Natural and Organic

Organic Green Tea

2020-08-03T19:39:00.011+05:45

HISTORY:

Archeological evidence suggests that people consumed tea leaves steeped in boiling water as many as 500,000 years ago. Botanical evidence indicates that India & china were among the first countries to cultivate tea. Tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world after water. It is estimated that almost one billion cups of tea is consumed every day across the world.

Green tea has been consumed through out the ages in India, china, Japan and Thailand. In traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, practitioners used green tea as a stimulant, diuretic (to promote the excretion of urine), astringent (to control bleeding and help heal wounds) and to improve heart health. Other traditional uses of green tea include treating flatulence (gas), regulation body temperature and blood sugar, promoting digestion and improving mental process.

Legend describes the creation of the tea plant to dareuma or Buddha dharma, the founder of the Zen sector of Buddhism. In course of his meditation near Nanking in china, the saint fell asleep. On waking up he was so angry that he punished himself by cutting off his eyelids. Where the eyelids dropped to earth, a strange plant comes up. And thus the tea plant was born & the tea beverage came into being. China is the first country to use it as a beverage.

Today, India is the largest tea producing country & Great Britain as well as Ireland rare the chief consumers of tea. In Nepal, the tea cultivation started in 1920 BS.(1863 AD) & the credit goes to Badahakim shree Gajaraj Singh Thapa . He started the plantation of tea in Ilam tea estate for the first time in Nepal. Now, many tea estates have been established in Ilam, Dhankuta, Panchathar, Jhapa & Terathum districts of eastern regions of Nepal.

All true teas- as distinct from herbal & flower infusions are made from the leaves of a magnolia- related evergreen tree with the botanical name of camellia senensis. Although reaching a height of 30 feet in the wild, on tea plantations (called gardens or estates), the plant is kept as a shrub, constantly pruned to height of about 3 feet to encourage new growth & for convenient picking.

Tea plants grow only in warm climates but can flourish at altitudes ranging from sea level to 7000ft. The best teas, however, are produced by plants grown at higher altitudes where the leaves mature more slowly & yield a richer flavor. Depending upon the altitude, a new tea plant may take from two & half to five years to be ready for commercial picking. But once productive, it can provide tea leaves for close to century.

Tea plants produce abundant foliage, a camellia-like flower, & a berry, but only the smallest & youngest leaves are picked for tea- the two leaves & a bud at the top of each young shoot. The growth of new shoots, called a flush, can occur every week at lower altitudes but takes several weeks at higher ones. The new leaves are picked by hand by "tea pluckers", the best of whom can harvest 40 pounds per day, enough to make, 10 pounds of tea.

1 Tea was used for over 4700 years ago.

2 2 Chinese emperor Shen Nong ben cao jing was the first person to drink tea on 2737bc & found useful for tumors & other health complications.

3 1760-1122bc Tea was used as a medicine

4 1368-1644ad-Green Tea WAS PRODUCED IN CHINA

5 Mid of 17th century-Tea reached to Europe.

6 The search for tea in Assam was started by the East India Company as an alternative source of supply to UK.

7 The first commercial effort in organized tea growing was started by the Assam Tea Company in 1839AD George Williamson was pioneer of manufacture in Assam.

8 By 1856, major tea production began in Darjeeling.

9 In Nepal, tea cultivation started in 1863 AD

10 1984 Ad – Kanchanjanga Tea Estate (KTE) was established at Ranitar in the remote hilly region of panchathar district of Nepal at an altitude of 800-1300 meter, covering 94 hectares of land to produce high quality organic green tea.

· Japanese call tea as a "best beverage".

· Chinese call tea as a "sweetest honey from heaven".

· Ancient Chinese saying "better to be deprived of food for three days than tea for one day".

Tea in different languages

Cha - Chinese word.

O-cha - Japanese word.

Chai - Indian word.

Chiya – Nepali word.

2016-12-18T14:58:00.003+05:45

Roses

There are over 100 species of the rose. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing or trailing with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers vary in size and shape and are uually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, NOrth America, and northwest Africa. The name rose comes from French, itself from Latin rosa.

Roses have been long used as symbols in a number of societies. Roses are ancient symbols of love and beauty. "Rose" means pink or red in a variety of languages.

A red rose (often held in a hand) is a symbol of socialism or social democracy: it is used as a symbol by British, Irish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, NOrwegina, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Brazilian, Dutch, Bulgarian, Korean, and other European labour, socialist or social democratic parties, mostly adopted in the period after World War II.

