The Hot Beverage Society

America is a wonderful country and I immensely enjoyed the time that I spent living there. There were more benefits than negatives, but there were a few things that I really missed about living in the United Kingdom. I certainly didn’t miss the weather, I was living in Florida! 

Perhaps the thing that I missed the most, apart from family, was a lovely cup of real English tea. I’m not talking about premium loose leaf teas either, just our good old English tea bags like Yorkshire Tea, Tetley, and PG Tips. Particularly Yorkshire Tea. When I first moved out there I couldn’t find Yorkshire Tea anywhere, and trust me I searched high and low. Fortunately towards the end of my time in America Yorkshire Tea began to become more readily available, with a few online stockists selling it. It was however extremely expensive, but I still bought it because I missed it so damn much.

Now that I’m back in the UK I’ve noticed that with their being fast growing ex-pat communities in America the number of suppliers has increased significantly and that the prices have fallen accordingly, it is now easier and cheaper than ever to buy Yorkshire Tea in America. Another thing that I missed like made in America is Marmite, and the same applies there, it is easy and cheap enough to buy Marmite in America too. 

strong>About Yorkshire Tea

Yorkshire Tea is a black tea which is produced by Betty and Taylors of Harrogate, one of the last few remaining independent British tea companies, it is family owned and has been since being established in 1886. The tea itself is a blend which uses teas from Sri Lanka, India, and East Africa. These same tea leaves are blended to make five different varieties including the standard black tea, a decaf version, and a blend for hard water areas. The brand was awarded a royal warrant by the British royal family in 2009. 

Tea, like coffee, is stimulating because of its caffeine content. Tea remained unknown to the Western world until the sixteenth century, when European explorers who traveled to China and other Far Eastern countries returned with a host of new foods, spices, and beverages. Very soon a thriving commerce in China teas was established between Europe and the Far East. In 1826 the Dutch established plantations on Java, followed some ten years later by the British, who set up tea estates in India. The production of tea has since spread rapidly to regions in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran, Japan, and parts of Africa and South America.

Tea is made from the leaves of an evergreen tropical and subtropical plant, Camellia Sinensis. There are three major kinds of finished tea. Black tea, which makes up more than 90 percent of the tea trade, is produced by first allowing tea leaves to wither. The leaves are fed through rolling machines to release the juices. The rolled leaves are then placed in extremely humid rooms and left to ferment. Fermentation is stopped by drying the leaves over fires in pans, trays, or baskets, a process that also seals in their final flavor.

A second variety is oolong or semi-fermented tea which is prepared from a special kind of China tea plant. The leaves are heated before fermentation progresses very far, then they are rolled and dried. Lastly, there are green or unfermented teas made by steaming or heating the leaves to sterilize them and kill the enzymes responsible for fermentation. The leaves are then rolled and roasted until they acquire a blue-green tint. Teas are graded for size, age, and quality, and classified according to leaf size such as orange pekoe, pekoe, and souchong.

Paraguay tea, or mate, which is widely drunk in South America, is made from the leaves of a species of holly.

So you like a hot drink but you’ve decided that you’re drinking too much coffee or tea? All that caffeine … bad huh?!

The simplest answer is that you lower your coffee or tea intake and simply substitute it with a plain old glass of water here and there. Water is (in truth) the only liquid the human body needs, and let’s not forget how abundant it is. However – water ‘as is’ is hardly an exciting drink.

Happily there are other ways that you can drink water, not least distilled or deionized (for those that don’t ‘get’ what deionized water is, click here) and let’s not forget how refreshing a glass of fizzy water can be. And fun when it comes to making it.

You can also add fruit to your glasses of water, or a few drops of lemon juice . Crush up some ice and add the water, ice and lemon drops to a glass pitcher and voila! … you have an extremely energizing drink for a hot summer’s day.

You could also purchase and use water seltzers (the flavored ones) to add an interesting twist to your glass. For those that do enjoy a hot drink, and would prefer to continue their habit of sipping oin one, how about herbal teas?

Infusing hot water is very popular, and there are a surprising array of flavors and brands on the market. There are also ‘medicinal’ infusions available – peppermint springs to mind for those that suffer with IBS or a gassy belly.

You can also try steeping. This is an ago old method of infusing water with flavors, and is pretty easy to do. Just use dried fruits of your choice to boiling water, and allow it to cool. Remove the fruit once it’s cooled and store it in the refrigerator. You can then either drink it cold or reheat it to suit.

