GREEN TEA - BENEFITS, RESEARCH AND WHERE TO BUY

In these turbulent times of coronavirus spreading around the world I am receiving a large number of messages asking me what are the best teas to drink during these times, and why, what do I drink personally and where to buy these teas. Here I will try to answer all these questions.

I have to say that I personally continue to drink the same teas as before, because I strongly feel that all living organic Tea is a medicine to us, especially if we take it in a mindful way - which also promotes peace and balance in our Minds. And that’s something we need more than ever now. However, there are certain teas, like green tea, that have been praised to possess certain antiviral and antibacterial qualities. More than other teas. And here we will explore the effect of these teas on our body and mind.

RESEARCH ON GREEN TEA

To read scientific papers, you can go here. I took these from Lalani and Co (another tea company in London) newsletter and they are really amazing PubMed papers on green tea. Of course even in science we need to be careful about who paid for this research, and how it was conducted, there are so many factors involved in this. However, it’s a great way to gain more understanding about the effects of green tea on our human system.

Effect of Tea Catechins on Influenza Infection and the Common Cold

A Review of the Antiviral Role of Green Tea Catechins

From my experience, when I created my tea tours 7 years ago, I did an extensive research on Japanese green tea - read books, found scientific papers, and read on health reports of tea on our human body. And I remember reading several things (I don’t have resources with me as it was such a long time ago, but in my own words and memory that’s what comes to me):

• In one historical book on the history of tea and coffee, there was one sentence that stayed with me forever. The talk was about Great Plague and how many people died, and how it affected London and tea trade afterwards. But at the very end of it there was a sentence: But Japanese even 600 years before that knew that if you drink green tea every day your chances of getting plague when everyone is sick around you are reduced.

• Catechins in green tea have an effect of coating our cells. Viruses that come towards us have certain hooks, with which they attach to our cells. However when this coating is there from catechins they cannot do that and drop into our stomach where they die.

• Japanese tea because of how it’s processed - shaded and steamed - has higher levels of antioxidants and amino acid called L-Theanine. While antioxidants in tea are great for anti aging, anti viral and antibacterial reasons, L-Theanine makes our brain release alpha waves and dopamine - which is associated with meditation, relaxation, stress reduction and motivation, inspiration and enthusiasm. This has a calming effect on our minds, releases stress from our body and because of that we are more prone to assess things in our life adequately.

So at the moment I drink a lot of greener teas - and have a few matcha cans and kabusecha teas that I drink daily.

WHERE TO BUY THEM?

If you followed me for some time you will know that my heart belongs to Chikitea teas. I first started drinking their teas and then met Holly Heli, the founder , and fell in love with them even more. Her teas are incredible, and quality vs quantity vs price is amazing too. But the business itself, and her as a person with the huge heart and soul, won me forever. The main ingredient in her business is LOVE, and that’s the most important ingredient. If you ever get to meet her you will know what I am talking about.

Holly and I decided to team up and offer a 5% discount on all the teas to my followers and readers.

So if you go through this link:

https://www.chikitea.com/intro/t-lovers

And add promo code:

TLOVERS if you are paying in £, and TLOVERSEUR for €, or TLOVERSUSD for $ payments

You will get the discount on these teas. I know it’s not a lot, but it can be useful during these times, and because Chikitea is a very small business their profit margins are extremely small too.

My favourite teas there are MUSE, LUSH and SILK matcha teas, FUSHIGI, SAE and GUOKURO.

If you have any more questions please let me know and I will be happy to answer them for you!

DRINK TEA AND STAY HEALTHY

This is my usual morning companion - Kabusecha green tea. When I drink it, my morning are filled with love, gratitude, inspiration and thirst for Life. And this morning I am also reading a book. An amazing book called "From Onions to Pearls". Which acts in exactly the same way as a Kabusecha tea, only in the shape of a book! In other words it fills you with LOVE, Gratitude, Inspiration and Enthusiasm for LIFE.

