How to Make a British Cup of Tea

The British have their afternoon tea around 5 p.m., but you can drink it anytime -- a cup alone, or with a snack like cookies, scones or muffins. Lots of Brits add milk to their tea. Milk in tea was a new idea to me, until a trip to England a few years ago. My British brother-in-law showed me how to make it.

First, choose a black tea made from leaves of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, rather than an herbal tea, often made from leaves, blossoms, stems or berries of herb and spice plants.

Here are some good ones to start with:

* English Breakfast - hearty black tea blended to go with milk and sugar
* Irish Breakfast - similarly, a blend of black tea to drink with milk
* Earl Grey - a robust black tea blend, very popular. Good with lemon, too, instead of milk

Any of these can be drunk black as well as with milk.

To get started, you will need the tea, as well as a tea kettle, teapot, cup, milk and spoon. We keep our favorite mugs handy, and like to use the tall stoneware ones for tea, because they keep the drink warm a bit longer.

Start with cold water and bring to just boiling in the kettle. Pour a little of the hot water into the teapot and swirl it around to warm the china, then add the tea and the rest of the water.

Steep the tea according to directions on the package. We follow the instructions for a medium brew, so our tea is not too strong, and not too weak. We also like tea bags, instead of loose tea, for convenience. If you prefer loose tea, you will need a strainer or tea ball as well.

Never pour the hot water directly from the kettle into your teacup, as you risk cracking it.

If you plan to add milk, fill the cup only 2/3 full with freshly brewed tea. Then add milk until the tea turns a warm golden brown, about the color of the caramel candies you get in the fall to make Caramel Apples. Stir and enjoy!

Many commercial tea brands are available, such as Bigelow, Tetley's, Barry's or Lyon's. You can often obtain variety packs or samples to help you zero in on the blend and brand you like best.

We also found a "British blend" of Tetley's for sale in the US. If you want to try it, look for it in international food specialty shops.

And, we heard of a tea drink called a London Fog -- a mix of steamed milk, Earl Grey tea and vanilla syrup. That sounds good for an afternoon snack!

There's a huge world of tea to explore. There are thousands of types of tea, and lots of ways to use it as part of meals and entertaining. Start by learning to make a British-style cup of tea with milk, and who knows where it may lead. First a simple snack, then on to tea parties with the girls, even tea for a crowd, which will give you an excuse to use your large set of matching porcelain.

Meanwhile, a cup of tea in your own special mug will warm you from the inside out, on cool mornings or blustery days.

If you liked these suggestions, please visit our blog at http://diaryofadishie.com -- for more recipes and tips on how to use dinnerware, china and glassware for creative entertaining, along with ideas for table settings and interesting stories from our dish-hunting travels at Kimbesa's Closet.

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The Health Benefits of Green Tea You Were Never Told About

In the eastern world, green tea has long since been established as possessing a number of excellent health benefits. However, its popularity was non-existent in the western world for hundreds of years. This is somewhat perplexing since black tea has been popular in the western world for centuries. So, why is it that black tea is more preferable to green tea? On the most basic level, it possesses a taste that may be too weak or bitter for people that are used to the stronger counterpart. Again, this is unfortunate because green tea is known for its healthy aspects. Namely, it can boost energy, metabolism, and the body's fat burning potential. So, what can people do that wish to take advantage of these benefits if they do not wish to drink green tea? They can simply take capsules as these capsules provide all the health benefits in a completely different delivery system.

When you take green tea capsules, you take them in a manner that you would ingest any other supplement or vitamin. Simply take the recommended number of capsules with a full glass of water. The water will not only allow the capsules to go down easier, it will also help to absorb them into your system in a much easier and more efficient manner. This is an important point because you will always want to take the capsules in a manner that ensures they deliver their benefit in the best manner possible. This brings up another helpful point. Mainly, the fact that green tea can be ingested in the form of capsules adds to the convenience of taking them. Because of our lifestyles, it is not always easy to make a cup of green tea. When you are on the go and running around town making tea is pretty much impossible. And, due to the lack of its availability in convenience stores, purchasing a cup of green tea is next to impossible. Thankfully, taking the capsules will allow you to circumvent this difficulty and enjoy all the benefits. And, yes, these benefits can be quite pronounced. For example, did you know that green tea to reduce the potential for contracting cancer? No, this does not mean the capsules will act as a "wonder drug" but clinical studies has presented some unique and interesting findings. Specifically, clinical tests show those that take green tea regularly find themselves at a reduced risk for certain forms of cancer.

Some tests have even shown green tea acts combatively against certain cancer cells. While individual results will vary among different users of the capsules, the released information is certainly good news for those looking to care for their health. Yes, there are many benefits to using this supplement and that is why they are continually growing in popularity. As such, if you are concerned about your health and would like to take advantage of the positive aspects of green tea, exploring the use of capsules would be a wise move.

Ingrid is an avid researcher of natural health supplements and believe the path to a long and healthy life is finding and taking the best natural herbal vitamins and mineral extracts to help keep your mind and body in great health. Visit my website to learn more about the great health supplements I research and recommend.

