Blueberries!

With 4th of July celebrations behind us, we still have many things to look forward to and celebrate.  One of my favorites is National Blueberry Month.

Those deep indigo succulent little berries are packed with nutrition and are perfect this time of year.  In just one serving, you can get almost 25 percent of your daily Vitamin C requirement. Vitamin C aids the formation of collagen and helps maintain healthy gums and capillaries. It also promotes iron absorption and a healthy immune system.

Blueberries are packed with dietary fiber and just a handful can help you meet your daily requirement.

Blueberries are an excellent source of manganese which plays an important role in bone development and in converting the proteins, carbohydrates and fats in food into to energy.  

Blueberries are leaders in antioxidant activity. Antioxidants work to neutralize free radicals — unstable molecules linked to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s. Substances in blueberries called polyphenols, specifically the anthocyanins that give the fruit its blue hue, are the major contributors to antioxidant antioxidant activity.

So try some today and live well!!

 

 

 

 

 

I love making Blueberry Buckle with fresh blueberries and below is one of my favorite recipes with a cup of black tea with cream.  Enjoy! 

Martha Stewart Living, July/August 2000

• Yield 1 ten-inch round cake or 2 six-inch round cakes

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 5 cups wild or cultivated blueberries
• Mrs. Kostyra's Streusel Topping

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a spring form baking pan, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add egg and vanilla, beating until fully combined.
4. Add reserved flour mixture, alternating with the milk, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Remove from mixer. Gently fold in blueberries.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle streusel topping over cake. Bake until cake tester comes out batter-free, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool for 15 minutes before serving.

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Looking for something refreshing?

Summertime is the time we are all looking for something refreshing to drink.  With so many choices out there it can be a little overwhelming to choose.  However, if you look closely at a lot of the ready-to-go choices you will see that they are loaded with things like sugar, sodium and unnecessary dyes. Not real refreshing is it?

I personally like to keep things simple and fresh.  Therefore, I like brewing my own iced tea using exceptional loose leaf tea.  Not only is it healthy with all the antioxidants, but I can control how sweet I want my tea and it doesn't have all that added stuff you just don't need.  Brewing a small batch daily makes unbelievably fresh tasty tea.     

There are two ways to approach brewing your own iced tea properly.  The first is by doubling your usual amount of tea, brew at the same temperature and steep as you would normally depending on if it is black tea, green tea, oolong etc.  When done steeping, remove steeped leaves, add ice, sweeten if you would like and enjoy.

Another way to do make great iced tea is to brew tea as you would normally, remove brewed leaves and place in refrigerator until chilled, serve with ice and sweeten if desired.   

Some of our favorites are:
Andean Black or Green Tea, Lemon Green Tea, Mango Green Tea, Peach Rooibos, Ti Kwan Yin, Black Tea Passionfruit, Black Tea Maracuja, Mint Green Tea and Jasmine Petal or Pearl. 

Sri Lanka Care

Drink T is proud to announce its partnership with Sri Lanka Care.  Every Ceylon tea you purchase from Drink T’s specialty tea collection, a portion of that sale will go directly to Sri Lanka Care’s effort in assisting families break the poverty cycle through long-term involvement.

http://www.srilankacare.org/

Lemon green tea is a type of drink that combines the comfort of sipping green tea with the refreshing, citrus aroma and flavor of lemon. Not only does this combination have a lot of health benefits, the drink also looks aesthetically appealing due to the bright color of the lemon in contrast with the subtle color of green tea. Green tea and lemon are known to be medicinal, and combining the two further compounds their benefits.

1. Antioxidants

   • Green tea has antioxidant properties, which absorbs free radicals in your body. The type of antioxidant found in green tea is polyphenol. Green tea can also aid in digestion, and it has astringent properties that help cleanse the body. Lemon is also rich in antioxidants, including flavonoids, which have been shown to aid in the prevention of cancer.

   Vitamin C

   • Lemon juice is rich in ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid has cleansing properties, which is beneficial to the body. Vitamin C also has been shown to slow down symptoms of arthritis. In addition, this vitamin also strengthens the immune system, protecting you from common illnesses such as colds and flu. Lemon juice can also act as a stimulant that can help increase your energy level.

   Combination

   • Adding lemon to green tea may boost its antioxidant properties, since lemon and green tea antioxidants complement each other. Lemon may also increase the health benefits found in green tea. A recent study at Purdue University stated that adding ascorbic acid can help the body absorb healthy compounds such as catechins, which are found in tea.

Try our Lemon Green Tea or our Pan Fired Green Tea, chill it, add ice and lemon.

Dear 16-year-old Me

Dear 16 year old me.....

I realize this is an unusual post for a tea company, but there is more to me than Drink T.  My sister had posted this video, I watched it and I cried.  I cried because it is something so simple yet easily forgotten.  I cried for all of the beautiful 16 year old kids that were just living their lives and now have no life to live.  I cried for all those who were left behind wishing there was something they could have done.  I cried because when I was sixteen I fell asleep in the Florida sun and woke with a horrific sun burn  that sent me to an emergency center.  I received shots to bring down the swelling on my face and spent the rest of the vacation in the room with my face packed in ice.  I cried because I am lucky. 

