Showing posts with label green tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green tea. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The reusable tea infuser for Super Great Green Tea at Work Bliss
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Green tea is grand, isn't it? But how have that great green tea joy at work? I've written a couple times about green tea's effect for health, well being and Fat Loss. But let's be clear: while any green tea may do, 
i'm always thinking not of the bagged detritus from the sweepings of the tea processing floor, but about real japanese green tea. Whether the humble genmaicha, common sencha or the the elegant matcha, this is lovely loose tea, best infused (isn't that a lovely word? let's say it together "infused" mmm) loose in a vessel like a tea pot (more on preparation here) so the little leaves can expand to their full taste glory.
Such tea pot temperament may be fine for the ebb and flow of home life, but what about the rush and constraints of work where the convenience of the bag may cause compromise on tea pleasure?
Friends, b2d diggers, i have found The Solution: the individual reusable infuser.
Yes indeed, a simple, made in germany, reusable, gold mesh infuser. Not sure of the actual company that makes the device. I've found one in France labelled as Finum (available in the US here), and
another recently (and cheaper) from the delightful Nothing But Tea. No postage fee either. Proprietor Helga Warzecha's on Twitter too. That's just cool. Want to know when your fave Kenyan black tea will be back in stock? Tweat! so cool. I'll be back.
As far as i can tell from the "made in Germany " type face and design branded in the base, they're identical.
Very simple to operate for green tea:
Voila! crappy tasting green tea bags be gone. Your wonderful favorite tea available even at work. I'm so happy with this wee little piece of technology - the tea infuser - no doubt it would work fine for well, black tea, and maybe even coffee too. But i'm just happy - and feel pretty decadent about having this moment of bliss at work.
If you haven't tried real loose japanese tea, wow, you will be delighted. Getting into green tea can be just as intrigued as getting into dark chocolate or fine wine. But really, compared to bags, just about any loose japanese green tea will do (i like genmaicha - love that brown rice mixed in). Explore here to give it a go.
----
By the way: i'm not endorsed by Japan Center or Nothing But Tea - i just like their products and services. if you have sources you like for your fave types of loose green tea, please send a comment.
Related Posts
Such tea pot temperament may be fine for the ebb and flow of home life, but what about the rush and constraints of work where the convenience of the bag may cause compromise on tea pleasure?
Friends, b2d diggers, i have found The Solution: the individual reusable infuser.
Yes indeed, a simple, made in germany, reusable, gold mesh infuser. Not sure of the actual company that makes the device. I've found one in France labelled as Finum (available in the US here), and
another recently (and cheaper) from the delightful Nothing But Tea. No postage fee either. Proprietor Helga Warzecha's on Twitter too. That's just cool. Want to know when your fave Kenyan black tea will be back in stock? Tweat! so cool. I'll be back.As far as i can tell from the "made in Germany " type face and design branded in the base, they're identical.
Very simple to operate for green tea:
- Fill the cup with boiling water.
- let the water come down from the boil (seriously, really really do not use just boiled water and do not add water to cool off boiled water: i made a cup with a post five minute kettle, and then another that was post 15 mins. The post 15 min off the boil was so much tastier it's insane. this is nice to forget about the water for a bit)
- Note - when possible, use filtered water freshly boiled - i used boiled water from an "always hot" tank thing at work today and my goodness, what a difference in taste.
- Put the amount and type of tea desired into the filter (in the UK for green tea i like the Japanese Center in the US i've heard the Tao of Tea is good but don't have first hand knowledge)
- Dunk tea in water, with lid on filter - it just rests in the cup
- let sit for whatever is recommended - 30-90secs.
- Take off lid, flip over
- put infuser in its lid coaster. A very cool part of this simple device is that it has a wee lid for when the tea is steeping that, when flipped over, holds the infuser (and its drips).
- Enjoy that tea
Voila! crappy tasting green tea bags be gone. Your wonderful favorite tea available even at work. I'm so happy with this wee little piece of technology - the tea infuser - no doubt it would work fine for well, black tea, and maybe even coffee too. But i'm just happy - and feel pretty decadent about having this moment of bliss at work.
If you haven't tried real loose japanese tea, wow, you will be delighted. Getting into green tea can be just as intrigued as getting into dark chocolate or fine wine. But really, compared to bags, just about any loose japanese green tea will do (i like genmaicha - love that brown rice mixed in). Explore here to give it a go.
----
By the way: i'm not endorsed by Japan Center or Nothing But Tea - i just like their products and services. if you have sources you like for your fave types of loose green tea, please send a comment.
Related Posts
- Respect the Fat - the awesome wonder of fat as energy
- Alternative approaches to diet: thinking habits first - and then fasting?
- Sustenance - thinking about what goes on around food.
- Exercise - for fat loss doesnt' work without diet
- Fat burning optimization - in six minutes?
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Friday, July 11, 2008
Green Tea - good for more than what ails ya
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There's several reasons for adding green tea to one's diet.
Weight Loss & Anti Oxidants
Thermogenesis is the body creating heat - burning energy - by raising the metabolic rate above normal. Green tea has been shown to be good at this - safely.
