Culinary Tea Review

Do you love tea and cooking?  Not enough people appreciate the unique flavors that tea can add to a recipe.  From Spicy Chai to Rooibos to mild herbals, tea can help you take your cooking expertise up a notch.  Culinary Tea by Cynthia Gold and Lisë Stern is an artful exploration of the blend between tea and food and really should be a part of any tea lover’s library.  Filled with amazing photography, sumptuous recipes and incredible detail, this book is more a culinary journey than a simple recipe book – taking you on a trip around the world as you explore teas and tea-influence cuisine.
I had the pleasure of having Afternoon Tea with Cynthia a few months ago.  Cynthia’s knowledge of tea and food is incredible and her enthusiasm for tea’s influence in recipes is infectious.  After meeting her and reading this book, I couldn’t wait to go home and cook with tea!
See first hand the true passion of Culinary Tea; meet Lisë Stern February 24th at the Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, NH. The book signing and talk will start at 7:00 pm. 

Tea & Your Heart 2: Tea as a Social Activity

February is American Heart Month!  All month we will be talking about ways tea is an important part of maintaining a healthy heart.  Last week we spoke briefly about the physiological benefits of tea, today let’s take a look at all the how tea is an important social activity and how that relates to your heart health.
        Earlier this week we talked about a great trip we had to Upstairs on the Square in Cambridge, MA.  Much more than simply a trip to a tea room, it was a chance to spend time with old and new friends.  Even more than the tea and treats, it is that time with friends that will stay with me afterwards.
        I started Bliss Tea out of the joy and comfort I always got from sharing a pot of tea with my mother and discussing EVERYTHING.  That time has always been precious to me as a chance to relax and share all my cares and concerns with someone I love.  It was the tea that helped to always bring us together - I or she would get a new tea variety and we would immediately find an excuse to get together “for tea”!
        So what does all this have to do with a healthy heart?  Well, there is ample scientific evidence that having an active social life is important for staying healthy.  Getting together with loved ones and spending time with friends is an important component to lowering stress levels and feeling connected.  .  Stress causes the body to release all kinds of nasty chemicals, raise cholesterol levels, blood pressure, unhealthy behavior, etc. all of which relate back to a healthy heart!
        For me, sharing a cup of tea has always been an important part of my life, mostly because it was a chance to sit quietly with someone, share something calming, relaxing and healthy and talk about life.  It has always helped me stay grounded.  So if I could share any piece of healthy advice this month, it would be this: brew some tea, invite over a friend or loved one and just spend some quality time.

“Au Chocolat” Valentine’s Tea

 

Afternoon Tea at Upstairs on the Square in Cambridge, MA is sure to take away the mid- winter blues. The delightful, whimsically decorated restaurant almost makes you feel as if you are Alice in Wonderland! You can curl up by the fire, watch snowy Harvard Square from the windows of the Zebra Room or relax high in the trees of the Soiree Room as you enjoy the civilized respite of a cup of tea with artisanal sandwiches and sweet treats.

Upstairs on the Square

Our Tea consisted of the following along with a choice of 15 premium loose leaf teas to choose from:

Savory Brioche

Savory:   

        

Chicken salad on house made Brioche

Egg salad on profiterole

Smoked salmon with caper cream cheese on wheat 

Ham salad on James Beard chive biscuit

Pastries

 Pastries:   

    

Chocolate chip scone

Date nut bread with citrus spread

Mini gruyere cheese quiche

Blue cheese cracker

                                                                                                            

Sweets

 Sweets:             

Chocolate filled éclair

Chocolate dipped strawberry                                           

Chocolate mouse cupcake

Chocolate truffle

Mini turtle

Chocolate heart filled with Grand Marnier

Our server from France named Gael added much character to our day and made sure we were enjoying every bit of our time, at Upstairs on the Square. We were able to relax and visit with our girlfriends in the true spirit of Afternoon Tea. But then again tea and chocolate…need we say more!

In Bliss,

Amy

Gael (our server)

Holly, Maureen, Ashley & Mary

Tier

Tea & Your Heart: The Chemistry

February is American Heart Month!  All month we will be talking about ways tea is an important part of maintaining a healthy heart. This start off this week, we will look at some of the beneficial ingredients in tea that contribute to good cardiovascular health:

Polyphenols, Catechins, and Flavonoids…the power of Antioxidants!

