assam tea

Assam is a north-eastern state of India surrounded by 6 sister states also bordering Bangledesh and Bhutan. The area is known for it's gorgeous geography, preserved wildlife such as the one horned Indian Rhinoceros, Assam silk and Assam tea. Of course that's not all it's known for but, those are a few big ones. I am just chomping at the bit to visit or possibly live in the culturally rich area.

Assam tea is a black tea clearly named for it being produced in Assam. It is a tea that is known for its robustness and strong bright colour. This is the world's largest tea producing area. It seems to be of the perfect land lying between two significant rivers, the perfect altitude, with the perfect amount of rainfall which is heavy in the monsoon season and the perfect temperature! It's this combination of elements that gives Assam tea such a strong unique flavour for a black tea.

I know it's my favourite black tea!!

Coffee? Tea? Yes, Please.

The offical proof is here! Caffeine is good for you in a plethora of ways. Just look at the photographic proof here of Denise and we'll get to it after this wonderful visual reference. Thanks a mill, Denise!!!!

As Denise shows us the effects of ones morning coffee we can see it sparks her right up and preps her for yet another lovely day. Caffeine is a natural stimulant, most commonly found in coffee, tea, cocoa and kola, that when consumed in reasonable amounts has a positive effect on us humans.

Energy & Stamina
Caffeine is probably used mostly for increasing energy and stamping out drowsy lethargy. It helps us burn more calories when exercising and enables us to exercise even longer. Win win if you ask me.
Mood & Mental Health
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system giving us feelings of alterness, well-being and encourages concentration. It has been said by many psychiatrists that caffeine is a mood elevator; plain as day.
Heart Health & Disease/Ailment Protection
Coffee (not kola) is loaded with anti-oxidants which help in the prevention of heart disease.

 

GET THIS! Regular coffee drinkers are "significantly" less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Regular moderate intake of Caffeine has been shown to decrease the loss of dopamine producing brain cells. It's the loss of those brain cells that causes Parkinson's disease. Coffee specifically has also been proven to lower the risk of cirrhosis of the liver, colon cancer and gallstones. Caffeine can also help relieve headaches.

 

As little as 20 mgs of caffeine can cause noticeable physical & mood changes.

Here's a rough-guide showing caffeine content:

An average cup of tea contains around 50 mgs of caffeine. 

An average cup of instant coffee contains around 70-100 mgs. Instant decaffeinated coffee contains about 3 mgs.

A 6 oz cup of espresso coffee (much larger than the normal cafe cup, incidentally) contains about 80-90 mgs.

A single-hit cappuccino will contain the same amount.

Filter coffee (called 'drip' in the US) can contain 25-50% more caffeine than instant.

A 340 ml or 12 oz can of regular or diet cola contains between 35 and 45 mgs. of caffeine depending on the brand  

Some so-called 'energy drinks' contain very high doses of caffeine - equivalent to to 4+ cups of strong coffee in one dose!

One ounce or 28 grams of chocolate contains about 10-15 mgs .

 

I've been drinking coffee off and on for more than a couple of decades now and keeping up with a lot of the studies regularly done on caffeine...and I have to say that caffeine intake like everything else is all based upon the individual but, all in all, I really think that 1-2 cups of coffee or tea a day is rather healthful. 

oat milk.

Finally I will no longer be dependent on buying processed Soy Milk*. I mean, I've felt lucky enough as is, just being able to find organic soy milk here! I can't believe I've waited this long to try making my own non-dairy milk.
So, naturally, ever since I decided that I wanted to make my own milk I've been reading every recipe I can find on it. I've considered making rice milk and soy milk but, then I found the simplest recipe ever for oat milk. Oat milk! I hadn't even thought of it! Sounds good, right? I made it and it's delicious!!! We are enjoying it in our tea and coffee and with granola cereal.

Here's what you do:

soak 1 cup of rolled oats in 5 cups of water for 24 hours

blend & strain

>>Shake well before each use<<

THAT'S IT!!! Oh, and keep it in the fridge.

On top of oat milk being easy to make and tasting great...it's on the cheap, big time. What would have cost me over $2 in purchased soy milk, I spent about 25 cents making my own oat milk = happy me.

*We buy very few processed/packaged items here in Guatemala and we love it. The two main things that we are dependent upon that are not only packaged but, are processed and imported to add insult to injury are: olive oil and soy  milk.

It's so nice to eliminate at least one of those. I don't see us not buying or using olive oil any time soon. At least not until I own that olive grove of my dreams! Do they have olive groves in Spain? South America any where?

two weeks sans coffee.

wow! it's been two weeks since i stopped drinking coffee. the first week i didn't notice much of a difference. 1/2 way through the second week and i started feeling rather different. i've only been slightly tempted to have a cup of coffee but, strangely enough both times have been in the afternoon & evening; not in the morning as i would have suspected. all in all, i think ditching coffee for tea is going to be a great thing!!!

*my first step was to remove the coffee maker from my kitchen. i did this once i had used up all my coffee (waste not, want not). the second step of my master 'forget about coffee' plan was to set up a conveinent tea 'station' in my kitchen (pictured here). a very important componet for me was to have an electric stainless steel kettle....it's a dream!! boiling water in a minute! tea of choice lately is: organic english breakfast tea. no cream. no sugar.

2010: a year of healthy choices for me!