Brew Issue 4 December 2020

DECEMBER 2020

Brew

Brew, Sip, Share

In this Issue: How do you like your tea?

Trust your gut Festive love from Hibiscus

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ISSUE

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table of contents Join the #brewcrew Follow us @UKTalkingTea on Twitter and Instagram

p.3 Welcome to Brew

p.4 I like it like that....

Our Chief Executive talks about trying new teas

p.8 Tea- Trusting Your Gut Guest Article by Poppy Loves

p.12 Christmas with Tea & Infusions

p.14 Guest Editorial: Dr Carrie Ruxton Tea Advisory Panel Radiant in Red. Festive Love from Hibiscus

p.17 Training and Masterclasses

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UK TEA & INFUSIONS ASSOCIATION

Welcome to issue four of Brew. The e-zine for teas and infusions enthusiasts everywhere.

The United Kingdom Tea and Infusions Association (UKTIA) is a trade association and the voice for the British Tea, Herbal and Fruit Infusions industry.

Part of our work is to promote tea and infusions and we encourage you to visit our website www.tea.co.uk to find more about the history of tea, the diversity of herbal infusions and how to make the perfect brew www.tea.co.uk/make-a-perfect-brew.

To get regular updates follow us on Twitter or Instagram @UKTalkingTea.

We would like to wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year. Let's raise our cuppas to a better 2021!

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I like it like that.....

Sharon Hall, Chief Executive, UKTIA

This year has been anything but normal and I for one have certainly missed inviting people round for a cup of tea and a chat. In those good old days the kettle would go on, followed by the standard question, how do you take your tea? In the UK this generally means do you want milk and sugar in your black tea, but increasingly we are exploring new teas and infusions.

A new independent survey of more than 2000 adults across the UK, commissioned by the UKTIA (the UK Tea and Infusions Association) – the authority on tea - has found that younger adults have rediscovered their love of tea during lockdown [1].

[1] Independent research, Autumn 2020, with 2,019 randomly selected adults age 18+ via Maru/BLUE (MVUK) UK. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current data on age, gender, and region, from the most recent census data, to ensure the sample is representative of the entire adult population of the GB.

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A good Builders’ Brew, is defined in the Urban Dictionary as a strong black tea with milk and prepared in a mug, instead of a teapot.

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Interestingly, younger consumers in their twenties and thirties are being more adventurous with their tea choices. Around four in ten tried new teas during lockdown – including herbal infusions for immunity, teas with added vitamins and different flavours of teas.

In contrast, consumers aged 45 years plus (like me) are more likely to stick to family favourites – such as regular black tea – as nine out of ten said they were happy with their usual brew.

WE LOVE TEA. BREW FACTS: Overall, 86% of adults are now tea drinkers – a rise of nine percentage points since a major government survey in 2000 [1].

This equates to an extra 1 million tea drinkers [2].

Around half (53%) are drinking tea daily, rising to more than 60 per cent in the over 55s.

[1] Henderson L et al. (2002) National Diet and Nutrition Survey: adults aged 19 to 64 years. FSA: London.

[2] Calculated as 86% of adult population in 2020 minus 77% of adult population in 2000 = 1.1 million adults now classed as tea drinkers.

I had long been addicted to a good Builders’ Brew, defined in the Urban Dictionary as a strong black tea with milk and prepared in a mug, instead of a teapot. Traditionally, it’s the brew of choice for construction workers and tradesmen and having recently had builders working on our house, let me tell you, they can drink a lot of tea!!

Whilst my dedication to a strong cuppa with milk prevails, what a privilege it has been to work in the tea industry these past few years and to learn about the many and varied types of teas and their wonderful tastes and aromas.

Whilst I still drink at least four mugs of English Breakfast with milk every day (no sugar thank you, I’m sweet enough), my tea repertoire has extended to fill an entire kitchen cupboard, with the threat of further expansion. These days you are just as likely to find me sipping a Wuyi Oolong and commenting on its rich and buttery taste, lifted by caramel sweetness and subtle floral notes, as you are to catch me dunking a biscuit into my Builders’ Brew.

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It is all tea and as a tea advocate I love encouraging others to drink the tea they like, just as they like it, while politely suggesting they occasionally step outside of their comfort zone, as I have done, to try something new. I hope that our builders, to whom I have given first flush Darjeeling, Dragon Well and several Oolongs, as well as plenty of strong English Breakfast blend, have become tea advocates too.

It is Christmas and if there was ever a year in which we all deserved a treat, this is it! So why not explore the wonderful world of tea and infusions and see how you like it!

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year! from Sharon Hall, Chief Executive, UKTIA 7

TEA – TRUSTING YOUR GUT Poppy Loves

We are pleased to bring you a guest editorial from Poppy Loves. A London lifestyle blogger, with an emphasis on food, fashion and travel.

In this article Poppy Loves explores the gut-boosting benefits of drinking tea.

