2012年9月28日星期五

Yixing Chinese Tea Pot (Xishi) Sapphire Zhuni and Zini Clays


This attractive design is named after the most beautiful woman who ever lived in China - Xishi.
She is made by highly regarded artist Zhu Xinnan (朱新南). It is one of his more popular designs.
Seasoning
yixing tea pot
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There are two sizes available.
The larger pot (220 milliliters) is made of red clay (Zhuni). She has a very dark blue color.
The smaller pot (150 milliliters) is made of purple clay (Zini). She is brown in color.
Both pots have a natural luster and require only a couple of weeks of seasoning to see the shine.
yixing tea pot
Click To Enlarge
You can see it by clicking on the picture on the right.
On the left is a new pot. On the right is the seasoned pot after one week.
You can see that the seasoned pot has acquired a warm, dark hue.

Authenticity
What's the most important thing when buying a Yixing tea pot?
yixingYes, it is making the right connection with the creator - in this case - Mr Zhu Xinnan.
He is the only person that can get the design, functions and clay right.
Counterfeits of Mr Zhu's pots are rampant in China these days. We commissioned our pots directly from him, so you can be assured of the quality.
You will also find Mr Zhu's seal at the bottom of the pot. The four characters says "Zhu Xin Nan Make".
You will also receive a photo of him holding this pot.
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2012年9月26日星期三

Dandelion Tea Facts and Information A Woman's Best Friend?


Why drinking dandelion tea can help you beat water retention, cut down on caffeine consumption and can serve as a herbal detox.

Dandelion tea has a long history of human usage. Chinese medicinal practitioners used dandelion to treat digestive disorders, appendicitis, and breast problems (such as inflammation or lack of milk flow).
The early American colonial settlers loved the common weed and taught the Native American Indians how to use it. The Indian tribes created their own ways to use dandelion:
  • The Iroquois Indians ate boiled dandelion leaves along with fatty meats to avoid indigestion.
  • When the Ojibwas had heartburn, they drank dandelion root tea.
  • The Kiowa women mixed dandelion blossoms with pennyroyal as a cure for cramps and PMS.
  • The Mohegans drank dandelion leaf tea daily as a tonic to keep their energy levels high and to stay free of stomach aches and constipation.
  • Other Indian tribes collected the young leaves in the spring and ate them with other leafy vegetables.
And even now, it is not considered old-fashioned to use dandelion root, leaves or extract for common ailments.
Now you may ask: Given its widespread herbal usage, what does modern science have to say about its health benefits? You can find the answer at Dandelion Health Benefits - Healing Herb or Folklore?
Drink Too Much Coffee?
If you are trying to give up coffee, dandelion root can be an excellent substitute in the morning. It can give you a “grounded” type of energy without the side effects of caffeine.
Put one teaspoon of dandelion root in a cup of boiling water and add a touch of agave nectar to make your own beverage just as quickly as you make a cup of coffee.
Dandelion coffee is usually made from dandelion roots that are slightly roasted and ground ready to use. The powder is said to be almost indistinguishable from real coffee, and is claimed to be better than lower quality coffee, which has often been adulterated.
Dandelion Uses - Replace Coffee and Lose Weight
Beat Water Retention
Dandelion leaf is a natural diuretic that increases urine production by promoting the excretion of salts and water from the kidney.
It may be used for a wide range of conditions requiring mild diuretic treatment, such as poor digestion, liver disorders, and high blood pressure. One advantage of dandelion is that dandelion is a source of potassium, a nutrient often lost through the use of other natural and synthetic diuretics.
Fitness guru Gillian Michaels famously drank dandelion to help lose water weight fast. You can learn about her recipe in Dandelion Diuretic Benefits.
Herbal Detox
Dandelion tea can be used as an herbal detox to help cleanse your liver and kidneys. It can be taken on its own, or in combination with other herbs.
According to Margaret Grieve, author of the excellent herbal encyclopedia A Modern Herbal, dandelion is "diuretic, tonic and slightly aperient. It is a general stimulant to the system, but especially to the urinary organs, and is chiefly used in kidney and liver disorders".
This page will summarize what she said about dandelion herbal remedy recipes.
Dandelion Recipes - Homemade Herbal Remedies
Which One to Buy?
There are at least three different types of dandelion tea - those made from dandelion roots, those made from dandelion leaves, and those made from dandelion flowers.
Dandelion flower is used mainly to make dandelion wine. Traditionally, it is known to be "an excellent tonic, extremely good for the blood". You can make dandelion flower tea by infusing the blossoms in hot water.
You can make dandelion tea by infusing 1 to 2 teaspoonful of dried dandelion leaves in hot water. Drink up to 3 times daily. The cut leaf form of the herb can be brewed inside a stainless steel tea ball or inside a wicker tea cup basket.
Compared to dandelion flowers and leaves, dandelion root is the part of the plant used most often for medicinal purposes, and which provides the most health benefits.
Dandelion root tea is available in teabags, dried powder form, or in capsules. The best tea, of course, is found fresh from your own garden - since the dandelion "weed" is literally everywhere. As with other herbs and foods, organic or wildcrafted is always your best choice.


