Tea Facts and Quotations

• Water quality problems, wuch as off-tastes, odors, and discoloration change from tap to tap. A good tea taster can overlook these problems in his or her relentless search for perfect tea - a must for someone who may taste up to 500 different teas per day!
• In the mid 1800's, a metal tea ball was invented and with it came a device that would automatically lift it out of the tea after a given number of minutes.
• Never keep tea leaves in the refrigerator since the condensed moisture may hasten the decline of tea flavor.
• "I stir wild honey into my carefully prepared cedar tea and wait for meaning to arise - to greet and comfort me." Paula Gunn Allen, 1983.

Tea and Health News

Authors of a new study published in the Journal of Biochemistry conclude that drinking "large amounts" of green tea may help prevent cancer by inhibiting the action of a certain enzyme, matrilysin, associated with tumor growth. According to the authors, "Matrilysin has been detected in lesions of the prostate, colon, brain, stomach, lung, and breast . . . From this viewpoint, the development of matrilysin inhibitors is considered to be of therapeutic benefit." After combining green tea catechins with matrilysin, the activity levels of that enzyme were significantly reduced, and the authors believe that drinking green tea can provide enough catechins to produce the same effect in the body. No hints as to how much green tea is needed for these benefits - we must await more studies. J. Biochem, 2003, Vol. 133, No. 5, 571-576.

Tea and Health News provided by: TheTeaTable.com

Return to current newsletter.   ~   View archived news.