Tea has a mighty reputation as a healthy drink, but is there science to back up those claims? In this article, learn about the latest research on tea and health, including some new ways to understand how tea affects the body, as presented at the 2019 UC Davis Global Tea Initiative. As far as drinks go, tea is always seen as the healthy option. If you're a tea drinker, you've probably had family members ask what teas to drink to solve this problem and that. They've seen all the miraculous teas on the market. Weight loss teas. "Detox" teas. Lose-20-lbs-and-also-cure-cancer teas. Tea's been put on a pedestal for all sorts of curative properties, but what research do we have to back those claims? While tea isn't the magical cure-all that the market wants it to be, science is definitely finding links between tea and better health. So far, we've found that L-theanine, an amino acid found only in tea, is linked with better mental performance, while catechins, one …
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Below are all our handy guides, articles, and experiments about tea. Explore tea & tea culture, and learn about tea brewing and service.
Silver Needle: A Guide to China’s Most Iconic White Tea
Silver Needle is a classic white tea from China, but also one of its most misunderstood teas. In this article, get to know Silver Needle and learn how to identify and brew it with confidence. Silver Needle Common Names: Silver Needle, Bai Hao Yin Zhen, 白毫銀針 Profile: Crisp, energizing character with fruity, floral and sun-dried hay notes Region: China (Fujian Province; Yunnan Province) - Silver Needle is one of those teas that you can really fall in love with on first sight. It's a gorgeous tea, with beautiful, downy white buds that sparkle a little in the light, and in the early days of my tea journey I was infatuated with it. In tea terms (and real life terms, too) I was young, dumb, and easily impressed, so when I saw my first Silver Needle at a Teavana I was doomed. It came with a hefty price tag and a backstory that involved emperors, monks, and secluded mountain monasteries in China, and the salesfolks did me in good. It seemed too cool, too rare to pass …
Where to Drink: One Day in Seattle
Tea lover visiting Seattle? You’re in luck. Seattle may be famous for its coffee, but it's also got a kickass tea scene that's one of the best in the country. In this post, enjoy a one-day tour through some of my favorite tea spots in Seattle. When it comes to good tea shops, most of us would be happy to have just one or two in town - but not Seattle. The city has about a dozen seriously good tea shops, many of them in the same neighborhood! It's a good thing there are so many, because tea shops are kinda like ramen shops. When you have just one ramen shop in town, that poor store has to cater to everyone. Odds are, the ramen will be decent, but not fantastic. But when you have a whole bunch of ramen shops in one place - or tea shops, in this case - the magic starts to happen. You get a healthy competition that allows each shop to develop its own unique style, serving up the stuff they truly know and care about. Seattle's like that - a city full of specialized tea …