It is written by a guy, who, at the age of 54, was put into prison for ecstasy production. And that's where he got awakened. All his life he was a spiritual seeker, following all spiritual practices, and trying out numerous things. He was also leading a luxurious lifestyle with private jets and several houses. And then at 54 he got into a high security prison with 32 inmates in one room, an open toilet, no air conditioning and everyone going completely crazy. He stayed there for 2 years, not knowing if he will ever get out. And that's where his sense of identity crumbled with the awakening taking place.

His teachings are the ones of Advaita Vedanta, of non duality. Every time I read his book it feels like I am at the Satsang, and each time something deep shifts in me. The way I see the world, life, other people and situations. Karma, God, Consciousness, Free Will - I suspected before that all of them are not what they seem, and this book confirmed it!

"Consciousness is All there is. You are not the doer. You don't have to win awakening by your own efforts. JUST BE and know WHO you really are. Then kick back and enjoy the parade as it passes by!"

Green Tea and Vitamin D experiment

Did you know that Green Tea washes out Vitamin D from our body? Of course, this is not an issue everyone will experience when they drink green tea. But for some of us, as I found out, green tea can lead to deficiency of Vitamin D in our bodies and all symptoms that go with it - insomnia, interrupted and light sleep, periods of wakefulness during the night. This in turn can lead to neurological problems, like depression, memory loss and others. And these some of us are people who are genetically predisposed to Vitamin D deficiency.

All of this I discovered through my own experience. About 1.5 years ago I started drinking A LOT of japanese green tea. Every morning I used to (and still do by the way) have about a litre of Japanese Kabusecha tea. However, at about almost the same time I started having huge problems with sleep. I couldn't fall asleep for hours. And then after sleeping for an hour or two, I would wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake until morning. When this was happening for about three months I thought I was going crazy - I was angry and irritable, and very unhappy. Until I discovered that I have almost non existent Vitamin D levels. And also, that I am genetically predisposed to Vitamin D deficiency and need much more of it than normal people. Moreover, I discovered that Vitamin D deficiency is linked to sleep deprivation and also, that too much green tea (and coffee) washes out Vitamin D from our system.

I started taking Vitamin D supplements every day, and yes! My sleep problem was fixed completely within a couple of days!

This made me think - should I stop drinking my favourite green tea every morning? Or should I be more in the sun? Or take Vitamin D supplements? So I decided to make an experiment. See how I sleep given different factors. And here are the results.

Given: young and healthy 36 year old woman (non smoker, non drinker) genetically predisposed to Vitamin D deficiency.

Combination 1: Drinking Green Tea in the morning, no sun exposure and not taking Vit D supplement. Result: insomnia, unexplained wakefulness and light sleep, nightmares

Combination 2: Drinking Green Tea in the morning, sun exposure and not taking Vit D supplement. Result: Sleep is ok, but not deep

Combination 3: Drinking Green Tea in the morning, no sun exposure and taking Vit D supplement. Result: Sleep is good, but could be better

Combination 4: Drinking Green Tea in the morning, sun exposure and taking Vit D supplement Result: Sleep is great

Combination 5: NOT Drinking Green Tea in the morning, NO sun exposure and NOT taking Vit D supplement Result: Sleep is OK

Combination 6: NOT Drinking Green Tea in the morning, sun exposure and taking Vit D supplement Result: Sleep is very deep and rejuvenating

So.... These days I take this little bottle of Vitamin D supplement with me wherever I go. It's my magical cure for everything! I never knew that it's responsible for so many processes in our body - sleep, calcium and iron levels, fertility, pains, energy levels and so much more. Such an amazing creature! Which is not even a Vitamin, but a Hormone! Sometimes, I go to bed and can't fall asleep. My heart beats heavily and I toss and turn without any success. Then I try to remember - did I take my Vitamin D today? No! I take 2,000 IU  of this wonderful supplement and within 10 minutes I am asleep. Such a simple step, yet so powerful. So next time, when you have a sleepless night, before reaching for the sleeping pills, may be consider to have your Vitamin D levels tested? And if you are dark skinned person and drink a lot of green tea (or coffee), then this test is a must!

