Robot Serves Tea

Engineers at the Honda company have taught Asimo the humanoid robot how to serve tea to guests.

The tea needs to be prepared by a human and placed on a tray on a cart. Asimo will then push the cart to the table, lift up the tray and place it on the guest's table. The robot then takes a couple of steps back and bows, as is the tradition in Japan.

Tea as a cooking ingredient

Tea, used as a cooking ingredient, adds depth and subtlety to a variety of dishes.Tea Cooking

World's Largest Tea Bag in Toronto

On Saturday, December 15, 2007 Toronto's is host to a Tea Party and Guinness World Records record-breaking attempt sponserd by Celestial Seasonings. Measuring 12 feet x 12 feet, the World's Largest Tea Bag is the highlight of this wintertime outdoor tea party. Guests can warm up with cups of hot complimentary Celestial
Seasonings tea, see the future in tea leaf readings and "tea off" at mini golf to win some great prizes. Costumed characters will entertain the crowd while Celestial Seasonings' tea blendmaster reveals secrets of the tea trade through tales of worldwide travels in search of tea. The Tea Association will be on hand to discuss the role tea plays in maintaining good health, and donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation are encouraged. The Tea Party is located at Yonge-Dundas Square, Corner of Yonge Street and Dundas Street.

Tea Plants

Camellia sinensis is an evergreen plant and grows in tropical to sub-tropical climates. Many high quality tea plants grow at elevations up to 1500 meters (5,000 ft), as the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavor. Only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called flushes, and a plant will grow a new flush every seven to ten days during the growing season. Tea plants will grow into a tree if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved China plant and the large-leaved Assam plant.

Tea Container Exhibit At DeWitt

Museum goers have just a few days left to view a rare exhibit of Tea Containers.
On view through Sunday at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum in Colonial Williamsburg, The Wallace Museum is accessed through the Public Hospital of 1773, Francis and Nassau streets, just south of Merchants Square. Call 757-220-7724 or log on to www.history.org/history/museums for more information.

CRANBERRYSPLASHED GINGER ICED TEA

CRANBERRYSPLASHED GINGER ICED TEA

Serves: 4

3 cups water

2 tea bags

4 (1-inch) pieces fresh ginger, peeled

1 cup sugar-free cranberry juice cocktail

2 to 3 tablespoons pourable sugar substitute (such as Splenda)

In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil.

Remove from heat, add tea bags and ginger and steep for 2 minutes.

Remove the tea bags. Let the ginger and tea stand for 20 minutes.

Pour the tea and ginger into a small pitcher, add the juice and sugar substitute and serve over ice.

Add Some Vitamin C To Your Tea

A new Purdue University study suggests adding citrus juices or vitamin C to green tea may raise its antioxidant goodness, a new study suggests. The antioxidants are called catechins, and they are believed to be responsible for some of green tea's reported health benefits, such as reducing the risk of cancer, heart attack and stroke.

Using a laboratory model that simulates digestion in the stomach and small intestine, green tea was tested with a number of additives, including juices and creamers. It was found that citrus juice increased absorbable catechin levels by more than five times, while vitamin C boosted recoverable levels of the two most abundant catechins by six and 13 times.

So add some citrus juices to your cup after brewing.

Black Tea Could Provide Protection Against Suns Rays

According to researchers black tea gel could provide double the protection against harmfull UV radiation by absorbing UV rays and repairing DNA damage inside the skin. Topical application of black tea gel significantly reduces skin redness after exposure to UV light.

World's First Tea Espresso

A South African company has started selling what is being called "the world's first tea espresso." The tea is produced by the Red Espresso Co., in Cape Town, South Africa. A special, patented grind of the tea leaves gives the tea "a rich espresso intensity."

Is that Mold In My Tea?

A Michigan man got a nasty suprise in an unopened bottle of Gold Peak Sweetened Iced Tea. Shane Smith describes what he found as "slimy...with dark spots...a gooey gunk." The button seal on the bottle has never been disturbed and its expiration date is February 25, 2008. Smith called the 800 number on the bottle and talked to a Coca Cola spokesperson. The spokesperson said from what it sounds like the substance in the bottle is mold from heat exposure when the bottle was stored after shipping. He said the mold will not pose a health hazard but the product should not be consumed. They will offer Smith a replacement product.

Kenya Top Exporter

Kenya is the world’s largest exporter of tea this year, surpassing Sri Lanka and China.

