The story of tea drinking

The story of tea begins over four and a half thousand years ago. According to Chinese mythology, in 2737 BC the Chinese Emperor, Shen Nung, scholar and herbalist, was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water. A leaf from the tree dropped into the water and Shen Nung decided to try the brew. The tree was a wild tea tree.

From the earliest times tea was renowned for its properties as a healthy, refreshing drink. By the third century AD many stories were being told and some written about tea and the benefits of tea drinking, but it was not until the Tang Dynasty (618 AD - 906 AD) that tea became China's national drink and the word ch'a was used to describe tea.

Tea drinking has been practiced throughout the world for hundreds of years. From the imperial court of ancient China to the Russian tea room, from the Japanese tea ceremony to British village tea shops, the soothing, healing and invigorating effects of tea have been appreciated and understood by many peoples.

Tea is a naturally refreshing drink and taken on its own it has no calories, so it's the perfect drink to keep you looking good and feeling fit. When taken with milk, four cups of tea a day can provide you with significant amounts of the following nutrients: approximately 17% of the recommended intake for calcium, 5% for zinc, 22% for Vitamin B2, 5% for folic acid, and Vitamins B1 and B6.

A cup of tea is also a good source of manganese, which is essential for general physical development, and potassium which helps to maintain your body's fluid balance.

All types of chinese teas explained

Probably you are familiar with the Chinese saying, “Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea are the seven necessities to begin a day.” Though tea is last on the list, we can still see how important the tea is for the Chinese.

There are actually thousand of Chinese tea varieties. These are usually classified by procedure, quality, and preparation methods and so on. However, if we will consider tea in terms of quality, there are actually eight classes of Chinese tea. These include green tea, oolong, black, red, white, yellow, flower, and compressed tea.

Now, let’s take a look at these classes one by one.

Green Tea

Green tea is said to be the most natural type of Chinese tea. It is usually picked, naturally dried and fried briefly to get rid of its grassy smell. Unlike the other types, green tea skipped fermentation process.

According to some experts, green tea has the most medicinal value and the least caffeine content of all Chinese tea classes. The aroma of this type of Chinese type range from medium to high, while the flavor is usually light to medium. Today, about 50% of China’s tea is green tea.

Oolong Tea

This type of Chinese tea is halfway between green tea and black tea in a sense that it is half fermented. Chinese also call it “Qing Cha” and its typical leaves are green in the middle and red on the edges as a result of the process to soften tea leaves.

Oolong tea leaves are basically withered and spread before undergoing a brief fermentation process. Then, it is fried, rolled and roasted.

Black Tea

The Chinese black tea produces full-bodied amber when brewed. Also, this type of Chinese tea undergoes withering, then left to ferment for a long while, and then roasted. The leaves of this variety become completely oxidized after processing.

Red Tea

As the name implies, this type of Chinese tea has red leaves and red tea color. This color is strongly highlighted during the fermentation process. It is also considered that red tea has low aroma and medium flavor and it is now divided into three subclasses: Kung Fu Red Tea, Ted Tea Bits, and Small Species Red Tea.

White Tea

This type of Chinese tea is sometimes considered as subclass of green tea. Perhaps it is for the fact that it is only withered and then roasted. Just like green tea, white tea escaped fermentation process. And, it has low caffeine content.

Yellow Tea

Apparently, yellow tea has yellow leaves and yellow tea color. According to some experts, this type of Chinese tea is an uncommon class of Chinese tea. The flavor of yellow tea is usually mild and refreshing.

Flower Tea

Here is a unique type of Chinese tea – the Flower tea. It actually subdivides into Flower Tea and Scented Tea. Well, the Flower Tea is just based on a simple concept that dried flowers are used, without much processing, to make tea. The Scented Tea, on the other hand, uses green tea and red tea as base and mix with scent of flowers. Generally, this class has light to medium flavor and medium to strong aroma.

Compressed Tea

The final type of Chinese tea is the compressed tea. This class uses black tea as base tea. It is steamed and compressed into bricks, cakes, columns, and other shapes. Also, compressed tea has all the characteristics of black tea. It can be stored for years and decades.

Make time for family meals

Whether it is running around to participate in after school activities or putting in overtime at work, a big challenge that families face is balancing the demands on their time. The slow-paced family dinners of past generations seem almost impossible in today's fast-paced society. Making family dinner a priority is not easy, but the long-term benefits are well worth the effort.

A family dinner offers a natural forum that fosters togetherness. It can become the highlight of the day and a way to build pleasant family memories. This time together can also give family members a chance to share their lives and to receive encouragement and support.

A great way to get the family excited about eating together is to serve something everyone loves to eat. What better way to bring the family to the table than with delicious, easy-to-prepare pizza. With the addition of two new frozen pizzas from Red Baron®, there is an abundance of pizza options to satisfy everyone's appetites.

Large enough to feed the hungriest family, The Big Baron™ Pizza is easy to make and oven bakes straight from the freezer in just 16 to 18 minutes. It is available in Pepperoni and 4 Cheese varieties.

To add convenience for the time-starved families, the Classic Crust Microwaveable Pizza offers a great-tasting pizza that cooks in just 31/2 minutes. It is available in 4 Cheese, Pepperoni, Supreme and Sausage & Pepperoni.

So now, whether you are looking for a quick and convenient dinner for the family or for an appetizing choice for serving at parties, when unexpected guests drop by or whenever you need more pizza-Red Baron® is the one for everyone.

The new variety of pizzas are currently available nationwide in your grocer's freezer.

The french bar stool design

French bar stools are the very best way to add that special touch of class to any bar or home, these classic stools feature curved legs with fluted tips, the finest quality seats and highly stylish seatbacks. If what you are looking for are high quality bar stools these are the stools for you.

The craftsmen from these French regions have been manufacturing such fine quality work for many generations.

Their talents have been much sought after by many companies in the world and their masterpieces decorate many of the stately homes and royal palaces in quite a few countries around the globe, the most common of which being the bar stools and designer chairs.

The design of French furniture has been dated to a few points in French history. These include during the reigns of Louis XV, Louis XVI, and Louis Philippe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The main design criteria to designing bar stools of this quality is comfort, well sanded and varnished edges style and most of all, the art work that is carved into the wood. This quality of craftsmanship still exists with many of the French bar stool manufacturers.

The style of these barstools works far better when the dйcor of the room is of a plain design, this includes the walls, ceiling, floors the lot. The idea behind this type of bar stool or chair design is to try and recreate that comfortable welcoming feeling of homes in the French wine region.

Having the right bar stool for the room can really set of the dйcor and complete the design. If you choose neutral colors, you can brighten things up with the addition French paintings or prints of your choice, but nature paintings always work best for setting a calming mood.

These styles of bar stools are quite function as they are shorter than most other bar stools; this makes them quite versatile for many locations such as medium size counters or writing desks.