May all of you drink green tea, sleep well and be happy and peaceful! Ommmmm

Green tea and apricots

What can be better than having green tea and apricots for breakfast? And in this way letting a little bit of sunshine into your morning? This is more or less what I do, while it is still an apricot season. Both green tea and apricots contain enormous amount of anti-oxidants, and are a perfect way to stay healthy, slim and young.

Apricots are low in calories ( different sources say 17-40 per fruit, probably depending on a size of the apricot), rich in fiber, vitamin A, C and beta-carotine. No wonder Hunza tribe in Pakistan, who eat apricots in all the dishes (even apricot soup!), fresh and dried, fruit and kernels - are one of the longest living people on our planet!

Apricots are in season now. And green tea is ALWAYS in season. At least for me! :))

"Good Morning" Tea

This a Kabusecha green tea, which I call my "Good Morning" tea! With it my morning becomes good and more than that - it becomes great! I drink about 1 litre of it every morning (3 infusions in a 350ml tea pot) and straight away feel motivated, inspired, driven, enthusiastic and generally very very happy! Indeed, this tea is the perfect " Good Morning" Tea! Kabusecha is a Japanese green tea that is made of tea plants, that were shaded for approximately two weeks before the harvest. It's almost like a Gyokoro (which is shaded for 1 month) but less expensive! This shading process makes the leaves greener (they produce more chlorophyll), and packed with antioxidants, caffeine and amino acid called L-Theanine. This combination is bound to make you alert, focused, energised and happy! And all of it without the jittery effect that coffee usually has on us. Amazing little green treasure!

Matcha, dark chocolate and a Georgian manМатча, шоколад и грузинский мужчина с красками

This picture is of a georgian man with paints, made by a georgian man from a mental institution in Tbilisi. The patients in that mental institution were going through art therapy, which proved being very successful. In the end, they brought all their work to London, and sold them at an auction and all the proceeds went to support continuing of art therapy in that mental institution in Tbilisi. I got this picture from that auction, and for today's mood I just love how white, and black and green matcha colours play together.

ту картинка нарисована грузинским человеком, который проходил арт терапию в ментальном доме в Тбилиси. И потом все картины, нарисованные душевнобольными людьми, проходящими эту арт терапию, были привезены в Лондон, и проданы через аукцион, и все собранные средства пошли на то, чтобы арт терапия в таких заведенях продолжалась! И вот я купила эту картинку там. Как и штаны, спортивные, на которых была такая крутая вышивка!! Это человек, который просто помешан на вышывании в Тбилиси, и в ментальном доме он вышивает все, что видит: и штаны, и халаты врачей, и тапочки. Из спортивных штанов они превратились в нечто удивительное и волшебное, настоящее произведение искусства! Вот такие таланты иногда проявяются у людей...

Ну а здесь мне просто понравилось это прекрасное сочетание белого, черного и зелени матчи. Правда, она выделяется светлым пятном?

Green tea and apricotsЗелёный чай, абрикосы и солнце...

Green tea and fresh apricots - the best and the "sunniest" way to start your day! Full anti-oxidant charge to get you going! Apricots are in season at the moment - they are low in calories, rich in fiber, vitamin A, C and beta-carotene. Well, and green tea is always in season!!! 

Что может быть лучше, чем с утра выпить зелёный чай и съесть абрикосы? И таким образом пустить в своё утро солнце?

Примерно так я и делаю, пока ещё сезон абрикосов. А в Клайпеде, где я сейчас нахожусь, в нашей квартире, кухня с солнечной стороны, и с утра вся залита солнечным светом. Вот я и сижу на подоконнике, пью чай, смотрю на деревья в нашем маленьком дворике (вот фото внизу вида из окна) и слушаю пение птиц...