2012年9月25日星期二

Resolve the 6 tea little secret!


China is the world's largest tea producing country, is the oldest country in the history of tea culture, broadly divided into six categories in Chinese tea, black tea, green tea, green tea (oolong tea), yellow tea, black tea and white tea. These six types of tea in addition to a different name, its production process is also very different, tea, for the crowd, the taste along with significant differences in Do not indiscriminately drinking. A clear understanding of each of the six categories of tea "little secret", you will become a tea Daren.
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Green tea - a tea production. Green tea has a fragrant, pure taste, form the United States, resistance brewing characteristics. Its production process have been fixing rolling drying process, and not through the fermentation. Depending on the method of processing dry, green tea can be divided into Roasted Green Tea, Hongqing green tea, steaming green tea and sundried green tea. Green tea, bitter cold, refreshing and soothing, but also thirst. However, because of the excessive nutrients and chlorophyll content of more of the stomach to stimulate large, so easy to drink green tea vomiting allergies, gastric ulcer patients can not drink green tea.

The difference is that of black tea - black tea and green tea, and different processing methods. Black tea processing without fixing, withering the fresh leaves of the loss of part of the water, and then rolled (rub strips or cut into particles), and then fully fermented, the polyphenols contained oxidized into a red compound. Part of such a compound soluble in water, accumulated in the leaves, and thereby forming hongtangsi, leaves. Tea three broad categories Souchong tea, congou the broken black tea. Black tea sweet and warm, conducive to the keeper of the human body yang, black tea rich in protein and polysaccharide helps digestion, winter should choose black tea. President-day referral Fuk of Kim Chun brow and Lapsang Souchong its excellent quality, well-known and loved by the community, Lapsang Souchong black tea is the most ancient form of black tea, after the European royal favor. The reunification day referral Ford-class gold Chun eyebrow appearance show tight color color Huarun for gold, yellow, black and white, golden tea fluff; Golden soap, clear and bright, fruity, floral, honey, potato incense as a whole; tasting mellow taste of fresh Gan Shuang throat rhyme a long, refreshing; golden needle, Leveling, Jun Stubbs, leaf color was bronze; the ten bulbs even worse charm.

Green tea (oolong tea) - is a semi-fermented tea, between a tea between green tea and black tea. It has both fresh thick green tea, another tea sweet alcohol. Oolong in six categories tea is the process the most complex and also the most luxurious, the most time-consuming. Working slowly and pay attention to the bubble method, so it is known as the "Kung Fu Tea".
The most famous Wuyi Rock Tea, Oolong Tea (Dahongpao), another series of Tieguanyin, narcissus very like. Reunification day referral blessing preferred Wuyishan tea cultivation base of natural tea, made of complex pay attention to the baking process the gold medal Dahongpao, won the praise of the Shanghai Tea Expo participants leadership and expert judges. Oolong tea for autumn drinking, to both eliminate body waste heat, but also to restore the body fluid. Silver oolong tea coarse old need 100 ℃ boiling water, generally Dahongpao tea brew 9 original tea osmanthus fragrance, fragrant cheek teeth.

2012年9月23日星期日

A 1999 oolong tea weight loss study suggests

A 1999 chinese oolong tea weight loss study suggests how oolong tea (wulong tea) may help lose weight.

It is well known that oolong tea can help you lose weight by burning more calories.
A 1999 study conducted by Ehime University in Japan suggests two additional ways on how it may help lose weight.
Laboratory rats were fed a high fat diet for 10 weeks. They drank either oolong tea or water.
Researchers found that although rats drinking oolong tea consumed the same amount of food, they did not suffer from obesity and fat liver.
They concluded that oolong tea promotes weight loss through the following mechanisms:
Fat Burning
Lipolysis is a process where fat (called triglyceride) in fat cells is broken down to supply energy to other parts of the body.
Oolong tea burns fat by stimulating lipolysis.
Fat Absorption
The digestive enzyme lipase breaks down the fatty substance in our diet so that our intestines can absorb them easily.
Oolong tea blocks the action of lipase and reduces the absorption of dietary fat.

