Unless you have been living under a rock chances are that you are aware  that the launch of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is this weekend in theatres across Canada and the United States. I can’t go anywhere without hearing family, friends, strangers, or the guy at Blockbuster talking about this film. Not to mention the countless tv, radio, and billboard ads that have been flooding our homes as of late.

The media is already in a buzz about this movie, with newspapers and critics alike bestowing praise on Burton’s vision of Alice. If you want to check out a scene I’ve posted it in a previous blog.

Here at Herbal Infusions we’ve been buzzing about this movie too. And in fine tea fashion to celebrate we have blended up a fabulous Alice in Wonderland inspired blend called Mad Hatter’s tea. Its a wildly citrus blend of apple, pineapple, apricots, stevia, and either an orange pekoe oolong or black tea. It’s available right now on our website (while we have it in stock!) and also at our shop at Mapleview Mall.

Mad Hatter's Tea

Pick Up Our Flyer at Cineplex’s Silvercity Burlington

The Silvercity Burlington will be playing Alice in Wonderland starting tomorrow morning. We have teamed up to offer anyone in the area a fantastic deal: bring us a copy of our flyer (you can pick one up at the box office or print it out below) and get a free tea shot! You can also pick up some of our amazing Mad Hatter’s tea blend as we will have some on hand.

So it’s cold & flu season. Bleh. I’ve already survived a run in with H1N1 (aka swine flu or Hamthrax) back in October…it was a mild case but still would have preferred not to get it. And over the weekend I noticed a little *tickle* in the back of my throat. Uh-oh. Time to take some precautionary steps. I already take multi vitamins, drink lots of fluids, excercise on a constant basis but sometimes it’s inevitable. Well not this time…nope. No way. Like the great Jesse Ventura (in Predator) once said ‘I ain’t got time to bleed’.

False alarm. Must have been my constant chatting as of late. Well it gave me the opportunity to test out a mouth rinse that I came across that incorporated tea.  I dug into my vaults and retrieved this great recipe that uses chai tea. The spicy notes of the chai (cardamom, anise, ginger) really help to freshen your breath.

Chai Mouth Wash

• 2 drops clove oil
• 2 drops cinnamon oil
• 2-3 tbsp vodka
• 1 1/2 cups distilled water
• 1/2 cup brewed chai tea

Combine the clove and cinnamon oil with the vodka in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Pour in the water and chai, then mix well. Use about a tablespoon at a time and refridgerate the rest. Can be stored for about a week in the fridge.

I’ve read and been told many differing recommendations for how much water a person should drink in a day.  Can you drink too much? How much should I drink to lose weight? These are common questions about the oldest beverage in history and a vital link to every living thing.

8 Glasses a day – is this enough?

It really depends on what your goals are.  If you are looking to maintain your current weight and be properly hydrated then 8 glasses is a good rule to follow.  However there are many variables that can alter this amount – your age, weight, and physical activities should all be taken into account.  For a 2,000 calorie diet eight glasses is about right, but if your caloric intake is less or more then it should be adjusted accordingly.  A good rule of thumb is one milliliter of water for every calorie consumed per day.

Signs that you may be dehydrated:

• Headaches, dark yellow urine, dry mouth, difficulty concentrating, and feeling sick after a workout
• Hungry – sometimes this can be confused with being dehydrated as the signals that our bodies give off for both feelings are similar in nature.  Give a glass a water a try before reaching for a bite to eat.

A kick of flavor without the added calories

Some days I find it more of a chore to try to chug back my daily water requirements.  Instead of cutting it short I prefer to reach for some quick non (or low) calorie options:

• Spa in a bottle: Toss in some citrus fruits (orange, lemon, lime slices) and fresh mint.
• Slice and dice: cucumbers and cranberries are fantastic
• Herbal Iced teas: many herbal teas taste great chilled and add little or no calories. We recommend this berry tea.
• Frozen berries: as they defrost they slowly infuse their flavors into your water – and keep it chilled longer.

Water Intoxication: Is it real?

Well technically yes, it is possible to have too much water. Also referred to as water poisoning or hyper hydration, an excess of water can break down the levels of electrolytes in your body- leading to unnecessary stress on your heart and ultimately to a heart attack.  A rare occurrence but it has happened in the past.  Sticking to 8 to 10 glasses of water a day is well within the safe zone of water hydration.

So here is a story you don’t hear about everyday:  It turns out that the Chinese Department of Health has been conducting under cover surveillance at herbal tea shops and found that some were lacing their tea blends with what they describe as ‘Western Drugs’.

