brown betty teapot

A Hand blown glass tea pot is a unique and affordable gift idea for showers, anniversaries, Mother's Day, wedding presents, or the holidays. Every tea pot is meticulously hand finished by experienced glass crafters.

Hand blown European teapot. Tea kettles have a real artistic, historical and cultural value all over the world. Teapots have become great gift items. The 1st tea kettle was developed in China in the 16th Century. The Japanese enjoyed various teas, including green tea. By the 18th Century the teapots made at Yixing, China, were being produced in shapes which had symbolic significances, for example, peach shape for long life and good fortune, pomegranate for many, hardy youngsters.

Early teapots, when brought to Europe, inspired potters to prepare new variations of tea pot culture. Britain, being more keen on tea drinking than the rest of Europe, made the tea kettle their own forte.

Currently, tea drinking is making a resurgence in the U.S. Some state Americans are changing from "happy hour" to "tea time." Excessive social drinking is increasingly frowned upon and, with executives facing shrinking expense budgets, the "power lunch" is being replaced by the "power tea." Herbal teas popularized during the sixties are also gaining acceptance as other folks try to stay away from caffeine.

Today we savor an potpourri of healthy teas. Many specialized "healthy" teas are now available. Many of these are decaffeinated and organic variations of the various tea types. A choice of tea varieties is perfect for tea time or a simple tea party.

Studies with green tea in animals has shown it can repress arthritis. Green tea, already extolled for its cancer fighting ability, may also protect against certain autoimmune disorders, new research suggests. Green teas subdue the expression of antigens made by the body, substances that can trigger an immune response. EGCG, a substance found in green tea is known to suppress inflammation.
See more healthy eating, gourmet food items.

Browse our unique glass-within-glass oil and vinegar cruet decanters.

• See our selection of elegant kitchen gourmet cruets.
• Great for a birthday gift, mothers day gift, wedding present, crystal gifts,
• Christmas, housewarming and/or romantic gifts.

Chi Ka Yan

Last week I visited Chi Ka Yan, which has just opened in Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire. My Time Out review is now online.

Dim sum: dish up a dinner with a difference

'Small and intricate, dim sum may be fiddly to make, but with a little practice you'll soon be dazzling guests, says Bill Knott.' I'm not so sure. The recipes in this feature, from London's Shanghai Blues restaurant, are seriously cheffy, requiring ingredients such as roast duck and jellied chicken stock. One of the recipes also fails to advise readers to wear gloves when slicing taro, a problem when the majority of the population will get itchy hands without.

Fuchsia Dunlop on how to eat like Chairman Mao

More from Observer Food Monthly: Fuchsia Dunlop on how to eat like Chairman Mao. There's a recipe for Chairmain Mao's red-braised pork in this excerpt from her new book on Hunan cooking, The Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. I guess this means I can talk about the book now - Fuchsia asked me to hold off until the Observer published.