Tea Time

When I lived in London for my study abroad experience, I became an avid tea drinker. The inspiration came from going to tea at the Kensington Palace gardens only one week into my stay. The experience made a big impression on me. How were there SO many different types of teas?? How could they flavor them so beautifully? How were their aromas so intoxicating? These questions led to some answers..

I've visited a few tea houses since my first tea time and have learned quite a bit of information. Teas are grown all throughout the world; the main growers being India, China, Kenya, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Turkey, and Bangladesh.  Tea originated in China about 5,000 years ago and made its way through northeast India to southwest China.  From here it was brought to Japan and then Russia was introduced to it in 1618.  Then it was introduced to England, where it became a sign of status and wealth.  Lastly, tea was brought to North America by the colonists.  Interestingly, iced tea was invented in North America and was first shown at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

The latin word for tea is camellia sinensis. We often think of "tea" in many different varieties including herbals such as peppermint of chamomile. However, true tea is made from the leaves, buds, and stems of the camellia sinensis plant.  So whether you prefer black, green, oolong, or white teas, they all come from the same plant.  The only difference between them is how they are processed.

• Green tea is made when the leaves from the camellia sinensis are dried right after harvesting.
• Black tea is made from leaves that are fermented right after harvesting
• Oolong tea leaves are fermented for a short time
• White tea laves do not undergo any oxidation and are shielded from the sun so as to not produce any chlorophyll.

Why do I love drinking tea so much?  It simply tastes delicious!  I love that subtleness of flavor, in addition to its many health benefits.  Most teas are a good source of flavenoids called catechins, which are very important antioxidants.  These antioxidants help prevent certain types of cancer such as oral, digestive, skin, ovarian, and lung.  The highest concentration of catechins are found in green teas, including EGCG and ECG.  These have the highest radical-scavenging activity.  Green & black teas are also superfoods, so that's always a plus!  (A superfood is a type of food that has high phytonutrient content that may confer health benefit.)

Caffeine is another aspect which I love about tea.  I love getting a little caffeine buzz on a daily basis, if not an hourly, haha.  Caffeine levels are usually higher in tea-bag form and range between 20-90 milligrams per 8-ounce cup.  This is not a lot compared to coffee's 60-120 milligrams.  The reason for this is because the finer grounds release more caffeine.

Now I realize that most of your are probably bored with my tea lesson...so down to the good stuff!  As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of (mostly eating) biscotti, and also making it.  The book that remains on my bedside table all the time, 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life!, has delicious recipes using almost every food you can imagine.  In it, I found inspiration for a "Honey-Apricot Tea Bisocotti" recipe.

This recipe contains 5 superfoods
Yields 36 biscotti * Prep & baking time: 1 hr 20 min.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup light soy milk
4 tea bags of Honey & Lemon flavored black tea
1 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp backing soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup whole almonds, lightly toasted
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots

Nutrition Fact Breakdown:
Calories: 80; Total Fat: 1g; Total carbs: 16g; Fiber: 1g; Sugar: 8g; Protein: 2g.

For complete directions, email me and I will be happy to send detailed steps of the biscotti making process.