Naja Tea Now In Olives Gourmet Grocer!
September 4th, 2008We are pleased to announce that Naja Tea is now being offered in two locations of Olives Gourmet Grocer in Long Beach, CA.
Are you Easily Distracted? Try Some Tea!
August 11th, 2008Are You Easily Distracted? Try Some Tea
Reprinted from www.health.usnews.com
September 27, 2007
Tea as a treatment for attention deficit disorder? If the beverage’s other
health creds aren’t impressive enough—a host of studies have suggested
it shields against heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and possibly some
cancers—now comes the news that it may also focus jumpy minds. “We have
reports going back thousands of years that drinking tea makes people
feel relaxed,” says John Foxe, a professor of neuroscience and an
expert on the mechanisms of attention at the City University of New
York. “But it also seems to make them more alert.”
The bulk of the research on tea till now has focused on the
antioxidants it contains, the flavonols, catechins, and lignans that
appear to arm the body against disease. It’s thought that they improve
blood vessel dilation, for example, and lower the risk of aortic
atherosclerosis. “We know that the more tea one consumes, the stronger
the cardiovascular protection will be,” says Lenore Arab, a nutritional
epidemiologist at the University of California-Los Angeles David Geffen
School of Medicine. By inhibiting damage to dna, some researchers
theorize, the antioxidants may also slow tumor growth.
Now neuroscientists are weighing in with evidence that components in the
leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant may work wonders in the brain as well.
According to Foxe’s research, the amino acid theanine, which is found in green, black, and
oolong teas, causes a decrease in the brain’s “alpha rhythms” when
people perform complex attention tasks, causing them to pay closer
attention. His ongoing research, funded by the food and beverage
conglomerate Unilever, suggests that theanine and caffeine together
improve performance more than either substance alone. The findings,
described in September at a conference on tea and human health, argue
for further studies specific to add, Foxe thinks.
Other brain studies are still in the very early stages but offer
hope that tea might battle degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and
Alzheimer’s, too. Silvia Mandel, vice director of the Eve Topf and the
National Parkinson Foundation Centers in Israel, has found that—in
mice, at least—tea’s main antioxidant shows an ability to curb brain
cell death and encourage neurons to repair themselves.
(Reporting By Matthew Shulman)
Tea, Tea, Everwhere and Oh So Much To Drink!
July 9th, 2008I returned from the World Tea Expo late Sunday (yes, I started writing this over a month ago and now, July 8th, am picking it back up. Better late than never???) night after 3 days of professional classes, tea tastings and networking. If I knew nothing about tea before (thinking you know everything about tea is like thinking you know everything about men. Or women for that matter!), I quickly learned that tea invites some of the loveliest people into its world.
There were over 300 exhibitor and attendees looking for the latest and greatest new trends in the tea business. Many attendees were small tea lounges from across the country who were there for the training offered throughout the weekend. One class in particular, the 2008 Annual State of the Industry Report lead by Brian Keating was an excellent retrospective of the last 13 years of tea (Sketics disagreed that Organic Tea would see the bright future that it is now basking in) and a look into the “ultra hot” trends that those in the business will find useful in projecting the impact of teas immense growth over the next 5 years (Tea is given the Ultimate Trust Factor by doctors and Oprah alike!) .
As I walked the aisles of the trade show, there were some exceptional examples of emerging trends in tea and accessories that will see themselves in homes across America very soon. One on particular (a favorite if I may say so myself) was The Original Teastick and the newly released GEMS Teastick by design innovators, Gamila. I now travel with mine in my purse for my loose leaf on the go and love that it measures a perfect teaspoon AND infuses a perfect cup…
I also attended the screening of an excellent film, The Meaning of Tea, a journey that transports you to Taiwan, India, Japan, Morocca, England, France, Ireland and the US to experience other cultures and how tea is incorporated into their daily lives. It was a truly a beautiful look at people and cultures in other countries and how tea is the source of good for so many.
I’m looking forward to inviting each of you to our booth next year to celebrate one year providing exceptional loose leaf teas! Las Vegas will revel in its infusion of tea lovers yet again. Roulette anyone?
Tea you soon,
Naja
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