2012年9月12日星期三


1, leather: general are cattle, sheep, pigs, and other animals of the original skin, processed into all kinds of leather material. Dermal generally divided into head skin and second skin two kinds. Head skin is made with grain, cattle, sheep, pig skin and the skin direct is machined and become. All full grain can from pore weight and degree of density to distinguish belong to what animal leather. Second skin is original skin fiber in organization is loose second part, the chemical material spraying or facing in PVC, PU film is machined and become.
2, head skin and second skin: it is to observe the skin longitudinal section fiber density. Head skin by and tight and thin fiber layer and its close together a little loose excessive layer composed; Second skin is only loose fibrous tissue layer, after spraying chemical raw materials or polishing leather processing into popular leather.
3, bonded leather: animal scrap leather and leather leftovers after smashing, allocate chemical raw materials processing is made and be become. Its characteristic is hide edge is tidy, efficiency is high, the price is cheap; But skin body usually thicker, strength is poor. This is a small factory production embossed leather shoes main material.
4, artificial leather, artificial leather are divided into imitation leather (or rubber) and advanced PU two. Imitation leather or rubber, PVC and PU and artificial material body. It is in the textile cloth base or non-woven base, by all sorts of different formulation and foamed PVC and PU coated or processing is made and be become, the characteristic is various, waterproof properties is good, keep out appearance tidy, utilization rate is high, the relative price of genuine leather cheap characteristics. Senior PU, the surface technology extremely makings of fibrous tissue, almost reach dermal effect, its price and the domestic head layer of the skin of the same price.

2012年9月7日星期五

Chinese Tea Online:Theanine Supplement Guide 10 Astonishing Facts To Know


1. When Was It Discovered?
(While the Chinese have been drinking) green tea for more than 2,000 years, l-theanine was only identified as a separate constituent in 1949.
The honor goes to the Japanese, who discovered that it makes up about 50% of the free amino acids present in tea.
Due to its small size, scientists found that it crosses into your brain easily, resulting in many subtle health benefits, as you shall see later.
2. Are You One Of Five?

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Tea has four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter.
L-Theanine contributes the fifth taste that is known as unami or brothy. According to 2002 paper published by Lugaz, nearly 20 to 25 percent of the population cannot taste unami.
Are you one of them?
If you are a green tea drinker, you may be surprised to learn that tea tasters rate the unami taste most highly, as it is considered to be the single most important determinant of tea quality.
3. When Can Caffeine Be Soothing?
Ever wonder why high grade green tea, which contains the highest level of caffeine, is more soothing to drink than lower grade tea?
The answer is l-theanine.
Scientific studies performed using electroencephalography discovered that it decaffeinates tea naturally. If about 8 times more theanine is given than caffeine, the effect of the caffeine is completely blunted.
4. Unique In Tea?
Many people claim theanine can only be found in the tea plant. This is only partially true.
This amino acid has also been discovered in one species of mushroom (Xerocomus badius) and certain species belonging to genus Camellia (C. japonica and C. sasanqua).
5. Found in Lipton?
Do you know that theanine content decreases with leaf age?
Young tea buds contain high levels of l-theanine, which gets converted to catechins as the leaves mature.
Therefore, tea buds harvested early in spring will contain much higher levels than mature leaves harvested later in the year.
If you are a tea drinker, you may be disappointed to learn that typical green tea sold in the Western hemisphere contains less than 10 milligrams per cup.
This is bad news. Scientists have found that you need as much as 50 to 200 milligrams of theanine to benefit, which is the same as 5 to 20 cups of green tea a day!
If you want natural occurring l-theanine, switch over to a high grade green tea, which may contain as much as 50 milligrams per cup.
High grade green tea is normally made from young tea buds harvested early spring. They need not be expensive. As far as theanine goes, my personal favorites are the Dragon Well and Biluochun tea.
6. Which Is Better? Natural Or Synthetic?
They don't say it on the label, but the l-theanine you found in a bottle is manufactured using enzymes rather than being extracted from tea leaves.
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The process was invented by the Japanese company Taiyo, manufacturer of the Suntheanine product.
It was approved in Japan for unlimited use in food in 1964. Fancy some l-theanine in chocolate, soft drinks and even cosmetics? That is how widely this supplement is being used in Japan.
What are the advantages and disadvantage of synthetic over naturally occurring theanine?
Natural Versus Synthetic
7. What Health Benefits?
There is a saying that you can't buy happiness with money. But consuming l-theanine does make your search for a more relaxed lifestyle easier.
It is estimated that 2 out of 3 adults experience some form of stress.
Studies have shown that theanine helps promote alpha brain waves, and increases your brain's production of dopamine to give you an alert, yet relaxed, awareness.
As you will see later, while other drugs also promote sedation, theanine is unique in two aspects:
  • There are no side effects from long term usage.
  • It does not cause drowsiness.
Theanine Health Benefits - 7 Reasons Why It's More Than A Relaxant
Caffeine - Improve Concentration
8. Dangerous Side Effects?
Many people say this amino acid is totally safe because green tea is the most widely consumed beverage after water.
But what about when it is made synthetically?
Luckily, this supplement has been approved for unlimited food use in Japan since 1964, and we have had 40 years of real life trials to understand its long term impact.
Side Effects - Can Too Much Be Harmful?
9. What Dosage?
Most credible sources recommend taking 50 to 200 milligrams a day with or without food, with up to 2 to 3 times daily as needed.
According to Cooper, it reaches maximum levels in the blood between 30 minutes to 2 hours after ingestion.
The total duration of effect is estimated to be from 8 to 12 hours.
10. Best Product?
Unlike green tea extract, L-theanine is produced synthetically in the laboratory. Some of the most popular brands are Suntheanine, Jarrow's 100 and Naka. This article reviews each product in detail.
(Are those theanine found in the bottle real?) What are the health benefits and side effects? Which is the best brand?