И зелёный чай, и абрикосы содержат огромное количество антиоксидантов, а также способствую похуданию и омоложению организма. Абрикосы содержат много клетчатки и очень мало калорий (в разных источниках нашла от 17-40 калорий, видимо от размера абрикоса!), и таким образом насыщают, но не нагружают организм.

Вообщем, зелёный чай и абрикосы летним утром - это мощнейшая чистка, средство для похудания и омолаживающая комбинация!!!

Абрикосы сейчас в сезоне... А зелёный чай - всегда в сезоне :)))

The only criteria for choosing teaЕдинственный критерий в выборе чая

Five different grades of Long Jing Green tea in five glasses. Just by looking at it it's extremely difficult to see which one is higher or lower grade, cheaper or very expensive. Even not all professional tea tasters are able to do it. The only way to know this is by tasting tea. Your own taste IS the only criteria. If you do not trust your taste buds, then it is better not to go in that direction.

Chinese say: You drank and understood!! 喝就知道了(he jiu zhi dao le). So Trust yourself, taste tea, and choose it because YOU liked it! ♥

Это пять разных сортов Лунцзина в пяти стаканах. Просто гляди на них практически невозможно понять, какой из них более низкого сорта или высокого сорта, какое дешевле, а какой дороже. Даже профессионалы не всегда способны различить их.

Единственный способ узнать - это попробовать чай. Ваш собственный вкус - это единственный критерий. Если вы не доверяете своему вкусу, то лучше даже и не идти в этом направлении. Как говорят китайцы: Выпил - Понял! 喝就知道了(he jiu zhi dao le). Поэтому доверьтесь себе, пейте и пробуйте чай, и выбирайте тот чай, который понравился именно ВАМ больше всего! ♥

How we visit a Bi Luo Chun green tea farmКак мы посетили маленькую ферму по выращиванию зелёного чая Билучунь

Yesterday we visited Xi Shan island, which is surrounded by the largest lake in China called Tai Hu. It's the only place where authentic green tea Bi Lu Chun is grown. The literal translation of Bi Luo Chun is Green Snail Spring. Why Spring? Because it is harvested in early spring around middle of March. Why Green? Because when brewed the tea leaves and drink itself turn very green. And why Snail? When the tea master heats up this green tea he shapes it into tiny spirals, which should remind us a little bit of the shape of the snail.

This is this tea in the dry form. Doesn't look very green, does it?

I was also very surprised, and initially thought that it is red tea, and not green at all!

Before we left to the plantation, we were brewed Bi Luo Chun in the glasses, and this is how it looked like:

By the way, this is how Chinese farmers usually drink this tea - brew it in a glass, and drink. I do understand the convenience of this method, however it's simply impossible to get the whole beauty and aroma of this tea when drinking from the glasses! And this is regardless of the fact that tea was the freshest it can be - some of it was a very high grade, and one batch was so fresh - it was picked in the morning, worked on in the afternoon, and brought to us still hot in the late afternoon! The freshest of the fresh, and still didn't reveal the beauty of it when brewed in this way.

And another interesting thing to note - how is tea usually brewed? You put some tea into Gaiwan or a cup, and then add hot water to it. Yes? But not Bi Luo Chun. With Bi luo Chun you do it the other way round. You first pour hot water into gaiwan or a cup, and then add tea leaves. Why is this done? Firstly, this way protects delicate tea leaves from being exposed to a very hot water. And secondly, this method only works with Bi Luo Chun and not other green teas, because Bi Luo Chun leaves are heavier, and they drop down to the bottom of the cup straight away, and then further expand there.

By the way Chinese don't really bother with the water temperature. They always use 100C water. At least that's the way people who grow tea do. It seems a bit rough to brew green tea like this, but this is what happens.