The rose is used as a symbol of love and compassion in many countries (e.g.USA, England, Spain, France, Italy). The meaning ascribed to the rose depends on context; general examples in include the romantic love of roses given on Valentine's Day, as part of courtship or for an anniversary; filial love in the case of mother's day; compassion in the case of a funeral.

Relationship Marketing

2014-09-15T16:08:00.003+05:45

We live in a society. We need the support of others and want to build a long term relation with different groups of the society. Without the help of others it is difficult to survive in the society. Tough competition is everywhere. In order to compete and achieve the success in any field, the warm cooperation of different groups or individuals is inevitable.

In this scenario, Relationship Marketing is one of the emerging concepts playing a vital role in the modern marketing. Relationship marketing is the process of building loyal customers and winning back the lost customers. It is also the strategy to develop a long term relationships with customers. Building a satisfied customer is a challenging task which may involve costs but satisfied and loyal customers generate revenue which is higher and lucrative than those costs.

Attracting customers is not important as the customers who made purchase may switch to competitors' brads at any time. Thus, it is most important to retain the customers by building a long term relationship with them. This can be only done through relationship marketing i.e. marketers may have to share responsibilities with the key parties in the market.

The process of customer building and retention is shown in the following diagram:

Suspects: Most firms start with suspects that constitute of every one who has the possibility to buy the product or service.
Prospects: Firms identify customer groups who are likely to buy the product or service. All the customers who are not likely to buy the product are recognized as disqualified customers. The firms concentrate its marketing efforts on the prospects only.
First Time Customers: this is a group of customers who can either be repeat customer or be defector. Here, the satisfied customers become repeat customers while dissatisfied customers go to the ex-buyer pool.
Repeat Customers: This is a group of customers who has experienced satisfaction in the first time trail and more possibility to become loyal customers. Often customers may experience dissatisfaction in the second or third trail and may switch to competitive brand. Such customers also move to the Ex-buyer pool.
clients: This is a group that consists of loyal and satisfied buyers who stay with the firm for a longer period of time.
Advocate: The firm tries to convert clients into advocates. Advocate means a group of customers who praise the firm and its products and encourage others to buy the firm's products.
Partners: The ultimate challenge of the firm is to convert advocates into partners where both the firm and customers work together actively for mutual benefits.

At the same time, some customers will inevitably become inactive due to several reasons such as bankruptcy, Changing location, dissatisfaction etc. The company's challenge is to reactivate dissatisfied customers through win-back strategies. Comparatively, it is quite easier to re-attract ex-customers than new ones.

The company has to invest adequate amount of money to build a greater customer loyalty. Development of customer loyalty, in any sense, is creative for the firm. How much should a company invest in customer relationship building so that the costs do not exceed the Profits. Here, we have to distinguish different levels of company investment in customer relationship building.

Basic Marketing: In this marketing, the Marketer simply sells the product. There is no call back system. Here, the smaller consumer items are sold where profit margins are very low. Thus, there is no effort to develop relationship with customer in the basic marketing.
Reactive Marketing: In this marketing, the marketer sells the products but customers are encouraged to report about their complaints and suggestions. There are numerous byers for the products but profit margin is moderate. Thus, the marketers just attempt to develop relationship with customers.
Accountable Marketing: in this marketing, the sales person phones the customers a short time after the sale to check whether the product is meeting the customer's expectations. The sales person also asks the customer for any product or service expectations.The sales person also asks the customer for any product or service improvement or any particular disappointment. This information helps the company to continuously improve its performance. In this marketing the profit margins vary with the number of customers and the company can build a good relationship with the customers.
Proactive Marketing: Here, the salesperson contacts with customers from time to time with suggestions about the improved product uses or helpful new product. This is only possible when number of customers is few and the profit margin may vary with number of customers. The marketer in this marketing may succeed in building friendly relations with customers.
Partnership Marketing: In this marketing, the company continuously works with the customers to discover ways to uplift the customer saving or help the customer perform better.

Adoption of a level of investment in building relationship with customer depends on the number of customers and size of the profit margin. In this context, most marketing organizations try their best to build relationship with their customers. They try to make customers as their partners to assist them or discover new ways to satisfy unmet wants/needs. Without developing intimacy with customers, it is probably impossible to exist in the competitive market.

