Brews N News

Tea Bag Folding

Despite the name, this craft has little to do with tea, but it certainly is fun!

Tea bag folding is a paper craft also known as Miniature Kaleidoscopic Origami. It was created by a woman named Tiny van der Plaas, in Holland. According to the story, she was in need of a unique and decorative birthday card. As she sat thinking, she began absently folding a tea bag envelope that was on the table. Voila! Tea bag folding was born.

Unlike more traditional origami, tea bag folding is used to create symmetrical designs and medallions. These crafts are then used to decorate other items such as greeting cards, scrapbooks, photo albums, picture frames and whatever else your imagination comes up with.

To learn more about this craft visit Richard's Tea Bag Folding site at: http://www.geocities.com/teabagfolding/

Orange Hot Cocoa

Orange Flavored Hot Cocoa
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
4 oz chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
3 2-inch strips oranges peel
2 ounces brewed OP Espresso
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Combine milk, chocolate (chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet ), orange peel, espresso, and nutmeg in a heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate melts, increase heat and bring just to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and whisk until frothy.
2. Return to heat and bring to boil again. Remove from heat, whisk until frothy. Repeat heating and whisking once again.
3. Discard orange peel. Pour hot chocolate into coffee mugs.

Sodas appear to affect blood pressure more than coffee

by Linda Searing
Special to The Washington Post

• THE QUESTION: With coffeehouses and soda machines aplenty, consumption of these drinks is widespread in the United States.  So, too, is the number of people with high blood pressure.  Might the two be connected?

• THIS STUDY reviewed information on the caffeinated beverage consumption of 155,594 women with normal blood pressure readings.  During a 12-year period, 21 percent of them were diagnosed with hypertension.  Coffee drinkers were no more likely to have developed high blood pressure than were women who drank no coffee;  in some instances, those who drank several cups a day were slightly less likely.  However, those who drank caffeinated sodas (regular or diet) were more likely to have hypertension, with the risk growing as consumption increased:  from about 15 percent added risk for one soda a day to more than 60 percent for those who drank four of more daily.

• WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THESE FINDINGS?  Women, especially those who drink sodas frequently.

• CAVEATS  Most of the women in the study were white; whether the findings apply to other races, or to men, is unclear.  Further study would be needed to determine whether some compound other than caffeine that is present in sodas is responsible for the increased risk of hypertension.

• FIND THIS STUDY:  Nov 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association; abstract available online at www.jama.com.

• LEARN MORE ABOUT high blood pressure at www.americanheart.org and www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health.

The research described in Quick Study comes from credible, peer-reviewed journals.  None the less, conclusive evidence about a treatment's effectiveness is rarely found in a single study.  Anyone considering changing or beginning treatment of any kind should consult with a physician.

Board game sports Monopoly on Chocolate

An Ohio-based company, Late For The Sky Production Company, has set out to indulge chocolate lovers with their new game Chocolate-opoly.

The rules and the setup may seems familiar, but the theme is certainly a lot sweeter than the original real-estate wielding game of Monopoly.

In this version, Chocoholics Anonymous replaces Jail, a hot-fudge sundae and chocolate chip cookie playing pieces stand in for the battleship and wheelbarrow, and Satisfaction and Temptation cards take the place of Chance and Community Chest cards.

To learn more visit http://www.metronews.ca/lifestyle/food/details.asp?id=12747

Chai Pumpkin Bread with Chai Cream Cheese Icing

Step 1:  Organic Planet Chai Tea Concentrate
1 1/2 Cups Water
8 Tsp, rounded OP Chai Tea
6 Tsp, Sugar or Honey
1 Tsp Vanilla

Bring water to a boil, add tea.  Lower heat, and let simmer for 10 minutes.   Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes.  Pour tea/water mixture through a strainer.  Add sugar or honey and vanilla.

Step 2:  While you are waiting for the tea to steep...
1 Cup canned pumpkin
1/2 Cup Vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup OP Chai Tea Concentrate
2/3 Cups Currants or Raisins
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed

In a large bowl, combine sugars, pumpkin, oil and eggs.  Beat until well blended.  In a separate bowl, mix together flour, soda, and salt.  Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.  Stir in Organic Planet Chai Tea Concentrate and currants and blend together.  Pour into a standard sized greased loaf pan.

Bake at 350o for 40 minutes or until done.  Place loaf on a rack to cool.  Cool completely before icing.

Step 3: Icing

3 oz Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp Butter, softened
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
2 Tsp OP Chai Tea Concentrate

To prepare icing, beat cream cheese with butter until smooth.  Beat in powdered sugar.  Gradually add Organic Planet Chai Tea Concentrate until icing is smooth.  Spread icing on cooled bread. 