Polyphenols, catechins and flavonoids are all antioxidants that protect cells from damage caused by free-radicals.  For example, in your cardiovascular system, when low-density lipoproteins (LDL or “bad” cholesterol) are oxidized by free-radicals they glue themselves to the walls of blood vessels, creating a plaque that eventually leads to coronary heart disease.  Since the above chemicals are antioxidants (i.e. they prevent oxidation), they help keep LDL cholesterol from sticking to vascular walls and act as a vasodilator, keeping your blood vessels wide and flexible, for blood to flow freely.

Since all tea, be it Green, Oolong, or Black, come from the Camellia sinesis plant, all teas contain these beneficial chemicals.  In fact, they contain 8-10 times the concentration found in fruit and vegetables!  If that is not a reason to have a cup of tea every day I am not sure what is!  Green tea, since it is not allowed to dry and ferment, has the largest concentration of antioxidants, with other tea varieties very close behind.

  

The Results of A Few Studies…

 

• A total of 3,430 men and women aged 30-70 years from the Saudi Coronary Artery Disease Study were examined and those who drank more than six cups of tea per day (>480 mg) had significantly lower prevalence of CHD than non-tea drinkers, even after adjustment for risk factors like age and smoking. The researchers also found that drinking six or more cups of Black Tea per day was associated with decreased serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. 

•  A Harvard study examined 340 men and women who had suffered heart attacks and compared them to matched control subjects. They found that those who drank a cup or more of Black Tea daily had a 44 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack compared to non-tea drinkers.

• Another recent Harvard study of 1,900 people found that those who consumed tea during the year prior to a heart attack were up to 44 percent more likely to survive over the three to four years following the event. Those who consumed fewer than 14 cups of tea per week experienced a 28 percent reduced death rate and those who consumed more than 14 cups of tea per week were found to have a 44 percent reduced death rate, as compared to non-tea drinkers.

Useful Websites on Heart Benefits of Tea:

There is an abundance of information on the internet about the cardiovascular benefits of tea:

 A WebMD article on health benefits of Green Tea :

a good synopsis of green teas benefits on everything

from heart health to cancer. 

Tea Linked to Heart Health:

A Senior Health article on how tea can help those

who already have cardiovascular issues.

An Overview of Research on the 

Potential Health Benefits of Tea

A great overview on the research studies 

associated with tea’s heart healthy benefits.

            As you can see, there are tremendous heart healthy benefits to drinking a glass or two of tea each day, with ample long-term research to back up those benefits.  While you spend this month thinking about all the ways to improve your cardiovascular health, from diet to adequate exercise, don’t forget about the important role tea can serve.

Coming next week – it’s not just the chemistry – the important role a cup of tea can serve in helping you relax and how relaxation is important to your heart!

    

♥Valentine's Cupcake Recipe Made With Tea

These delicious cupcakes are perfect for celebrating your special occasions. We started with a package of Bob’s Red Mill Chocolate Cake Mix and prepared it as directed on the package. We then added to the batter 1 tablespoon of Bliss Tea Company Organic Earl Grey Tea as well as 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. We pulsed Bliss Tea Company Organic Earl Grey Tea in our mini Cuisinart to achieve a fine consistency before adding it to the batter. If you are a true Earl Grey lover you can certainly add more tea to this recipe for added flavor. The end result is an incredibly moist cupcake with a rich chocolaty taste not to mention Gluten Free and simple to prepare!

                                                                                                           

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

1 Stick of Butter, room temperature

1 8oz block of Cream Cheese, room temperature

2-3 Cups Gluten Free Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1.   With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

2.   Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness and thickness.

3.   Either spread on with a blunt knife or spatula, or spoon into a piping bag to decorate your cupcakes. Enjoy!

Celebrate National Healthy Weight Week with a Healthy Tea Habit!

This week is National Healthy Weight Week, a week dedicated to celebrating healthy, diet-free ways of living to achieve a healthy weight that lasts, a lifetime.  From eating a healthy diet, to exercise and learning ways to deal with stress, this week is all about simple things you can do to live your best.

            Tea can be a powerful part of healthy living and can help you achieve a healthy weight.  Different varieties of tea are chocked full of vitamins, antioxidants, and other compounds that help improve metabolism, and maintain healthy bodily functions that contribute to weight loss.  Tea serves an important social function as it is often shared amongst friends.  Finally, drinking tea is often a contemplative or reflective moment, which can help produce calm and relieve stress after a long day. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and features of individual teas:

              Oolong

     Dating back thousands of years to the remote mountains of China, Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea known for its bold full bodied flavor. Oolong, or “Black Dragon Tea”, is partially oxidized, laying somewhere between black tea (highly oxidized) and green tea (minimally oxidized). The aroma is lightly floral and the tea has a wonderful “melony” aftertaste.

