The study that made the discovery

Xiaying Li, a researcher at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, alongside his colleagues, reviewed 19 studies, which included more than 1 million adults across 8 countries. They found out that the more cups of tea a person consumed daily, the more benefits they recorded. For example, participants in the study who drank one to three cups daily had a 4% drop in their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Those who consumed more per day had a higher percentage drop.

In a separate study published in August, researchers found that drinking two or more cups of black tea per day lowered the overall risk of death by 9% to 13% among 498,000 people in the U.K. during a 14-year period, as compared with those who drank no tea. The study also found a link between drinking multiple cups of tea per day and a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.

Are all teas equal then?

Short answer: yes.

The researchers believe that the polyphenols they contain, which are naturally-occurring compounds in plants with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, are the reason why tea can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and even heart disease and stroke.

Since all teas — with the exception of decaffeinated teas — have polyphenols, then it does not matter what type you choose to have: as long as you’re taking several cups daily, you are sure to reap its benefits.

But, if you are really particular, then the Wush Wush green tea which originates from Ethiopia has the highest polyphenol content. But, we cannot all have access to this type, so really, whether you love black tea, green tea, or oolong, at least 3 cups a day can help keep diabetes (type II) at bay.

Does it matter how you have your tea?

Maki Inoue-Choi, PhD, a staff scientist at the National Cancer Institute told NBC News that she and her colleagues found that adding milk or sugar did nothing to reduce the health benefits of teas. She however noted that the participants tended to use those ingredients sparingly.

“The sweetened tea from the store has a lot more sugar,” she said. “We should still follow the dietary guidelines to avoid too much sugar and too much saturated fat.”

Should we all be drinking more tea then?

If you already love drinking tea, then increasing your daily dose should not be a problem. And it does not hurt to take up tea drinking as a hobby if it isn’t already a part of your lifestyle.

However, it is not mandatory. And since more research would need to be carried out to back up the conclusion of existing studies, then drinking several cups of tea a day to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and improve your overall well-being is not so much an order as it is a suggestion.

The post We may all need to ‘Spill the Tea’ for a Healthier and Diabetes-Free Life first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

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There are thousands of different teas to pick from, although, traditionally, there are just three categories of teas which are: black tea, oolong tea, and green tea. Each differs from the other in taste, flavour, caffeine levels, and even the mode of preparation.

Black tea has a bold flavour and is a great accompaniment to creamy and sweet foods. Green tea isn’t oxidized and is commonly used for its purported health benefits. Oolong tea is somewhere between black and green tea. It’s partially oxidized and fermented, which brings out a deep, complex flavour and aroma.

Whatever type makes your cup, here are 10 luxury tea types you should look up this season.

Earl Grey Tea

It’s a very bright and refreshing tea that’s popular in the West. The earl grey tea has a citrus flavour that arises from the addition of synthetic bergamot oil. Bergamot is a bright orange fruit originally from the Mediterranean that gives the drink a fruity aroma while the taste excites the taste buds. Because earl grey is a black tea, it has caffeine levels similar to black teas.

Masala Chai

Masala Chai (ginger spiced tea) is another afternoon tea, made using black tea spiced with ginger. This is an evening tea, enjoyed with delicious snacks. Its popularity originates from India, where the preparation involves a few other methods. For example, you can add milk to it, use jaggery, or put some cane sugar.

Korean Yuzu Tea

Korean Yuzu tea is a traditional Korean beverage whose main ingredient is the Yuja fruit. The Yuja fruit is a citrus fruit almost similar to a lemon, with the ripest being orange in colour. With honey as the sweetener, it’s a healthy herbal tea for the treatment of colds and flu. Besides the ability to help with digestion problems, it’s generally a very tasty drink. It’s preferably taken in the morning and during winter.

Nettle Tea

Having an itchy skin after touching the stinging nettle is only one side of the coin. Otherwise, nettle is one of the best herbal infusions in tea. It improves the general wellness of the body. Some of the health benefits of nettle tea include providing folic acid, iron, magnesium, calcium, amino acids, and antioxidants. While you can make multiple cups of teas in a day, you shouldn’t exceed four cups of nettle tea daily. Apart from the herbal benefits of nettle tea, it’s a warming drink.

Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh tea is a tea that’s both fermented and oxidized. It has a deep espresso flavour and traditionally used to wash down heavy meals. Like green tea, its production involves ripening by using heat and moisture. Good quality pu-erh tea tastes slightly sweet and smooth. It tastes bitter with age. Therefore, when you are done having a heavy meal in the evening, pamper yourself with a glass of Pu-erh tea.

