Skip to main content

The green tea phenomenon - Part II

I've started writing 3 different posts on 3 different subjects this past week, but haven't finished any of them. I just don't seem to have any drive to inform the world of what is going on in my life.  And who really cares anywaze?

So instead today, while I sip a bit of green tea this morning, I thought I would discuss some of the things I've learned, during this past week or so, about drinking the good stuff, i.e "real" green tea, not the stuff from Trader Joe's or Fresh and Easy, but the loose leaf variety, that actually looks green after brewing.

The best thing I've discovered so far is the extra caffeine, I've been getting, hasn't resulted in any heart palpitations, and I've drank over 40 cups this week.

But more importantly I think I've finally come up with the perfect brewing technique to optimize flavor and EGCG intake.

  • I use two (2) grams of tea for every eight (8) oz of water, and I don't reuse the tea leaves.

  • I use only filtered water. (The Brita water dispenser works great for that purpose.)

  • I heat the water to just below the boiling temperature, about 200°F. [Now boiling the water is supposed to optimize the extraction of EGCG, but for the best taste the water should be heated to between 175°F and 195°F, depending on the particular green tea you have chosen, so I decided to compromise.]

  • Next, I brew the tea for 5 to 7 minutes. [This is also another compromise, since the optimum brewing time for taste is 1 to 2 minutes, but to optimize EGCG extraction, brewing time should be 5 to 10 minutes. So to make up for the lower water temperature, I go a little longer on the brewing time, which seems about right, and I feel comfortable I'm getting the most EGCG, without compromising taste.]

  • And finally, I discovered it is important to use a good filtering (infusing) system for brewing the tea. [Contrary to the review I read, the ingenuiTEA (by Adaigio) just doesn't do the trick. The loose leaves clog up the filtering system, resulting in slow drainage into the cup, and lots of loose leaves entering into the cup as well (which results in a bitter taste after a while). So I went and bought two of these infuser cups (one for work and one for home), which were recommended by some one I consider very knowledgeable on the subject of brewing green tea.]


Ok, hopefully that was informative for everyone.

Now I can go have breakfast, and start gettiing ready for my morning bike ride, confident in the knowledge I have performed my self imposed requirement to post at least weekly to my blog, no matter how benign the post may be.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My concerns reaffirmed today

When I was first diagnosed with MCL, I pretty much read just about everything I could get my hands on, I attended various conferences, and I talked to anyone who would listen. One of the most important lessons I learned, and which I've mentioned numerous times before was No one cares more about you than you. But in addition to that, I learned to fear the drug Doxorubicin , AKA Adriamycin, Doxil, Hydroxydoxorubicin, or more affectionately the Red Devil. Besides being a deadly chemical, as is the case with most chemotherapy drugs, it is one of the few chemotherapy drugs known to cause permanent heart damage. I even heard Dr. Sandra Horning , a noted Stanford lymphoma specialist, state at the first lymphoma conference I attended in LA, there was no evidence Doxorubicin provided any added benefit to chemotherapy protocols. This was music to my ears, since Doxorubicin is very common in most lymphoma treatment protocols. And even though Dr. Horning has since changed her tune [which my sk...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bowling: A metaphor on life [sorta]

Over the past 15+ years the game of bowling has changed dramatically. Not only has the equipment changed, making it easier for bowlers of all ages and physical conditions to participate, and score well, but there have even been major advances to how the lanes are prepared for the start of bowling. No longer is it just heavy oil, light oil, long oil, short oil, or no oil, with the latest equipment, the amount of oil can be varied from front to back and side to side, producing a myriad of patterns designed to make the game more interesting, more challenging and as you might surmise, more frustrating. No longer does the "one ball fits all" approach work any more either. In order to navigate all the differing possible lane conditions, you need to have a varied selection of bowling balls. Most pros will tell you the average bowler needs 3 balls, plus a ball for spares, but to be an above average bowler you'll need at least 6 balls, with many possessing more than that. But just...
1 comment
Read more

Fatigue! Part II - Maybe it is real?

Or it's actually Motivational Deficiency Disorder, MoDeD (pronounced Mo-Dee-Dee) for short. In a report this week by Roy Moynihan who reports for the British Medical Journal Austrailian scientists may have come across the reason for extreme laziness . The condition is claimed to affect up to one in five Australians and is characterised by overwhelming and debilitating apathy. Neuroscientists at the University of Newcastle in Australia say that in severe cases motivational deficiency disorder can be fatal, because the condition reduces the motivation to breathe. Neurologist Leth Argos is part of the team that has identified the disorder, which can be diagnosed using a combination of positron emission tomography and low scores on a motivation rating scale, previously validated in elite athletes. "This disorder is poorly understood," Professor Argos told the BMJ. "It is underdiagnosed and undertreated." Who knew? Maybe I have MoDeD, from my attempts to become a...
Post a Comment
Read more