Tea plantation was beautiful! Each of us received a basket, and was shown how to pluck tea leaves. Basically we were used as a cheap labour for the day :)))) This is me plucking tea leaves on Bi Luo Chun farm.

    

And here is a tea bus and two leaves:

And a little pile of them on my palm:

In two hours of very hard work (although, it could hardly be classified as hard, as I was getting constantly distracted), I filled only a quarter of the basket. Yes, I am not an experienced tea plucker, yes, I get distracted a lot - but still, can you imagine how long it takes to fill the whole basket? And just to put things into perspective, the whole basket of tea results in 50 grams of the final product. It is no big task to calculate how many hours of work is required to get these 50 grams of tea. So no wonder this tea is so expensive!

The family who owns the farm does everything itself. The Mother of the family plucks tea leaves, men do further work on tea, and also maintain the tea plants throughout the year. They are so busy that some teas are not harvested! They explained that the ratio of the cost of man hours of labour to the cost of tea just doesn't make it viable to hire workers to do the job! We suggested that they offer a mutually beneficial programme for people in Europe - they provide free accommodation and food, and people come to work for free on the farm during harvest seasons. Europeans get to spend time in the nature, learn about tea, delve into Chinese culture as deeply as possible, and chinese farmers get free labour. I think it's a great idea actually! :)

This is how the bushes look like:

After "working" on the farm we came back to the farmer's house and drank some more tea, and talked. And bought some tea. Harvested on the day we were there. It wasn't the best quality tea. The highest grade tea is considered to be the one plucked before the Ming date - which occurs on the 5 Aril each year. However, I liked the symbolism of the whole thing. Getting tea picked on the day that we came - I would like to think that tea resonated with our presence, and got the right vibes and during the plucking and heating stages produces just the right amount of everything according to what we needed. :) I really believe in this!!! :)

This is tea leaves being wilted outside on the ground - pretty green colour!

And I simply could not not photograph this dog! It had a haircut just before our arrival, which was obviously not done properly at all, or may be it was just the modern patch work hair-cut? I don't know. The owner told us that it was too hot, so he cut his hair. Well, this dog called Lulu recently gave birth. Most of the puppies have been already given away, but one remained. And he desperately needed some Love, motherly, or human.. And he was running after his mother asking for love and attention. And one moment he managed to catch her, and latch on one of her breasts. And I caught this moment of little puppy breastfeeding. :)

And on this positive note I am finishing my story.... :)Сегодня мы посетили остров Xi Shan, окруженный самым большим озером в Китае под названием Tai Hu. Это место, где выращивают прекрасный зелёный чай Билучунь (Bi Luo Chun). Точнее, этот остров - единственное место, где его выращивают.

Билучунь на английском называется Green Spring Snail и в переводе (с английского, китайского я к сожалению не знаю), дословно переводится Весенние Спирали Улитки. Почему весенние? Потому что собирают его один раз в год ранней весной, в середине Марта. Почему спирали улитки? Потому что чайный мастер потом обрабатывает чай таким образом, что он скручивается в небольшие спирали, которые каким-то не совсем понятным образом напоминают улитку.

Вот он чай в сухом виде - он не выглядит таким уж зелёным - правда?

Я тоже удивилась, и сначала подумала, что это какой-то другой чай, но точно не зелёный.

А это нам налили чай перед походом на саму плантацию - таким он становится уже в стакане с горячей водой.

Кстати, именно так китайцы на ферме заваривают его - просто в стакане, и пьют потом. Я конечно понимаю удобство этого метода, но в таких стаканах вообще невозможно почувствовать аромат и всю прелесть и мощь чайного напитка. И это даже несмотря на то, что чай был свежайший - собранный буквально за несколько дней до этого, или даже в тот же самый день. Например, пока мы сидели и ждали фермера, принесли мешок чая, собранного утром, и обработанного буквально за несколько минут до этого. То есть чай был еще совсем теплый после сковороды! Но даже такой свежий чай не раскрывал всех своих возможностей в стакане.

