By Theresa Shea and Mary Hammond
Monday, September 10th, 2012 7:00 AM CST
Gluten-free breads and pizzas have been a hit all summer! Have you tried the gluten-free sandwich with “Fresh” — avocado, red onion, ripe tomato, goat cheese and lettuce on whole grain, gluten-free bread seasoned with a little pesto. Or any of the gluten-free sandwiches or choose a Fallout burger and drag it through the garden on gluten-free buns. Ingredient list available upon request.
Tea Squares also has VEGAN pizza crust. Currently they are working on vegan buns. Dairy and egg-free. Looking for a Vegan and Gluten-free volunteer to help us with product development…please email them at info@teasquares.com
Here is the new menu:
Some questions from the Tea Squares feature in SOKY Happenings:
Hey, Sweet Tea… I’m a caffeine junky, but I’ve had to cut back because it makes me jumpy. Does tea have the same effect? Jittery Girl
Hey, Jittery Girl… The amount of caffeine in tea varies because of several factors: variety, age, leaf size, growing conditions and steeping time. Basically, the longer a tea is steeped, the more caffeine it delivers. Tea has about half the caffeine as coffee (40-120 mL vs. 95-200 mL for 8 oz.). To increase the amount of caffeine, add more tea leaves to your brew so you won’t miss your morning kick.
Personally, I reach for a cup of Yerba Mate when I need a boost. Yerba Mate is not a tea – it is a ti-sane, or herbal tea. For me, it has a combo tea-and-coffee-like flavor. Yerba Mate is a popular drink in South America, and is widely available in tea shops and health food stores. Lovers and sellers of Yerba claim that it relieves fatigue, increases focus, promotes weight loss and has a host of other great benefits. WebMD® says that Yerba Mate infusions “…mimic that of 100 to 200 mg of caffeine.” My personal experience with Yerba Mate is that it gives me a boost without the jitters.
Hey, Sweet Tea… I love drinking a cup of tea before bed, but it keeps me up at night! And I’m not fond of herbal tea. Help! Wide-eyed
Hey, Wide-eyed… I have an easy fix! About 80% of the water soluble caffeine in tea is released during the first 30 seconds of brewing. Go ahead and brew your tea. Then drain the brew after 30 seconds to reduce the caffeine. Then add more hot water to your leaves and brew normally. This works best with premium-grade, loose-leaf teas instead of packaged tea bags. Loose-leaf teas can be brewed again and again until the flavor is depleted.
This article was written and researched by Theresa Shea and Mary Hammond. Theresa and her husband, Greg, are tea lovers and owners of Tea Squares on Fountain Square Park in Bowling Green, KY. Mary is the Certified Herbalist at Tea Squares and is an educator of herbal practices, based on traditional folk medicine, indications of historical uses of herbs and scientific information. To have your tea, tisane and herbal questions answered, please email us at info@teasquares.com.