The hardest thing that I have found over the last few months, is the feeling of having had the rug pulled from beneath my feet. And not just the rug, but all the small things too, that made up such an enormous part of my life and brought me little blasts of joy throughout the day – they have just vanished into thin air, like a puff of smoke.

Meeting a friend in a café, popping round to a neighbour for a natter, dinners with friends, mooches in museums and lazy pub evening with pals… all seem to have been gobbled up by the COVID-19 Monster and it has, at times, left me feeling rather bereft.

A sense of sadness, limbo and unsettledness have all merged into my being since February and we have all been on this extraordinary roller coaster journey together.

I realised quite quickly that I was going to need to find my joy in other places, as being miserable and glum was not a vibe that was appealing. And actually, once I started looking, I realised that so many of my small rituals already bring me great amounts of joy – I just hadn’t noticed.

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Having a lie-in, watching re-runs of The Gilmore Girls, taking part in an online Pilates class, batch cooking and doing a jigsaw (anyone got any they can recommend?!) have all been bringing me levels of joy, happiness and peace that I wouldn’t have considered. And a huge part of these, um, activities (I’m using that term loosely – I’m pretty much stationary) is that my mind can be still. They are meditative in their own ways.

A big one for me was always having a cuppa with a friend. Taking that time to stop, put the kettle on and have a proper natter. The tea-break seems like rather a dusty tradition, but actually, it’s one of my most important. And just because I can’t see a friend in person, making the time for a zoom and a cup of tea with a friend or family member has been one of my main saving graces this lockdown.

It’s not just my mind that tea is helping to keep in check, it also does wonders for the gut, which is no surprise when you consider how calming and comforting it is. Often called the ‘second brain’, our guts are involved in a mindboggling number of processes that keep our bodies ticking over as they should.

And tea is one of the most magical and important things we can drink to help it do its job effectively and fight the fight of the good bacteria versus the bad.

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Things like lowering the risk of infection, reducing inflammation, lowering our cholesterol and improving bone density – it’s tea to the rescue and with every sip I slurp, I take great comfort in the knowledge that it’s doing an amazing job, not just for my mind and mental wellbeing, but for my gut and body too.

The Tea Advisory Panel has recently released a new report all about gut health and why it’s so important, and it has revealed that by protecting our gut health means we are also protecting ourselves from chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Just by eating fewer ultraprocessed foods and instead choosing more food and drink that are rich in natural probiotics, is a great way to keep our gut bacteria healthy.

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Fermented foods and probiotic drinks also contain live and beneficial bacteria, so scoffing yogurt, pickles, miso and kefir are excellent choices. And again, if you want to reach for your favourite mug, why not make yourself a fermented drink – kombucha! It can easily be made from green or black tea.

So, if you’re feeling a bit frazzled or lockdown is getting you down, book in some time online with a friend. Make yourself a cuppa, and take a breath.

Talk about the silly stuff. The good stuff. The important stuff. You’ll be giving your heart, mind and gut a well-deserved boost.

Poppy Loves: Top 10 London Lifestyle Blogger (Vuelio 2015 - 2020) Top 25 London Lifestyle Influencers to follow on Instagram - Evening Standard Poppy is also the founder of Poppy Loves Book Club You can follow Poppy Loves at www.poppyloves.co.uk Follow on Instagram www.instagram.com/poppy_loves_london/ 11

Christmas Cheer with Tea & Infusions

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Mulled Wine with Tea As it is not possible for most of us to visit Christmas markets this year why not recreate the experience at home by making this mulled wine with tea recipe.

Mulled wine is typically made with good but inexpensive red wine sweetened with sugar and flavoured with various spices, including cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, among others.

Ingredients 750 ml strongly brewed tea 150 cup sugar 1 orange, peel and juice 2 sticks cinnamon, 12 gratings nutmeg 5 cloves 2 star anise 5 cardamom pods 1 750-ml bottle red wine Start with a strong brew of tea, either Earl Grey or Assam. The tea adds a more complex flavour and keeps the drink from getting way too potent. Simmer with sugar, orange rind and juice, and the spices. Pour in the wine and simmer just until it is hot. Any longer would evaporate all the alcohol, reducing the Christmas cheer!

Serve with gingerbread and mince pies.

Bring the tea to a simmer in a medium pot. Add orange peel and juice, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom. Simmer gently until the sugar is dissolved and the orange rind has taken on the colour of the wine, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and bring the mixture to a simmer. Ladle the mulled wine into mugs and add a cinnamon stick to each for a stirrer.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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Rooibos poached pears INGREDIENTS 10 Rooibos teabags 1.5 litres water 250ml honey 8 pears, peeled (keep stem intact) 80g white sugar For the cardamom cream: 250ml double cream 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Place the rooibos teabags, water and honey in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then add the pears and bring the liquor back up to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer gently for approx. 60 minutes, or until the pears are soft but still firm.

