I don’t know about you, but for me there is nothing better than cooling down with a refreshing iced tea on a long, hot summer’s day. After a little bit of time in the sweltering Byron Bay sun and a dip in the Ocean, I usually come home to an iced tea and plate of fresh fruit- that’s my favourite summer ritual. There is nothing more refreshing to enliven the senses!
Byron Bay Tea Company has received an award for Best Medicinal Tea Company in the prestigious LUXlife magazine 2019 Food & Drinks Awards. These awards not only commend businesses that demonstrate a high level of culinary excellence but also pay homage to those businesses who successfully cater to the varying lifestyles, tastes and choices of the modern-day consumer by bringing new and innovative products to the table.
Green smoothies are full of vitamins and minerals, very alkalising and detoxifying. I like to keep things simple so I follow this formula-:
This is such an easy dish to get together and jam-packed full of nutrients making the perfect cleansing meal for Spring. Containing wholegrains, vegetables, greens and avocado- it has a good balance of protein, carbohydrate and quality fats. Topped with sauerkraut, a fermented food to encourage the growth of good bacteria in the gut- this is sure to make the tummy happy.
There is yet another use for the good old tea leaf- Kombucha! I love this stuff so decided to give it a go making it at home. For those of you who are not familiar with this magical drink- Kombucha is a fizzy, fermented beverage made from sweetened tea, usually black, that is fermented by a bacteria and yeast culture and ends up full of probiotics as a result.
Your blood is involved in many bodily functions; ranging from transporting oxygen, hormones, sugar, fats and cells throughout the body; as well as transporting wastes that need to be eliminated via the kidneys. The functions of the blood and kidneys are closely connected.
Spring has sprung in Byron Bay where the days are getting longer and the nights shorter. With the warmth of the spring air and flowers blooming all around us, it naturally becomes a time to “spring clean” and rid the body of impurities that have accumulated over winter.
To get the most out of any detox it is vitally important that we start with ensuring the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal system. If the gut is not breaking down food well, assimilating nutrients and eliminating wastes efficiently- toxins can be produced and sub-optimal health results. In doing this, we need to not only make healthy food choices to assist gut cleansing (and what these are can vary depending on individual needs), but we also need to look at the way we eat.
The lymphatic system is an extensive drainage network that lies just under the skin that helps the body fight infection and helps with the elimination of toxins from the body.
SPICE DREAM is a deliciously healthy and exotic Chai Latte blend with a delicate balance of sweetness and spice. With the Australian tea market bursting with chai options and variations, I found that many of the powders and syrups available were full of rubbish- milk solids, flavourings and a whole lot of sugar! I wanted to make a spicy brew that was devoid of these nasties- something that was natural and pure and in line with what we stand for at Byron Bay Tea Company.
FORTIFY is the super-charged newcomer to the BBTC range of herbal teas- a wellness tonic combining the powerful healing benefits of medicinal mushrooms and Tulsi with Cacao and a delicate blend of spices. Medicinal mushrooms have been a personal favourite of mine for years. I keep a powder on hand at all times when I need that extra zing! Fortify has been a long time in the making and involved a little trial and error to get the balance of ingredients just right. Cacao matches the richness of the medicinal mushrooms and seemed like the perfect addition to ...
1. Place 2 heaped teaspoons of chai into saucepan, per 1 cup (220 ml) of water & bring to the boil.
1. Place 1 teaspoon of tea per 220 ml of boiling water into chosen brewing device.
1. Place 1 teaspoon of tea per 220 ml of boiling water into chosen brewing device.
1. Place 1 teaspoon of tea per 220 ml of near-to-boiling water into chosen brewing device.
Tired? Stressed? Worn-out? No milk?
I went to a seminar on the Integrative treatment of cancer a couple of weeks ago. Green tea was one of the therapeutic phytonutrients, along with Tumeric and Resveratrol, that starred on the day- due to their potent antioxidant actions.
As the days get shorter, the nights get longer and a chilly winter sets in, we need to adjust our lifestyles to match the natural rhythm of a different season. Winter is the season for “storage” in Chinese Medicine. It is the storage of winter that allows for the aliveness of Spring. It is the storage of Qi, Blood, Yin, and Yang that is important and this is done by using an appropriate diet for the cooler seasons, as well as modifying our lifestyle in other ways.
So many of us are focussed on what we eat and obsessively follow a particular diet whether it be Paleo, Gluten-free, Ketogenic, low GI, Blood type diet, Mediterranean, The Zone, Raw Food, Weight Watchers or Atkins…. in an effort to stay healthy and well. Whilst it is vitally important that we make healthy food choices (and what these are can vary depending on individual needs), we also need to look at the way we eat.
Long before celebrity chefs began to garnish their plates with delicious herbs, there was an ancient art called herbalism. Herbalism is having a resurgence as many households are learning the health benefits of the herbs they are consuming in their food. Not just for ourselves, but for our beautiful furry pollinators, the bees.
Part of our revitalisation journey has been about articulating our intent and what we stand for as an organisation. Byron Bay is a unique region in its concentration of views towards a more socially, politically and environmentally aware consciousness. We reflect this in more than just our name, but our commitment to bring about positive change.
Knowing where your tea comes from is an essential part of your tea selection process. At Byron Bay Tea Company, we use over fifty ingredients across our range. We source our ingredients from where they grow best. Our ingredients are then hand blended and packaged according to our recipes in the lush, green rolling hills of the Byron Bay hinterland.
Like savouring a fine wine, tasting premium tea is similar. Tea masters around the world use standardised cupping procedures where measurements determine the amount of leaf, the temperature of water, and infusion time. There is also a time-honoured set of rules to assess the flavour of tea and this can differ across cultures and include slurping, sipping, swallowing, or spitting. The most frequently used is the “slurp-and-sip” method and this involved slurping tea from a spoon and spitting the tea rather than swallowing. Recently, ...
Tea has become such a broadly accepted term for brewed leaf or herbal matter. For many, our journey stops here. For the tea enthusiasts, there are thousands of years steeped in history. How tea has developed over time by different cultures, creating the huge array of teas that we have available today.
Naturally, the tea leaf contains a small amount of caffeine with Black tea having the most caffeine and White tea having the least.
Eastern Traditions have been consuming tea for their health benefits long before the British popularised it in the mid-17th century. In 1211 the Japanese monk Eisai wrote:
I sound like an absolute dag but I love herbs and always have! I have always been interested in Natural Medicine and the healing power of herbs and I wanted others to experience their benefits. I felt like there was a gap in the market 14 years ago when all you could find on a supermarket shelf was plain Chamomile or Peppermint tea. I observed that many people were interested in drinking them for their health benefits but didn’t really enjoy the flavours.
In 1211 the Japanese monk Eisai wrote:
I love sitting down and making a great brew of tea to enjoy with friends, or as a way to unwind for myself in the afternoon. In our fast-paced world, I believe we have lost touch with the art of making tea. Long before coffee was a twinkle in the eye of a barista, the ritual of brewing the right tea for your visitors was a way of welcoming people to your home in both Eastern and Western cultures.
The pace of life for most of us means that we are finding ways to streamline daily activities to give us back a little more time to be busier! We are steadily losing patience to line up and wait for something. Our attention spans have now surpassed the goldfish at 7 seconds