Feel Good Blends
Cup Full Of Goodness
Tea dates back centuries, the people of the East regarded it as the key to health, vitality, happiness and wisdom. Today the shelves are packed full of tea’s with exotic names and new flavours. Now the West has discovered the many health benefits and we can’t get enough.
There are many tea’s on the market but it has been agreed upon that the best tea’s are the loose leaf /brewed tea’s instead of the bottled tea, as they contain extra sugars, colourants and calories.
Although there have been a few questions raised at to how long tea needs to be steeped, how much tea you need to drink and what tea is best for you, the consensus is that any tea is good for you!
Tea is always a good idea!
Here are a few tea’s and their benefits…
Green Tea
Made with steamed tea leaves, it has a high concentration of EGCG and has been widely studied. Green tea’s antioxidants may interfere with the growth of bladder, breast, lung, stomach and pancreatic cancer; prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat and more!
Black Tea
Made with fermented tea leaves, black tea has the highest caffeine content and forms the basis for flavoured teas like chai, along with some instant teas. Studies have shown that black tea may protect lungs from damage caused by exposure to cigarette smoke.
White Tea
Uncured and unfermented. One study showed that white tea has the most potent anticancer properties.
Oolong Tea
In an animal study, those given antioxidants from oolong tea were found to have lower bad cholesterol levels.
Pu-erh Tea
Made from fermented and aged leaves. Considered a black tea, its leaves are pressed into cakes, this tea is found to lower cholesterol levels.
Instant Tea
Instant tea may contain very little amounts of actual tea and plenty of sugars or artificial sweeteners. For health’s sake, check out the ingredients on the label.
Herbal Tea
Made from herbs, fruits, seeds, or roots steeped in hot water, herbal teas have lower concentrations of antioxidants than green, white, black, and oolong teas. Varieties include ginger, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, hibiscus, jasmine, rosehip, mint, rooibos (red tea), chamomile, and echinacea.
- Chamomile – Its antioxidants may help prevent complications from diabetes, like loss of vision and nerve and kidney damage
- Hibiscus – A small study found that drinking three cups of hibiscus tea daily lowered blood pressure in people with modestly elevated levels.
- Rooibos – It has flavonoids in it with cancer-fighting properties.
Source: By Julie Edgar -WebMD
Lady Bonin’s Tea Parlour
Recently as part of an Overberg campaign called the #GonzoTeaTrek, Lady Bonin’s travelling caravan stopped by in Hermanus to serve the finest, hand made, loose leaf tea’s. The concept was started by Jessica Bonin and has now flourished into unique and tea-rrific experience.
Some of her enticing tea’s include, red choc chilli chai, spiced rooibos chai and rooibos, lavender and strawberries!
Our favourite was the spiced rooibos chai!
To find out where the caravan will be next, read up on their website. If you are in Cape Town be sure to stop in at the Tea Room.
Address: 66 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town
More info on the town of Hermanus |