In The News

So it seems to be the week for media surrounding Felicitea.

Wednesday, Pete was profiled by the observer. Yesterday, Felicitea was honored by Daily Candy. Today, The Secret Chocolatier was given props by the Charlotte Observer's Top 8 Eats for 8/8/08.

Described as an out of body experience by the paper, these chocolates definitely can take you to another level of experience. (If this post seems a little happy, I'm nibbling on an Earl Grey Brandice Truffle right now.) You'll be hearing more about them and their work with Felicitea a little later on today.

Also, looks who's coming to Charlotte...

There's much happiness here at Felicitea!

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.

link

A Woman of the Cup

The news of the tea world comes from all over. This morning, out of South Africa, comes an interesting article about the first black female tea taster. Thrilled to see a story about tea and women in the business, it's a must share.

Becoming a tea taster is not a simple process because, although the job posting may denote ‘a love for tea, an exceptional sense of taste and a resilient bladder would be an advantage’, learning to discern tastes and separate flavours into fragments requires tutorship under wise, grey-bearded tea masters who have been practicing the art for many years.

So athletic are the papillae on Gcabashe’s tongue that she is able to tell which country a tea comes from, just by having a sip. To maintain this acuity, she has to avoid eating food that is too strong or spicy.

“Not everyone can do this job,” says Gcabashe with some pride. “You need to be passionate about the mysticism, romance and lore that go hand in hand with the tea industry.

‘‘You have to be open to learning new things every day, meeting people from all over the world and travelling.”

What is most interesting is that she talks about "feeling" the tea:

Not only does Gcabashe experiment, she also ‘feels’ the tea. With her accomplished taste buds she is able to assign flavours to human emotions and create mood teas. “Some teas are full of love and romance; others, like Earl Grey, are mysterious — you know there’s something there, something underneath all the layers wanting to be discovered and you want to believe you’re the one discovering it for the first time.”

Flavor and scent create are such important parts of the experience of life, and it's wonderful to see and feel how emotion is tied in. Tea can truly be a taste of happiness.

Felicitea.com Live!

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

Felicitea.com is up and lovely (if I do say so myself). Please do take a look around and let me know what you think.

To celebrate, I'm offering 20% off all tea orders.

I hope you find something you love.