So that's one good thing about green tea for health and diet. Another is that it's a powerful anti-oxidant, and that is supposed to be a good thing in the battle with aging/free radicals/heart disease and possibly some cancers (here's an overview).
The thermogenic and anti oxidant effect is largely courtesy of epigallocatechin gallate found a bit in chocolate and in other tea types, but highest concentrations are in green tea. A 99 study in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition claimed 43% increase in thermogenesis in adults with 90mg dose of per day.
Drinking about a liter of green tea a day will get these kinds of doses (32oz). That's the same as slightly less than three cans of coke. Or the amount in a typical gym water bottle.
If drinking tea is not your bag, there are alternatives like green tea in powdered pills or tablets. Also, some green tea supplements take care to get the caffeine out of the mix, too - and that is a good thing. Another product is from Tea Tech that Jackie Chan is delightfully fronting: Tea Tech Green Tea, tea with a kick. This is 'instant' tea with a difference: it contains 100mg of those ECGCs. So there's your thermogenic effect right there.
How much a day?
If you're taking green tea in pill form, Registered Dietician Ryan Andrews suggests no more than 300mg a day. Some recommend that, since Green Tea has a thermogenic effect, it's optimal to take it especially before working out so that it's giving a helping hand to fat mobilization that takes place when working out.
What Kind?
Some folks like just to grab some green tea bags, brew 'em and be done with it. If this is the only way you've had green tea, which can taste a wee bit bitter - what i imagine boiled hay would taste like - you're in for a treat if you try loose japanese green tea.
I am in no way a green tea guru (there must be a term for this like someone who knows tons about wine), but generally speaking there are nine kinds of Japanese green tea (and these kinds are big categories). I'm just going to mention the ones i've experienced and really enjoy.
Down at the worker end of loose green tea is Genmaicha. This type of green tea has brown rice kernels in it, and sometimes, what's very nice, some Matcha - the fine powdered green tea used in the Tea Ceremony. It's called Matcha-iri genmaicha. Now, i really really like this tea with the Matcha and the rice. It gives the tea a kind of grainy, meaty taste that is very satisfying, and the color (unlike the stuff in the bags) *is* green. In USD a nice genmaicha can be had for about 4USD/100g.
If you don't care for the kernels, well you can get plain old Sencha. These are steamed, dried early tea leaves, and it's this steaming rather than Chinese green tea frying that i personally prefer. Nice taste; easy to prepare.
If you decide you like Japanese green tea, you can go for the Uber Green Tea, Gyroku - another Sencha, but treated quite differently than other senchas. It's pale, delicate and requires attention to brew and drink. You give it that attention because it's dam pricey. Here in the UK, 17 quid for 100 grams is mid range.
How to Prepare
Let's skip the special prep for the Gyroku and talk about the other senchas. You can get yourself a japanese green tea pot - a pot that will have a screen in it so that you can pour out the tea as soon as it's ready into wee cups. That's nice.
The Gear. But if you want to make a less delicate more coffee-drinker like batch of tea, ideally you'll want something that lets the tea leaves expand in the water while they're steeping. Some folks use a coffee press, but that's na sa good an idea: it lets the leaves continue to sit in the water after they're supposed to stop steeping. An alternative is a tea pot designed to let the leaves expand, and where the leaves can be lifted out. Bodum makes such pots that can be had at discount houses like TK Max from time to time. The material: ceramic or glass.
Some Japanese groceries also sell stainless steel strainers that can sit on the lip of smaller (60-65mm) tea pots. Easy peasy. UPDATE - even better for letting the tea expand and dealing with leaves: this post on a super tea infuser.
Ah yes, once the steeping is done, LIFT OUT THE LEAVES. Why? well one reason is they can be used again at least once, and sometimes twice; another reason is that the taste of the tea can be botched if left to over-steep.
The Water
A critical part of making that lovely green tea green is the water. Putting it through a filter like a brita is a nice thing to do to tap water. Not essential, but nice (bottled water in most places/circumstances is evil, so don't even think about it :> ).
The water to hit the leaves needs to be cooler than boiling. So how do you get the temperature right? Boil the water. G'head. Just leave the kettle to sit for 2-5 minutes - you'll figure out what works for your type of tea.
Time to Brew
Depending on the tea, it may need to steep for 90sec or 3mins - it ain't long. When it's done just right, you'll see that lovely green jade color. It *looks* like GREEN tea. remember: lift out the leaves once the steeping is done.
And the taste.
Poured into a ceramic mug - thin walled are particularly nice - it's a soul restoringly good. This may seem like more time than you'd want to spend on a beverage, but it's easy to get the hang of mutlitasking, and the reward is not only something that's so good for us, but tastes and *feels* wonderful.
Enjoy.
Related Posts
Weight Loss & Anti Oxidants
Thermogenesis is the body creating heat - burning energy - by raising the metabolic rate above normal. Green tea has been shown to be good at this - safely.