Green Tea Could Be the Cure for Sepsis

Researchers at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have found that a component in green tea might help in the treatment of severe sepsis, which is an abnormal response of the immune system to a bacterial infection.

They discovered that there is an ingredient in green tea called EGCG, that can save mice from dying of sepsis. The laboratory results are so promising that they could lead to clinical trials in humans.

Sepsis a condition that kills 225,000 Americans each year, has puzzled researchers for years. No matter what techniques they used, half of those who contract sepsis die.

Tea For Troops.

Judah Sanders and Dave Dahl, co-founders of the California-based Dragon Pearl Tea Company, are against the war in Iraq but they feel compelled to support the men and women who are serving there. The tea company has shipped almost $10,000 worth of green tea to the U.S. troops on duty in Iraq.

Two hundred and fifty cases of Dragon Pearl Tea were shipped this fall to troops in Iraq through an all-volunteer group called U.S. Troop Care Package

Second Annual Red Rose Tea Fair

The second annual Red Rose Tea Fair will be held on the weekend of Nov. 9-11 at the Hilton Garden Inn on Corporate Drive.

Companies exhibiting at the fair will include Redco Foods (the makers of Red Rose Tea), Wade Ceramics Ltd., C&S Collectibles, Wade New England, The Water Closet, the Tea House Times, Happy Wadeing, Curiosity Collectables and PaulaWalla Imports.

The weekend-long event will include a Welcome Dinner and Tea Cup Auction, Wade vendors from the U.S. and England, Swap-n-Sell tables for collectors, an Edwardian Tea Party, tea leaf readers, and Wade authors Ian Warner and Mike Posgay.

Fair hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11. A shuttle will be available to transport visitors to various off-site events from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Sunday.
Admission to the fair is $5.

The Windsor Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee developed this event in conjunction with Windsor's Economic Development Director Jim Burke and Redco Foods.
For more scheduling and event information, visit the Web site
www.windsorcc.org.

Poci tea

Poci tea originates in the Central Javanese city of Tegal. Mixed with jasmine flowers and brewed in a special earthenware pot (the poci) that is only ever rinsed with clear water —thus imbuing it with its heady scent and making it more delicious each time — it has a unique aroma that has made it popular all over Java.

High tea at the Ritz

Following a £40 million refurbishment, the Ritz is back to the former elegance. High tea at the Ritz, Piccadilly is £32 per person and served daily by reservation only at three sittings, 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm. Bookings can be made either through the Reservations office on 0207 300 2305 or book online at www.theritzlondon.com.

Tea Table Sells for $6.7 million

At Christie's last week, a Philadelphia tea table in a remarkable state of preservation sold for $6.7 million, three times the expected price and a record for Philadelphia furniture sold at auction. Experts say the table is worth every penny.

It had passed from generation to generation in the same family since its crafting in the mid 18th century. Most recently the table sat quietly in the family's Main Line, Philadelphia home until a local appraiser clued them in that the table could be worth more than the house.

Tea tables became fashionable in England as the tea trade with Asia gained steam. Upper-crust Americans quickly fell in love with the style and began commissioning their own tea tables from the finest Colonial craftsman. Historians tell us that in the 1760s, many important meetings relating to the planning of the American Revolution took place around these early tea tables, adding to their cachet today.

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Life Is A Beach. Drink Tea.

Thousands of bottles of barley tea drinks washed ashore on Kouyuwuan Beach in Taiwan, drawing crowds of local residents to come "clean up" the beach by collecting the "suprise gifts".

The tea came from the freighter "Tan Ting No. 2, " which sank Friday in bad weather while transporting the tea drink cargo to Xiamen, China. The ship had been carrying 3,900 cases of the Mugicha tea drink.

Women are like tea-bags - put us in hot water and watch us get stronger

"Women are like tea-bags - put us in hot water and watch us get stronger."

Well this blog is not really about tea. But I like the Quote. If you want to know more about it go toTea Bag Lady

Tea In The National Museum of China

Wuyi Mountain is renowned for the quality of tea leaves grown there. A sample of the leaves collected and baked in Wuyi Mountain entered the collection of the National Museum of China in Beijing this week.

The sample leaves were picked from a 350-year old tea tree, in May of 2005. The leaves were baked and processed exactly in accordance with ancient technique. They were among the last leaves harvested from the tree. It came under government protection in 2006. This marks the first time the National Museum of China has included contemporary tea leaves in its collection.