Wednesday, November 23, 2016

PYRAMID TEA BAGS...

Whether you drink black teas, green teas or an array of herbals, pyramids are great as travel companions or for making Tea Tonics. 

Have a look at these two short videos and you'll understand why pyramid bags have become so popular.

Pyramid Tea Bags and Tea Tonics...

Pyramid Tea Bags... the truth.

Get your versatile and convenient pyramid tea bags at Tea Total online now.




Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Breakfast Tea...


Recently, Bevan Lynch - resident tea fiend from TEA TOTAL - visited Sri Lanka to learn more about where our favourite breakfast tea comes from.  Watch the video below to learn more about Sri Lanka, the tea process and the general business of tea on this island nation off the coast of India.

TEA TOTAL Special Breakfast Blend can be bought online here: Special Breakfast Blend.


Thursday, September 8, 2016

RISE OF HERBAL TEA

A recent trend that I am fortunate to witness brewing whilst working with our product and customers is the rise of herbal teas.

In the past people would rely on anecdotal stories handed down from grannies and moms – stories of certain herbs steeped in hot water and when consumed the resultant beverage would treat a certain ailment. Pregnant mums for example would come through the store here at Apollo drive clearly in their final trimester – and purchase Raspberry Leaf herbal tea. Those keen on Rooibos tea would purchase their favourite variation because of the flavour but also because Rooibos is generally known for being rich in antioxidants and is also caffeine-free. Local herbalists purchase the Manuka and Flower Detox tea as well as the Ginger Kawakawa Spice tea for their purported healing properties. And of course let’s not forget chamomile tea – a well-known sleeping aid.

Whilst we were seeing this groundswell of a trend towards functional herbal teas in our store here in Auckland, this trend was confirmed by Anna Salek who recently attended the Sydney Tea Festival. There tea merchants were focused primarily on providing customers with teas that perform a certain function: sleeping tea; detox tea; energising tea; focus tea among many others.

As consumers become more and more conscious of not only where their chosen food and drink originates from and how it is sourced and prepared, they are also becoming more aware of what they are consuming and how it may or may not help them functionally. And because tea is the most consumed beverage in the world after water, the entire tea category is certainly being affected and influenced by what I call: conscious consumerism.

While we at TEA TOTAL are not nutritionists or scientific professionals able to give advice or prescribe certain teas to treat ailments and the like, we are professionals at understanding how our products perform and can say that we stock the products we stock because they taste great. Anything outside of that is a bonus.

On that note however, I am reminded of a quote: “Let food be your medicine and not medicine be your food.” 

And since tea has been around for 4000 years, I reckon it is a safe bet.

For our herbal tea range – visit the following link: http://www.teatotal.co.nz/teas-infusions/herbal-tea

Saturday, August 27, 2016

WE ARE 21!




Remember when you turned 21? 

I'm guessing there were presents and a party! We're dispensing with the party and going straight to presents ;)

Any purchase you make online between now and 31st August will get 21% off. 

 Use the code GET21 at time of checkout. 

 This deal is online only, not through our TEA TOTAL Concept Store.

Happy Shopping!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

WINTER WARMING ROOIBOS

It is winter. It is cold. Aside from fireplaces, heaters, electric blankets, coats, scarves and other items that keep us warm from the outside in, tea has this incredible ability to warm us from the inside out.

This month we want to shout about our herbal tea: Rooibos (Pronounced: Roy – Boss) or directly translated into English as ‘Red Bush’.


You see, Rooibos is technically not a tea (from the Camelia Sinensis species) but rather a shrub that grows in only one area in the world – the Cedarberg in the Western Cape of South Africa in what is now a protected World Heritage site approximately 200km north of Cape Town.

Anecdotally, Rooibos has been used by locals there for more than just drinking pleasure. When there is a skin ailment – it is bathed in. For pregnant and new mums nursing their babies – the tea is drunk in copious amounts to ease the body’s changing biomechanics. To aid in increasing ones appetite – it is also consumed (although of all the urban legends I have heard I am not so sure about this one).

Lastly – the great thing about Rooibos is that it is also caffeine free.

Whether you like your Rooibos flavoured, unflavoured, with a bit of spice, with some lemon or with some real chocolate stars we have no doubt it will warm you up from the inside out - especially this time of year.

Go ahead. Get your Red Bush on here!

Sunday, June 26, 2016

TEAPOT BUYERS GUIDE

With so many teapot shapes, colours and materials. How do you know what to buy?

Anna Salek - owner and founder of TEA TOTAL - has put together a video that will guide you through the selection process. While not a teapot collector herself (except for the last couple on the video) Anna has had the opportunity to test various teapots over the last 20+ years.  

Anna's experience might save you a little time and money if you are looking to acquire a teapot for your tea drinking pleasure.

To find out more about our range visit TEA TOTAL's online store.

Enjoy the clip and feel free to leave your comments below.


Monday, May 16, 2016

MEN & GREEN TEA...

We are very fortunate to have many people from all walks of life come into our Concept Store and the most interesting observation for me has come from the gentlemen visiting us.

If these gentlemen are not buying something for their partner they are invariably buying something for themselves and it is usually green tea. What is more interesting is the story behind why these gents are looking for green tea - the story usually starts like this:

“I am trying to have less coffee and looking for a green tea to replace it…”

Of course there are variations on this commentary but for the most part the sentiment is they are looking to drink less coffee and to enjoy a green tea as a replacement/alternative.