So that's one good thing about green tea for health and diet. Another is that it's a powerful anti-oxidant, and that is supposed to be a good thing in the battle with aging/free radicals/heart disease and possibly some cancers (here's an overview).
The thermogenic and anti oxidant effect is largely courtesy of epigallocatechin gallate found a bit in chocolate and in other tea types, but highest concentrations are in green tea. A 99 study in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition claimed 43% increase in thermogenesis in adults with 90mg dose of per day.
Drinking about a liter of green tea a day will get these kinds of doses (32oz). That's the same as slightly less than three cans of coke. Or the amount in a typical gym water bottle.
If drinking tea is not your bag, there are alternatives like green tea in powdered pills or tablets. Also, some green tea supplements take care to get the caffeine out of the mix, too - and that is a good thing. Another product is from Tea Tech that Jackie Chan is delightfully fronting: Tea Tech Green Tea, tea with a kick. This is 'instant' tea with a difference: it contains 100mg of those ECGCs. So there's your thermogenic effect right there.
How much a day?
If you're taking green tea in pill form, Registered Dietician Ryan Andrews suggests no more than 300mg a day. Some recommend that, since Green Tea has a thermogenic effect, it's optimal to take it especially before working out so that it's giving a helping hand to fat mobilization that takes place when working out.
What Kind?
Some folks like just to grab some green tea bags, brew 'em and be done with it. If this is the only way you've had green tea, which can taste a wee bit bitter - what i imagine boiled hay would taste like - you're in for a treat if you try loose japanese green tea.
I am in no way a green tea guru (there must be a term for this like someone who knows tons about wine), but generally speaking there are nine kinds of Japanese green tea (and these kinds are big categories). I'm just going to mention the ones i've experienced and really enjoy.
Down at the worker end of loose green tea is Genmaicha. This type of green tea has brown rice kernels in it, and sometimes, what's very nice, some Matcha - the fine powdered green tea used in the Tea Ceremony. It's called Matcha-iri genmaicha. Now, i really really like this tea with the Matcha and the rice. It gives the tea a kind of grainy, meaty taste that is very satisfying, and the color (unlike the stuff in the bags) *is* green. In USD a nice genmaicha can be had for about 4USD/100g.
If you don't care for the kernels, well you can get plain old Sencha. These are steamed, dried early tea leaves, and it's this steaming rather than Chinese green tea frying that i personally prefer. Nice taste; easy to prepare.
If you decide you like Japanese green tea, you can go for the Uber Green Tea, Gyroku - another Sencha, but treated quite differently than other senchas. It's pale, delicate and requires attention to brew and drink. You give it that attention because it's dam pricey. Here in the UK, 17 quid for 100 grams is mid range.
How to Prepare
Let's skip the special prep for the Gyroku and talk about the other senchas. You can get yourself a japanese green tea pot - a pot that will have a screen in it so that you can pour out the tea as soon as it's ready into wee cups. That's nice.
The Gear. But if you want to make a less delicate more coffee-drinker like batch of tea, ideally you'll want something that lets the tea leaves expand in the water while they're steeping. Some folks use a coffee press, but that's na sa good an idea: it lets the leaves continue to sit in the water after they're supposed to stop steeping. An alternative is a tea pot designed to let the leaves expand, and where the leaves can be lifted out. Bodum makes such pots that can be had at discount houses like TK Max from time to time. The material: ceramic or glass.
Some Japanese groceries also sell stainless steel strainers that can sit on the lip of smaller (60-65mm) tea pots. Easy peasy. UPDATE - even better for letting the tea expand and dealing with leaves: this post on a super tea infuser.
Ah yes, once the steeping is done, LIFT OUT THE LEAVES. Why? well one reason is they can be used again at least once, and sometimes twice; another reason is that the taste of the tea can be botched if left to over-steep.
The Water
A critical part of making that lovely green tea green is the water. Putting it through a filter like a brita is a nice thing to do to tap water. Not essential, but nice (bottled water in most places/circumstances is evil, so don't even think about it :> ).
The water to hit the leaves needs to be cooler than boiling. So how do you get the temperature right? Boil the water. G'head. Just leave the kettle to sit for 2-5 minutes - you'll figure out what works for your type of tea.
Time to Brew
Depending on the tea, it may need to steep for 90sec or 3mins - it ain't long. When it's done just right, you'll see that lovely green jade color. It *looks* like GREEN tea. remember: lift out the leaves once the steeping is done.
And the taste.
Poured into a ceramic mug - thin walled are particularly nice - it's a soul restoringly good. This may seem like more time than you'd want to spend on a beverage, but it's easy to get the hang of mutlitasking, and the reward is not only something that's so good for us, but tastes and *feels* wonderful.
Enjoy.
Related Posts
- super one cup gold mesh tea infuser: finally great green tea for work
- Respect the Fat - the awesome wonder of fat as energy
- Alternative approaches to diet: thinking habits first - and then fasting?
- Sustenance - thinking about what goes on around food.
- Exercise - for fat loss doesnt' work without diet
- Fat burning optimization - in six minutes?
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