As you can see, there are many alternatives when to comes to switching from caffeine to good old fashion it’s-good-for-you water. It may not be to everyone’s tastes but trust me – if you try hard enough you’ll soon find a way to flavor and drink water that suits yours.

The benefits of green tea have been touted loudly and aggressively for the past few years. One benefit, however, you might not be familiar with is that green tea might be able to increase the amount of brown fat in people who drink it regularly. This is important, as brown adipose tissue is the healthy kind of fat that works a lot like muscle tissue in burning bad fat, the white kind.

A study conducted in Switzerland showed that adults who drank green tea every day had an increased fat burning rate of 5% over those who didn’t drink green tea. Some researchers and doctors believe that the antioxidants in the tea enabled the brown fat to use more glucose for fuel. 5% might not sound like whole lot, but burning 5% more calories by doing nothing more than enjoying green tea every day is actually pretty impressive.

Of course, there are other benefits to drinking green tea. Green tea contains beneficial antioxidants known as “catechins.” The catechins in green tea are concentrated epigallocatechin-3-gallate, commonly known as EGCG. The EGCG is able to neutralize harmful free radicals that might lead to blood clots, heart disease, atherosclerosis, and certain types of cancer. Although the studies on green tea and cancer have been limited, so far the results look promising. One major Japanese study revealed that women with breast cancer fared better after surgery if they drank green tea before and after their surgical procedures. Also, a study on lung cancer showed that imbibing just two cups of green tea on a daily basis can decrease your chance of developing lung cancer by as much as 18%. Furthermore, a Chinese study on green tea seems the most promising of all. The study suggests that drinking large amounts of green tea can lessen your chance of developing prostate cancer, colon cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, rectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

When it comes to beverages it’s important to remember that you are what you eat. Or more specifically in this case, you are what you drink. Just as important as the solid food you consume on a daily basis, you should think about drinks and beverages as well. There are far too many people who enjoy on healthy options these days such as soft drinks or juices loaded in sugar. This is definitely going to have an impact on a wide variety of factors, and your skin is one of them. How long do you think you’ll be able to get away with drinking highly caffeinated beverages that are loaded with natural ingredients? Just as drinking water can benefit your skin by hydrating it naturally, soft drinks, coffee, and beer can have the opposite effect. It’s time to get back on track with better looking skin by utilizing beverages in a smart way.

Obviously water is the best thing you can drink, and any alternative close to it is a good second choice. But the farther you get away from natural water, you increase your chances of drinking something unhealthy for your skin. So stay away from energy drinks or things that contain artificial ingredients. In most cases, a natural fruit juice with no added sugar is a great way to go. These types of drinks can replenish your skin while giving your body essential nutrients and minerals for a natural repair. Best of all, fresh fruit juice tastes great and it’s something you can put together quite easily on your own.

Another great alternative is something like green tea that comes with antioxidant properties that are perfect for helping you with how to get rid of acne. Green tea that is naturally steeped at the perfect temperature can really reduce stress in your skin and promote proper healing. It can also balance your inner chemistry to keep hormones in check and limit oil production on your face. By incorporating these healthier elements and getting rid of high calorie drinks, your skin will start to look better and feel rejuvenated.

FLOATING CAPPUCCINO AND A VERY MODERN COFFEE MUG!
A traditional cappuccino is a layered drink. The bottom layer is steamed milk, the middle layer is the espresso and the third layer is the foam from the steamed milk. This hot espresso drink is also known as a floating cappuccino because the espresso floats between the steamed milk and the foam.

Your first step in making a floating cappuccino is to steam your milk and make sure that you have lots of foam. Did you know that the main difference between latte and a cappuccino is that the latte just has a small layer of foam (1/4 inch or so over the milk) and a cappuccino is half foam and half milk. You can let the steamed and foamed milk sit on the counter while you make your espresso in your stove top espresso maker or automatic espresso maker.

It’s more impressive if you make your traditional cappuccino in a clear class. A traditional glass mug is perfect. Although I do love the modern mug shown above where your cappuccino itself appears to suspended in air.

Now pour some of the steamed milk in the bottom of the clear coffee mug. Use a large spoon to keep the foam from falling out. Fill about the coffee mug until its about 40% full.  Now use the large spoon to scoop out the foam and put it on top. Fill the mug almost to the top with the foam.

The last step is to GENTLY pour the espresso over the foam. If you are gentle enough it will sit on top of the milk.