Few multinational companies in Nepal are operating under this concept.These companies share the accessory responsibilities with the major local companies so that they can get adequate local support and receive valuable information about the customers in order to improve the existing products or produce a new products. For example, Colgate Palmolive (Nepal) Pvt. Ltd only produces the paste but not the tube and packages required for the product. The company handovers the manufactures of tube and necessary packages to the local company. This is an attempt to operationalize the relationship marketing.

Relationship Marketing

2014-09-04T08:05:00.000+05:45

The process of customer building and retention is shown in the following diagram:

Suspects: Most firms start with suspects that constitute of every one who has the possibility to buy the product or service.
Prospects: Firms identify customer groups who are likely to buy the product or service. All the customers who are not likely to buy the product are recognized as disqualified customers. The firms concentrate its marketing efforts on the prospects only.
First Time Customers: this is a group of customers who can either be repeat customer or be defector. Here, the satisfied customers become repeat customers while dissatisfied customers go to the ex-buyer pool.
Repeat Customers: This is a group of customers who has experienced satisfaction in the first time trail and more possibility to become loyal customers. Often customers may experience dissatisfaction in the second or third trail and may switch to competitive brand. Such customers also move to the Ex-buyer pool.
clients: This is a group that consists of loyal and satisfied buyers who stay with the firm for a longer period of time.
Advocate: The firm tries to convert clients into advocates. Advocate means a group of customers who praise the firm and its products and encourage others to buy the firm's products.
Partners: The ultimate challenge of the firm is to convert advocates into partners where both the firm and customers work together actively for mutual benefits.

Basic Marketing: In this marketing, the Marketer simply sells the product. There is no call back system. Here, the smaller consumer items are sold where profit margins are very low. Thus, there is no effort to develop relationship with customer in the basic marketing.
Reactive Marketing: In this marketing, the marketer sells the products but customers are encouraged to report about their complaints and suggestions. There are numerous byers for the products but profit margin is moderate. Thus, the marketers just attempt to develop relationship with customers.
Accountable Marketing: in this marketing, the sales person phones the customers a short time after the sale to check whether the product is meeting the customer's expectations. The sales person also asks the customer for any product or service expectations.The sales person also asks the customer for any product or service improvement or any particular disappointment. This information helps the company to continuously improve its performance. In this marketing the profit margins vary with the number of customers and the company can build a good relationship with the customers.
Proactive Marketing: Here, the salesperson contacts with customers from time to time with suggestions about the improved product uses or helpful new product. This is only possible when number of customers is few and the profit margin may vary with number of customers. The marketer in this marketing may succeed in building friendly relations with customers.
Partnership Marketing: In this marketing, the company continuously works with the customers to discover ways to uplift the customer saving or help the customer perform better.

Good news for tea drinkers

2011-09-28T17:57:00.003+05:45

Black tea boosts the artheries

     Tea is good for the heart, scientists have found. They have discovered that drinking tea protects against heart disease by improving the function of the artery walls.
     Tea contains antioxidants called flavonoids that may help prevent cholesterol damaging arteries.
     But the new research suggests that might not be the only possible benefit from the drink.
It appears to improve the function of the linings of the artery wall - but only if you drink four cups of black tea a day.
Cells
     Coronary artery disease can adversely affect the function of the vascular endothelium - the smooth layer of cells lining the walls of arteries.
     A healthy vascular endothelium is supposed to expand and contract according to the body's blood flow needs.
It also helps prevent the formation of clots and the development of inflammation in the vessel wall.
     These processes are impaired in people with endothelial dysfunction, a common feature of heart disease.
In the new study, the immediate and long term effects of drinking black-leaf tea and plain water were compared in 50 individuals with artery disease.
Endothelial dysfunction improved after drinking four cups of black tea a day, while water had no such effect.
Key part
     Professor Joseph Vita, who led the Boston University team in Massachusetts, said: "Endothelial dysfunction is a key part of the development of cardiovascular disease.
"We've shown that black tea may help reverse this dysfunction and may reduce the risk of cardiac events."
     The study, funded by the US National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association, was commissioned by the Tea Council.
     Bill Gorman, chairman of the Tea Council in Britain, said: "With a staggering number of people in the UK suffering a heart attack each year, this discovery is good news to those suffering from cardiovascular problems."

A Broadcast from bbc.co.uk

Tea and Chronic Disease Prevention

2011-07-17T08:51:00.008+05:45

Jane Higdon, Ph.D.

LPI Research Associate

Tea, one of the most popular beverages in the world, is an infusion of the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Although it has been consumed for centuries, tea is currently touted as a beverage that can promote health and help prevent a number of diseases. While scientists are very interested in the potential for tea and its constituents, particularly polyphenols, to prevent diseases, evidence that tea consumption actually prevents chronic disease in humans is limited.

