Having focused over 9 years of her life to rare teas globally, and locally, Lena, has become a leading expert in Canada, and a purveyor of excellence serving only the best to her clientele.

Self Proclaimed Tea Masters, while knowledgeable in their own local areas, are limited in their global understanding of teas from around the world.  Certified Tea Masters must grasp the practical applications and knowledge of teas from all regions of the globe. Extensive Knowledge is the basis for understanding cultural differences in Tea Ceremonies, Terroir, Tea Pairing, Health Benefits, History and Origins of varieties of Teas, the Processes involved, as well as the appropriate Teaware for each category of tea.  Lena has travelled to the heart of many tea producing countries, and has observed the process from field to cup.

Lena’s passion towards this budding industry in Canada, outshines her desire to obtain financial freedom.  She truly enjoys sharing her wealth of knowledge, and answering any and all questions.  Her desire to foster this young industry in Canada makes her a Tea Ambassador, so that we might enjoy the simple pleasures of loose leaf tea, with all the subtle flavours and varieties.

Tea can be as complex as wine, but without the side effects. With so many options available, there is no one who would not LOVE tea, they just haven’t met the right blend or type of tea they embraced.  People still believe that tea must come from a bag and steeped in a cup.   Loose leaf tea is not even in the same category!  A quality cup of tea – uniquely matched to an individual’s taste, will make a tea drinker out of any die hard coffee drinker.

Canada and the US are still predominantly a Coffee Culture, however the US is quickly expanding with more high end Tea Houses and Tea Connoisseurs. Lena remains hopeful that Canada will quickly catch up, expanding our own Tea Culture, as it leads to better lifestyles, and better health.

This is still being updated…

Awareness can be about everything in life, in this section we will focus on awareness for a better future with respect to the environment and our health. We need a healthy body, mind and soul to have a wealthy life. We also need a healthy planet to live on, for future generations to succed in life. The commercial world has focused on marketing us towards consumerism, and waste, purchasing their un necessary products, in order to generate profits and wealth for themselves.   For years they have tried to make us believe that natural remedies can be harmful  to our health. Nature was never intended to harm us, nature gave us every thing we need to survive right here where we live. Nature has provided us with everything we need to survive.

This section is intended to help you in many ways, to reverse the effects of some of your habits and lifestyle. It is never too late to change for the better. This saying goes for physically and mentally. We are here to improve ourself, stop pretending you are perfect and this is a great start for a brighter future! Stop, believing the industrial companies that everything they make and produce is safe.

Pretty lawn…

There are more important things than having perfectly green grass without “weeds” like dandelions. Dandelions are the first flowers bee’s feed off, by pulling them, we are removing precious food for them. Bees are integral to our existence. Bees polinate all plants, and without pollination we would have a severe reduction of our food sources. Some say that without bees – we would die within 4 years.  Dandelions have a natural cycle and in a few short weeks they are a memory! Tolerate them for awhile, Nature will be thankful!

Best remedie for depressions

Messing around the garden proves to be nature’s way of cultivating your physical and mental health.

AGING WITH FINESSE

Free radicals. You need to understand what are free radicals in order to avoid aging faster and to avoid cancer and illness. Free radicals are oxygen molecules that attack healthy cells and deteriorate them by oxidation. Just like an apple turn brown when you cut it. The brown comes from the oxidation of the upon contact with the air. They weaken the organs and tissues, and can cause premature aging, hear disease, cancer and illness.

Think of free radicals like rust on your car, it starts with a small spot of rust to become bigger and bigger and they to actually pierce the metal. This is a good example of the damage free radicals can do to your body. Free radicals are often caused by these channels; stress, food additives, tobacco, pesticides, ultraviolet rays, excess alcohol, chemicals on skin care products, chemicals on your water, and the list goes on and on.