White Tea

Also known as the withered leaves and buds, white tea is sourced from young, springtime tea. This makes white tea more expensive than the other teas. When brewed, it has a floral fragrance and the colour is gold. It has a very delicate flavour. If not well brewed, its taste isn’t very pleasant. The tea isn’t allowed to undergo oxidation. Therefore, it’s a healthy drink.

And when finally, the rains give way to the blazing sun, these may come in handy

Raspberry Iced Tea

For a hot summer afternoon, enjoy a cup of chilled Raspberry iced tea. It’s a summertime drink prepared by blending two elements; sweet tea and an infusion of raspberries. Both black and green teas combine to make the sweet tea.

Mint Tea

Categorized more as a herbal tea than a spiced tea, this is a type of spiced tea. It’s primarily a decoction of mint leaves. It contains honey as a sweetener instead of sugar and is preferably taken in hot afternoons. It has a very refreshing taste. Since mint tea is a cooling drink, it tastes better when served cold and is popular in Morocco.

Iced Oolong Tea

Oolong teas are best served cold, unlike black teas. One oolong tea you should try is the oolong iced tea. It’s a semi-sweet and slightly sour drink. It’s healthier than black tea since its oxidation is partial. The tea requires a dab of honey because chilling a tea makes it lose some of its sweetness.

Iced Lemongrass tea

Also called the Thai Iced tea, it’s a refreshing and delicious tea made from lemongrass brew and is preferably served with ice. With a guided recipe, it’s quite easy to make. It contains a mixture of green tea leaves, sugar syrup, and kalamansi juice. The most important part of the brewing process that makes it unique is the crushing of the lemon stalk to release the essential oils.

Source: Luxury Travel Magazine

The post Love Your Cup of Tea? Try Out These Luxury Brews first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Love Your Cup of Tea? Try Out These Luxury Brews appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

Agriculture accounts for about a quarter of economic output, which the government wants to grow 6 percent a year, compared with 3.6 percent in 2017. The state is targeting 50 million kilograms of tea production, up from the 34 million kilograms harvested in the 12 months through June 2018 and 26.9 million kilograms a year earlier, Tea Board of Tanzania Director-General Nicholaus Mauya said in an interview.

“The nation will aim to add farmland under cultivation to 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres) by 2023, a 32 percent increase, he said. While it’s a major export commodity for the nation, tea lags tobacco, cashews, coffee and cotton in the amount of foreign exchange it earns, according to the statistics agency”.

“Tanzania’s tea is cultivated in five regions: Iringa, Njombe, Tanga, Mbeya and Kagera. “For now we are focusing to increase production in these areas before we can target new zones in the country,” Mauya said.

Neighboring Kenya, the world’s biggest exporter of black tea, projects production this year at 452 million kilograms. Tanzania sells the bulk of its tea at a weekly sale in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, the second-biggest such auction in the world. Annually, it exports an average of 7,000 metric tons and 10,000 tons through Mombasa, he said.

Tanzania now intends to establish its own auction in Dar es Salaam, the nation’s commercial hub, which is also on the Indian Ocean coast, and is setting up warehouses for bulk storage, he said.

“The plan is still at a primary stage,” Mauya said. “We are currently working to establish a tea trading center.” The nation also plans to increase exports to markets that consume tea produced through the cut, tear and curl process, while also targeting new destinations such as Russia and Pakistan, Mauya said. The CTC method passes leaves through rollers that crush, tear and coil them into small tight pellets.

Source: Bloomberg

The post Tanzania Seeks To Increase Tea Productivity first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Tanzania Seeks To Increase Tea Productivity appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

Following these tips would help support your body’s natural detoxifying processes:

1. Hydrate

Drink water in between meals, and always carry a refillable bottle with you. You should be drinking half your body weight in ounces. So if your weight is 110 pounds, you should be drinking around 55 ounces of water a day. Remember that fruits and vegetables contain water and also serve to hydrate and cleanse our body.

2. Drink lemon water

To extend water’s benefit, add lemon to it. Lemons are alkaline in your body and help purify the liver.

3. Add coconut oil

Start consuming coconut oil. It speeds the metabolism and promotes gut balance. Use about a tablespoon a day, by adding it to your smoothies, as cooking oil, and even putting it in coffee – yup, it’s a thing!

