Dark Treats For Your Tongue and Health

Is your loved one fond of chocolates? Here's a special treat for you chocolate lovers out there. You can now take advantage of chocolate gifts online which means that wherever you are, you can still take advantage of this and the prices are at par with those found in a traditional store. If you want to taste the chocolates form other countries, you can now do that by just clicking a mouse. You can now order that chocolate bar you have been longing for and receive it in a few days. Because of the present freight systems which paved the way to receiving goods faster, ordering chocolates from the internet won't take so long.

Chocolates are a golden pot for some especially those who have a sweet tooth. Consuming one box in one sitting is a piece of cake for some. They can be very addictive but they can be good for the health, too. It is not bad to eat chocolates as long as you brush your teeth after eating to make sure you preserve your teeth's health. These mouth-watering sweets are not only food for the youngsters but also for the health-conscious people. Recently, studies have shown that dark chocolates actually have benefits. They have an antioxidant content. Some chocolate manufacturers offer low fat, low carb, sugar free or zero trans fat. Therefore, they no longer can be considered a guilty pleasure.

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Oaxaca Culinary Tour Success Suggests More Gastronomic Opportunities

The accolades tell it all:  "I had a terrific and very inspiring time in Oaxaca. Your knowledge of the culture and region introduced us to so many interesting people, all willing to share their passion, whether it was for pottery, wood carving, frothy chocolate, the best moles or natural dyes" [Elizabeth Baird].

Elizabeth Baird, one of the foremost Canadian culinary icons of our time, was a participant in the May, 2010, Oaxaca Culinary Tour.  So was prolific cookbook author and columnist Rose Murray, who endorsed a copy of her seminal work, A Taste of Canada, A Culinary Journey, with similar praise: "Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge of Oaxaca with us.  We know it through your eyes."

If the foregoing is any indication of the success of this most recent tour, then the thought of what's in store for participants in future, similarly organized Oaxaca culinary events, should titillate anyone interested in Mexican gastronomy – chefs and foodies alike.

While numbers were small (May is when most Americans and Canadians are content to stay close to home, stow their winter attire, and begin gardening), organizers provided the 8 – 10  participants in each of  the week's daily activities with all that the tour promised, and more:  cooking classes with Pilar Cabrera and Susana Trilling, dining at renowned Oaxacan restaurants Casa Oaxaca, Los Danzantes, La Olla and La Catrina de Alcalá, and what impressed the most, getting out into the villages and learning the secrets of local recipes through hands-on instruction from indigenous natives – in their kitchens and over their open hearths and comals.  

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Splurge Chocolate With Loved Ones

Most of us eat chocolate but do not know the process involved in making them. Chocolate is a flavor that can be used in preparing a variety of recipes and desserts daily. But in short, we are aware that chocolate is derived from cacao beans. Making chocolate is not as easy as you are thinking them to be. Chocolate companies invest millions of dollars into tools and machinery to turn the bitter cacao beans into delicious chocolate bars or melting chocolate. Accompanied by DISH TV you can turn your kitchen into a miniature chocolate factory.

Where do organic chocolate and cocoa come from? First and foremost, you might be surprised and delighted to learn that cocoa is a nut or the seed in the very heart of a fruit. That's right, and it has much more nutritional value than some of the healthiest fruits. Cocoa is found on trees in the rainforests of Malaysia, Africa and South America. It is cut free from its fruit and left out in the sun. Dark chocolate is made from cocoa beans and the natural cocoa butter taken from its surrounding pod. The creaminess of the cocoa butter is what makes the dark chocolate feel like silk in your mouth.

DISH Network channels offers a new identity to chocolate. The exotic taste of chocolate licks our taste-buds. The cocoa tree originally is endowed with medicinal qualities. Not only this, it is evident by New York Times that chocolate sharpens brains and energizes you in every respect.
There are many types of chocolates to taste from the wide collection of chocolate bars. Starting from white chocolate to milk chocolate and even dark chocolate can make you feel out of the world with its exotic flavor. Even you can get the bittersweet taste of chocolate desserts with DISH TV. You can savor your taste-bud with the relishing exotica.

Frozen and Hot chocolates arouse your ecstatic feeling. Your unending desire for having both of them keeps on escalating. Chocolate is beyond delicious when it is made from organic ingredients, especially dark chocolate. What about your loved ones when they crave for chocolate? You can find your toddlers happy with the chocolate in their mouth when they express their feeling by spreading chocolate all over their face. The little ones lick their face and also the little fingers, relishing the left out. Even the wrappers are not relieved of licking.

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Green Tea And Caffeine

If you’re wondering does green tea have caffeine, the answer is “yes”, but the amount varies.  Here’s a little Q&A that can help you make good beverage choices and even find the best dietary supplements.

Does green tea contain caffeine in the same amount as black teas?

Many sources will tell you that green teas have less than black, but that is not necessarily true.  Some varieties have the same amount.  The caffeine-content of the green varieties varies from 30mg to 50mg per 8 ounce cup, more or less depending on a variety of factors.  Black teas average 47mg per cup.  So, the real answer to does green tea have caffeine equal to black varieties is “maybe”.

