flush happens during the monsoon season in Asia, which dramatically changes the quality of the tea. The tea becomes even stronger in flavor, changing with all the additional water. It is definitely of a lower quality than first or second flush tea, but for those who prefer a bold taste of their tea this is when that full flavor really starts to develop.
Autumn Flush
The last flush comes in between October and December. The taste of this tea is closer to second flush, but with the fullest flavors of the season. The leaves are much larger and the final color of the tea is much darker, even before final processing.
The next time you are shopping for tea, you may want to experiment with different flushes for your next purchases. If it is in season, we recommend trying our First Flush Green Tea and see how it compares to your current favorites.
]]>All tea comes from the same plant: Camellia sinensis. There are two main varieties of this plant that are used for tea production. In general, the smaller-leaved Chinese variety is used for green teas while the larger-leaved Assam variety is used for black ones. What makes it so special is the way that it is processed after it is picked.
Oxidation
What makes black tea black is the color of the leaves after the oxidation process. This is sometimes called fermentation, which isn’t an accurate term to use for this process. Nearly all teas are oxidized to some extent, including green teas. This is part of the preservation process. Black tea is processed as follows:
Withering – The tea leaves are dried in the sun or with hot air to drive the water out. A tea leaf can lose up to a quarter of its weight in this process.
Maceration – The leaves are broken up, either by hand or by machine, to increase surface area and to release the remaining liquid from the tea leaf. Most black teas are processed by a machine, resulting in several different grades of tea depending on the size of the particles left afterward.
Oxidation – The most important step in black tea production is oxidation. The broken leaves are left in a temperature and humidity controlled space. Over time, the leaves darken, chlorophyll is broken down, and tannins are increased. Black teas are oxidized the most out of all tea types.
Shaping – The oxidized tea leaves are then rolled together to form strips or other shapes for final processing.
Drying – Finally, the remaining liquid has to be driven out of the leaves to preserve the flavor for shipping. This must be done carefully to prevent over-cooking
The result is the rich, full flavor that most people associate with the taste of tea all throughout the West. One of the reasons why this tea is so popular here is because the flavors last for several years, while the flavors of other teas can last for much less. This aided in the shipping of tea from Asia back to Europe.
The base of many teas
Black tea is also the base for many famous tea blends:
Earl Grey tea – Black tea mixed with bergamot oil.
Masala Chai – The famous spiced tea sold throughout India.
English and Irish breakfast teas – Very strong blends of tea that were meant to be mixed with sugar and milk
How to brew it
This type of tea should be prepared with 6 oz. of water per teaspoon of tea for most varieties. It should be steeped with freshly boiled hot water. The amount of time steeped should be 3-4 minutes for most varieties, though 4-5 minutes is better for whole-leaf teas or for those who prefer a much stronger drink. Here is a little more information about how to brew tea.
]]>There are so many positive health related reasons to drink the best green tea regularly that you might have trouble keeping track of them. That is why we put together a list of the top 10 benefits that maynmar green tea can have on improving your health.
1. Good Mood: Green tea is rich in an amino acid called theanine, which acts as a natural mood stabilizer.
2. Reset Your Metabolism: Studies show that best green tea can help to increase or even change your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories from fat. Other studies have shown that green tea can help you keep the weight off once you’ve lost it.
3. EGCG: Ongoing scientific studies indicate that EGCG is perhaps one of the best naturally occurring substances on our planet to prevent and actually reverse the damage caused by cardiovascular disease.
4. Energy: Need a mental boost? Green tea’s caffeine level is much less than that of coffee – in fact, it’s just the right amount to receive the medical benefit that caffeine can have on the brain. The level of caffeine in green tea has been shown to improve brain function such as vigilance, reaction time, and memory.
5. No Calories!: If you were to substitute a cup or two of Shan Valley green tea for every can of soda you drink over the period of a year, you would cut over 50,000 calories...and lose as much as 15 pounds!
6. Targets Diabetes: Type II diabetes has reached epidemic proportions and now afflicts about 300 million people worldwide. Studies show that good green tea can cause reductions in blood sugar levels, so it may also lower the risk of developing type II diabetes in the long term.
7. Edge on Aging: The bioactive compounds in green tea help to protect neurons in the brain, so green tea drinkers may be reducing their the risk of both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, the two most common neurodegenerative disorders.
8. Antioxidants: Green tea is especially high in antioxidants called catechins, which fight and may even prevent cell damage.
9. A Bright Smile: While good oral hygiene is always necessary, studies have shown that green tea catechin can help prevent the formation of plaque on the teeth, help tighten and support the gums around teeth that hold them in place.
10. Fresh Breath: A number of harmful bacteria in the mouth when left unchecked can cause halitosis or bad breath. Green tea helps break down the compounds in the mouth that leads to the foul odor.
We're so glad that you took the time out of your day to read about the benefits of green tea that we put together a sampler set containing 6 different and unique varieties of premium Myanmar green tea just for you.
And because you are concerned about improving your overall health we want to help you on your journey by giving you 30% off plus free shipping on your purchase.