4. Sweat

Exercising for at least 20-30 minutes a day – at least three days a week – helps rid your body of unwanted toxins in the blood. Sweat is one of the best detoxifying strategies! Another way to sweat away toxins is enjoying time in a sauna.

5. Sleep

Sleep cannot be emphasized enough! Use an eye mask or blackout curtains to help you get a good night’s rest. If you’re feeling restless, try to drink a cup of chamomile tea before bed or warm a cup of almond milk with cinnamon. Turn off the television and electronics an hour or so before bedtime, and read a relaxing book.

Vegetables

6. Eat whole foods and foods high in antioxidants

Whole foods, such as vegetables and fruit, are cleansing for the liver and gastrointestinal system. They require little effort to break down and accelerate your body’s natural ability to detox. Foods high in antioxidants – such as blueberries and green tea – are anti-inflammatory, and their high levels of antioxidants help rid the body of toxins.

7.Get rid of stress

Choose calming activities that will help you decompress and decrease the effects of stress in the body. Stress disrupts our bodies’ ability to detoxify. As you choose activities such as meditation, writing, yoga, massage, exercise – or anything that helps wind you down – you are naturally helping the body get rid of toxins.

8. If you can’t pronounce it, you shouldn’t eat it

Read the labels on whatever you buy. If the product has ingredients you can’t pronounce or haven’t heard of, you might be better off not buying it. Try to stick to whole foods. Choose food that makes you feel good after it is consumed. For example, if dairy makes you sluggish and bloated, eliminate it from your diet for a few days, and see how you feel without it before re-introducing it into your diet; the same thing applies with red meat, wheat, etc.

Once you adopt these detox strategies, with time you will notice how much better you feel. Your body and mind will thank you.

Source: Rewireme.com

The post Detoxifying the Natural Way first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Detoxifying the Natural Way appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

Swaady Martin who describes herself as an Afropolitan, envisioned a business that, all at once, would promote and preserve African culture thus YSWARA is structured on an inclusive business model that focuses on keeping the value add in Africa such that all contributors of the supply chain are beneficiaries of the economic value of the products. This concept, the Luxe Ubuntu, is based off the South African belief, Ubuntu, – “I am because We are” – signifying that all humanity is an integral part of others.

In keeping with this desire to enhance Africa and African lives with its business, YSWARA insists on being 100% African. In an interview with Forbes Magazine, Swaady Martin states that “more than 80% of its raw materials are sourced in Africa, 95% of the finished value of the product is Made in Africa, 86% of its suppliers are Africans and 43% of them are woman-managed or owned, and 100% of its employees are women.”

YSWARA currently has the world’s largest collection of fine African teas sourced mainly from Malawi, Kenya and Ethiopia. Its teas are served in luxurious destinations around the world, including The Saxon Hotel in South Africa, where Nelson Mandela completed his autobiography, Long Road to Freedom. Currently, YSWARA teas are available in 4 countries- Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa and France.

YSWARA offers over 20 unique teas in 4 collections- Kingdoms of Africa; Queens of Africa; Seven Wonders of Africa; and African Values. YSWARA range from black, white and green teas blends to the more striking infusions of Pu-Erh, Rooibos and Oolong. Its signature tea “Ör des Anges” is a fusion of rare peony white tea from Southern Malawi’s Satemwa Estate, blended with precious 22-carat edible gold petals.

YSWARA desired to create the perfect tea moment for the tea lover. Thus, in addition to the teas, YSWARA offers various tea accessories- tea sets, exquisite organic gilded spoons by South African designer, Pamela Schroeder, and a colletion of soy massage candles, “Johari La Africa”, each crafted to smell like a different African city to take you on an olfactory trip from Lagos to Nairobi.

Although, known for its unique and exciting tea blends and complimentary accessories, YSWARA is not a tea only company. YSWARA also offers an assortment of gourmet chocolates, home ware, spoons, home fragrances and artisan jewellery. Its goal is to be Africa’s premiere luxury brand and with its emphasis on producing excellent Made in Africa products, it is poised to be a standard of African elegance and refinement.

YSWARA teas are not only a unique blend of truly exceptional teas, they are a celebration of African culture, history, tradition and topography. YSWARA teas inculcate the authenticity and depth of Africa’s rich, vibrant culture and are committed to give you a true taste of Africa’s diversity in every cup. In an Yswara tea moment, we hear the songs not just of what was, but also of what is and is becoming.

The post The Perfect Tea first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post The Perfect Tea appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.