| FDA Warns Of Herbal Tea Danger
The FDA says the unsafe herb might be dangerous to blood sugar, reproductive, cardiovascular and renal systems. In a letter to the makers of the popular Celestial Seasonings-brand products, FDA officials say the South American herb stevia is an unsafe food additive. Stevia is several hundred times sweeter than sugar but with no calories, is approved as a dietary supplement, but not as a food additive in the U.S. The herb is being eyed by several big beverage companies that are looking for new low-calorie sweeteners. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions/Regional News Service) .
Steeped with great Canadian tea
There's no real mystery as to why the Mysterious Rose wows at first sip. Leon Li of Ten Ren Tea skilfully slips a multitude of harmonious flavours into his iced tea creation – soaking, straining and blending blueberries, plums, simple syrup, brown sugar syrup and Taiwanese oolong tea with ice. He deftly shapes a thin slice of red apple into a flower and sets it afloat on the thick, dusty rose elixir, alongside a plump bubble tea straw. "This is the drink of all drinks," Brendan Waye of the Great Canadian Tea Steep-off tells a small but rapt audience Monday at the Canadian Coffee & Tea Show at the Toronto Congress Centre. "This should be framed, not drunk." But drink it we must (we being the steep-off judges), and the sensory memory of this vibrant and complex creation lingers.
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