Organic Tanzanian cacao Tea

a new addition to our cacao tea range. a lightly roasted cacao from Tanzania, brews to a strong sweet cacao tea with lots of aroma, flavour full rich chocolate with hints of spice .

Huang Shan Mao Feng -green tea story

Huangshan Mao Feng tea (黄山毛峰) is a green tea produced in the Anhui province of China. The Tea is one of the most famous teas in China and can almost always be found on the China Famous Tealist. The tea is grown near Huangshan (Yellow) Mountain, which is home to many famous varieties of Green Tea. Huangshan Mao Feng Tea's English translation is "Yellow Mountain Fur Peak" due to the small white hairs which cover the leaves and the shape of the processed leaves which resemble the peak of a mountain. The best teas are picked in the early Spring before China's Qingming Festival. When picking the tea, only the new tea buds and the leaf next to the bud are picked. It is said by local tea farmers that the leaves resemble orchid buds.

According to local legend, there was a young scholar and a beautiful local girl fell madly in love. A local landowner saw the girl picking tea and wanted her for himself. He forced the girl's parents to make their daughter marry him. On the night before the wedding, the young girl snuck out of the landowners house only to find that the landowner had murdered the scholar. She went to his grave and cried until she became the rain. The scholar's body became a tea tree.

Huangshan Maofeng is one of the top ten greatest teas of China. Its reputation and status can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. A type of fried green tea, Maofeng is a living testimony to the old adage ‘famous mountains produce excellent teas’. Its place of origin is the She County in Anhui Province. Maofeng is harvested between Qingming and Guyu (a period that covers early to mid April). Tea growers pick the most vibrant-looking buds before hand-frying them. The tea leaves are slightly curled, green in color with a tinge of yellow hue. When brewed, the liquor yields a light green color with yellow undertones. Such colors show the freshness of the tea. Maofeng tastes extremely smooth and aromatic with a lingering aftertaste. Maofeng tea leaves have a thin layer of frosty coat on their surface, resembling tiny hairs. This is where the name Maofeng, which literally means ‘hairy peak’ in Chinese comes from.

Maofeng is classified into four different grades, ranging from premium to third grade. Premium Maofeng has the following characteristics: tender buds, leaves shaped like the tongue of a sparrow with a frosty coating and golden sheen, mellow but lingering aroma and clear liquor when brewed.

Sparking Coffee for the summer refresher

Finally some warmer days, so we've started bottling some of our Sparkling Coffee. this is our Guatemalan cold pressed coffee mixed with sparkling mineral water. For the perfect summer refresher

This winter green matcha latte's have been very popular

this posting explains some of the health benefits
Matcha (stone-ground Gyokuru green tea powder)

So those green tea bags at the office water cooler aren't the ultimate form of green tea? Do I need something better? What brand of tea bags ARE better?

Oh dear. Where to begin. If you're used to getting your tea from tea bags, you'll need to put aside notions of brands, tea bags, and tea in general for a moment and take a big step back: as we discussed in our BrainReady health feature on the health benefits of Matcha, Matcha -- which is the finely-ground powder of the highest-quality, most revered part of the shade-grown green tea plant (Gyokuru leaves...the very top part of the shade-grown green tea plant then dried to become"Tencha") carefully grown, selected, dried, stone-ground, processed and prepared according to an ancient Japanese tradition, is not your average green tea. Nor does it come in tea bags. Nor do you brew it, boil it, or consume the watery extract from leaves.

When you drink real stone-ground Japanese Matcha, you're not only drinking the arguably highest-quality, most carefully cultivated green tea variety, you're actually consuming it all -- you're eating the whole thing, you're drinking the green tea leaf itself, whole, in powdered form mixed with hot (but not boiling!) water. The powder itself is so rich in chlorophyl (from the shade growing) that it's literally bright green, and when mixed with water it becomes a rich, bitter-sweet, Kermit-colored concoction whose effects you can actually FEEL almost immediately after drinking a cup (or small bowl, if doing it the traditional Japanese way) of it.

