Don't be sad on Valentines Day.  Have some Mountain Tea <3

When daylight starts to creep in and the world shuffles awake, when a caress or a look says more than words, when you wish you could freeze for a moment, you'll be glad you shared a cup.  Mountain Tea is for lovers.  Happy Valentines Day.

Do you recommend using a tea strainer or a teapot?

A friend of ours recently asked...

"Do you recommend using a tea strainer or a teapot?"

We recommend using a Gaiwan or a YiXing with full leaf teas.  You can definitely get by using British style teapots too.  

Some tea strainers/infusers are great, but it really depends on the size of the strainer/infuser.  This type by ForLife is great 

Stump Teapot by ForLife

  while these types, though cute, are only good for certain teas.

The reason being tea needs room to expand and infuse.  A tiny strainer will choke most loose-leaf teas, so you don't get the full flavor out of your tea and end up wasting most of it.

At Mountain Tea, we tend brew our teas using Gaiwans and filter out smaller particles using these:

If the vessel you're brewing in is much bigger than your teacup, for added control over the strength of your tea you can pour out and strain the contents into a serving cup/pitcher so your tea isn't over-steeping while you drink.

Tea & Weight Loss

Source: RareHealthCare.com

Tea has become a part of the regimen for most popular weight loss programs. The beverage is long associated with improving metabolic rates thereby helping to shed the extra calories. Tea is a healthy alternative to sugary sodas and other high calorie beverages. Chinese Oolong is a good 'weight loss tea'. However, the blended varieties may contain laxatives and diuretics that aid weight loss but are not particularly good for your health in the long run.

Oolong is said to improve vitality and lifespan. Incidence of cardiovascular disease and occurrence of cancer are said to be comparatively lower among tea drinkers. Antioxidants in the beverage are said to lessen the severity of rheumatoid arthritis, boost immunity, fight tooth decay, and relieve tension and headache. Tea drinking has been very popular in China, India, and Japan for centuries. Oolong is said to have many benefits including lowering of blood pressure and treating skin rashes and eczema.

Oolong has long been considered the connoisseur’s delight, being a delicate flavored beverage loved by locals and foreigners. Oolong can be brewed multiple times as it never turns bitter to taste. Re-brewing is even said to improve flavor. It is common to steep the same oolong leaves a several times, the third and fourth brews are said to be 'the best flavored'.

Oolong tea has been recognized as a 'weight loss tea' because in comparison to black variant, it undergoes minimal processing and retains many of its original chemical constituents. It is said be beneficial in the following ways:

Green tea extract containing polyphenols and caffeine is a potent fat oxidant that boosts metabolic rate by 4% without elevating heart rates. A cup of coffee may contain anything between 4-5 times the caffeine that the same serving of tea contains. Due to lower caffeine content many people are now switching to drinking tea. This global trend is being observed in the decision of coffee giants Starbucks who are considering the idea of selling premium Darjeeling tea at its 17,000 outlets worldwide.

Preferably, you should drink tea without milk and sugar. Intake of sugar and milk will counter the effect on weight loss. So if you want to lose weight, make sure to cut the milk and sugar. Drink oolong tea to stay healthy!