A good time of year to enjoy a cup of green tea

Green tea helps fight the flu,
by Roman Bystrianyk,
"Green tea helps fight the flu",www.HealthSentinel.com,
November 29, 2005,

Each year there is mounting fear as the flu season approaches. With much of the attention given to the avian flu this year, the level of anxiety has increased in many people. With these concerns there is an interest in finding alternatives that can help fight the flu.

Several studies show that green tea – in particular chemicals called polyphenols – decrease the infectivity of the influenza virus. A study conducted at Pace University indicated that green tea extracts and polyphenols have an adverse effect on bacteria that cause strep throat and other infections. Milton Schiffenbauer, PhD, a microbiologist and biology professor at Pace University in New York City, stated in a news release that, “Our research shows tea extracts can destroy the organism that causes disease. If we can stimulate the immune system and at the same time we are destroying the organisms then it makes sense to drink more tea.”

Green tea is produced from the leaves of an evergreen plant called Camellia sinensis. The major active ingredient in green tea is believed to be the polyphenol compounds called catechins. These key compounds include EGCG, EGC, and ECG.

A study in the August 2005 journal Antiviral Research, examines these compounds against three currently circulating influenza viruses. The authors performed a number of experiments to examine the effects of green tea on these flu strains.

They found that these compounds were effective in reducing the plaque forming capabilities of the viruses. A plaque is produced when a virus infects a cell, replicates, and then kills that cell. EGCG and ECG at 50 ìM (micromolar) inhibited more than 50% of the plaque forming ability of the influenza viruses. However, when all the polyphenols were combined the mixture reduced the plaque forming by over 90% and in the case of one flu strain (A/Chile/1/83 – H1N1) by nearly 100%.

Other experiments showed that the greater the concentration of green tea polyphenols the more of the flu virus was inhibited. “The results suggest that the antiviral effect is exerted not only in the initially infecting viruses but newly propagated viruses as well.”

After drinking 1 cup of tea, the maximum blood concentration of EGCG in humans reaches 60 micromoles in adults weighing 60 kg (132 pounds). Some authors recommend as many as 10 cups of green tea per day to achieve green tea’s optimal benefits, although the study authors caution that this study was done outside the human body and should be interpreted with some caution.

The author’s emphasize that the “total tea extract” was much more effective than any single of the green tea polyphenols that were tested in isolation. They note that, “dietary uptake of tea would be beneficial for direct intervention of influenza virus infection.”

SOURCE: Antiviral Research, August 2005

Top Five Chocolate Drinks

Orange Hot Chocolate ~ Simply mix together grated bittersweet chocolate, orange zest, and cinnamon, then top with hot milk or water.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate ~ Garnished with mint and chocolate shavings, this concoction soothes and invigorates. It’s perfect for the holidays and anytime you need a little pick-me-up.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate for Consenting Adults

Hot Hot Chocolate

Find the recipes for these Top Five Recipes at the Food Network.

Coffee Eggnog

Serves 8

6 Eggs -- Separated
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Quart half & half
4 Cups Very Strong black Organic Planet Coffee -- ice cold
2 Cups light rum (optional)
1 Cup brandy (optional)
2 Cups Whipping Cream
nutmeg as desired

Beat the egg yolks until think and lemon colored.  Beat in powdered sugar.  Add half and half and coffee. Add a touch of salt if desired.  Mix well and pour into a punch bowl.  Add the rum and brandy (note you may use rum and or brandy extracts to taste for a non-alcoholic version)  Beat egg whites to form soft peaks.  Whip cream and fold into egg whites.  Fold into mixture in the punch bowl.  Sprinkle nutmeg on top of eggnog.

Ageing paper with tea

A crafty nice seasonal way to enhance your paper with one of you favorite brews.

Using tea is an easy way to create a neat aged look to paper for crafts.

Difficulty: Easy 
Time Required: An hour and drying time

Here's How:
1.   Heavy bond paper or card stock works best.
2. a)  Soak 3 black tea bags in about 2 cups of warm water. Leave for about an hour.
2. b) Loose leaf tea will work just as fine, you might want to put it between gauze or use a kitchen cloth or hankerchief; the fabric may stain so choose carefully.

3.   Take the first tea bag out and blot all over the paper to be treated. Really saturate the paper.

4.   Do the same with the next bags, but lightly rub them over the surface of the paper. The tea bags will likely break open, but that's OK. Small flecks of tea will be left in the paper.

5.   The light rubbing will give the surface of the paper the appearance of wear.

6.   Use paper towels or a sponge to blot off the excess water from the paper.

7.   Place paper between sheets of paper towel and place under something heavy over night. If left to dry unflattened, it will warp pretty badly.

Now you have a nice paper to work with, write cards, make name-tags, send invitations for a seasonal party, write you favorite recipe and pass it on as gift to your friends.

How about your favorite tea recipe and a bag of tea as a perfect gift ?
Happy craft-ing.

Happy December