STOP FREE RADICALS

You can minimize the free radicals in your body. You can not avoid everything that is our daily life, like the air we breath and the water we drink but if you minimize your free radicals you have more chances of not having problems. The answer to this is ANTIOXIDANTS, they are the good guys you need to know. They have the power to neutralize free radicals. It is estimated that there are more than 4000 compunds in foods that act as antioxidants! These include vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and mineral selenium. There is a lot of food that can give you intake of antioxidants. The most powerful antioxidant beverage on the planet is Matcha. Rooibos (herbal tea) contains high amount of antioxidants, white tea and green tea are also very good beverage. I always say, the best is to have a little bit of each one and drink the one you like the most more often.

Start building your antioxidant arsenal with a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables and grains. The brightest coloured vegetables and fruits (dark green, orange, red) pack the most antioxidant value.  Drink 2oz of Matcha a day, 8oz of Rooibos (hot or cold) or mix your infusion of Rooibos with cranberry juice, 1 cinnamon stick and a sliced of orange, 1 Tbsp of Honey, leave in the fridge for up to a week in a pitcher. Drink 1 cup of green tea per day. Drink 4oz of red wine(women) 8oz for men,  at diner time. Red wines are celebrated for their antioxidant value. In moderation, red wine can actually raise the level of good cholesterol (HDL) and prevent bad cholesterol (LDL) from forming.

STAY ACTIVE EVERY DAY

Regular exercise gives you energy, strengthens muscles and makes your bone strong. You need to commit to an exercice that you enjoy, even a 15 minutes walk, is beneficial. Get a lunchtime boost by walking with a co-worker or a neighbour and beat the afternoon blahs. This needs to be integrated in your daily routine. Once a week you should have an activity that involves your brain and some thinking. Like playing cards, checker, chinese checker, scrable, etc. This will be beneficial in the long term, you will not see a difference now, but years later, you will be thankful and you will have reduced your chances of having Alzheimer.

DE-STRESS AND DECOMPRESS

Set aside time each day to do something you LOVE and enjoy to do. During that time, don’t allow any disruption. If you have kids, delegate some responsabilities. if you are a single parent, exchange time with another single parent, which you take turn, while one is watching the kids one does her or his de-stress moment. While doing that activity, use some essential oils to sooth and inhance your mood. Make sure you use in the diffuser, oils that you like the smell and avoid using anything called, fragrance. treat yourself to a visit to the spa at least once a year. Take a massage class with your partner or a dance class. You need to laugh as well. Rent a funny movie, go see a comedy or a play. Get together with your friends and laugh lots.

THE TIME CAPSULE The time capsule is a reflection of my own predictions, with dates, for futur reading.

DEET and Insect repellant

One day, there will be evidence that DEET found in bug repellant is harmful and will be considered the cause for cancers among children and will also affect childbirth and labour. (April 09).

Foam Mattress

I have very good insight, and wasn’t always aware of this gift, therefore I wasn’t listening, thinking it was my imagination. I no longer ignore these message. I am also a nose, now with the years gone by, I noticed that my nose had made me aware of a few things that are harmful but I wasn’t making the connection. My latest prediction is regarding those new memory foam matress, and those pillows made with the same materials. This is a relatively new product on the market, and we will not have proof of what I am saying probably before 10-15 years. Those foam mattress and pillow contains lots of harmful chemicals that you breath every night. It will cause major respiratory problems, migraines and more.  When you purchase one of these items, they say the smell is normaol and will go away. The smell has never gone away for me, I still smell all the chemicals in my pillow. I have since throw away my expensive pillow, that was claiming to give me a better night sleep. Yes, it’s ergonomic shape has help my neck and headaches, but I know that later I could develop serious illness symptoms from breathing so close to this source of chemicals. There is not even studies on this, because it is so new, and people have not associates the origin of their problems with their matress. (July 09)

The food we eat versus the pills we will need

They will be a straight corrolation between people spending very little money on their food. Within 10 years there will be evidence that people that spend $3.99 for lunch (outside their home) will have a monthly prescription drugs bill of $399.00 a month, by the age of 60. People spending $4.99 for lunch (outside their home) will have to buy approximatly $299.00 of prescription drugs for various health issues, by the age of 60. We all know what kind of food you can get for $3.99 & $4.99. (Aug.09)
]]> http://teaboutique.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/fun-predictions/feed/ 0 teaboutique http://teaboutique.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/tea-pairing-not-just-wine-anymore-with-food/ http://teaboutique.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/tea-pairing-not-just-wine-anymore-with-food/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:02:10 +0000 candaceraymond http://teaboutique.wordpress.com/?p=18 Continue reading →]]> Tea Pairing – not just for wine anymore!