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The Benefits of Fair Trade Coffee

Coffee is one of the most widely available and used beverages in the world today. Coffee is drunk from one end of the globe to the other, often in quite different forms. Coffee has become a way of life for some people in the western world. Cafe chains have sprung up everywhere and a few have done very well setting up new stores weekly across the globe. However this massive industry has to have a supply, where does all this coffee come from?

Most coffee is grown at high altitudes and needs quite a specific sort of climate. There are limited places in the world were coffee will grow. It would therefore be logical to think that coffee growers would be some of the richest people in coffee producing countries, for example in Peru. Nothing however could be further from the truth. The farmers of the drink many of us know so well have traditionally been some of the poorest people in the countries they live in. They are often rural farmers paid just enough by large companies to survive, and more recently less than enough to survive.

The current economic downturn has seen coffee prices plunge in the last few years prompting companies who had built up large stockpiles (as prices were so cheap already) to drastically reduce their buying of raw coffee beans and in some cases stop altogether. Interestingly the price of coffee in our cup has not gone down at all but has seen quite a rise in the last few years. So how does this happen? How do the growers get paid less and less and sometimes nothing at all, yet the price of coffee that we drink continues to go up and up? That is a complex question to answer but well worth pondering next time you are having a nice hot cup of coffee.

Fair trade coffee changes all that. Under the Fair trade system farmers get a set price for their produce, on average about 5 times more than what they were getting paid previously by large multi-national corporations. The emergence of this type of commercial model is a heart warming example that business can be done and it can work without exploiting the farmers at the end of the money chain.

For more information on Fair Trade Coffee please be sure to check out http://www.fair-trade-coffee.org.

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Magic Beans That Can Improve Your Health - Coffee - Can You Believe It?

Researchers are discovering some magical properties in coffee: that ordinary, delightfully arousing morning cup of caffeine filled coffee that at least 54% of Americans can't start their days without. Can you believe it? Coffee, a drink that recently seemed to be inferior to green tea and thought of as unhealthy for years, has been given a clean bill of health. And not just one cup!

A few recent large-scale studies, sited by RealAge.com, have found that even a few cups may indeed improve our health by warding off various diseases.

· A Japanese study, conducted over a 13 year period, found that for both men and women, drinking one or more cups of coffee every day lowered the likelihood of developing cancer of the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus compared to people who drank no coffee.


· Another study, conducted over 24 years with women subjects, found that women who drank 2-3 cups of coffee every day had a 19% lower risk of having a stroke than women who drank less than one cup of coffee per month.

· Middle-aged men and women who drank 3 cups of coffee or more every day were 65% less likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer's by age 60 or 70.

· Men may have up to 40% reduction in risk for Parkinson's disease by drinking only one cup every day.

· Excessive coffee drinking, which may cause different health problems, has been linked to lowered risk of type 2 diabetes.

· Coffee drinking may also reduce the risk of liver cancer caused by cirrhosis,

But not everyone benefits from coffee, and certainly not 2 or 3 cups or more. The benefits seemed to apply, at least in the study conducted with only women, to those with no history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. However, although coffee drinking does not seem to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, it may increase aortic stiffness and unfiltered coffee my increase the level of blood fats.

How does coffee do all these health promoting and protective actions. Researchers suggest that the coffee bean's polyphenols, inflammation-fighting antioxidants, may be the key. Roasted coffee residues seem to retain their antioxidant ability, even after processing.

The question that concerns me is that I had read, for many years, that coffee drinking could actually deplete the body of vitamins, especially vitamin C. I also read that coffee could interfere with the body's need for adequate fluids, creating intestinal and bowel problems. Current research does not seem to even mention these concerns that had been common knowledge for decades.

So, why bother with messy fruits and vegetables when I can have my aroma filled, smooth tasting cup of coffee, and then another cup, and another cup - and keep getting healthier. It doesn't quite work that way. And the results of these studies are not showing other factors that may be involved, such as the types of diets, the amounts of exercise, the emotional health, and the overall lifestyles of the study participants.

But these studies are helping many of us to breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, we can sit back, relax and enjoy our morning or lunchtime or late afternoon cup of coffee without guilt or worry. One less thing to worry about in our stress filled lives.
Dr. Erica Goodstone has helped thousands of men, women, couples, and groups to develop greater awareness of the issues in their relationships and their lives, to overcome and alleviate stressors and discords, and to revitalize their relationships and their own mind-body-spirit connection. Dr. Goodstone can be contacted through her web site at http://www.DrEricaWellness.com and you can take the Create Healing and Love Personal Assessment and get your free report at http://www.createhealingandlovenow.com

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Natural and Organic Coffee

Looking for natural and organic coffee? You're not alone. Who doesn't need a nice cup of coffee to jump start your day in the morning? There is nothing better then sitting by the fireplace with a hot cup of coffee in the winter to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, am I right? There are more coffee options out there then going to the local store or coffee shop now a days. These specific types of coffees are increasingly becoming more popular with coffee drinkers. Why is this? This is because not only does natural and organic coffee taste great but when you buy some it helps the environment.

