Souvia Tea Blog

A newcomer called LEmon meringue is on the shelves…It is a blend of white and green teas with a creamy lemon finish

 Midsummer Nights Dream the 2007 Wolrd Tea Expo award winner will be out within a week!

As I predicted in our February Tea Newsletter, tea prices are on the rise.

“Anyone who has traveled outside of the US lately knows that the dollar is weaker against many major currencies.  Since almost all of the tea in the US is imported this can affect prices.  The only saving grace is that ea is currently priced in dollars world wide but this may change or growers will have to raise prices to stay in business…Interestingly, the rising standard of living in China may put the biggest crimp on tea.  As incomes rise in China, the Chinese are drinking more of the higher quality teas. Compounding the problem is a boom in PuErh consumption both in China and abroad (even Posh Spice is in on it).  since Pu-Erh teas are traditionally made with tea from the Yunnan region, the increased Pu-Erh consumption is decreasing the Yunnan black tea supply.”

This two things are putting pressure on tea prices.  This will have two effects.  One, the better teas from China, such as Yunnan Royal Gold, will see large price changes due to demand.  The second result is that tea prices in general will rise due to the weak dollar.  We will be adjusting pricing in June to reflect.  However, we will not be raising prices for the 100 gram and 250 gram bags except in a very few cases.  This means we are absorbing the increases in all but the 50gram “trial size” of the teas.

We also will be changing our pot of tea pricing.  From June 1, all pots of tea will be $3.99, hot or iced, in store or take away.  We will also be introducing a new line of specialty blends and custom blends.  Those will be sold at $4.99 for a pot.

More good news from the health and tea front.  An Egyptian studay found that drinking green tea whiule taking antibiotics boosted the effect of the drugs.

 There is a summary of this study in US News and World Report.

We get a lot of questions like “what is the helathiest tea?”  We typically recommend people find the teas that they like and drink them regularly.  4-6 cups per day is recommended to get the maximum helath benefits.   The is a recent article on Canada.com whcih provides a nice summary of health benefits by “color” of tea.

 Some quotes from that article include:

 ”Most people don’t drink enough to get the kinds of results seen in research studies”

“like its greener kin, black tea contains antioxidants”

“To get the most of tea’s benefits, drink it freshly brewed, rather than bottled. Let tea steep for a few minutes to release the catechins”

It is a nice read and supports the consensus that all teas are good for you in different ways.  It is great to have something that tastes good AND is good for you!

For those waiting, our Dragonwell Organic, Jasmine Downey Pearls, and Camomile are all back in stock.

 Both locations.

Bret

Part of the Sterling awards was a profile video about Souvia.  You can see it now on Youtube Souvia is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds in…. 

Many people make iced tea using the  “Sun Tea” method which consists of placing tea in a glass jar in the Sun for several hours. 

We do not recommend “Sun Tea” for several reasons:

First, there is no need to brew tea in the Sun.  It does not provide any benefit over cold steeping.  Prevention Magazine found the hot vs. cold steeping provides no diference in health benefits or taste. From the article “fridge tea actually won (on antioxidants), edging out hot-brewed iced tea made from the same box of Salada Green Tea tea bags.”

Second, The Centers for Disease Control does not recommend this method.
From the article at http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/suntea.asp

“Tea made by placing loose or bagged tea leaves in glass jars of water which
are then left in direct sunlight can harbor bacteria that can make you ill.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, using the sun’s rays to make
tea can facilitate the growth of bacteria. Tea steeped in a jar on your
porch won’t get any hotter than 130deg Fahrenheit, about the temperature of
a really hot bath and not nearly hot enough to kill nasties lurking either
in the water or on the tea itself.”

Alcaligenes viscolactis, a bacteria commonly found in water, consequently
turns up in sun tea.”

Third, Cold steeping is simple, easily done overnight, and doesn’t heat up
your kitchen!

So, give it a try… Cold steep your next batch!

A great article in the New York Times makes the point that much of the tea consumed in the US is not all that healthy…  From the article

“But a 16-ounce bottle of the popular Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey, for instance, contains 140 calories and 34 grams of sugar. (By comparison, a similar amount of Coke has 194 calories and 54 grams of sugar.) A grande Tazo chai tea latte at Starbucks packs 240 calories and 41 grams of sugar.”

this is a benefit of brewing your own tea or drinking good quality leaf teas without all the additions.

 You can read the rest here….

All decaffeination processes use a solvent to dissolve the caffeine and then remove the solvent from the
tea. All methods leave some small amount of caffeine behind

Two different methods are commonly used decaffeinate tea:

1. Chemical (Methylene chloride or Ethyl acetate )
   
2. Super Critical Carbon Dioxide (CO2 method)
   

Many commonly available teas are decaffeinated with chemical methods. These methods involve
extracting the caffeine directly or indirectly with methylene chloride or ethyl acetate. In both cases, the
tea leaves are moistened to allow the caffeine to be removed and then the non-caffeinated water is
added back to the leaves. Methylene chloride is reported to be the most effective but in very high doses
studies have shown it to be a carcinogen.

Ethyl acetate is another compound used to extract caffeine from tea. Ethyl acetate occurs naturally in tea
leaves, coffee, bananas, and other types of produce. For the purposes of the decaffeination process the
Ethyl acetate is synthetically produced. While ethyl acetate effectively removes caffeine from tea leaves,
it can also extract other chemical components as well. Studies on green tea decaffeinated with ethyl
acetate have shown the potential for up to 30% of epigallocathechin gallate (EGCG-considered to be the
primary beneficial component in green tea) and other beneficial antioxidant compounds to be extracted
along with the caffeine.

Highlights of the Chemical Methods

• methylene chloride is very effective at removing caffeine
  
• At very high does it is a carcinogen (no carcinogenic effect at low doses)
  
• Tea leaves are moistened to remove the caffeine
  
• According to studies, Ethyl Acetate removes up to 30% of the antioxidants in green tea
  

CO2 Method

Uses highly pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) —the gas that adds bubbles to mineral water—to dissolve
caffeine from tea leaves. At high pressures CO2 makes an effective solvent. In its pressurized state,
CO2 is pumped into a sealed chamber containing tea, where it is allowed to circulate to remove the
caffeine. From there, it is pumped into a washer vessel where water or activated charcoal is used to
separate the caffeine from the CO2. The purified CO2 is recirculated into the pressurized chamber. This
process is repeated until the appropriate amount of caffeine has been removed.

Highlights of the CO2 method

• does not leave a chemical residue
  
• has a minimal effect on the flavor and beneficial compounds in tea. (For example, CO2 leaves
  intact approximately 95% of the original EGCG content of green tea)
  
• Generally costs more than the Chemical methods
  

Our Souvia Label decaffeinated teas use the CO2 method. We believe this to be the best method for
you and for the tea. We also offer non-caffeinated alternatives like Rooibos.

For those of you Angel’s Kiss fans, the tea had a nice mention (along with Souvia) in the Agust issue of Phoenix Home and Garden magazine ”Market Basket” Section.  We were listed along with the usual corporate suspects China Misty, Tazo and Republic of Tea.

An excerpt “Souvia, a tea shop in Scottsdale, has an array of loose teas from which to choose. Its Angel’s Kiss (above right) is a green tea with the sweet tastes of papaya, pineapple, rose petals and strawberries.”