Yamé - the finest brand of green tea

Matcha Green Tea Cappuccino

Gaiwan

A gaiwan or gai wan ("lidded bowl") is a Chinese covered bowl used for the infusion and drinking tea. It is also known as gaibei ("lidded cup") or juzhong ("hot-steeping vessel").
Tea experts think that the gaiwan is a great way to brew teas with delicate flavours and aromas, such as green tea and white tea. Gaiwan is also used for preparation of oolong infusions beacuase they can be infused several time. Still, you can use gaiwan for any type of tea.
The gaiwan is also important in tea tasting because of its open and glazed surfaces.
The gaiwan consists of a saucer, bowl, and lid. The gaiwan itself can be made from myriad materials, from porcelain to glass. Gaiwans made from Yixing clay or jade are especially valued by collectors.

In the folowing video you can see preparation of oolong tea with gaiwan.

Tea in pancake rolls

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon green tea leaves
1/2 pound (227 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon corn oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup water

Preparation:
1. Pulverize half of the tea leaves with a grinder or a rolling pin.
2. Brew the rest with 1/2 cup of water for three minutes, then cool to lukewarm.
3. Mix the flour and as much brewed tea as kneaded to make a dough. Knead well then make it into the shape of a cigar and press it flat, then roll it into a rectangular shape. Cit into quarters.
4. Heat the oil and pan fry one or two until lightly browned, then
quickly put them on a plate and fry the rest. Sprinkle them with
the rest of the tea leaves and the sugar and roll each one loosely.
5. Cut each of them on an angle into one inch (about 2,5 cm) pieces and serve.

Green tea liqueur

First let me mention the ingredients you'll need...
6 tablespoons of quality green tea leaves
3 cups of vodka
1 cup of sugar syrup
2-3 drops of green food colouring

How to make sugar syrup? Mix equal parts of sugar (white or brown) and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes. Cool before adding to the rest of stuff in the recipe. By the way, you can also use an equivalent amount of honey.
Steep tea leaves in vodka for 24 hours. Do not steep for longer time cause the liquer will turn bitter. Shake the jar or bottle well when you add the tea leaves. Add the sweetener and colouring the next day.
Finally, for those who do not know or are not sure....1 tablespoon is 5 ml (1/6 ounce), 1 cup is 236 ml (8 ounces).

Green tea and oral cancer

Green tea stops growth of oral cancer cells and breaks down and kills existing oral cancer. The polyphenols in tea areantioxidants, which work to remove free radicals (oxidants) which cause the mutation of genes which lead to cancerous growth. By drinking 4 to 6 cups of green tea a day the polyphenols can inhibit the growth and spread of cancerous cells.
The results of research at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, USA indicated compounds in green tea selectively induced cell death only in oral cancer cells while ignoring normal cells.
In China where green tea is extremely popular, oral cancer rates are 1/2 that of North America, even though smoking rates- a known risk factor for oral cancer - are 3 times higher in China.

Green tea - antirust substance

Today post is rather short...still I hope some of you are going to find it useful...
Wiping a steel pot or knife with used tea leaves can prevent the item from rusting.
Catechin, an ingredient of green tea, makes an anti-rust coating on the surface of steel.

Green tea - great deodorizer

Green tea with its many antioxidants makes it one of the healthiest drinks available. Benefits of green tea certainly do not stop here. The catechins, or commonly known antioxidants, in green tea have antibacterial features, which make tea leaves very good for fighting odor.
Here is what to do...When finished brewing tea put leaves into a strainer or colander and press out as much liquid as you can...Spread the leaves on a piece of paper to dry well...If needed you can repeat the whole process...
Food odors in a refrigerator can be removed if you place a small uncovered bowl of tea leaves or used tea bags in the refrigerator.
You certainly noticed that smell on your hands after preparing fish, chopping garlic etc. To get rid of it just rub your hands with wet green tea leaves. Rub those tea leaves on areas where you prepared the food too. It should help...
Sprinkle dry tea leaves on your carpet, leave them for 10-15 minutes, then vacuum. This will refresh your carpet and deodorize your vacuum cleaner...
For those of you who own pets...You can put dry green tea leaves in cat litter to difuse odors, deter fleas..Sprinkle the leaves on your pet's favourite bed or pillow...

Bosung green tea farm in South Korea

Making Green Tea-ramisu

Here is a recipe for Tiramisu...well, with a little change...using green tea instead of espresso and cocoa powder.
Enjoy!!!