Green Tea: Cancer Benefit Unproven And Yet Valuable?


In 2005 and 2006, FDA rejected green tea cancer fighting claims. They concluded that its anti-cancer properties are unproven. What should we make out of this?
According to Barbara Schneeman of FDA, green tea does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular (heart) disease.
Here is what she wrote in 2006:
FDA concludes there is no credible evidence to support qualified health claims for green tea or green tea extract and a reduction of a number of risk factors associated with CVD (cardiovascular disease).
This is not the first time the FDA has spoken out. The year before, it said "green tea does not reduce the risk of breast, prostate or any other type of cancer".
Why? Because there are insufficient green tea cancer studies to prove it.
In particular, more human trials are needed to clarify and further understand the scientific mechanisms involved.
Are You Concerned?
Is green tea just another health fad that has been drummed up by clever marketers?
What exactly does the science say?
Should you go ahead and start drinking green tea? Or is there a better alternative around?
Let me answer your first question first.
How Does It Work?
Green tea is extremely versatile. Studies involving cell culture and animals have found that it blocks cancer in a number of ways.
  • Powerful Antioxidants
One of the most powerful in nature, green tea antioxidants have been found to be over 100 times more effective in neutralizing free radicals than vitamin C, and 25 times more powerful than vitamin E.
The most important antioxidant is EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). Studies have found that it reduces cellular damage that could lead to cancer.
  • Few Side Effects
Green tea based drugs may cure cancer without nasty side effects.
Unlike drugs such as Vioxx and Celebrex, studies suggest that EGCG destroys cancer cells without harming surrounding healthy cells.
  • Starve Cancer Cells
To reproduce quickly, cancer cells need many blood vessels to supply them with nutrients. Green tea blocks angiogenesis, or the development of new blood vessels, thus starving off these cancer cells from nutrients.
  • Kill Cancer Cells
Green tea turns off the growth genes and turns on the suicide genes in cancer cells. It works as a free radical just inside cancer cells, causing so much damage that the cancer cells commit suicide.
  • Block Cancer-Causing Enzyme
Overproduction of enzyme cyclooxygenase, COX-2 has been implicated as a factor in many diseases, including arthritis and cancer. Green tea inhibits the overproduction of COX-2.
Green tea also blocks enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), which has been found to be a catalyst to cancer growth.
How Green Tea Blocks Cancer Growth
Still Unproven?
The mechanisms of green tea cancer fighting action are well understood. Like many other fruits and vegetables, it will help reduce your cancer risk.
What is less certain is this: If you are suffering from cancer, how can green tea help you?
With insufficient human trials, it will be dangerous for companies to market green tea products as cancer-preventive. After all, it is the job of the FDA to make sure solid research exists for any product claim.
If you are suffering from cancer, would consuming green tea extract tablets cure you?
I think not. Although they may do one day, such medicines do not yet exist.
If you are healthy but prone to suffering from cancer, should you start drinking green tea?
Absolutely yes. It is one of the best sources of antioxidants that exists on Mother Earth, considering its wide ranging health benefits, low costs and few side effects.
Green Tea Medical Benefits - Hear What The Doctors Say
Wide Ranging Benefits
In the last 10 years, green tea cancer preventive properties have been widely reported in many studies.
The evidence is so overwhelming that the United States National Cancer Institute is developing green tea compounds as cancer preventive agents in human trials.
From brain tumours to leukaemia, from lung cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer, oesophageal cancer to bladder cancer, not to mention breast cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer, green tea cancer studies have rewarded scientists with positive results.
Listed below are the highlights. If any area interests you, click on the link to read more.