With a history of thousands of years and a broad knowledge base across the globe Tea is not a drink to just enjoy on its own.  Global varieties, based on local availability, growing climates and cuisine can make tea and food pairing a journey to remember. While coffee hinders your appetite, tea with the variety of flavours and health benefits is the perfect beverage to compliment any dish. Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world after water. With increased awareness towards this beverage with antioxidants learning to pair tea with food can be of great benefit to your health.

Tea refreshes and cleanses the palate making it a perfect bridge between courses. With the distinctive flavours available it can also be matched to perfection with the tastes and blends of each course enhancing the experience. Tea is also alcohol free leaving your senses clear as you sample more.

Keeping in line with different cultures and spice combinations, using tea to compliment your meals can add to overall effect.  Enhancing digestion, subtle flavours, and scents, you will never stop discovering more options.

Green teas are exceptional with Asian Fare, seafood, light poultry, salads and fruit.

Black Teas blend well with heavier richer fare like red meats, curries and deserts. They are bold enough in flavours to maintain their own next to the dish and are especially good with chocolate.

Oolong Teas are the middle depending on which you are using.  The lighter ones are perfect for light dishes where as the darker ones are perfect for Chinese, Thai, or other heavier grilled foods.

Contact Tea Boutique to book a Tea Pairing Event for yourself and a group of friends and learn for yourself the global mysteries of Tea.

thetealady@bellnet.ca

905-584-7227

The history behind Matcha

Matcha is a Japanese green tea and one of the oldest varieties. In fact, it has been part of the Buddhist culture for more than 800 years, having first arrived in Japan from China, where it was embraced for its medicinal qualities. Matcha is so revered, that it is an important part of the famous Japanese tea ceremony, and is taught around the world by the followers of Tea Master Sen-no Rikyu, who brought an unusual combination of poetry and philosophy to the art of tea. Many of these followers belong to the Urasenke school, which teaches the ceremony around the globe. The tea ceremony is known as the Chanoyu, which means “the way of tea.”

Sen-no Rikyu’s ritual of serving tea — which combines art, poetry and aesthetics — is elegant and serene. Many years of practice are required to master this tea ceremony ritual.

While the ceremony itself provides spiritual healing, Matcha offers a boost to the body and the mind.

Matcha

The Japanese use two kinds of Matcha, one for everyday use and a very special grade for the Chanoyu ceremony.

Matcha is nothing like the new trendy beverages one finds in stores, with claims that they are made with rare and exotic fruits and have high levels of antioxidants. Thanks to marketing campaigns, many Westerners believe they are being introduced to something exotic, new, that will cure almost everything and offers the highest amount of antioxidants! Nothing could be further from the truth.

Matcha is made from the Camelia Sinensis plant. However,  the differencethe between inferior Matcha sold in the supermarkets and superior Matcha, sold only at Tea pourveyors is in the process. True Matcha should be made with Camelia Sinensis leaves that have been shaded prior to harvest.

Both Gyokuro and Tencha tea start off the same way. The tea bushes are covered with a canvas or mesh, which creates shade. The bushes are shaded for three weeks before the first flush. The shade deprives the leaves of sun, which forces the plant to produce more chlorophyll. The high levels of chlorophyll are responsible for the high antioxidant levels. The photosynthesis produces a darker leaf, with less polyphenol contents, and higher contents of amino acids, specifically L-Theanine which gives a sweeter and milder taste.

After the three-week period, the shading is removed and the tea leaves are picked. The leaves picked will be processed two different ways. One will be processed to produce Gyokuro leaves and the other to produce Tencha leaves.

