Tea to be a 7-Eleven Staple

Tea Set to Become Convenience Store Staple, 7-Eleven Official Says

Tea is in a strong position to become a staple of most American convenience stores, a public relations officials at one of America's largest 7-Eleven franchises says. As more and more people turn to healthy alternatives to carbonated and sugar-filled beverages, the convenience store industry is already starting to stock up on tea drinks, and experts expect the trend to continue throughout the summer.

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Black Tea, Green Tea Good for Diabetes

Black and Green Tea Lower Blood Sugar

Both black tea and green tea are good for diabetes, a rat study shows. They also prevent diabetic animals from developing cataracts.

"Tea may be a simple, inexpensive means of preventing or retarding human diabetes and the ensuing complications, " the researchers write.

The researchers recommend that tea -- black and green -- should be studied for an antidiabetes effect in humans.

Read the entire WebMD story.

ch-ch-ch-Chai!

Chai, also known as masala chai, is India’s unofficial favorite beverage. At its most basic, chai is a spiced tea. But in reality, chai evokes the many exotic regions of India and the varying cultures and lifestyles of the Indian people. That super-creamy, overly sweetened, pumpkin-pie-spiced drink at your local coffee house can’t hold a candle to the delicately balanced, comfortingly aromatic chai made from ancient family and regional recipes.

Masala is a term from Indian cuisines meaning a mixture of spices. Although it varies among regions, the spices typically combined for use with chai are cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, and cloves. There are recipes that include nutmeg, anise, licorice, allspice, coriander, chocolate, vanilla and other locally preferred spices and flavorings.

The ingredient groups for a masala chai are the tea, milk, the spices, and a sweetener.

• Tea: generally a hearty black tea such as Assam or Keemun is used; chai is a heavily spiced drink and a lighter tea would quickly be overwhelmed
• Milk: use whole milk, half-and-half, or cream according to personal preference
• Spices: see recipe below, but experiment freely to create your own perfect masala
• Sweetener: white, brown, or raw sugar, honey, or other sweetener of choice

Here is a simple recipe for masala chai, but be forewarned. Once you taste it, you may never be able to go back to the syrupy commercial version.

Masala Chai for 2

1 c. water
1 c. milk
2 T. sugar
1 T. black tea leaves
Masala (recipe below)
Put water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the masala mixture. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Add the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat. Add the tea leaves. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain the tea into pre-warmed teacups and serve immediately.

Masala

1 inch fresh ginger, sliced thin
slightly crushed or cracked:

• 1 inch stick of cinnamon
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 4 whole cloves
• 2 peppercorns

Tea Quotes #1

"When one has tea and wine one will have many friends."
Chinese proverb

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

"The best quality tea must have creases like the leathern boot of Tartar horsemen, curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock, unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr, and be wet and soft like a fine earth newly swept by rain."
Lu Yu (d. 804), Chinese sage

"Tea, though ridiculed by those who are naturally coarse in their nervous sensibilities ... will always be the favourite beverage of the intellectual."
Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859), British author

"Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors."
Alice Walker, from The Color Purple

"Tea! Thou soft, thou sober, sage, and venerable liquid, thou innocent pretence for bringing the wicked of both sexes together in a morning; thou female tongue-running, smile-smoothing, heart- opening, wink-tipping cordial, to whose glorious insipidity I owe the happiest moment of my life, let me fall prostrate thus, and ... adore thee."
Colley Cibber (1671–1757), British actor & playwright

Tea Ingredient Fights Leukemia

Lab Study: Green, Black, and Oolong Tea Boosts Immune Responses

Tea extracts shut down leukemia cells but help normal cells fight cancer and infection, a lab study shows.

The findings may help explain the many health effects reported by tea drinkers -- including tea's reputed anticancer effect.

Read the entire WebMD story.

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