Remove the pears from the pan and pour half the poaching liquid over the pears.

Bring the remaining liquid back to the boil, remove the teabags then add the sugar and boil until the liquid is reduced to a syrup. Set aside.

To make the cardamon cream whisk the cream and cardamom together until thick.

To serve place one pear in a bowl, top with a dollop of cardamom cream and a drizzle of the rooibos-honey reduction.

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GUEST EDITORIAL

Radiant In Red. Festive Love From Hibiscus

By Dr Carrie Ruxton Tea Advisory Panel (TAP)

We checked in with the Tea advisory Panel (TAP) about a new research review which has revealed that two to three cups of Hibiscus infusion daily could help lower blood pressure and boost our heart health. Here’s what Dr Carrie Ruxton from TAP had to say about the very latest research on Hibiscus tea.

We are used to hearing of the cardiovascular benefits provided by berries, oily fish and walnuts (to name just a few), however this tarttasting infusion of Hibiscus, needs to be on your heart health radar too, and pronto! So, how does Hibiscus tea help our hearts?

TAP’s exciting new study [1], which was led by medical herbalist Dr Chris Etheridge, found that regularly sipping of Hibiscus infusion can lead to an overall blood pressure reduction of 7.58 mmHg for systolic blood pressure and 3.53 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure.

[1] Dr Chris Etheridge, Dr Emma Derbyshire; Food & Nutrition Technology Journal; Hibiscus Tea and Health: A Scoping Review of Scientific Evidence Volume 6, issue 2; 27.7.2020

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Confused? To put these findings in context, a blood pressure reduction of 10 mmHg systolic or 5 mmHg diastolic is associated with a potential 22% average reduction in heart attacks and a 41% potential average reduction in strokes. It’s amazing to discover that simply drinking Hibiscus tea a few times a day may provide similar levels of benefit.

There is also evidence to suggest that Hibiscus infusion could help improve blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, inflammation and blood glucose control.

And that is not all. Hibiscus contains a class of polyphenols called anthocyanins, which are important for protecting our body’s cells from free radical damage.

In layman’s terms, free radicals can contribute to a whole host of health problems, not to mention affecting your skin tone, eyesight and risk of chronic health conditions 16

There are also a bunch of other benefits to this pink infusion…

1. It could stop you snacking…

Craving a biscuit, every day at 3pm? Us Brits consume more than 13 teaspoons of sugar every day, on average, and with sugar being a contributor towards a number of potentially life threatening health issues, curbing that sweet tooth can only be a good thing. Next time your appetite turns towards the sugary treats, reach for a mug of hot hibiscus infusion or a glass of iced hibiscus.

2. Might offer an immunity boost…

Hibiscus is filled with vitamin C, and if this year’s global pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that dosing up on vitamins is crucial to ensure we can stave off illness.

3. Could boost vitamin B12 levels This energy-boosting vitamin is often lacking in vegan or vegetarian diets however, research conducted on patients with vitamin B12 deficiency and neurological symptoms who were given a combination of hydroxocobalamin (a supplement used to treat B12 deficiency) and hibiscus infusion, found that vitamin injections were no longer required to normalise their B12 status. Ongoing work is now needed to further determine whether Hibiscus infusion could improve the bioavailability of nutrients.

Tea Advisory Panel member Dr Carrie Ruxton has a PhD in Child Nutrition and over 100 published articles on diet and health. She is an independent dietitian with more than 25 years’ experience in nutrition and health. Carrie publishes widely in scientific journals, textbooks and magazines, winning awards for her writing.

Carrie is also a regular contributor to national newspapers, magazines, radio and TV. teaadvisorypanel.com Check out: www.teaadvisorypanel.com 17

Training and Masterclasses Want to learn more about tea and herbals. Try one of these classes UK The UK Tea Academy provides an online Foundation course covering the basics of tea knowledge, as well as three levels of certification held in our London classroom or in an approved training centre in selected countries. Courses are progressive, with each certification better than the last. To qualify at levels two and three, you must have already completed the previous level with us.

See more here www.ukteaacademy.co.uk/ CANADA A TEA SOMMELIER is a trained and knowledgeable tea professional who has successfully completed the eight modules in the TAC TEA SOMMELIER TM/SM course at a college or online, and passed the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada certification examination. See more here www.teasommelier.com/ USA The Specialty Tea Institute (STI) is the educational division of the Tea Association of the U.S.A., Inc. and the leader in the education of tea professionals. STI created the USA’s first standardized and accredited tea education curriculum. Their Certified Training Programs, Levels I, II, III and IV, are held in conjunction with various food and beverage conferences throughout the country. Find more here http://stitea.org/

Coming soon!

Tea Masters Cup-UK UKTIA will be launching the UK heat of this international competition. Find out more here: www.tea.co.uk/uk-tea-masters-competition and follow us @UKTalkingTea for updates

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H A P P Y

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