Many people in North America have never been exposed to really good tea, which is remarkable given that tea is the most popular beverage in the world save water. The practice of tea drinking is not widely popular here. Why not? Surely much of the blame rests with what passes for tea in those horrid little bags sold in grocery stores and served in restaurants, but there are cultural factors at work as well. As my friend Steve has pointed out, men in our culture are often embarrassed about drinking tea, as though it is somehow unmanly or effeminate to enjoy something so elegant and refined.

I believe that those who experience the wide world of teas will quickly overcome this misconception and embrace the practice of tea drinking. Perhaps if our little blog can show that drinking tea doesn't make you any less of a man, a few more men will be encouraged to explore this wonderful experience.

As I write this I am enjoying an excellent longjing. Although there is mounting evidence of various health benefits, I drink tea for the simplest of reasons: I enjoy it. What could be more manly than that?

Earl Grey on a Cold January Afternoon

It's a cold January day here in Chicago. I'm staying warm at the Mercury Cafe. Today I am enjoying the Organic Earl Grey tea from the Intelligentsia Tea Traders, a Chicago-based company.

Tea Reviews

BevNET is an interesting site. It's a commercial site for the beverage industry, offering news and reviews of products. All of the teas I have found mentioned there are brewed and bottled iced teas. As such, they may be outside the scope of what we're discussing here at The Manly Teas. (I will have to check with my fellow blogger inimino about that issue.)

However, if you're interested in the bottled and brewed teas--which have their own place in the beverage world and their own special charm--have a look at BevNET. You can use the "Search" feature near the top of the home page to find reviews of the teas. Just enter "tea" as your search term, click the "Search" button, and you'll get a list of several hundred pages of reviews and comments about the teas, as well as various news items about tea.

Tea News

News4sites, an online news service, offers free news headlines about tea. Eventually, I'll post a link to those headlines in the right-hand column of the blog.

Can a Tin of Tea Really Make a Difference in the World?

That's the question Zhena Muzyka of Zhena's Gypsy Tea asks in this article about fair trade tea. Muzyka paints a picture of the impact fair trade tea has made on her life and the lives of tea workers.

Tea Seminar in New York City, January 28, 2007

Joyce Maïo, a tea consultant and advocate, will be hosting a tea seminar on Sunday, January 28, 2007, from 4 - 6 p.m. at the Kiva Café in New York City's Tribeca neighborhood. I have not attended any of Ms. Maïo's programs, but if the press release is accurate, it looks like it will be a good event. If you'll be in New York on Sunday, you may want to attend it. If you do, please post a comment here and tell us how you liked it. Thanks.

Got Milk? Great, But You Might Want to Keep it Out of Your Tea...

Over at the MH Today Blog, Bill Stieg reports on new research that shows that adding milk to black tea eliminates the tea's cardiovascular benefits. Hey, that doesn't seem fair! After all, when I was a little boy, Dziadek (the great-grandfather whom I mentioned here; Dziadek is Polish for "Grandfather") gave my brother and me tea with milk, and he lived to be 100 years old. Yeah, yeah, I know that's just one example and doesn't prove anything about the health benefits of tea, but it just doesn't seem right to give milk the boot after so long.

Anyway, this research doesn't say we can't enjoy tea with milk, just that we can't expect any heart health benefits--specifically, benefits to the "flow-mediated dilation (FMD)" of arteries. I wonder if this research finding holds up for soy milk? Almond milk? Grain milk? Coconut milk? Rice milk? Goat milk? As far as I know, the research tested only cow's milk, but it would be interesting to discover whether the milk substitutes I mentioned eliminate health benefits when they are added to tea. That would be especially important for people who suffer from lactose intolerance (the majority of the world's population), except, of course, for goat's milk which does contain lactose.

You can find additional coverage of this story at the following pages:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietNutrition/tb/4826

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=60437

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070108191523.htm

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=26023

http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/news-28523-31.html

Of course, this is one research study and, apparently, a new finding, so we will have to wait for further research to learn more about this newly discovered relationship between tea and milk. As always, talk with your doctor about any concerns you may have concerning tea and its benefits for you.

Tea in Milwaukee

So, you thought Milwaukee was limited to the Admirals, Bucks, Brewers, and beer, eh? In addition to those fine sports teams, it just so happens that Milwaukee has an active tea culture. This article in Greater Milwaukee Online offers an introduction to that culture and offers some hints on preparing tea from Ben Harrison, a co-owner of Milwaukee's Rishi Tea Company.