      Oolong is known for its high concentration of polyphenols, a family of compounds that have been proven to be effective in raising fat metabolism, removing free radicals in the body, and aiding digestion.

Bliss Tea carries a variety of Oolong Teas, including:  

From the left, Organic Formosa Fancy Oolong, Organic Plum Oolong and Organic Wuyi Oolong

           Detoxitea

       “Detoxitea” is a natural blend of ingredients loaded with health benefits, from Goji berry to ginger, lemon myrtle, honeybush and fennel seed.  The Superfood Goji berry is an adaptogen, an agent that allows the body to adapt to daily stresses by strengthening the immune system, increasing the body’s resistance to stress and normalizing bodily functions.  Ginger is proven to protect the liver against toxins.  Detoxitea is also a great source of Vitamin C and antioxidants.

Green Tea

Green tea originates from China and has recently become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East.  Green tea is made solely from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing.  Many varieties of green tea have been created in countries where it is grown.  These varieties can differ substantially due to variable growing conditions, processing and harvesting time.  Green tea generally produces a very light green liquor with a mild taste and is often enhanced with fruits or spices.

The health benefits associate with the consumption of Green Tea are almost too numerous to mention!  Like Oolong, Green Tea is loaded with polyphenols and has a high concentration of flavenoids which possess anti-oxidative and anti-carcinogenic functions.  Several scientific studies have proven Green Tea can aid in metabolism, reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and body fat and improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance.

Bliss Tea carries a variety of Green Teas, including:

From the left Organic Ancient Emerald Lily, Organic Japanese Sencha and Organic Moroccan Mint

 
      As you celebrate this week of how to achieve a healthy weight without dieting, give some consideration to the role tea can serve in that goal.  Tea helps biologically by raising metabolism and stabilizing physiological functions, socially by being part of intimate moments you share with others, and spiritually by providing opportunities to relax and unwind.  All these benefits and it tastes great too.  This week, share a cup of tea with a friend or family member and contemplate how you can achieve a healthier you!

Holiday Traditions Old & New

Deanie enjoying her passion fruit tea and scone.

Tis the season to indulge a little and nurture your soul. We recently had the pleasure of attending a Mother and Daughter Holiday Tea at a local restaurant here in New Hampshire. As we entered the beautifully decorated Great Hall Barn I could not help but notice the mulitple generations of Ladies gathered together to enjoy each others company while enjoying the simple pleasure of Afternoon Tea. One would have never known of the stress associated with the season as all were dressed in their very best and were over flowing with joy, love and girlish giggles.

                                                                       

As we enjoyed the cup of passion fruit tea, steeped beautifully with not too much sweetness yet just enough fruity essence, we wondered how many Ladies were enjoying such an event for the first time or if this was an annual event that they looked forward to year after year. As we are true lovers of Afternoon Tea we simply relaxed, enjoyed all that accompanied our passion fruit tea while listening to the soothing sounds of the holiday harpist.

Delectable finger sandwiches with seasonal salad.

                                            

We were greeted with 2 types of scones gingerbread and triple chocolate. They were nicely baked not overly dry as many establishments have a tendency to do. We were then presented with our main meal of 3 finger style sandwiches in the following tasty flavors: salmon tomato mouse with red onion, herb cheese with fig marmalade topped with mushrooms and lastly pancetta, tomato and arugula all accompanied with a salad of fresh greens, grapes, blue cheese and walnuts tossed with an apple cider vinaigrette. Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed every last bite. The meal was topped of with a plate a sweet indulgences which included chocolate covered strawberries, almond raspberry layer cake as well as red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

  Chocolate dipped strawberries, need we say more?

If you do not already have a holiday tea tradition think of starting a tradition that is all yours. In the spirit of Afternoon Tea, not just because of the season, think of surrounding yourself with the people you love being with and enjoy great food and great tea together. As we departed our delectable afternoon we simply reflected upon the beautiful holiday decorations, delicious food and the sparkle off the whole afternoon of sisterhood. After all, time, stress and cares all disappear while enjoying Afternoon Tea!

Wishing you all a Blissful Holiday!

Amy & Deanie