Lab tests showed the presence of two drugs: Paracetamol and Chlorpheniramine

Paracetamol, or what we here in the West refer to as acetaminophen – aka Tylenol, a common drug available over-the-counter to help relieve pain and fever.  Although many people will agree that it is generally a safe drug for short term relief, over exposure has been linked to liver damage (since it is processed through the liver)

Chlorpheniramine is an antihistamine that blocks the naturally producing histamines in the body, and is used to control allergies and common cold symptoms (such as itching, sneezing, and runny nose).  It is also not recommended to be used by breastfeeding mothers as it can pass through the milk and harm the baby.

It’s a sad reality to see that even in China local shop owners are  trying to get a ‘heads up’ on their local competitors by trying to enhance their products.  Maybe they weren’t aware of the side effects or didn’t care if people were reporting illnesses.   Or maybe they were.  Reminds me a lot of a story I read where Red Bull was found to containe trace amounts of cocaine .

It goes to show you that regardless of what the product is the practice of trying to get a one up on competitors has been going on for ages.

Snake Oil Anyone?

A few years back I had the pleasure of visiting the West Coast with my wife.  Since we were there for a wedding and had some time to explore BC we seized the opportunity to take in as much as we could.  It was there that we had our first London Fog Latte, and I was hooked!  London Fog has been prepared a variety of ways but has a few basics in common- a tea base, steamed milk, and sweetened.

It’s exciting to see that larger tea houses are now promoting the benefits of tea and showcasing some creative infusions including tea lattes and infusions.  I am not so excited however that they cost so much compared to what it would cost to do it at home.  The great news is that all it takes is a few minutes to prepare.

This version of the London Fog (aka Earl Grey Vanilla Misto) is more like a hybrid of the Seattle Fog since we use a tea concentrate derived from steeping loose leaf tea in a small amount of water.

Oh and since we’re not a fan of the sugary syrups we scrapped the vanilla syrup and replaced it with Agave nectar and a dash of vanilla extract

Here is a list of what you will need:

• Loose Leaf Tea – Dorian Grey Blend (its our version of Earl Grey but along with Bergamot contains apple pieces, elderblossom, linden and mallow flowers, daisy white, cornflower petals, and a subtle caramel finish) or Buckingham Palace (black tea, jasmine, cornflower petals, and bergamot).  I find both to be not as overpowering as straight Earl Grey and have a few more layers of complexity to them.
• tea infuser/pot
• whisk (I found one at my local dollar store that works surprisingly well)
  
• agave Nectar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 cups water

For a garnish I like to add the following:

• 1 Honey Stick
  
• cinnamon powder

First things first- get that water to a rolling boil.  Once its boiling add the loose leaf tea to your teapot and allow it to steep for 3-5 minutes. This is also a good time to add the agave nectar and vanilla extract. Take 1 cup of milk and heat it (stove top of microwave).  Whisk until you get plenty of bubbles.  Take your steeped tea and pour into your mugs (I shoot for about half way- this is my preferred ratio of milk to tea!) followed by the steamed milk.  Scoop some extra milk foam on top and garnish with half a honey stick (1 stick = 1 tsp) and cinnamon (I’m almost neurotic about putting the honey on first before the cinnamon as I find the milk froth stays longer if you put a thin layer of honey on top).

Serves 2.  About 100 calories each

Share your comments with us and let us know how it turned out , or if you have tried this with other types of tea.  I have had it with peppermint and also substituted almond extract (the nutty-ness of the almond extract pairs well with Earl Grey)

An article released by the AP is now claiming that obesity is ’socially contagious’. It kinda surprised me that even those who lived far far away from each other but had close relationships still gained mucho weight. Personally I think that lifestyle has a lot to do with it- if all your friends (or rather the majority) are Twinkie-eating, movie watching aficionados then my bet is that you’d prefer to partake in their activities, if no other reason than to be in their company.

On the other hand, if you’re naturally a Twinkie/movie fan and susceptible to gorging yourself in the aforementioned and you happen to have friends that are more active then chances are you might not participate in those activities as much as you might like. Introducing a few healthy options (more greens, smaller portions, no trans fat, green tea rather than coffee, etc) is a great start to decreasing your chance of hanging with the ‘wrong crowd’, and might even help you change some ‘bad habits’ from those you care about the most.

The full article can be found at [Forbes Online]