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Purple Tea

Black, white, green are all colours that come to mind when we think of tea. Perhaps red if we consider rooibos (though it's not technically tea). But have you heard of purple tea?

Purple tea is a relatively new variety that originates in Africa. It has been in development for about 25 years in Kenya, which is one of the world leaders in the production of black tea. In development for a quarter of a century, purple tea was submitted to the Kenyan government for approval earlier this year, and just this past August, for commercial production.

According to Tea Research Foundation of Kenya, purple tea is high in anthocyanin, a flavenoid and powerful antioxidant with health enhancing properties.

You see plants that contain anthocyanin quite often, especially at this time of year as leaves change colour.

Dark purple pansies, bright red skin of apples, the red pigmentation of blood oranges, and the dark skins and pigments of cranberries, blueberries and raspberries.

Although more research is required, it would appear that foods rich in anthocyanins, there is laboratory based evidence that there is potential health benefits against cancer, aging and neurological diseases, inflammation, diabetes and bacterial infections. None of this research is associated with the purple tea yet, but based on pigments in berries such as black raspberries.

It sounds like it may still be some time before purple tea is readily available in Canada. Meantime, you'll just have to enjoy your favourite black, white and green varieties available through Steeped Fine Loose Teas!

Purple tea. Now you know!

 

Tea to the Rescue: Green Tea May Boost Eye Health

Macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts seem to go hand in hand with aging, for many people. It seems that certain foods when eaten in our younger years can stall the effects of aging on our  bodies, and a recent study suggests that green tea can help boost eye health.

This study appears in  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and was reported by Stephen Daniells on Nutra-Ingredients. Steeped Tea offers a lovely selection of green tea varieties and flavours, so why not add green tea to your selection of daily beverages and start to improve your eye health, in addition to other health benefits!

Tea compounds may boost eye health

The antioxidant compounds present in green tea and associated with a myriad of health benefits can penetrate the tissue of the eye and potentially protect against common eye diseases, says a new study.

Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong report that catechins from tea could be detected in significant amounts in various eye structures. According to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the retina of rats absorbed the highest levels of gallocatechin, while the aqueous humor tended to absorb epigallocatechin.

Furthermore, the potential beneficial effects of green tea catechins in reducing harmful oxidative stress were sustained for up to 20 hours.

Eyes on the market

A report from Frost & Sullivan last year stated that the global market for eye health ingredients was dominated by antioxidants, including lutein, beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin and bilberry.

The demand for such products is increasing as consumers turn to nutrition to protect against blinding diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma.

The global human nutrition market for lutein is predicted to reach $125m within three years, said F&S, with growth underpinned by rising demand for eye health supplements from the aging US population, increasing healthcare costs, more research efforts backing ingredient benefits, and improvements in technology for methods of ingredient extraction, said the report.

“Although many antioxidants have been studied in the eye, to the best of our knowledge this is the first paper to show distribution of individual catechins after ingestion of green tea extract and to evaluate their in vivo antioxidative effects in various parts of the mammalian eye,” wrote the researchers behind the new study.

Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent. The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin.

Study details

Chi Pui Pang and colleagues fed laboratory rats green tea and subsequently analysed the eye tissues. Catechins were indeed observed in the eye tissues, say the researchers.

“Many studies on the antioxidative effect of green tea focused on EGCG,” report the researchers. “However, in this study, we found its tissue level was not high. Gallocatechin, epigallocatechin, catechin, and epicatechin, on the other hand, substained high levels in many compartments.

“Although these compounds have a reducing power similar to or lower than that of EGCG, use of a mixture, such as green tea extract, was better than use of a single catechin because of lower cost and synergic effects on antioxidation and bioavailability,” they added.

“Our results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress,” concluded the researchers.

Yet Another Use for Tea - Raising Frogs!

This news article comes from the BBC News Online.

 Exotic frogs reared in redbush tea in Gloucestershire

Eleven poison dart frogs have been raised by UK experts in pint glasses of redbush tea.

Amphibian keepers at the Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Gloucestershire, reared the amphibians from tadpoles in the brew to help keep them disease-free.

The caffeine-free African tea contains fungus-beating antioxidants, according to amphibian keeper Jay Redmond.

Mr Redmond said: "Every morning just before I made my cup of tea I made sure the tadpoles have had theirs too!"

Shop-bought tea

The yellow-banded and green-banded poison dart frog tadpoles were raised in pint glasses, topped up with the shop-bought redbush tea, which is sometimes called rooibos.

Some species of poison dart frogs, native to South America and among the most toxic on earth, are critically endangered.

A combination of deforestation, introduced species and a fungus which kills amphibians has damaged population numbers.

Mr Redmond added: "It is a bit of advice that people know in the industry that to keep them disease-free they should swim in redbush tea for the first few weeks of life."

Eating Tea with Chopsticks...

... in space!

Time for another tea video - this one is from space where astronauts take tea with toast and honey, using chopsticks.

I think I prefer the gravi-tea here on earth, where we can hold that nice warm cup in our hands and sip our tea!

Going Back to School for a Chemistry Lesson

I found out about this one from another tea blog, Vee Tea. When I first saw this guy, I wasn't sure if this was a joke or spoof, but it would seem to be the real deal. This professor from the University of Nottingham gives a pretty understandable lesson on various chemical properties of tea. Check it out:

What is that Stuff Anyway?

Have you ever been enjoying a cup of tea and noticed a film on the surface? Wonder what that stuff is?

Nigel at Teacraft shares:

The blue irridescent film sometimes seen at the surface of cooling
black tea should not be confused with oil. It is due to hard water. I
believe that the film is caused by the formation of insoluble Ca and
Mg salts of the lightly acidic thearubigins. If you disturb it with
a spoon the irridescent film fragments with distinct edges like pack
ice - no oil would do this.

So, that is what that film is - I don't know why, when I'm sipping at home and  consequently using the same hard water source, some of my black teas seem to develop it and some do not; do I drink some faster? Quite possibly...

Meanwhile, baby it's cold outside, so go brew a nice hot cup and enjoy!

Blessings & Happy sipping, Ann