Perhaps best known as the traditional, ceremonial drink tightly interwoven with the Buddhist ceremonies and tradition, Matcha's unique effects on the brain were a perfect fit for those monks in Japan preparing to endure 12-hour straight meditation sessions: calming and focusing while stimulating at the same time, it's no wonder that Matcha became integrated into the monks' meditative practices (thanks in large part to the amino acid L-Theanine).

And when you drink real Matcha yourself, you too will...understand.

But as Matcha has become more known (and researched) in the West recently, even more exciting are the health properties being discovered and reported (and yes, now marketed as buzzwords by tea companies..have you seen that EGCG commercial for a bottled green tea maker?). You've probably already heard about many of the health benefits of green tea in general, so imagine those benefits amplified exponentially (up to 10x or more!) in the case of Matcha...as you're drinking an extremely concentrated, ultra-high quality form, straight. Antioxidants, catechins, vitamins such as C and A, even Fluoride. And the meditatively calming yet focusing effects of L-Theanine.

But perhaps best known is EGCG: Epigallocatechin Gallate, a compound found uniquely in green teas which has been shown to possess almost unbelievable anti-cancer, anti-aging and overall health benefits...so much so that 'EGCG' has become a health marketing buzzword for tea companies. Here's where Matcha is really unprecedented: Matcha contains exponentially higher amounts of EGCG than regular brewed green tea (including high-quality fresh Sencha green tea). Matcha also has over 33 times the antioxidant levels of antioxidant powerhouse blueberries(!)...hard to believe, but real.

So if you're looking for a great way to get a veritable blast of antioxidants (not to mention EGCG, vitamins, minerals, etc.), boost your brain with Zen-like concentration and physical benefits, it's hard to beat Matcha. And you can't get that with a tea bag.

A word of warning: not all Matcha is created equal! There are many non-Japanese (as well as Japanese) products out there called 'Matcha' that are often nothing more than powdered low-quality green tea, or worse, a mixture of ingredients with artificial green coloring(!). The stone grinding method is also very important, as low-quality Matcha is sometimes 'exploded' instead of stone-ground, reducing the health properties.

For more details on Matcha, check out our BrainReady Blog article on Matcha!

agave maybe not so healthy

during my many travels and discussions with many manufactures of raw/healthy foods the use of agave seems to be on the rise. many believing it to be better than sugar. At a local market today a stall holder was advising customers it was suitable for diabetics.
Sorry sugar is sugar and agave is almost 100% sugar.
But the agave manufacturing world has done a great marketing job.
This link gives a pretty good techical balance of the facts about agave
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/agave.html

must be summer soon , big days of ice tea production

its been an ice tea day with production of the new revised sugar free, lemongrass & ginger recipe for a cleaner more  refreshing flavour. Without xylitol, and no laxative side effects

55% Fijian dark chocolate

Day 2 of more work on Fijian chocolate very complex cocoa to work with to get the best flavour profiles. Finally got a butter smooth texture off the Pasal refiner running a roll gap of 15 micron.
Which with a 55% cocoa content produced a choc with mild choc tones building to fruity grapefruit/persimmon back notes.

Pu-erh mini cake

Just received notice that the shipment has left of 2009 mini Pu-erh cakes. These are 3g mini bricks ideal for 1 pot of tea. Also included are samples of black tea puerh, green  and flavour puerh

Puerh mini cakes 2009

In stock soon 2009 Puerh mini vintage tea bricks. the ultimate in tea, aged to reveal the great aged flavour of tea. These mini cakes (6g) are fro Yunnan ,China the home of century old tea trees

join us for Tastes of GC

                                                

                Bean & Leaf presents

   COFFEE – TEA – CHOCOLATE

  A CELEBRATION OF EVERYTHING COFFEE, TEA & CHOCOLATE

         WITH DAILY TASTINGS AND DEMONSTRATIONS OF BOTH

                        REGIONAL AND SINGLE ORIGIN PRODUCTS

COFFEE  - Sept 3^rd. – Sept 8^th.

 Daily tastings of Australian and international single origin coffee from leading Queensland roasters.

With coffee from Byron hinterland, along with exotic coffees from Ethiopia, Sumatra & Columbia brewed in a variety of ways to reveal the unique tastes of each region and terroir.

