Hey Guys...a few questions

[Psyc.rose]

wow.....I was looking for a forum like this. Anyway what is the best method for steeping loose Tea? Im using a mesh ball but I hear its not a desired method. I enjoy bits and pieces of tea floating around, the mesh ball seems to provide this, but is there some kind of spoon that works as a strainer. Like letting the loose tea leaves float about then getting up out that way?

ARe those little Tea pots really designed to be on a Stove? Or do you make tea then transfer it to the Tea pots? And if you add leaves directly to a Tea kettle with boiling/near boiling water will it scorch the leaves?

And anyone got any interesting facts or anything someone interested in Tea should know about? Probation kinda has me by the balls and ive discovered Tea kinda fills the void of certain green substances. It produces different effects, from mild relaxation, to a mild stimulant, Or immune system booster. It comes in different varieties, is healthy, blah blah blah im sure I don't need to preach the benefits of Tea here.

Anyway thx in advance

[Intuit]

Yeah, green tea can have a moderating effect on chemical addictions.

I tried to point this out last week in a thread that touched on alcoholism, but it's just as true for all addictions - including food addictions that result in obesity or anorexia/bulimia.

The key here is to recognize the effect of theanine on GABA receptors, and the problem is the compound - glutamate, a most unusual compound that is closely related to glutamate/glutamine (indeed, they are converted into one another by key enzymes, because glutamate also serves as a reserve energy source in brain and central nervous system).

Theanine can help restore faulty neurochemical balance that underlies addiction and impairs risk recognition and behavioral control.

Theanine's effect on GABA, gamma-aminobutyric acid, activity is key, because it's GABA that opposes excess glutamate action in the brain.

GABA also plays a key role in natural antioxidant (glutathione) production in our cells- but thats a story for another day.

Glutamate is released by stress hormone in the brain. It's the inappropriate response to stress - a hair trigger release of glutamate - and a lack of sufficient GABA action to oppose glutamate binding at the same receptors - that's the genetic predisposing factor of addiction.

The other factor is a lack of social role model learning of healthy stress coping response. It means that niggling chronic stress builds up and causes brain damage.

Where? In the forebrain centers where information is processed and higher decision control occurs, and in the deep layers (the ancient animal part of the brain), where emotions and self gratification are controlled.

Just ask any PTSD patient about addictions - its self-medication.

Theanine is our friend, if we are addiction-prone.

Don't believe me? A GABA derivative has been HIGHLY touted for it's ability to stop alcohol and drug addiction in it's tracks. A French surgeon discovered this while looking to cure his own alcoholism about a decade ago. He's now pioneering a treatment program using this drug.

The only problem is that you have to keep using this addiction modulator because unlike theanine, its replaces GABA, rather than playing a key role in GABA production and the release of stored dopamine and serotonin (important behavioral neurochemicals behind social programming and self gratification).

The withdrawal symptoms are nasty.

Theanine, while milder, is healthier when its taken in its natural form, in green teas. It's the other components in tea, the antioxidants, that fill the bill for the addicts other problem - progressive brain damage.

Glutamate, an excitatory chemical, causes rapid build up of toxic and reactive metabolic byproducts. All addicts share the same feature: they have piss-poor antioxidant capacity, some of it genetic and some of it from longstanding poor lifestyle.

Tea supplies important antioxidants. That stops the brain from shrinking due to progressive cell damage, another key feature of all long-term addictions.

At some point the damage is so profound, controlling and reversing addiction behavior is nearly impossible.

[woozl]

Dude, if I run out of sencha am I gonna hafta commit a crime?

Not jonesin' yet,but might need more matcha

[Tea Noob]

Sorry to hear about the probation and the lifestyle hit. I am new to tea as well and recently purchased this gaiwan. Most tea sites sell them. You could also try an Asian store locally if that is an option. Small bits will make their way into the cup (I like that too) because the only thing used to filter the leaves is the lid. You can control the size of particles allowed by creating a larger opening with the lid. Good luck.

(Yawn)

[silverneedles]

Yeah, green tea can have a moderating effect on chemical addictions.

do you have studies on the human species that tea can have a moderating effect?

for all addictions - including food addictions that result in obesity or anorexia/bulimia.

do you have studies on the human species that tea can have a moderating effect?

Don't believe me?

not really.

All addicts share the same feature: they have piss-poor antioxidant capacity

i'd like to see that research paper: that the lack of antioxidants contributes to addictive behavior. and replacing the antioxidants "cures"/improves the addiction.

Tea supplies important antioxidants. That stops the brain from shrinking

Where is this study? in which one group of addicts/alcoholics get green tea and the other group of addicts no tea and they are imaged with CT/MRI for brain shrinkage, results showing no shrinkage in the green tea group?

[Chip]

(Yawn)

Sorry, just the post by Intuit... when did people stop just enjoying tea

Although Intuit's post may be long, he/she is entitled to post constructively.

Nobody is being forced to read it if they choose not to.