Different Types of Tea Contain Different Mixtures of Polyphenols

There are several major categories of tea, which are distinguished by different processing methods and, consequently, different concentrations of specific tea polyphenols. Fresh tea leaves are rich in polyphenolic compounds known as catechins. When tea leaves are intentionally broken or rolled during processing, catechins become oxidized through the action of polyphenol oxidase enzymes present in the tea leaves. The oxidation of catechins, known as fermentation in the tea industry, causes them to polymerize and to form larger, more complex polyphenols known as theaflavins and thearubigins.

White teas are unfermented teas made from very young tea leaves or buds that are steamed immediately after harvest to inactivate polyphenol oxidase and then dried. Consequently, white teas usually contain higher concentrations of catechins than other teas. Tea leaves that are destined to become green teas are withered by air drying prior to heat inactivation of polyphenol oxidase. Although still rich in catechins, green teas may have slightly lower catechin concentrations than white teas. During the processing of black teas, tea leaves are rolled and allowed to oxidize or ferment fully, resulting in high concentrations of theaflavins and thearubigins and relatively low catechin concentrations. Oolong teas are only partially fermented—they are allowed to oxidize for shorter periods than black teas. Consequently, oolong teas fall between green and black teas with respect to their catechin concentrations. Since different categories of tea contain different amounts of catechins, theaflavins, and thearubigins, it is important to distinguish between the consumption of different categories of tea when examining studies of tea consumption and chronic disease risk.

Tea and Cardiovascular Disease

Coronary heart disease

While epidemiologic studies do not provide conclusive evidence that increased tea consumption offers protection from coronary heart disease, several well-designed studies have demonstrated significant risk reductions in consumers of green and black tea. After almost 6 years of follow up in a study of 4,807 Dutch men and women, those who drank more than 1.6 cups (one cup is equal to 8 fluid ounces) of black tea had a risk of heart attack only 68% that of non-tea drinkers. A study that followed 8,522 Japanese men and women for 12 years found that men who drank at least 4 cups/day of green tea had a risk of death from coronary heart disease that was only 58% that of men who drank 1.3 cups/day or less. However, no protective effect of green tea consumption on coronary heart disease mortality was found in women. In a meta-analysis, statistical techniques are used to pool the results of a number of similar studies in order to provide an overall estimate of the effect or risk of interest. The authors of a recent meta-analysis, based on ten prospective cohort studies and seven case-control studies, concluded that an increase in daily tea consumption of 3 cups decreased the risk of heart attack by 11%.

Stroke

Two prospective cohort studies have observed a protective effect of tea against stroke. One study followed 5,910 Japanese women who neither smoked nor drank alcohol for 4 years. The incidence of stroke was significantly lower in women who consumed at least 1.5 cups/day of green tea. In a study of 552 elderly Dutch men followed for 15 years, the risk of stroke for those who drank more than 2.5 cups/day of black tea was only 31% that of men who drank less than 1.4 cups/day. Two other prospective cohort studies failed to find a significant association between black tea consumption and stroke incidence or mortality, but tea consumption was relatively low in both cohorts.

Endothelial function (blood vessel dilation)

Normal function of the inner lining of blood vessels, known as the endothelium, plays an important role in preventing cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis impairs endothelial function, compromising the ability of blood vessels to relax (vasodilate). Endothelium-dependent vasodilation is known to be impaired in heart disease patients and people with elevated cholesterol levels. Two recent clinical trials suggest that black tea consumption helps to restore normal endothelial function. In heart disease patients, endothelium-dependent vasodilation was significantly improved 2 hours after drinking 1.9 cups of black tea or 3.8 cups of black tea daily for 4 weeks, compared to drinking equal quantities of water. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was not affected 2 hours after 200 mg of caffeine, a dose equivalent to that in 1.9 cups of black tea, suggesting that tea polyphenols rather than caffeine might be responsible for the effect. In patients with elevated cholesterol levels, consumption of 5.3 cups of black tea daily for 4 weeks also improved endothelium-dependent vasodilation.