So, for the gentlemen who cannot make it into our concept store and are looking to curb their coffee intake and start enjoying green tea as an alternative here are some key benefits of doing so:
  • Green tea makes you smarter
A combination of caffeine (60% less than coffee) and L-theanine (a chemical which is able to cross the blood-brain barrier) green tea also has anti-anxiety effects and increases dopamine and production of alpha waves in the brain. Green tea as a result gives a different and much milder ‘buzz’ than coffee.
  • Green tea increases fat burning and improves performance
Take a look at any ‘fat-burning’ supplement and chances are, green tea will be on the ingredients list.
  • Green tea may lower risk of various types of cancer
According to science, cancer is caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells and it is one of the world’s leading causes of death. Green tea is an excellent source of antioxidants and could reduce risk of cancer. For example in one study it was found that men drinking green tea had a 48% lower risk of developing prostate cancer – the most common cancer in men.

The list can go on and for more detail please visit this link which covers other benefits of consuming green tea: https://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-green-tea/
or this link which is a little more recent (2017): http://www.balancemebeautiful.com/green-tea-benefits/

To enjoy a selection of green teas, the Little Tin of Samples (filled with your selection of green teas to try) may be the way to go. Or just dive right in and get our best-selling flavoured green tea Japanese Lime, or try our unflavoured Jade Green Sencha for a more authentic green tea taste.

Lastly, watch this video below to see how you can make a great cup of green tea.  There is a method (dare we say: art) to making a great green brew.



Please note: We at TEA TOTAL cannot offer medical advice so please do seek medical guidance from your chosen medical professional when assessing your dietary habits. We can however say that we think our teas taste great and any medical enhancement/improvement is a bonus.

Enjoy the Great Green Brew

Bevan Lynch: Tea Fiend
Bevan Lynch: Tea Fiend








Monday, April 11, 2016

TEA BAGS - THE TRUTH

The truth is, not all tea bags are created equally.  Anna Salek - The New Zealand Tea Lady and TEA TOTAL Owner and Founder explains the difference between a Pyramid Tea Bag from TEA TOTAL compared to the tea bags most supermarket brands offer customers to enjoy.

Feel free to leave a comment below or share this with your community to ensure we all know the truth. :)


Wednesday, March 23, 2016

TEA POINTS - GET YOURS!


You may not be aware but every time you purchase from our website you're accruing Tea Points. These can be used as part or full payment for subsequent orders. Anna explains how this is done in the video below.




As a sweetener to ensure your pantry is full of goodness over the Easter break, we're doubling your Tea Points on all orders between now and the end of March 2016.

Happy Easter!

Thursday, February 25, 2016

TEA KEY TO LONG LIFE?


Forget expensive pills and exotic potions. The elixir of life could be as simple as a cup (or two) of tea.

Women in their 70s and 80s lived longer if they had two cuppas a day, research shows.
TEA! GET ME SOME MORE!


They were 40 per cent less likely to die during the five years they were studied than other women of a similar age. Tea, or more specifically, the flavonoids in it, also seemed to protect against the ravages of heart disease and cancer. Flavonoids are health-boosting plant compounds that are found in chocolate, fruit, red wine and coffee.

However, tea made the biggest contribution to the flavonoid count in the women-only study.

Australian researchers analysed the health records of more than 1,000 women aged over 75.

Detailed information about their diets, including the amount of tea and coffee drunk, was used to work out what level of flavonoids they were consuming.

Some 88 per cent of them were still alive by the end of the study - and those with the most flavonoids in their diet were particularly likely to have survived.

Deaths from heart disease and cancer, the two biggest killers of elderly women, were down, as well as the overall risk of death.

Crucially for women and men looking for simple tips for a longer, healthier life, the amount of flavonoids that provide protection is easily achievable.

The Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that the required amount of 350mg a day can be found in just two cups of tea.

Previous research has credited flavonoids with lowering blood pressure, cutting the risk of blood clots and strengthening bones.

Dr Carrie Ruxton, an independent dietician, said: "Studies in younger adults also show that regular tea drinking lowers the risk of heart disease because tea flavonoids improve vascular flow."

This article was originally published here.

Monday, January 18, 2016

BRAND AMBASSADORS 2016


Click here to apply.

There are a staggering number of tea drinkers who love their tea and sometimes never leave on home without it - ever. Their tea is there for them when they are happy, not so happy and all the times in between.

They secretly sneer at others who do not enjoy or prepare tea the way they do but deep down know that so long as tea is drunk no matter how it is prepared, served or enjoyed the world is just for a moment a better place. 

These tea drinkers believe tea is for everyone. And so do we.

If you believe you are this type of tea drinker, we would like to invite you to apply to be part of our Tea Total Brand Ambassador Programme for 2016.

In case you missed the link above...click here for more information and to apply.

Monday, January 11, 2016

COLD BREW TEA

With summer well and truly upon us in New Zealand, iced tea season is also here. Iced tea can be made by conventionally brewing tea using boiling water and then leaving to cool or pouring over ice. An alternative method, however, is to make a cold brew tea. 

Cold brewing tea in fact produces a chemically different brew to the hot brew method. With boiling water, the fast moving water molecules hit the tea particles at speed which helps to break off all of the molecules that flavour the tea, including large molecules like caffeine and tannins. Cold water, on the other hand, contains less energy, so is only able to bring the most soluble molecules into solution. These are the carbohydrates – sugars. This means that cold brew teas can have quite a different taste to their hot brewed counterparts, often lacking the bitterness or astringency that can be found in a hot tea. 

Cold brewing tea is exceptionally easy to do: simply put a couple of teaspoons of your favourite TEA TOTAL loose leaf tea or  a couple of TEA TOTAL Pyramid Tea Bags in a jug or jar, fill with cold water and leave in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Strain out the loose tea and it’s ready to drink. Depending on preference you may wish to sweeten black teas with some sugar or honey or any sweetener of your choice.  

Fruit and flavoured green teas are often just ready to drink as they come.