Matcha Ado About Beautiful Skin – Clarify, Beautify and More

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I started to think on ideas for how to use our amazing teALCHEMY powders in things other than in teas & cakes.

This was just before Saint Patrick’s Day, so I started to think “hmmm, a Matcha face mask would be nice, not to mention it would go with peoples’ outfits. They can detox with the mask, then ‘retox’ with green beer over the weekend” (kind of like this):

Not 12 hours later, I received a letter in my inbox from this amazing woman named Melissa Ramos who runs a site called Sexy Food Therapy. She sent me – what else? A recipe for a matcha face mask! 

I took this as a sign from my tea spirit guides that I was on the right path on finding ways to wear tea.

[P.S. please keep an eye out for our other vlogs which show you how to use our Black Tea powder and our Rooibos powder for all kinds of neat things!]

Instead of recreating the wheel, being an alchemist (and not a nutritionist with a background in Chinese medicine), I thought I would just try her recipe.

So, here it is: a Matcha mask vlog. It’s great for hormonal acne and acne of all kinds. It’s great to exfoliate, detoxify and cleanse for all ages & sexes.

Try using the matcha mask for 1 month. For lasting results, better if you try it for 3 months to see if it is truly useful as a skincare remedy for you.

As far as the 4 ingredients that make up the mask (soda bicarbonate, organic lemon juice, raw honey, organic Matcha), there are a few that can cause irritation to the skin.

These are soda bicarbonate and the lemon juice, so be sure to tread lightly if you have any sensitivities to these.

If you think you may be sensitive to either/both, best to omit them altogether from your mask mix.

The Matcha face mask will still be just as Matcha-y.

Here’s why all these ingredients are useful though:

Soda bicarbonate is a mild exfoliate that helps remove dead skin cells and cleans your pores, it also helps dry and heal acne. Baking soda has antibacterial properties which prevents breakouts. Be sure not to use it too often though, as it dries the skin, maybe once a week.

Lemon juice is antibacterial, it can help treat acne and blackheads. If you slice a lemon and squeeze the juice on your face, blackheads will start to fade before you know it. Again, do not use it on your face more than once per week.

Honey is naturally antibacterial, so it’s great for the prevention and treatment of acne. It’s full of antioxidants, great for slowing down the aging process, extremely moisturizing, soothing and helps create a glow while giving your complexion a boost. It is good for the pores because it’s clarifying and makes skin easy to unclog.

Matcha will get its own subheading (since it’s our feature in this article):

Matcha powder has many anti-inflammatory properties, especially EGCG,* that reduces the redness associated with chronic skin conditions such as rosacea and acne. It is gentle and soothing for all skin types, reduces redness and makes the skin feel better.

*EGCG is the acronym for epigallocatechin gallate. It’s the main polyphenol found in matcha. In fact, a study that did a dry leaf comparison between matcha and another type of green tea showed that the concentration of EGCG in matcha is 137 times greater than what’s available in the other green tea. The same study also showed matcha’s EGCG concentration is at least three times greater than the largest concentration value in other regular green teas.

Matcha powder has properties that keeps the complexion fresh and healthy. It also exfoliates and eliminates dead skin cells, while rejuvenating the underlying skin to improve complexion. Matcha diminishes the signs of aging by stimulating elastin production to add volume to the skin. It also protects the skin against free radicals that cause sun damage, age spots, dry skin and wrinkles.

The tannins in matcha actually shrinks pores and reduces the production of oil associated with acne. If you have teenagers who struggle with breakouts and oily skin, matcha is especially beneficial as it removes oil from the skin and slows the production of the oil that causes the acne.

Matcha masks are made from a plant, not anything man-made, which makes it about as natural as it can get. That is why it is gentle enough for younger skin yet strong enough for skin that needs a little boost or tone-up.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write us: info@tealchemy.ca. We’d love to hear how your Matcha face mask experience turned out for you! Dare to share and we’ll enter you in to win a prize.

Tea of the Week: Rooibos Pearadisio

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The prickly pear cactus flourishes in the desert-like climates of Mexico, South America and some of the southern states of the USA.

During early spring to summer, the cactus blossoms and the early stages of its fruit can be seen. It is not until September that this fruit should be picked. Though, sometimes a pain to harvest – the spines can cause irritation for days once embedded in human skin – both the pads and the fruit of the cactus are edible.

It can be eaten raw, but the true flavour of the fruit comes alive when made into candy, jelly, juice, wine or – as in teALCHEMY’s case – dried.

The prickly pear has been shown to have a high supply of amino acids, fibre, B vitamins and iron. In traditional medicine, it has been used to treat diabetes, stomach issues, cuts, bruises, sunburn, windburn, constipation and cold-like symptoms.

According to the president of the Group to Promote Education and Sustainable Development, Margarita Barney de Cruz, the plant was used in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries as a waterproof paint for homes, churches and convents.

At teALCHEMY, we combine this versatile fruit with a sweet South African rooibos to create our Rooibos Pearadisio. This sweet, caffeine free tea will pair (pun intended) well with scones, cakes and desserts. You could even make an ice cream out of it!