Then join our coffee trail to sample coffee from

                                  GC leading barista's & cafes

CHOCOLATE - Sept 9^th.- Sept 14^th.

 Sample single origin & regional chocolate and cacao’s including rare heritage varieties.

Including the first 100% Australian Daintree Chocolate grown in Nth Queensland.

TEA – Sept 15^th.- 17^th

Rare vintage teas , herbal and origin teas from China, Taiwan, Ceylon and the Himalaya’s showcased daily along with ice teas and chai tea beverages. Then follow on to High Tea at the Red Frog Cafe, Burleigh

      Where; shop 11, 3 Deodar Drive, Burleigh Heads

Spanish Hot Chocolate

New release Spanish Hot chocolate- South American cacao (30%) blended to produce rich, decadent hot chocolate.
Best served in small tulip cups
Italian Hot Chocolate- Dark Red African cocoa 30% blended for this Euro classic hot chocolate thick and ultra smooth

stockholm tea

now in stock Stockholm tea based on the original Swedish tea recipe of black tea, dried apricot, vanilla, calendula flowers, rose petal, blue cornflowers

organic Vanuatu cocoa

looking forward this week to a new shipment of Vanuatu cocoa beans. These beans are from a small grower co-op and have a nice nutty, earthy flavour with low astringency. Ideal for high % cocoa products and hot chocolates

Peruvian Criollo Chocolate

Roasted today organic Peruvian criollo cacao beans. Amazing rich aromatic fruity aromas and flavour once refined into liquid chocolate.

sample of arriba fino cocoa nibs arrived today

well finally arrived a sample of Aribba Fino cocoa nibs the rarest of cocoa, this is a heritage variety. roasted flavours are an exquisite nutty hazelnut with top notes of roasted fig.
Can't wait to refine into the final chocolate

for the ultimate hot choc topping or cappuccino- shaved dark couverture chocolate

for winter release dark couverture chocolate thinly shaved for topping cappuccino or hot chocolate

new arrival- new autumn season Gaba oolong

just arrived new season harvest of hand picked organic Gaba oolong from the Ali Shan mountains
See below the benefits of this amazing tea

GABA OOLONG TEA

Gaba Tea (Gamma-amino butyric acid )
GABA Tea is a natural healthy tea which is  rich in r-amino butyric...

Gaba Tea (Gamma-amino butyric acid )
GABA Tea is a new natural healthy tea which is rich in r-amino butyric acid which was found inadvertently by Dr.Tsushida Tojiro from Japan's National Tea Experiment station in 1987, when he was doing research for the Amino acid metabolism of tea. He noticed that tea leaf contain the rich Glutamic Acid which could transform into r-amino butyric acid and aspartic acid transform into Alanine Acid.
It is a miracle finding GABA tea. As it is different to the tradition way of producing tea. Because tea usually is produced in an oxygen rich atmosphere, but GABA tea is produced in nitrogen-rich atmosphere.
Many clinical studies have shown that the ingestion of GABA releases growth hormones, especially after exercise, with remarkable effectiveness. The release of growth hormone is known to increase lean body mass. Consequently, Gaba tea is an invaluable nutritional supplement for body builders, power lifters, runners, martial artists, and athletes of all types.
In addition, because of its calming and soothing effects, GABA also lowers blood pressure, helps control hypoglycaemia, prevents anxiety and promotes restful sleep. To an extent, it also regulates appetite, which is helpful in maintaining optimal weight.
All tea has health-promoting compounds, but GABA tea has the highest concentration of anti-oxidants, including catechins, flavanoids, and polyphenols. Anti-oxidants are helpful in fighting many types of disease including: cancer, Parkinson's disease, senility, drug-induced deafness, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.
Here is a list of some of the recognized benefits of GABA.
- Reduces high blood pressure
- Stress and anxiety relief
- Deceases hypertension
- Increases mental alertness
- Increases memory retention
- Increases energy levels & exercise endurance
- Weight loss
- Anti-bacterial
- Alleviates alcoholic withdrawal symptoms
- Prevents and cures hangovers
- Anti aging properties
- Improves sleep quality
Source – Ali Shan Mountains Taiwan
 Season ; Autumn crop