[Tea Noob]

All addicts share the same feature: they have piss-poor antioxidant capacity

i'd like to see that research paper: that the lack of antioxidants contributes to addictive behavior. and replacing the antioxidants "cures"/improves the addiction.

I don't see how you get that or any of your criticism out of what he wrote. To me he is saying that people with chemical dependence have issues with the amount of antioxidants they can have access to. I don't think he was implying it is the cause, I think it was the effect. I don't know how specific addictions affect the body chemistry but I know fat people can abuse their body so bad it cannot make insulin anymore. That sounds much more drastic than the inability to maintain high levels of antioxidants.

That is what I took out of that statement anyway.

[silverneedles]

All addicts share the same feature: they have piss-poor antioxidant capacity

i'd like to see that research paper: that the lack of antioxidants contributes to addictive behavior. and replacing the antioxidants "cures"/improves the addiction.

I don't see how you get that or any of your criticism out of what he wrote.
I don't think he was implying it is the cause, I think it was the effect.

dunno.. i just look at the words:

All addicts share the same feature: they have piss-poor antioxidant capacity, some of it genetic

implying that antioxidants/tea have a cause in addiction.

and that replacing antioxidants/tea cures/improves addiction.

Theanine can help restore faulty neurochemical balance that underlies addiction
Theanine is our friend, if we are addiction-prone.
other components in tea, the antioxidants, that fill the bill for the addicts
Tea supplies ...antioxidants. ...stops the brain from shrinking

---

"fat people can abuse their body so bad it cannot make insulin anymore."

"fat" people have resistance to insulin. downregulation of the receptor. thats the most common relationship. decrease in weight, increase exercise upregulates receptors improves insulin response, decreases insulin need.

[raveme]

"fat" people have resistance to insulin. downregulation of the receptor. thats the most common relationship. decrease in weight, increase exercise upregulates receptors improves insulin response, decreases insulin need.

true, but if they overdo the eating thing for a long time, the pancreas stops producing insulin and they need insulin shots. that's what's called diabetes. so there's nothing wrong in what Tea Noob wrote.

[silverneedles]

the body can take alot of crap until something is damaged.
so, in general: you eat all your life, the pancreas will not stop producing insulin.

extremes: you overdo anything - something will happen.

"fat" people cant utilize insulin. that is the dominant mechanism. because of continuing high blood glucose pancreas may increase production to compensate. because of that at some point its possible it will "run out", but this is not the majority.

It will not run out just because you're overdo the eating. athletes eat alot, but this is compensated by the expenditure of energy from exercise.

they need insulin shots. that's what's called diabetes

its not why its called diabetes.
Diabetes is increased blood sugar.
Diabetes can be with or without need for insulin replacement.

[raveme]

overeating means eating more than you need, athletes need more because they use more energy, but that's not overeating.

"fat people can abuse their body so bad it cannot make insulin anymore."

that doesn't mean that all fat people do, but they can.

its not why its called diabetes.
Diabetes is increased blood sugar.
Diabetes can be with or without need for insulin replacement.

i don't know why it's called 'diabetes', and yes there are several types of it.
that doesn't make the fact that you can eat till you run out of insulin and get diabetes less true.

..luckily as tea drinkers we usualy don't use that much sugar, so we're safe

[ABx]

Something to consider in what Intuit wrote about GABA is the fact that being drunk (on alcohol) is the effect of your brain essentially swimming in GABA. So if you get enough Theanine then alcohol may not seem as attractive. I've anecdotally found this to be true even before I knew about Theanine; I never drank much, but since drinking tea alcohol just hasn't been attractive to me. I would much rather be tea drunk, so I only drink if I'm out with friends that won't sit through a long tea session and I am only willing to do that about once or twice per year.

I've also heard it stated several times that addictions are usually the person's attempt to self-medicate in response to low brain chemicals, including things like downers (GABA deficiency). One of these was from a friend that attended a law enforcement conference as part of training to become an advocate. Treatment counselors have had good results by simply giving the addicts what they need, eliminating the cravings for what they wanted. GABA deficiency may not be the only deficiency in play in all addictions, but it does account for a certain amount of them.

I can't vouch for the antioxidants, but I do know Intuit's background in science, as well as some studies on tea, and so I'm not going to dismiss the idea out of hand.

Anyway, to answer the OP, your best bet would really just be to get a teapot or an infuser mug and an electric kettle. I started with an infuser mug and still use it for some things. It's very versatile, convenient, readily available, and the size is generally a great compromise between gongfu style brewing and big pot brewing. If you're brewing wulong (oolong) or darker then you can preheat the mug a bit and then pour boiling water over the leaves, and if you're brewing green tea then just pour boiling water in the empty mug (which cools the water to the right temp) and then place the infuser basket with leaves in. Infuser mugs are available just about everywhere that sells kitchenware and are inexpensive. Then just get an electric kettle that you like to boil water in less time than it takes on the stove.

As for the tea itself you might look into the greener wulong (oolong) like Baozhong/Pouchong, Tie Guan Yin, any of the Formosa (Taiwan) High Mountain, etc. You might find these to do the most for you