Tea on the web - part 1

Hello everyone!! In this post I would like you to recommend you two great web sites about tea...
The first one is China National Tea Museum web site. The museum itself is located 180 km southwest of Shangai in Hangzhou, Zhijiang province. It was opened in 1991. The web site include lot of information about tea culture in China. There are many interesting texts and photos...It is definitely the web site worth visiting...Enjoy!
The second web site I would like to draw your attention to is Japanese green tea museum put on the web by the Japanese tea wholesellers Kaburigen Co. Ltd. This web site is not so rich in content like the above mentioned Chinese one. Still, if you want to learn something about green tea in Japan...just log on there...

Green tea and body weight

The most important active component of the green tea are the

polyphenols like catechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate,

gallaogatechin, epigallocatechin and apigallocatechin gallate

(also known as EGCG).
The EGCG is a natural antioxidant. It is good thermogenic and

that way can burn of callories. People who use green tea have

their energy expenditure and metabolic rate risen at rate of 4%.

This will certainly influence changes in body weight.
Green tea catechins will also act as a glucose regulator. It

regulates the of insulin in the body and inhibits the sudden rise

of insulin in the body after the food, which may initiate the fat

conversion. The lowering of the insulin level prevents the sugar

level rise and the fat storage, which ultimately prevent the weight gain.
Level of blood sugar has certain influence of person appetite.

It is tought that continuous using of green tea naturally decrease

appetite and that way influence body weight.

Tea in Morroco

Morrocan tea culture or as it is called Atai in Arabic is defined
by the way green tea is prepared and consumed in this northafrican country. This tradition has spread to other countries of NorthAfrica, parts of the Sahel (the border zone in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the more fertile region to the south) and even southern Spain.
Green tea is cleaned with boiling water before being dried. That way it is cleaned from dust collected during shipping. Local people also believe that it makes the tea less bitter. Tea is then added to boiling water. After that, sugar (5 tea spoons for
every spoon of tea) and fresh mint are added and mixed into a teapot with a long, curved spout. This allows the tea to be poured into tiny glasses from a height of approximately half a meter to form a foamy head (surface). It is then returned once or twice to the teapot for a good mix.

Tea in China

As to Chinese saying there are seven basic daily necessities as fuel, rice, oil, salt, soya sauce, vinegar, and tea.. The finest tea in China is grown at altitudes of 910 to 2,124 meters. People often use spring water, rain and snow water to make their tea. Chinese think that green tea is the best when prepared in glass tea ware. Scented tea isthe best in porcelain ware while Oolong tea should be prepared in purple clay tea ware. Most popular wares is one from the Yixing (Jiangsu province - east coast of China) and Jingdezhen (Jiangxi province - southern China). Tea wares consist of mainly teapots, cups, tea bowls and trays etc.
Each guest in Chinese homes is immediatelly served with a cup of tea. It is a symbol of togetherness, a sharing of something enjoyable, a way of showing respect to visitors. Guest shouldtake at least a sip. Refusing cup of tea might be treated as rude. A host, when pouring tea, won't fill guest's cup completely. The tea will make seven tenth of cup. The rest three tenth will be filled with friendship and affection. Person drinking his or her cup of tea has to empty it in three gulps.In southern China after a person's cup is filled, that person may knock their bent index and middle fingers (or some similar variety of finger tapping) on the table to express gratitude to the person who served the tea.The younger generation always shows its respect to the older generation by offering a cup of tea. Going to restaurants and drinking tea, therefore, becomes an important activity for family gatherings.In Chinese culture, people make serious apologies to others by pouring tea on them. That is a sign of regret and submission.In the traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, both the bride and groom kneel in front of their parents and serve them tea. That is a way to express their gratitude. In front of their parents, it is a practicefor the married couple to say, "Thanks for bringing us up. Now we are getting married. We owe it all to you." The parents will usually drink a small portion of the tea and then give them a red envelope, which symbolizes good luck. The tea ceremony during weddings also serves as a means for both parties in the wedding to meet with members of the other family.There are hundreds of different Chinese tea. They can be classified in five main groups:green tea, black tea, brick tea, scented tea and Oolong tea.I have already written about green tea, black tea and Oolong tea...So, if interested please find those posts. Scented tea is very popular in northern China. It is a mixture of green tea withrose, jasmine, orchid and plum flower petals. Brick tea is brick shaped green or black tea. Itis mainly produced in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.The best ten Chinese teas are: Longjing (Dragon Well), Biluochun, Huangshanmaofeng, Junshan Silver Needle, Qimen Black Tea, Liuan Guapian, Xinyang Maojian, Duyun Maojian, Wuyi Rock Tea and Tieguanyin.There is a saying,"China has the best teahouses in the world and Chengdu has the best teahouses in China." Chengdu is a capital fo Sichuan province in southwest China. Teahouses in Chengdu are places of social gathering, entertainment, chatting. Local teahouses also offer programs of local artists and Sichuan opera.
Finally today here is the photo of teahouse on the West Lake (Xi Hu) in eastern China.