What is the difference between natural and organic coffee then the regular coffee you drink? These coffees are made with no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Since these types of coffee's are made this way, this improves the air quality and soil of the farms they are made on. Truly these specific types of coffees must be certified and meet all the necessary standards and guidelines set in place.

If you are looking for these types of specific coffees you must make sure that they are certified by Quality Assurance International. Since there are many steps that are taken to ensure the coffee is natural and organic this will lead the coffee to be more expensive the your typical cup of Joe. A pound of these specific types of coffees can range from $40.00-$50.00 easily so be prepared to spend your dough. Those who drink natural and organic coffee agree for the most part that spending extra is well worth it.

Looking for Natural And Organic Coffee? Click here to learn more.

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Can Green Tea Enhance and Extend Your Life?

The health benefits of green tea have been known for thousands of years. In China, it was employed for relieving the symptoms of such diverse afflictions as depression and migraines. These ancient beliefs concerning green tea have today been confirmed as fact by scientists from all over the world. A study conducted in China in the 1990s showed that the consumption of green tea lowered the danger of developing cancer in the esophagus by 60%. Similarly, recent studies at the University of Purdue have demonstrated that tea contains a substance that prevents the development of cancer cells. Other studies have shown that the intake of tea reduces levels of cholesterol and works to beneficially the body´s good / bad cholesterol ratio.

As a well rounded healing elixir, proponents of the drink credit the tea with having positive effects in treating afflictions such as cardiovascular disease, elevated cholesterol, infections, cancer, impaired immune function, and rheumatoid arthritis. The beneficial properties of tea arise from its high content of catechins, especially epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is a very effective anti-oxidant. Not only does it prevent the development of cancer cells, it also aids in preserving healthy tissue. By reducing the likelihood of blood clots, tea can also help prevent strokes and heart attacks.

For a long time, scientists could not explain why the French, who are known to have a fatty cuisine, report a lower rate of heart problems than people in the US. The solution to the puzzle lies in their regular consumption of red wine. Red wine comprises a polyphenol, called resveratol, which reduces the dangerous impacts of eating fatty foods and smoking. Research has proven that the effects of EGCG contained in green tea are double that of resveratol. This is one possible reason why the male inhabitants of Japan, with it´s high percentage of smokers, have such a low incidence of heart problems.

In accordance with the most recent studies, green tea has been proven to help people lose weight. Research carried out by the Swiss University of Geneva has shown that men who consumed tea extract together with caffeine burned a greater amount of calories than men who only consumed caffeine. In addition to weight loss, tea can also be beneficial to your dental hygiene by destroying bacteria that gives rise to plaque. Currently, skin care products are being launched that include green tea extract.

The great thing about green tea is that it has virtually no negative effects. Over-drinking can lead to a lack of sleep due to its caffeine content. That´s unlikely however, as the amount of caffeine is relatively low when compared to other drinks like coffee.

With so many positives, and very few negatives, it´s easy to see why green tea has become so popular recently in the Western world. Researchers are generally in agreement about the benefits of tea. What they are not in sync on, is the amount of tea required to benefit from the it´s healing powers. Different reports suggest anywhere from two to ten cups per day. Ten cups a day may seem like a lot. Taking the middle road and drinking around five cups is an acceptable compromise. For those who drink already eight or more glasses of water a day, green tea could be a tasty substitute.

Green tea and weight loss can go hand in hand, if you do it right. It's just one of the many drinking green tea benefits.

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The Benefits of Green Tea

Have you recently found that as the inception of springtime arrives you are inclined to catch more colds and virus then you normally would? This may conceivably be due to the brisk changes that we are experiencing with the weather. In my region of the country we undergo warm daytime temperatures while our evenings abruptly plunge to the 30's or 40's. This kind of shifting temperature changes are likely to bring about cold symptoms rather hastily.

As they say there is nothing that we can do about the weather conversely there is plenty that we can accomplish towards improving our immune system. Green tea has been reputed to combat virus in the plants grown by the tobacco farmers of the south. It appears that one of the active constituent found in the green tea averts crop damage that results from the tobacco mosaic virus. This component of the tea is none other then catechin which provides us with the antioxidant for which the tea has become synonymous with.

During research tests it was revealed that the catechin has a very strapping effect upon the influenza virus as well. It seems to attach and deactivate the virus causing it to appear dormant. For us it means we are quickly over the dreaded flu or virus that we inadvertently caught. By merely drinking a daily cup or two of green tea we can drastically improve our immune system to the point where we are virtually virus free.

It was an encouraging situation when this virus fighting attribute was discovered for it tended to unlock several additional avenues towards possibly resolving the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS virus. By all indications this much feared infectious disease may perchance be heading to in the direction of many other previously conquered diseases.

Copyright @ 2009 Joseph Parish

For more information relating to survival visit us at http://www.survival-training.info

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