We can do nothing about the should have's or could have's, but you can do something in the present moment and watch this video. Share it with sweet loved ones and do something about your future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4jgUcxMezM&sns=fb


Best Wishes to All,
Sheryl Myhre
Founder and owner of Drink T

Some Good Reasons to drink Green Tea

Green tea is a popular source of polyphenols. Polyphenols are potent antioxidant compounds that have demonstrated greater antioxidant protection than vitamin C.  The major polyphenols in green tea are flavonoids (catechin, epicatechin gallate (EGCG) and proanthocyanidins).

To achieve some degree of protection, nutrition and health experts recommend you drink two to three cups a day. However, over-consumption may produce nervousness, anxiety, insomnia and irritability....too much of a good thing IS NO longer good. 

Research suggests that polyphenols provide cancer-protective properties by blocking the formation of cancer-causing compounds, suppressing the activation of carcinogens and effectively detoxifying cancer-causing agents, as well as reducing the inflammation associated with cancer and other diseases.


Numerous studies show that polyphenols reduce the risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, including cancers of the stomach and colon, lungs, prostate and breast. Polyphenols may also improve a woman’s prognosis once she’s diagnosed with breast cancer by lowering the risk of the cancer coming back by 46 per cent.

Avoid milk in your tea, as research suggests that it interferes with polyphenol absorption.
On the other hand, adding lemon or other citrus fruits to tea increases the bioavailability of green tea’s antioxidants. (Try our Lemon Green Tea - pictured right) 

Find varieties with whole tea leaves, as they have more surface area for hot water to extract the flavour and the antioxidants in the leaf. Green tea extracts and other food products containing green tea are available, but typically do not have the same health benefi ts as the beverage.


Enjoy!

a little history of drink T

Drink T began conceptually years ago when Sheryl Myhre, founder and tea buyer, had a memorable cup of tea while vacationing. Sheryl’s search for fine loose leaf tea, brewed properly was only the beginning of a new journey. Realizing the connection between the earth, tea plants, art, history and people was much more than a great cup of tea, Sheryl’s mission was to build a company that would be a leader in the specialty tea industry. 

Sheryl believes part of this connection begins with the tea growers.  So Sheryl sources and cups each and every tea direct from the tea gardens to insure she is importing extraordinary tea from reputable growers whom practice sustainable agricultural techniques.

Sheryl has also embraced the use of medicinal herbs and botanicals for many years, and putting forth much effort into the research of creating hand-blended artisan teas and tisanes is something Sheryl feels is worth while.  The end result is a nothing short of a celebration between the earth and people.... So lets all raise our cups and savor the gift of a cuppa a tea. 
 

White Teas ....Sublte Powerhouse

White tea originated in a small area in the Fujian province of China, once considered for only the wealthy and privileged, this mild delicate tea is now enjoyed all over the world.
This rare tea is hand harvested from medium-leaf tea bush varietals once a year for a few weeks in early spring when the temperature is consistently cool and dry, producing silvery-white sprouts and leaves. The unique withering process and the absence of firing or rolling, makes white tea the least processed of all teas.
It is well documented that white teas are low in caffeine, contain high concentrations of antioxidants, and the amino acid, L-theanine, that help reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, improve artery function, reduce stress and have detoxifying benefits.

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I started wondering about the history behind the ever popular Irish Breakfast Tea.  Where did the flavor profile come from and why is it so popular in Ireland?


The history of tea in Ireland is almost as old as the history of tea in England.  It was initially introduced by the Anglo-Irish aristocracy as an import from India to the upper class in the nineteenth century and later spread to the rural and lower class.     

As the popularity of tea grew, the Irish initially relied entirely on U.K. importers for their tea supply, which became a problem during World War II, when Ireland chose not to ally itself with the United Kingdom. Consequently, the government of Ireland set up Tea Importers (Éire), Ltd., a conglomeration of companies that imported tea directly from the producing countries.

Irish tea consumption continued to increase in the postwar years. In 1973 Ireland had to disband Tea Importers because it violated antimonopoly statutes of the EU, so the business was taken up by the subsidiary companies that had made up the organization. As the Irish imported their own tea direct from the source they were able to experiment with the teas and blends.  Irish Breakfast blends were usually a blend of Assam, Darjeeling and Ceylon teas, but what they found is that the Irish tended to like their tea stronger than the English blends they were once consuming. They also began gravitating towards East African suppliers, who provided leaves that were aromatic.  The Irish blend evolved into a strong, rich, aromatic and malty cup of tea. 

Soon the whole nation was hooked on Irish tea or as they pronounce it..."tay"(from the French pronunciation) and enjoying a cuppa tea with sugar and generous amounts of milk.  The Irish have a saying that a good cup of tea should be “strong enough for a mouse to trot on.”