Does green tea contain caffeine equal to what you find in coffee or soda?

An 8 ounce cup of drip brewed coffee contains 95mg.  A 16 ounce Starbucks Cafe Latte contains 150mg and a “Grade” contains 330mg.  Sodas have differing amounts depending on the brand.  The soda with the highest caffeine content is Mountain Dew, coming in at 54mg per 12 ounces.  When your caffeine-intake gets up to 500mg per day, you are likely to start having problems, such as poor sleep, headaches and nervousness.  

Does green tea contain caffeine when you make it at home?

Brewing at home is one of the big variables.  The longer that the leaves are allowed to seep, the higher the caffeine-content becomes.  The amount also depends on the country where the leaves were grown.  Those grown in India, for example, tend to have more than others.  If you are worried about the answer to does green tea have caffeine, use a shorter brewing time.

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Everything About Green Tea

Studies convey that India and China were using the boiled tea leaves for more than five thousand years. They were among the first countries for the consumption of teas.

In the tradition of Japan also tea is very fundamental. Tea comes in the cultural aspect of the countries in Asia.

Tea is usually provided from Camellia Sinensis – a tea plant cultivated mostly in Middle East Asia and Africa.

The three main categories of tea are black tea, green tea and oolong tea. Though all these categories are derived from the same plant, the method of processing makes them different to each other. Green tea is the category which does not go through the process of fermentation. Oolong tea is gone through partial fermentation where as black tea is completely fermented. Asian nations like China, India, Japan, Thailand etc mostly use green tea and oolong tea. In the US, black tea is commonly used.

Green tea has become much popular these days as it has got numerous good aspects on the health. Several researches held to know about this aspect, reveals that consuming green tea can prevent or reduce several diseases.

Green tea is useful for reducing the risk of cancer, reducing the bad cholesterol in the body, inflammatory diseases, flatulence, regulating the bowel activities, balancing the sugar level in the blood, increasing thermo genesis, etc.

Generally in France, the diet of the people is very rich in the fat consumption aspects. Studies show that they have less heart problems still due to the regular intake of green tea. Japanese people are heavy smokers, but they too have less heart problems due to the use of green tea.

Green tea contains some poly phenols which work as antioxidants. These antioxidants always act against certain free radicals formed inside the body. The free radicals are formed naturally and can increase due to the pollution, smoking, UV rays etc. Black tea contains only 10% polyphenols where as green tea has 30 to 40% polyphenols.

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Green Tea Is Popular Drink

The popularity of healthy and all-natural beverages have surged over the past few years because more and more people are becoming more concerned about their health and fitness. Now, instead of grabbing a can of soda or a bottle of artificial juice, people just take water or all-natural beverages instead.

One of the more popular drinks that are attracting people's attention is the green tea. Aside from the usual hot green tea, big soft drink manufacturers and beverage companies are offering cold diet green tea as alternative to soda and other unhealthy drinks. In fact, multinational beverage groups are fusing and mixing green tea with other fruit flavors to give people more choices.

What is probably in everybody's mind right now is whether diet green tea is here for good or is this just one of the drink craze of the moment? Another issue that is worth discussing is whether green tea is really good for you.

Green Tea
Since time immemorial, green tea has already been a tea of choice in the East, particularly in China and Japan. The plant from where the green tea came from is Camellia sinensis. The funny thing is that this is also where the black tea is taken from. The only difference between the green and the black tea is process in which they undergo in order to become tea. In the green variety, the leaves of the Camellia sinensis is only dried, while in black tea, the plant is fermented.

Although both black and green tea came from the same plant, their taste is different. The green tea is much more grassy and light than the fermented black tea.

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Finding Out About Green Tea

Green teas have always been popular, especially in the Japanese cultures but have made their impact in the western world as well. Green tea has been used in many aspects in the last few years not only as a well brewed beverage but also added to supplements and other dietary items because of the rich antioxidants that this tea possess.

You maybe asking what exactly is green tea. Well really it is no different that your typical black tea. The only difference is the process that the green tea goes through that makes it different from the the traditional black teas. Black teas are highly processed, this is what gives them the darker color. A green tea is processed less and in some instances is grown in a different environment. Some high quality green teas are grown in the shade rather than the direct sunlight.

Green teas are made from the same tea plants as red and black tea but they undergo a very minimal oxidation process. Green tea originates from China although it has become the common tea of Japan. In fact in Japan green tea is commonly just called tea as this is the main type of tea of the Japanese culture.

Green tea has many special features to it that are not present in other types of tea. Green tea typically has a lower amount of caffeine than your typical cup of black tea. In fact green tea only has a fourth of the amount of caffeine as a equivalent sized cup of coffee. That is also about half of the amount of caffeine that a normal cup of tea contains.

To brew the perfect cup of green tea you will want to use a slightly cooler water than you would for your typical tea. The water used to brew green tea should be between 140 degrees F and 190 degrees F. The higher the quality of green tea used the cooler the water should be and the shorter the brewing time. The less expensive green teas will need to be brewed longer and at a higher temperature. Green teas typical use one teaspoon per cup of water and can also be steeped multiple times. You can typically steep a single serving of green tea leaves two to three times before discarding.

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