Cancer

In animals, tea and its components have been found to inhibit the development of cancer or precancerous lesions of the skin, lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, small intestine, colon, bladder, and breast. However, it is not clear whether tea or tea polyphenols will prove to be useful cancer chemopreventive agents in humans. Overall, observational studies on tea consumption and cancer in humans do not support the idea that increased tea consumption is protective. It is not known exactly how the consumption of tea and tea polyphenols inhibits the development of cancer in animals. Although tea polyphenols function as potent antioxidants in the test tube, their protective effects in animals may not be related to their ability to neutralize free radicals. Instead, the anticancer effect of tea polyphenols may be due to the increased activity of enzymes that function to detoxify carcinogens and free radicals and the inhibition of certain signaling pathways that play important roles in promoting the transformation of healthy cells to cancerous cells.

There are several possible reasons for the discrepancies between results from animal cancer models and epidemiologic studies in humans. Aside from potential species differences, it may be difficult for humans drinking tea to reach sufficient plasma and tissue levels of tea polyphenols to realize a protective effect. Although the concentration of tea used in animal studies is usually similar to that consumed by humans, the amount of tea consumed by animals, relative to body weight, is generally much higher than typical human consumption. The bioavailability of tea polyphenols, i.e. the amount absorbed into the blood, transported, and utilized, also appears to be relatively low in humans. Interestingly, a prospective study in Chinese men and women found that increased urinary concentrations of green tea catechins and their metabolites (biomarkers of catechin absorption) were associated with a significantly decreased risk of stomach cancer after adjusting for other risk factors.

Many observational studies of tea consumption in humans were not designed to specifically assess the effect of tea consumption on cancer risk. Some may not have adequately controlled for the effects of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors on cancer risk, while few obtained detailed information about the type and potency of the tea consumed. For example, a case-control study of older Arizona residents found a significant protective effect of hot, black tea consumption and the risk of skin cancer only after adjusting for tea brewing time. Longer brewing times (suggesting higher doses of tea polyphenols) were associated with decreased risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Yet few epidemiologic studies have recorded brewing time in their assessments of tea consumption. More detailed studies are needed before specific anticancer recommendations for tea consumption can be made.

Osteoporosis

A cross-sectional study of 1,276 older women in the U.K. found that black tea drinkers had significantly higher bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and hip than non-drinkers. These findings were independent of other factors known to affect BMD (e.g., smoking and hormone replacement therapy) and whether milk was added to the tea. More recently, a cross-sectional study of 1,037 Taiwanese men and women over the age of 30 found that longer duration of habitual tea consumption (mostly oolong or green tea) was associated with higher BMD in men and women. However, an earlier study designed to examine the effect of caffeine on BMD found black tea consumption to be associated with slightly decreased BMD in 281 perimenopausal women. Two large case-control studies in Mediterranean countries found low tea consumption to be significantly associated with increased risk of hip fractures in men and women over 50 years of age, while a prospective study of more than 80,000 nurses did not find a significant relationship between tea consumption and the risk of hip fracture over a 6-year period. The mechanisms for a beneficial effect of tea consumption on BMD are not clear, although it has been hypothesized that fluoride in tea and/or tea polyphenols may play a role. Tea polyphenols could preserve BMD through estrogenic effects, by decreasing oxidative stress, or by altering gene expression. Further study is required to determine whether tea consumption affects the development of osteoporosis or the risk of osteoporotic fracture in a meaningful way.

Summary

Although numerous observational studies have examined the relationships between tea consumption and the risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer, there is no conclusive evidence that high intakes of black or green tea are protective in humans. The results of several recent epidemiologic studies indicate that black or green tea consumption may be of modest benefit in preventing myocardial infarction or stroke, while two recent clinical trials suggest that relatively high levels of black tea intake may improve impaired endothelial function. Optimistic results in animal studies warrant continued investigation of the mechanisms by which tea or its components prevent or inhibit the progression of specific types of cancer, but the implications for humans are currently unclear. Evidence that tea consumption reduces the risk of other health problems, such as osteoporosis, is limited but points to the need for well-designed studies that provide more detailed information about individual exposure to the bioactive components of tea, such as catechins and other tea polyphenols. Although the polyphenols in tea are thought to play important roles in conferring potential health benefits, other bioactive components in tea include caffeine, fluoride, and manganese. For more information about tea and its bioactive components, see the Linus Pauling Institute's Micronutrient Information Center.

Source:American Association For Cancer Research

Date:December 15, 2004

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Green Tea Polyphenols Thwart Prostate Cancer Development At Multiple Levels

PHILADELPHIA The polyphenols present in green tea help prevent the spread of prostate cancer by targeting molecular pathways that shut down the proliferation and spread of tumor cells, as well as inhibiting the growth of tumor nurturing blood vessels, according to research published in the December 1 issue of Cancer Research.