Well there you have it.   Lets all brew a cup and toast our Irish friends for this special treat.  

         The Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)

  

Properly speaking, tea is the beverage brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant or varietals of such. Its wide variety of incarnations, such as green, black, oolong, and white teas, are created by different processing methods, but all derive ultimately from the same plant. The flavor of tea depends not only upon how the tea was processed, but also in what part of the world the plant grew, the time of year the leaves were harvested, what the weather was like that season, the soil conditions, altitude etc..

Green tea originated in China where it was enjoyed for centuries before being introduced to the outside world through trade. Today, green tea is produced in various countries utilizing their own methods creating vast differences in taste and aroma.There are many factors that influence green tea’s flavor and character such as varietal harvested, the season in which it was harvested, the soil, elevation, weather conditions and the method of heat used to stop the oxidation process shortly after being harvested. There are literally hundreds of different types of green teas that are classified by the manufacturing style. While discovering green tea, one will note the variety of different shapes ranging from flat, balled, curly or twisted.
Green tea is high in antioxidants, especially epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, which has therapeutic properties for many disorders including cancer. Studies show drinking green tea regularly can reduce your chances of heart disease and certain types of cancer, improve artery function, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

National Hot Tea Month

                         

January is National Hot Tea Month, no joking.

  And there’s no better time to sample a new blend, 

         visit www.drinkt.com, or host a tea party. 

                                         

                               
                                Get inspired and make this month special.

Tis the season.....

.

Tis the season to be jolly... roasting chestnuts on an open fire, sleigh bells ringing, parties, friendly gatherings, gift giving, and a host of other joyous activities.  With festivities like these in the air, why are we all so stressed. 

There is a wide range of stressful holiday experiences. From difficulty in finding parking at the crowded malls to the loneliness of spending that first Christmas without a departed love one... feeling guilty about the gifts we cannot afford to give... the fatigue...feeling anxious about an addictive family member's behavior... children shuttled between divorced parents or worse yet, forgotten. The list of stresses can go on, but you get the idea.

All the holiday advertising portrays the spirit of Christmas as something that can be wrapped into the perfect little package and that your life can spark if you just give this one gift.  These ads affect our emotions, our behavior, our attitudes and our self-esteem.

The positive side to all this is we have choices.  We can choose to reduce our "holiday stress" by making the right choices for ourselves and not the advertisements. Perhaps limiting some of your commitments, sticking to reasonable budgets, avoid excessive eating and drinking, working out, and sleeping might make things a bit more dazzling.

Take time to enjoy this time of year by choosing something more simple.  Try sipping tea or hot chocolate by the fire and reading, go for a walk in the woods especially after a snow fall, or have lunch with a friend.  And when was the last time you played in the snow!

   

Nature is so good to us.

                               I love all the colors and tastes of fall.

In the beginning....

The beginning, a point in which all things must begin. To begin can be exciting, fresh and, at times,  uncomfortable.  In fact, it may take us completely out of our element or confuse us as to which path we should choose. We can research, develop and follow a plan only to change the path we have chosen and realize the beginning is not always about making the right choices, but rather making the choice to learn, grow and evolve from the choices we have made.

Drink T began conceptually several years ago when I was blessed to have a memorable cup of lavender tea while vacationing in Europe.  I spent a lot of time visiting as many tea houses as I could sampling tea.  After returning to the United States I continued my search only to realize good tea was not as appreciated as it was in other parts of the world.  I began collecting thoughts, ideas, sketches, pictures and recipes which I placed neatly into a binder.  Not sure as to what I would do with the binder I kept collecting.  Time after time I stayed with what I knew, what was comfortable; interior design and architectural sales.

Months would go by and I would pull out this binder to review its contents. Sometimes discarding ideas and adding new ones.  Life's path took me in many directions sometimes adding travelers along the way, like my two children Austin and Lauren, friends and family.   Then one day while traveling a new path, a gentle breeze carried two leaves and a bud where they landed into a cup I was holding with a message.... OK so there was no breeze carrying tea leaves with a message, but I had to lighten things up a bit. The truth of the matter was this binder with all this stuff just kept bringing me back to the lavender cup of tea.  The history, the thought process, the art, the appreciation of a substance whose intention is to be savored and to nourish our bodies was something I wanted to be apart of and celebrate.

And celebrate I did.  I began a very lengthy journey learning and discovering tea.  I read, attended seminars, consulted with tea aficionados and anything else I could do to learn about tea.  I started to research the growers and their estates or gardens tasting my way through some of the most savory and not so savory tea I have ever had.  The more tea I cupped the more I learned.  The more I learned the more I wanted to share. 

I hope you will join Drink T and discover the world of exceptional savory tea as we discover, learn and share together all that tea and each other have to offer.  Let each day be a celebration.  Go ahead and drink from the fine china you have been saving for a special day.

Cheers!