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Tea

• Tea was originated in China and then was introduced to Japan.
• Iced tea and coffee can be greatly improved if the ice cubes are made of coffee or tea instead of water.
• You can avoid cloudiness in iced tea by letting freshly brewed tea cool to room temperature before refrigerating it. If the tea does become cloudy, pour a little boiling water into it until it becomes clear.
• For a new taste in tea, add a small bit of dried orange peel to the teapot.
• The Island of Celon is the world's leading producer of tea.
• An experienced picker can pluck about 40 pounds of tea leaves a day.
• Salada and Bigelow English Teatime are two of the highest caffeine content teas. They average about 60 mg. of caffeine per 8 ounce cup.
• When drinking tea, never use polystyrene cups with lemon. The combination of the hot tea and the lemon will corrode the cup away releasing carcinogens into your drink. It will actually eat right through the cup.
• Tannin, found in tea and red wine may interfere with the body's use of iron, thiamin and vitamin B12.
• At present there is no risk factor related to drinking tea and heart disease.
• Black teas are the most popular in the U.S. We Import 130 million pounds per year. The yearly consumption is 35 billion servings.
• Iced tea was first created at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.
• One pound of tea will brew approximately 200 cups (200 teabags).
• The U.S. imports approximately 72 percent of its tea from India.

Classifications of Tea:

Black Tea:  Turns black due to oxidation. This is the best quality tea. Includes Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, English Breakfast, Keemun, Lapsang and Souchong.

Green Tea:  Oxidation is omitted. The natural color is green. Two main types: Basket Fired and Gunpowder.

Oolong Tea:  Semi-processed, makes the leaves partly green and brown. Two types: Formosa Oolong and Jasmine.

• Coffee manufacturers do not have to disclose their method of decaffeination.
• Brazil has experienced two major frosts in 1994 that destroyed over 1 billion pounds of coffee, approximately 10 percent of supply in the entire world. The result was an increase in the price of coffee worldwide.
• The United States consumes about one-third of all coffee worldwide, approximately 400 million cups per day.
• The only coffee grown in the United States is Kona, which is grown on the island of Hawaii. The coffee is grown in volcanic soil and has the richest coffee flavor in the world.
• If you give up coffee and are drinking two cups a day or more, you will probably have withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, nausea and possibly depression.
• The safest way to prepare coffee is to boil it in water instead of filtering it. This is the way it is prepared in the Scandinavian countries.
• Fresh roasted coffee beans are usually packed in non-airtight bags to allow the carbon monoxide formed during the roasting process to escape. If the carbon monoxide does not escape, the coffee may have a poor taste.
• The Swiss Water decaffeinated process is the safest. Check decaf labels. Other water processed methods are not as good.
• The freshness of a cup of coffee only survives 10 to 30 minutes in a coffee warmer.
• Coffee will taste better if you start with quality cold water, not hot tap water.
• There is 60 percent greater risk of heart disease if you consume two to five regular cups of coffee per day, and a 120 percent greater risk for over six cups a day.
• Purchase only unbleached brown coffee filters. The chemical digoxin is used to bleach filters white and may leave a residue.
• Dripped coffee has almost twice the caffeine as instants.
• Beverages that contain caffeine may cause your skin to become dehydrated and promotes premature aging.
• The polyphenols in coffee and the tannins in tea may reduce the amount of iron available for the body to use. One cup of coffee consumed with a hamburger reduces the amount of iron absorbed by approximately 40 percent tea by 90 percent.
• Caffeine takes approximately 30 minutes to affect your brain and lasts for two to six hours.
• Two cups of coffee will cause an increase in hydrochloric acid in the stomach for at least an hour.
• Coffee reduces the healing time of ulcers.
• One cup of coffee or one cigarette will cause a rise pressure in blood.
• Caffeine may affect zinc absorption which may adversely affect the prostate gland and possibly reduce sexual urges in some people.
• Withdrawal symptoms will appear if caffeine is discounted. These usually start with headaches but only last for three to five days. The cells become dependent on the caffeine.
• If you consume more than 300mg of caffeine a day, it will over stimulate the Central Nervous System and may cause insomnia, nervousness, diarrhea and increase your heart rate.
• Coffee drinkers have a higher incidence of heart disease; however, there is no positive proof of a connection. It could just be that the percentage of coffee drinkers is so much higher than non-coffee drinkers, this is the way the statistics play out.
• Caffeine causes chemical changes in cells that cause excess triglycerides to be released into the blood stream.
• Caffeine reduces the ability of the body to handle stress.
• A dash of salt added to coffee that has been over cooked or re-heated will freshen the taste.
• Coffee trees originally came from Africa.
• The first people known to actually drink the beverage known today as coffee were the Arabs who would not allow the beans to be exported. They were finally smuggled to Holland in 1660 and then to Brazil in 1727.
• Opened coffee cans should be stored in the refrigerator upside down. The coffee will retain its freshness and flavor longer.
• Leftover coffee and tea can be frozen in ice cube trays then used to cool hot coffee or in tea or other beverages.
• For a fast cup of coffee, have a cup of fresh coffee in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Coffee will warm up and have an excellent taste.
• Hills Brothers Coffee was the first commercial company to sell vacuum packed coffee in 1900.
• Coffee trees require 70 inches of rainfall per year.
• Ground coffee oxidizes very fast and coffee is best purchased in vacuum cans.
• Americans consume 4,848 cups of coffee per second, 24 hours a day.
• A coffee tree produces approximately one to twelve pounds of coffee cherries from a six year old tree.
• Approximately 2000 coffee cherries are required to produce one pound of coffee, the crop of one tree.
• The U.S. is the largest consumer of coffee. About three billion pounds are used annually.
• When reheating coffee, never boil, as this will cause an undesirable flavor.

See also:
Healthy Tea Recipes
Tea Kills Viruses
Achieve Coffee Perfection!
Coffee Tips
Diabetes and Coffee
Cleaning Your Coffee Grinder
Should You Go Decaf?

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