Tea For Pleasure and Better Health.
By Bea Kunz
Tea is of course a pleasure to drink and when we understand the proper way to handle the process of making tea it becomes a big plus in our daily good health options.
It is essential to not over infuse tea leaves, it will be bitter, and lose all of it's wonderful properties when this happens.
Never boil tea, bring the water to a boil, remove from the heat, add the tea leaves , cover and steep for 5 to 7 minutes.
When brewing green tea the water should be removed from the heat just before boiling and allowed to sit for at least 2 minutes before adding tea, it also steeps less than other teas, about 4 minutes is perfect for the proper taste.
Using loose leaf tea is always a better choice, bags are most often made from lesser quality tea leaves or the dredges of the loose tea.
Always use fresh, filtered, and room temp water.
Water with chemicals will alter the taste of tea.
Never use distilled water for drinking or for making tea, it is flat and the oxygen has been depleted.
As with many things and always with our food and beverage sources, quality is everything.
When you want your tea with less caffeine-simply steep for 30 seconds, pour off the water, add fresh water steep again. 95% of the caffeine is released the first 30 seconds of steeping.
There are many ways to enjoy tea and still have a healthy cup. Lemon, honey, agave, or stevia, all are worthy tea sides.
Agave is a natural sweetener from the cactus plant.
It has about the same calorie count as white sugar, but is much healthier.
Stevia is the sweet herb, 70 to 300 times sweeter than sugar. I use 1/4 tsp to sweeten a half gallon of cold tea.
Stevia has no calories and no other side effects.
How much better can it get!
A cup of herbal tea about an hour before bedtime and you will have a restful and peaceful sleep.
If you aren't already, get aquainted with tea.
Happy and healthy living.
Bea Kunz
http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com
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