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Beans and Leaves
Health Benefits of Coffee Coffee may protect against disease, says the Harvard Health Letter BOSTON , MA — It’s surprising when something that was once considered questionable for your health turns out to have health benefits, usually with the proviso to use it “in moderation.” That happened with chocolate and alcohol, and now it is coffee’s turn, reports the February issue of the Harvard Health Letter. Here’s some of the mostly good news about coffee: Blood pressure. Results from long-term studies are showing that coffee may not increase the risk for high blood pressure over time, as previously thought. Study findings for other cardiovascular effects are a mixed bag. Cancer. Coffee might have anti-cancer properties. Last year, researchers found that coffee drinkers were 50% less likely to get liver cancer than nondrinkers. A few studies have found ties to lower rates of colon, breast, and rectal cancers. Cholesterol. Two substances in coffee — kahweol and cafestol — raise cholesterol levels. Paper filters capture these substances, but that doesn’t help the many people who now drink non-filtered coffee drinks, such as lattes. Researchers have also found a link between cholesterol increases and decaffeinated coffee, possibly because of the type of bean used to make certain decaffeinated coffees. Diabetes. Heavy coffee drinkers may be half as likely to get diabetes as light drinkers or nondrinkers. Coffee may contain chemicals that lower blood sugar. A coffee habit may also increase your resting metabolism rate, which could help keep diabetes at bay. Parkinson’s disease. Coffee seems to protect men, but not women, against Parkinson’s disease. One possible explanation for the sex difference may be that estrogen and caffeine need the same enzymes to be metabolized, and estrogen captures those enzymes.
Mrs. Bryant's Gourmet Pantry of Fine Coffees and Teas
Estate Fresh Gourmet L'essence de Virginia Coffee (12 oz)Organic Southern Pecan Coffee Beans. 100% Peruvian Organic Arabica Southern Pecan Coffee Beans. Spectacularly velvety smooth - Virginia's Finest Southern Pecan Coffee. Meticulously custom roasted fresh in the Old Dominion. Serve hot, iced, or over ice cream. Southern living at its best! Freshest when used within 3-4 months. Store sealed at room temperature. Net wt. 12.0 oz. Price: $12.00 purchase below
Estate Fresh Gourmet L'essence de Virginia Decaf Coffee (12 oz)Organic Southern Pecan Coffee Beans. 100% Ethiopian Decaffeinated Organic Arabica Southern Pecan Coffee Beans. Spectacularly velvety smooth - Virginia's Finest Southern Pecan Coffee. Meticulously custom roasted fresh in the Old Dominion. Decaffeinated using a Swiss water process - no chemicals used. Serve hot, iced, or over ice cream. Southern living at its best! Freshest when used within 3-4 months. Store sealed at room temperature. Net wt. 12.0 oz. Price: $14.00 purchase below
Estate Fresh Gourmet L'essence de Virginia Decaf Coffee (12 oz)Organic Southern Pecan Coffee Beans. 100% Ethiopian Decaffeinated Organic Arabica Southern Pecan Coffee Beans. Spectacularly velvety smooth - Virginia's Finest Southern Pecan Coffee. Meticulously custom roasted fresh in the Old Dominion. Decaffeinated using a Swiss water process - no chemicals used. Serve hot, iced, or over ice cream. Southern living at its best! Freshest when used within 3-4 months. Store sealed at room temperature. Net wt. 12.0 oz. Price: $14.00 purchase below
L'essence of the South Colonial Southern Organic Peach Tea A delightfully tasting and aromatic tea. 100% Organic hand-blended green rooibos with an authentic bounty of peaches; marigold and safflower blossoms. A hearty tea that steeps to a soft, golden color with an amber hue and an ambrosial peach scent. Fresh, soothing, mild, aromatic with slight sweetness - Virginia's Finest Southern tea. An unrivaled tea experience which satisfies anyone's tea cravings. Refreshing any time hot or cold. Naturally caffeine free and fresh from the Old Dominion. Net wt. 1.6 oz. Price: $8.00 purchase below
Health Benefits Of Teas Tea has been known as one of the most nutritious drinks that you can have. For hundreds and even thousands of years, people have been using tea not only for health, but for ceremonies. The Japanese and Chinese regard this drink as something formal, and tea ceremonies are regarded as a proper way to welcome your guests. The health benefits of tea have been proven and some skeptics just drink it as an alternative to coffee because of the caffeine content of all teas. There are basically three kinds of teas that we consume today. Green, Oolong, White and Black teas are the most common teas you can get from any store. These teas can come from the same plant, however differences in color and effect are based on the fermentation and oxidation process they experience, i.e. when the leaves are picked and naturally processed. Green tea is made when the tea leaves are oxidized in a minimal manner and then left to dry in the sun. The colors can be achieved naturally and this will take more time than the regular tea making process. Black or Red tea is oxidized for a longer time compared to green tea. These teas are oxidized for more than a week and sometimes as long as two weeks. It produces a red color when blended with hot water, and this is why it’s sometimes called red tea. Oolong tea is achieved when the time of oxidation is between the green and black tea. The process is not as long as the black tea but not as short as the green tea. It’s the most difficult tea to process. White tea is the newest form of tea to hit the market. This tea is made from the fresh buds of the tea leaves. When we talk about oxidation, the most common way of oxidizing tea is just to boil it. Leave it there for a few hours or days depending on the way you want it. If you want something stronger in terms of caffeine, you might want to have a green tea which is quite easy to create. Just boil it for a day or two and then leave it under the sun. The effects of these teas are also different. Black tea is known to have the highest caffeine concentration (but still lower than coffee). Oolong is the most effective when you are trying to lose weight. Any tea is good for you since it will act as a cleanser and will help flush toxins from your body. Tea is also a tasty drink for many with the addition of lemon and a natural sweetener such as honey.
Health Benefits of Cocoa Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. "Cocoa" can often refer to the drink commonly known as hot chocolate which is made from cocoa powder, the dry powder made by grinding cocoa seeds and removing the cocoa butter from the dark, bitter cocoa solids; or it may refer to the combination of both cocoa powder and cocoa butter together. Chocolate and cocoa contain a high level of flavonoids, specifically epicatechin, which may have beneficial cardiovascular effects on health. The ingestion of flavonol-rich cocoa is associated with acute elevation of circulating nitric oxide, enhanced flow-mediated vasodilation, and augmented microcirculation. Prolonged intake of flavonol-rich cocoa has been linked to cardiovascular health benefits, though it should be noted that this refers to plain cocoa and dark chocolate. Milk chocolate's addition of whole milk reduces the overall cocoa content per ounce while increasing saturated fat levels, possibly negating some of cocoa's heart-healthy potential benefits. Nevertheless, studies have still found short term benefits in LDL cholesterol levels from dark chocolate consumption. Hollenberg and colleagues of Harvard Medical School studied the effects of cocoa and flavanols on Panama's Kuna Indian population, who are heavy consumers of cocoa. The researchers found that the Kuna Indians living on the islands had significantly lower rates of heart disease and cancer compared to those on the mainland who do not drink cocoa as on the islands. It is believed that the improved blood flow after consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa may help to achieve health benefits in hearts and other organs. In particular, the benefits may extend to the brain and have important implications for learning and memory. Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking green and black tea may not, according to an analysis of previously published research in the April 9, 2007 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. A 15-year study of elderly men published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006 found a 50 percent reduction in cardiovascular mortality and a 47 percent reduction in all-cause mortality for the men regularly consuming the most cocoa, compared to those consuming the least cocoa from all sources.
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