Two New Health Teas Available

We're delighted to introduce two new teas today.

Cough & Cold Tea: A blend of hyssop, peppermint, chamomile, lemon balm, and raspberry leaf help ease congestion, inflammation and nausea from cough & cold.* 

PMS Ease: Nettle, crampbark, chamomile, rose hips, raspberry leaf, and valerian ease cramping, bloating and discomfort caused by the menstrual cycle.*

Both teas are made with the same quality local and/or organic herbs as the rest of Felicitea's teas.

And if you're having a hard time falling asleep due to stress, or just a evening cup of tea, don't forget about Starry Night. The combination of mugwort, catnip and chamomile will have you drifting off in no time!

*This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Tea may delay onset of auto-immune disorders and Type 1 Diabetes

This fascinating article from Science Daily shares:

Researchers were testing EGCG, green tea's predominant antioxidant, in a laboratory mouse with type 1 diabetes and primary Sjogren's syndrome, which damages moisture-producing glands, causing dry mouth and eyes.

"Our study focused on Sjogren's syndrome, so learning that EGCG also can prevent and delay insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes was a big surprise," says Dr. Stephen Hsu, molecular/cell biologist in the School of Dentistry.

They found it also worked well in their original disease focus.

In the mouse, EGCG reduced the severity and delayed onset of salivary gland damage associated with Sjogren's syndrome, which has no known cure.

For the full story go here.

Decaffeination Myths Are All Washed Up

While there are certain tea preparation methods that require a rinse of the leaves, decaffeinating isn't such a method.

That doesn't stop it from being a common, and oft repeated, myth:

Rise your leaves for 30-45 seconds and that decaffeinates them 80-90%.

You'll still find tea sellers repeating this to customers, and friend telling friends. Like so many other myths, it's pervasive and people want to believe it.

Thanks to those in the tea industry who are committed to knowing the truth, (in particular Nigel Melican of Teacraft, and in general the committed members of the Teamail list) we have this piece of scientific enlightenment:

After some intensive Internet trawling (nay, dredging) and poring over a mish-mash of half truths and myth (and some of my own caffeine data regurgitated without attribution or comprehension) I have now found the level of data that I was advocating earlier this week - a peer reviewed scientific paper recording precise time related extraction of caffeine from tea using a modern detection technique (HPLC). This paper "Tea preparation and its influence on methylxanthine concentration" by Monique Hicks, Peggy Hsieh and Leonard Bell was published in 1996 in Food Research International. Vol 29, Nos 3-4, pp. 325-330. (FRI is copyright of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology).

In summary Hicks et al measured the caffeine and theobromine (total methylxanthine) content of six different teas (three bagged and three loose leaf, including black, oolong and green types). They measured caffeine extraction in boiling water at 5 minutes, 10 minutes and 15 minutes. They replicated all their extractions three times to eliminate error. Extrapolation of their data gives the following caffeine extraction percentages below 5 minutes (averaged over all tea types and formats; note while loose tea extracted marginally more slowly than teabag tea it made only a couple of % points difference):

30 seconds 9%
1 minute 18%
2 minutes 34%
3 minutes 48%
4 minutes 60%
5 minutes 69%
10 minutes 92%
15 minutes 100%

This is very much at odds with the mythical "30 or 45 second hot wash to remove 80% of the caffeine" advice - as a 30 second initial wash of the tea will actually leave in place 91% of the original caffeine!

(Thanks to Nigel.)

Green tea has it's own caffeine myth: green tea has less caffeine then black.

Each tea has it's own caffeine level, with different amounts ending up in your cup, based on the leaves, the processing and the preparation in your pot. Some greens have more caffeine then certain blacks. It also serves the drinker to remember that decaf isn't caffeine free, it's simply a lower level of caffeine - some still remains.

While many of us enjoy, need or crave a caffeine kick to others it's a health hazard. These are dangerous myths for those who are cutting back on caffeine for health reasons.

Good ways to truly lower caffeine levels in your cup:

• Select teas that have tea and herbal ingredients (Sloth Tea, Carol's Tea and Day Dream are all excellent low caffeine choices)
• Go with something completely herbal (like Refreshing Afternoon or Hibiscus Mint) or based on rooibus

The good news for caffeine addicts: you'll still get your caffeine kick on the second and third infusions.

Felicitea believes you should know what's in your cup - a well informed tea drinker is a happy tea drinker.

(For more info, and a fascination conversation in the comments, check out this full article over at ChaDao by Nigel Melican. Thanks Brandice!)

Tea may lead to healthier arteries in women

We love news that makes us happy about tea and our health!

Women tea-drinkers have less plaque in arteries

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who drink tea may be protecting themselves from a build-up of artery-clogging plaque, so lowering their risk for heart disease and stroke, findings from a French study suggest.

Dr. Mahmoud Zureik and colleagues found that older women who reported drinking at least three cups of tea a day were less likely to have plaque in the carotid arteries in their neck than those drinking less tea.

The investigators, all with INSERM, France's national institute for medical research, report their findings in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Zureik's team analyzed ultrasound measures of carotid artery plaque among 2,613 men and 3,984 women, aged about 73 years old on average, in relation to tea drinking and other dietary habits, and medical and personal history obtained during in-person interviews conducted from 1999 to 2001.

Carotid plaques were evident in 44 percent of female non-tea-drinkers, in 42.5 percent of women who reported drinking 1 to 2 cups of tea daily, and in only 33.7 percent of those who reported drinking 3 or more cups per day.

The association between fewer instances of carotid plaques and increased daily tea consumption was independent of other dietary habits, major vascular risk factors, age, area of residence, and education, the investigators note.

"There was no association of tea consumption with carotid plaques in men," the team found.

The investigators did not gather data on the types of tea consumed or the duration of tea drinking among participants, and they are unclear why the association occurred among women and not men.

SOURCE: Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, February 2008.

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Black tea may lower Parkinson`s risk

Drinking black tea regularly could help prevent the onset of Parkinson’s disease. Those who consume 23 cups of the beverage a month are 71 percent less likely to contract the disease, said researchers from Singapore, BBC radio reported.

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