И ещё один интересный момент - обычно чай как заваривается? Насыпается в чашку или гайвань, и заливается горячей водой. Но не Билучунь! С этим чаем поступают совершенно наоборот - сначала заливается вода, а потом насыпается чай. Чаинки Билучуня такие тяжелые, что падают на дно, и начинают раскрываться... С другими зелёными чаями так не пройдет, так как они более легкие. На дно они не упадут. Но конечно, такой способ более щадящий к чаю, чем заливание его кипятком.

Кстати, китайцы вообще не парятся с температурой воды - весь чай они заливают кипятком. Что для нас конечно выглядит немного кощунственно, но как есть так есть!

На плантации было очень мило. Все чайные деревья находились на холмах, и поэтому мы отправились вверх. Нам выделили корзины и сказали, что будут нас сегодня использовать как дешевую рабочую силу... :) Вот я тружусь на плaнтации, собираю чай, и складываю его в специальную плетеную корзину.

    

Вот он Чайная почка и Листочки...

И горстка на моей ладошке:

За два часа усердной работы (хотя усердной её можно назвать с большой натяжкой) я собрала всего четверть корзины. Понимаю, конечно, что неопытная, рассеянная и так далее, но всё-таки, вы можете представить сколько человеко-труда требуется чтобы сделать чай? Из одной корзины получается всего 50 грам чая. Чтобы собрать такую крозину нужно несколько часов. Легко посчитать, сколько часов работы нужно для того, чтобы получить эти 50 грам. А потом люди удивляются и спрашивают, почему чай хорошего качества такой дорогой. Вот именно потому!

Кстати, эта семья всё делает сама - сама обрабатывает ферму, собирает чай, обрабатывает его и продает. Собирает в основном мама семейства - одна на всю плантацию. У них нет средств, чтобы нанять работников - нам сказали, что цена на чай не так растет, как цена на труд, и поэтому просто не выгодно кого либо нанимать. Поэтому некоторые чайные дереьвя так и стоят без собранного урожая. Кстати, никто не хочет пройти трудо-терапию в Китае? :) Жильё и еда бесплатно, живите сколько хотите, и собирайте чай на природе в свое удовольствие.. Ведь в европе многие так делают. Едут на ферму, работают бесплатно, жильё и питание включено. Получается как бы взаимовыгодный обмен - ты как будто уезжаешь в деревню, получаешь единение с природой, плюс немного работаешь - собираешь урожай. Затрат никаких. Не знаю, насколько это для меня, но знаю многих, которые так "отдыхают" летом. :)) Вообщем, китайские фермеры ищут таких отдыхающих! :)) А вот так выглядит сама плантация:

После "работы" мы вернулись обратно в деревню. Попили ещё чаю, купили чай, причём купили чай, собранный и обработанный сегодня, хотя это уже и не самый лучший чай. Чай высшего качества обычно собирается до времени Минь - до 5 Апреля. После этой даты это уже чай более низкого качества. Но хотелось купить именно тот, который был собран и обработан в день нашего посещения. Ну как бы символически.. Наша энергия резонировала с чаем, и он собрал все свойства, нужные именно нам! Ну мне так хочется думать! :)))

Вот так чай подсушивается на воздухе после сброки:

А эту собачку я не смогла не сфотографировать! Её подстригли совершенно странным образом - какими-то клочками, потому что ей было жарко - по словам фермера. У нее есть один щеночек (всех остальных уже раздали), которому явно хотелось материнской любви, и он всё время за ней бегал и просил молочка. Вы бы сказали, что ето мама и сын? По моему не очень похожи. :))

Я запечатлела момент когда он пил молоко у нее:

Я бы ещё писала бы и писала... Но у уже надо бежать! :) Сегодня у нас запланирована поездка в Исин - где делают знаменитые Исинские чайнички! Мы даже может сделаем один сами!