Rooibos tea is full of polyphenols, an antioxidant with powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-mutagenic abilities. It has also been shown to improve bone and heart health and even lower blood pressure. Although not a cure, rooibos can also be an aide in the prevention of kidney stones.

The combined powers of the prickly pear and rooibos tea make for a great healthy cocktail full of polyphenols, and other rare minerals that work together to create a more robust immune system.

The History of Afternoon Tea

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The tradition of afternoon tea, albeit being the most renowned of English customs, is in fact relatively new. Tea was popularized in England by King Charles II and his wife, Catherine de Braganza, in the 1660’s. The birth of afternoon tea however, did not come about for another 100 years.

In 1840, Ana, the Seventh Duchess of Bedford would get hungry by around 4 o’clock every day. Since supper in her household was served at a rather late 8:00pm, she decided she could not go so long without food.

She began to ask that a tray of tea, bread, butter and cakes be brought to her room each day between four and five. This became a daily ritual of hers and she would eventually start inviting friends of hers to join.

Following Anna’s lead, many upper-class women began conducting similar ceremonies. Donning long gowns, gloves and hats, they would gather in their drawing rooms as tea was served.

Today, the traditional afternoon tea of small triangular sandwiches, scones with cream, jams and cakes is less popular.

Most households will serve tea in the afternoon in large mugs with nothing more than some biscuits. Sticking to tradition, the best establishments that have afternoon tea are usually high class restaurants and hotels where the full assortment of goodies are provided.

The kinds of teas served during afternoon tea are usually English Breakfast, Lapsang Souchong, Earl Grey or Darjeeling. All of which can be found on our online store.

How To Brew The Perfect Cup of teALCHEMY

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I find instructions on making a good cup of tea hard to find.

How exactly do you boil your waters for tea?

Here’s a simplified version on how to make the perfect cup of tea.

1) If you’re using tap water, make sure to let the water run a little, then fill up your teapot. Using cold water makes a better cup, plain and simple.

2) If you have distilled water, use it from time to time to keep your kettle clean and to flush out your system as well.

3) If you have filtered water, well then you already know what to do.

Generally, if you want to brew a black tea, use your regular setting and pour your boiling tea into your teacup or teapot.

Same goes for Rooibos, it’s a hearty plant that can take the heat. You can learn more about the Rooibos plant and history here.

Green Teas

However, the green teas are a bit more delicate and generally you should let the boiled water cool down a few notches before you put it over your greens. 

Here’s how we ‘brew it,’ in order:

Oolong – if your water has boiled, wait  few minutes before you steep it (87 degrees [celsius] vs. 100)

White – if your water has boiled, wait 3-4 minutes (80 degrees)

Green – wait 4-5 minutes after water has boiled to pour over your green teas (75-79 degrees)

Any delicate green teas, ceremonial teas, or other specialty teas should probably be brewed at 70 degrees celsius or so.

Meaning, unless you have a kettle that brews at the temperature of your choice, best wait 5-10 minutes before you pour it into your first flush or other teas.

For a more comprehensive look on how to brew teas, go to our tea brewing guide to learn more about steeping times & more.

If you want to get all Jamie Oliver about it, click here to get British-ed up.

Irradiated vs. Organic Teas – Why teALCHEMY Cares

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Irradiated vs. Organic Teas: What’s the Difference & Why Should You Care?

The friendly-looking logo on our featured image is what irradiation looks like.

Irradiation is a word few of us are familiar with, yet it affects nearly all of us directly or indirectly. We eat irradiated food all the time and don’t even know it.

Irradiation is a process whereby Gamma rays are passed through foods to make them appear more colorful/vibrant and is called ‘ionizing radiation.’ Gamma irradiation was introduced to develop a new processing method for brighter-colored green tea leaves extract.

Although putting the equivalent of 30 million chest x-rays through our food may make it look more ‘pretty,’ it kills off all bacteria – the good and the bad – and changes the constitution of our foods while damages the nutrients within it.

 

It can also be an easy go-to for companies operating under less-than-ideal conditions to ‘sterilize’ their foods, no matter how appalling the conditions of their processing plants. It can cover up things like cancer in livestock and appalling hygienic conditions (i.e. concerning sprouts and nuts) that’s then being fed to us.

Here are some of your foods that are being irradiated:

-Teas

-Spices

-Onions

-Potatoes

-Wheat

-Flour

-Whole wheat flower

-Seasonings (dehydrated)

Others food items are currently undergoing the approval process in Canada, like poultry, shrimp, fresh fruit (i.e. mangoes) and vegetables (lettuce & spinach).

What does this mean for us?

Understanding how our food is brought to us helps us not only understand but be motivated by whom and from where we get our foods. Why we must purchase decentralized, local (where possible) and organic foods.

This is why, here at teALCHEMY, we source our teas from the best suppliers, our products are organic and never irradiated. We mix our teas in-house, lovingly source our teas and are proudly Canadian.

So, if you ever want to blend it, sip it, rub it, bake it or shake it, teALCHEMY is here for all your fun and fulfilling tea and elixir needs.

Go to this link here to learn more about irradiated foods, keeping in mind it’s on the government website that authorizes irradiation in the first place.