Simply click HERE and use code teatime at checkout.
Happy steeping my friend - Kyisoe Yauk, CEO
]]>What you’re feeling are the effects of a natural substance found in abundance in green tea called L-theanine. It’s been shown in several scientific studies to increase alpha wave activities in the brain. This subtle shift in brain activity is what’s giving you that refreshing mental boost.
Okay, so your brain is happy...but how do you make sure your taste buds are, too? Is there a secret to getting the optimal flavor from green tea?
One thing to keep in mind is that if it’s true tea, it has a single origin. It all comes comes from the camellia sinensis plant – whether it’s Pu-erh, green, Oolong, white, black, or even yellow. No matter how the leaves have been processed to achieve the different kinds of tea, the secret to extracting the most flavor is is in the water...not the leaves. And even more precisely, it’s to have the water moving around the leaves.
That means your best bet is to search for either loose tea – or in the case of Shan Valley teas, tea that is not tightly packed in bags. You want to be able to see generous movement if you pick up the tea bag and shift it in your hands.
Actually, it doesn’t matter whether the tea flows freely in the water...or the water flows freely through the tea – as long as one of these occurs. If it’s possible, pour the water directly over the tea bag so that it enters and flows through the tea leaves.
What’s the best type of water to use? Considering that your cup of tea is about 98% water, it should absolutely be the best quality you can attain. If the water from your tap is highly chlorinated or is “hard” (usually meaning it has a high mineral content), both of these characteristics will impact the overall flavor. On the other side of this equation, if you use something as extreme as distilled water, you may remove too much of the personality of it. A naturally filtered water or bottled mineral water works best.
Many people are concerned about getting the right temperature for steeping tea. You don’t have to be as extreme as needing a digital thermometer!
Start by heating water to the point where it is simmering but not boiling. If you miss that point, and the water boils, don’t panic – just pull it off the heat. Let it sit for two to three minutes. The temperature will drop from the boiling point down to just about the perfect steeping temperature.
At that point, pouring the water into your teacup will both cool the water slightly a little bit more; plus the water and the cup both seek to become the same temperature.
There you go: you’ve reach the optimal temperature. Now it’s a matter of your preference of strength. The longer you steep the tea, the bolder the flavor you’ll achieve. If in doubt, the steeping times printed right on the container from Shan Valley are the best ones to go with. Then it’s time to enjoy!
In this case, we’re not referring to a religious connotation – but rather, the “essence” of what makes green tea...green tea! In other words, when you drink it, what makes you say to yourself, “Ahhhh, this is definitely green tea!”
Most would agree this defining quality is the mildly refreshing astringent note your taste buds report when you take a sip. That enjoyable astringency is caused by tannins. It gives green tea its unique taste.
The word “tannin” is a catch-all term used to describe a component of plant compounds found in green tea known as polyphenols. (Read more about the health-related benefits of polyphenols here.)
Green tea tannins are the lightest of these tannins, and they are part of the tea plant’s way of both protecting itself and providing nutrients – and these tannins actually make up between 20 to 40 percent of the tea leaves’ dry weight. So, it’s no wonder that they contribute to the distinct and unmistakable taste you get with every sip.
The tannins in green tea provide two distinct flavors.
The most prevalent is, of course, the astringency, which you can very easily control by measuring the amount of time you steep the tea, as well as by regulating the temperature of the water (the hotter the water, the more astringent your tea will become).
The second flavor characteristic is attributed to one specific type of tannin called Theogallin – which is a substance that’s not found in many other plants at all – so it’s no wonder that you probably haven’t come across anything else that tastes quite like green tea. Although it doesn’t necessarily have a distinct taste, this particular tannin helps to shape the overall flavor of green tea. The Japanese refer to this character as umami, which translated means "pleasant savory taste."
Extracting the Best Balance of of Tannins for a Perfect Cup of Tea
If you appreciate green tea, you already know that steeping time and water temperature are the keys to extracting the optimal enjoyable flavor from tea leaves.
The steeping time varies. Who best knows what that time is? The grower. That’s why every container of Shan Valley tea will always provide you with the recommended steeping time to extract the fullest flavor. This is because the Shan Valley growers have taken into consideration multiple factors such as the cut of the leaf, the soil, and the growing conditions. While other tea growers may recommend steeping a longer or shorter time, Shan Valley recommends just a short two to three minutes for a perfect cup of tea.
Just as important is the temperature of the water. For Shan Valley green tea, the optimal temperature is “just below boiling” – or 170 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit (76 to 85 degrees Celsius). This specific temperature range ensures that you’ll extract the best balance of flavor versus astringency from the tea leaves.
A longer steeping time doesn’t mean the tea is ruined. It simply means that you’ll have coaxed more of those tannins from the tea leaves – and the flavor will be both bolder and because of the additionally extracted tannins, more astringent.
This is also why you can, if you like, make multiple cups from the same tea leaves. They’re packed so full of tannins – which again are the “soul” of green tea – that they can release another round for a delicious cup...or two or three!
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