The afternoon tea is an event that goes back some time in Great Britain. Over time the rules have varied as to what is proper to serve with the tea. As our source describes it, the afternoon tea had many more rules a hundred years ago than today. A hostess did wrong if she served “biscuits from a tin (common) or jam from a fancy dish (trying too hard).” But apparently it’s sort of an anything goes event these days.
However, one group has put the afternoon tea to work as a means of getting isolated and lonely elders, over 75, out for an afternoon of good food, socializing, and of course, tea. The charity is called “Contact the Elderly” where volunteers, mostly in their 20s, drive the elders to teas that are supported by the sales of Friendship Tea from the British company, Today was Fun. The requirements for hosting the teas, according to one tea hostess, is simply “…a kind heart, a loving teapot and a downstairs loo.”
As one who has delivered Meals on Wheels to housebound seniors, this is quite a lovely idea. Most of the recipients seemed to want the human contact and good conversation more than the food. Maybe this is an idea that could spread in the US for someone willing to take up the gauntlet.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2008/03/02/st_beewilson.xml
Filed under Tea Events by on Mar 6th, 2008. 
We’ve been learning about all the health benefits of green tea. We will probably post more about that here in the days to come. We know that black tea also provides some measure of health benefits as well but so far, it has looked like green tea was the clear winner.
Now, out of the University of Dundee’s Neurosciences Institute comes some results which make black tea look very good indeed. Dr. Graham Rena, an insulin researcher with the University has found that good old black tea holds the potential to help people with type 2 diabetes by mimicking the action of insulin. The findings were published in the Aging Cell journal.
As usual, much more research will need to be done including some human testing and finding out just how much black tea will do the trick. However, this is some very good news for those suffering this debilitating disease.
Source: http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/How-the–humble-cuppa.3834328.jp
Filed under Tea by on Mar 7th, 2008.
Drinking green tea before exercise could help you burn more fat.
The University of Birmingham’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences conducted a study on healthy young males. First they would take Green Tea Extract (GTE) or a placebo. Then they performed cycling trials. The average fat oxidation rates were higher and how much the fat oxidation provided to the total energy used was higher as well in the GTE group.
Fat oxidation is the rate at which you will find fat being broken down in your body during moderate exercises. This fat is then moved to the muscles where it is used as fuel during the exercise which is why the fat oxidation provided a greater chunk of the total energy used in the study. If I read the article correctly, then green tea, by inhibiting an enzyme, can help fat keep moving to your muscles to be used.
The amount of GTE in this study was equal to about 3 1/2 cups of green tea.
Time, and more studies, will tell if the green tea effect will help people with health problems such as obesity and diabetes through it’s ability to increase fat oxidation. The studies will also help determine the correct amount of green tea or green tea extract needed.
Source: http://www.huliq.com/52294/couple-cups-green-tea-exercise-could-help-burn-fat
Filed under Tea by on Mar 10th, 2008.