Great gift basket ideas for people who enjoy hot beverages are fun and easy to make. Of course, you can buy already-made gift baskets, but you’ll save a lot of money by making your own. Also, you can tailor make the gift basket to suit the tastes of the recipient by creating your own basket of goodies. Of course, you’ll want to include a varied selection of coffees, teas, and maybe even hot chocolate mixes. Don’t stop there, however.

Other things you might want to include in the gift baskets include monogrammed mugs and/or cups, flavored coffee creamers, and a fancy tea ball. Have you ever seen those flavored coffee stirrers? Most are covered in chocolate, and as the hot beverage is stirred, the coffee melts into the beverage, imparting the luscious taste of decadent chocolate. These are great to use with coffee and with hot cocoa, so you might consider adding a few of these to your gift baskets.

You might also want to include some other goodies in your gift basket ideas. Think of foods that go well with coffee, hot tea, and hot cocoa. Some suggestions are teacakes, coffee cake, biscotti, and cookies. Another food that goes great with coffee and hot tea is cheese straws. You can make all these right in your own kitchen! For tips on assembling your gift basket ideas, watch the following video:

Your goal when storing tea is to keep it away from influences that can negatively affect its delicate aroma and flavor. In particular this means keeping it away from air, heat, light, strong smelling foods and humidity.

Most tea, if well stored, will keep for at least one year. But if you store it poorly it will lose its flavor in a matter of months. Of course there is one category of tea, called pu-ehr tea, that is an aged tea. This is the only tea type that is fermented and, like wine, has vintages. Some green pu-ehr teas are over 50 years old!

But most of us don’t have been a fermented cake of tea in our cupboards but want to keep our green tea, whites, black and oolong teas as fresh as possible. Here’s what you need to do (courtesy of The Tea Lounge).

Air is not good for tea. If tea is left unwrapped and exposed to air all its residual moisture will be lost. The tea leaves will become brittle and produce a flat, unbalanced infusion. Although glass jars are commonly used to store tea, it’s important that these do not sit under bright lights or in sunlight.  Its better to use an opaque container.

Keep your stored tea away from sunny windows, radiators or counter-tops that have close lighting. And, as tea also absorbs odors, keep it away from strong spices or any foods with strong smells such as garlic or cheese (see amusing video on this, complete with other tea facts). It’s probably also best to keep tea out of plastic storage containers as these have a tendency to impart unwanted odors onto the tea.

In order to ensure that you are drinking a fresh tea, it’s important to find out when your tea was plucked. Tea is seasonal with the same harvesting cycle repeated annually. For example premium green teas from China and Japan are only picked in the springtime. So if you’re purchasing a green tea in January it’s probably from the previous year. Darjeeling teas from India are also very seasonal with the first flush teas being the most highly prized.

When you buy tea, don’t store it away for months before drinking. Many people make the mistake of drinking their old tea while saving their new premium tea only for special occasions. It’s probably not going to get any better the longer it sits around in your cupboard.  Do use it while it’s fresh.

Are you a coffee lover?  I certainly am, and I love to explore every new flavor I come across.  There are many people today who love to run out to the latest trendy coffee house to find the latest brews at outrageous prices.  I prefer to search around and find a high quality whole bean coffee.  

I’ve spent enough time hunting down uncommon coffees, that the sellers I deal with can usually provide me with some solid details about the origins of the beans I’m buying.  This doesn’t mean much to some people, but for serious coffee enthusiasts, noting even the most subtle differences in flavor can be a fun and enjoyable experience.  

I’ve found that I can try just about any flavor I like without spending very much money.  Coffee drinking is still a relatively inexpensive diversion, even if you like to go with the premium products.  Of course, the savings goes right out the window if you choose to go to expensive coffee outlets like Starbucks, where most of your money is going toward paying for the brand, not necessarily the coffee itself.

If you are a serious coffee fan, consider experimenting with the various ways of preparing coffee.  Most people today have come to rely on automatic drip coffee makers.  While these are good machines for getting your coffee ready to drink quickly, they can sometimes be lacking in flavor because the hot water passes over the finely ground beans so quickly.  

I recommend trying some other, slower brewing methods to give yourself a true appreciation for the subtle differences among coffee varieties.  I found a nice little video describing how to make coffee with a French press.  This is a method that most people have never tried, but it is certainly worth trying if you love experiencing the many levels of flavor available in premium coffee.