Gyokuro —Only used for steeping. Gyokuro is the champion of all green teas for its content of the highest level of antioxidants — the leaves are steamed and dried before being rolled into shape. Once the leaves are rolled, they are ready for steeping, as rolling out the tea leaves maximizes the flavour and aroma when steeped in hot water.

Tencha - Two additional steps are added to the Tencha leaves. The Tencha leaves are not rolled but left flat. This makes it easier to grind. The stems and veins are also removed — additional processes that not only create better health results but also give Matcha tea its sweet taste. Because the leaves are not rolled but kept flat, it is easier to grind the leaf, using a granite or stone mill to prevent oxidation, into a fine velvety powder.

Preparing Matcha tea

You don’t need a lot of powder to make Matcha tea —A traditional Bamboo scoop is used to extract a small amount of fine powder from its container. Two bamboo scoops equals ½ teaspoon, the amount needed for a single serving. Personally, I prefer using a bamboo scoop rather than a metal teaspoon because some of the powder sticks to the metal — and this causes some wastage.

Place the powder into a bowl, measure two ounces of previously boiled water and pour over only a small amount of water. Once a paste is made, then pour the rest of the water in. With a whisk, stir the powder into a paste; the paste must be free of clumps. Then add the rest of the water (two ounces in total).Using a bamboo whisk, whisk the tea until forms a froth on top. The consistency should be similar to green pea soup. Just like the bamboo scoop, I prefer to use a bamboo whisk. (These are handcrafted by artisans in Japan, but sadly, this traditional craftsmanship is on the verge of becoming extinct due to the production of cheap copies in other countries. If you could see the amount of time that goes into making a single bamboo whisk, you would agree that $20 to $25 is not overpriced for such a piece of art.) A balloon whisk used for cooking does not give the same results, but if you must, it is better than nothing. The Matcha bowls are also handcrafted by Artisans. Often the bowl itself is a piece of art.

Now it’s time to taste your tea. Hold the bowl with two hands and drink in three long sips. If it is drunk too slowly — like regular teas — the powder and water will begin to separate. The sweeter the tea is, the higher the quality. It should taste velvety on your palate. This frothy drink is at once sweet and astringent.

Because the whole leaf is used to make the tea, the tea ultimately contains a high volume of vitamins and minerals, which helps the immune system and to raise energy levels. And, the caffeine in Matcha tea is a different chemistry than that found in coffee, you get the boost without the jitters.

The chemistry behind Matcha

Matcha also contains a high amount of L-theanine, a unique set of amino acids found almost exclusively in shade-grown green tea such as Tencha and Gyokuro. The L-theanine, combined with the tea caffeine, causes the body to absorb it slowly and gives us a slow and stable three to six hours of energy boost without any caffeine crash and other side effects typical to caffeine. With virtually no calories, Matcha is the ultimate energy drink without any side effects found in energy drinks, which are highly sugared, over-caffeinated and loaded with artificial ingredients.

Matcha contains superior levels of antioxidants than all known natural fruits or vegetables by far, as well as amino acids, vitamins, and other soluble and insoluble fibres and nutrients 10 times more than any other green tea — providing illness-fighting results. It is literally the healthiest drink that nature can provide.

Orac is The Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) test, which is a scientifically controlled set of experiments developed by the United States of Agriculture (USDA) and Tufts University to assess the antioxidant potency of foods and beverages. The ORAC test helps to standardize and objectively compare different foods and beverages for their antioxidant potency. The comparison below is only for Aiya Ceremonial Matcha and based on 1 gram of Matcha.

We strive to bring only the best to our customers, and according to our standards, we have chosen Aiya, a premium Japanese Matcha grower and producer in Nishio City, Japan, since 1888. There are only a dozen or so companies in all of Japan with the skills to produce authentic Matcha. I have personally tried every Matcha on the market and I have chosen Aiya purely for its quality (I have no financial attachment to the product — only the desire to provide my customers with the best, most authentic of products). The company is a world leader and holds a number of international certifications such as ISO 22000, Kosher, organic and Halal.

Here’s a nutritional comparison of Matcha versus coffee per 10 g.

Coffee                                  Matcha

Polyphenol 0.25 g – 1.0 g

Protein                                     0.2 g                                    3.1 g

Fibre                                         —                                         3.9 g

Calcium                                    2 mg                                    42 mg

Iron                                           —                                         1.7 mg

Caffeine                                   0.06 g                                  0.3 g

Potassium                               65 mg                                  270 mg

Vit. A                                        —                                         480 mg

Vit. B1                                      —                                         0.06 mg

Vit. B12                                    0.1 mg                                0.14 mg

Vit. C                                        —                                         6 mg

Carotene                                 —                                         2900 mg

This analysis was conducted using Aiya’s Matcha; don’t assume the Matcha you are drinking contains the same nutritional quantity. Like any nutritional analysis of a plant, results can vary from year to year, as the environment plays a key role. Take the maple tree: some years yield sweeter maple syrup than other years.

Matcha can raise energy levels, boost metabolism, reduce free radicals in the body and improve mental alertness. Matcha is said to produce more alpha waves in the brain, which makes it effective against tension and stress, and increasing mental focus and improving concentration. It also reduces cholesterol, and contains 10 to 15 times more nutrients than a regular cup of tea in just one serving.

Matcha — A taste unto itself

Matcha can also be used in the preparation of foods such as chocolate, ice cream, gelato, smoothies, lattés and cookies. To receive 100 per cent of the health benefits found in Matcha, you must drink it pure, without any milk, as milk voids the antioxidants.

My motto has always been that the closer to nature the product, the better it is. The closest form found in Matcha is pure Matcha; you don’t find Matcha with food colouring and processed sugar in the natural world. When in doubt, the one that you can find in the nature is always the healthier choice. To preserve the quality and potency of your Matcha, it is best to keep it in the fridge — unless you go through it fast enough.

You really can taste the difference between a “true” Matcha tea and tea being marketed as Matcha even though it is not the real thing. High-quality Matcha contains more amino acids, which contributes to its mildness and natural sweetness. It also has a bright, velvety emerald colour. The lower grades taste more astringent and tend to look more yellowish.

Acknowledgement: Thank you to Mr. Fumi Sugita for providing me with the correct information about Matcha and helping me to understand the process that goes into making a high-quality Matcha tea. There is nothing like learning from the expert.

Matcha Antioxidants Chart

Nutritional Information on Muzi Matcha Green Tea

Matcha drinkers receive the full nutrition benefits of the whole tea leaf and will enjoy the high concentration of green tea antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Matcha is extremely rich in 3 very important nutrients that are of high interest for healthier lifestyle living: Insoluble Fibers, Antioxidants, and L-Theanines.

Click here to view AIYA’s Matcha Nutritional Analysis.

Insoluble Fiber- 100% benefits from eating the whole leaf

Matcha is made by grinding the entire tea leaf into powder, all of those nutrients and benefits regular tea bags carry away stay right in the cup for the drinking. This ensures that Matcha drinkers consume a higher concentration of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibers than other tea at once. One of the highlight nutrients which we can take from Matcha but not from steeped tea is Insoluble Fiber. One study shows that the effect of lowering blood sugar from Catechin (EGCG) is enhanced if we take both water-soluble and water-insoluble fiber together with Catechins.

Please download this case study from here:

Matcha and Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes and Matcha

Drinking steeped tea will only benefit us with less than 10% of the entire nutrients from the tea leaf, but drinking Matcha gives us 100% of the nutrients. This means that one bowl of Matcha is equivalent to approx. 10 cups of regular green tea. Amazingly, there is no known fruit or vegetable in the world that provides more antioxidants than Matcha on a per gram basis. It is literally the healthiest drink nature has to offer, providing us with 100% natural energy.

© 2011, Lena Valiquette, Certified Tea Master. All rights reserved.