Take tea without milk for weight loss......

Beware, especially if you want to lose weight - don't add milk to tea, or you would pile on the pounds. 

Scientists have discovered that tea contains high levels of compounds that help reduce the amount of fat but proteins found in cows' milk neutralise this fat-fighting ability. 

New research has shown that the compounds, called theaflavins and thearubigins, prevent obesity when given to rats that were also on a high-fat diet. 

Researchers now believe this could explain why people in Britain appear not to benefit from the healthy affects of tea despite being among the world's biggest consumers of the beverage, theTelegraph reports. 

Devajit Borthakur, a scientist at the Tea Research Association at Jorhat in the Indian state of Assam, said: "When tea is taken with milk, theaflavins and thearubigins form complexes with the milk protein, which causes them to precipitate." 

"It means that we don't get the health benefit from these compounds nor from milk protein. Therefore, it is always advised to take tea without milk." 

A study by scientists in Japan, reveals that extracts from tea leaves inhibit the absorption of fat in the guts of rats being fed high-fat diet. 

These rats also had less fat tissue on their bodies and lower fat content in their livers, reports theJournal of Nutrition. 

Hiroaki Yajima, a scientist with the Kirin Beverage Company in Japan who carried out the Japanese research, said: "Black tea extracts may prevent diet-induced obesity by inhibiting intestinal lipid absorption."

Indian Tea

- 

Masala Chai Recipe -

Serves: 4 
Ingredients:
4 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
3 cups water
1/4 inch fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups milk
2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons strong tea
Method:
Add spices, water, ginger and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Add the milk and sugar to the pan and bring to a boil again. Add tea and bring to a boil again. Strain it into a warmed teapot or directly into teacups and serve with Indian savory snacks or cilantro chutney sandwiches.

Spiced Chai Recipe

Serves 2 
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups water
1 stick cinnamon
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 cup milk
3 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons strong tea
Method:
Add spices, water and bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Add the milk and sugar to the pan and bring to a boil again. Add tea and bring to a boil again. Strain it into a warmed teapot or directly into teacups and serve with Indian savory snacks or cilantro chutney sandwiches.

Green Cardamom Chai Recipe

Serves 2 
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups water
2 cardamom pod, whole, split
1/4 inch fresh ginger
1 1/2 cup milk
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoon strong black tea
Method:
Add cardamom, ginger, water and bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Add the milk and sugar to the pan and bring to a boil again. Add tea and bring to a boil again. Strain it into a warmed teapot or directly into teacups and serve with samosa or cilantro chutney sandwiches.

Masala Chai Recipe 2

Ingredients:
3 tsp loose tea, usually black
1 piece of dry ginger
3 cardamom pods, crushed
3 whole cloves
1 piece of cinnamon stick
Milk and sugar to taste
Method:
Boil 3 cups of water, then add tea and spices. Bring to boil. Let sit for 1 minute. Strain out the spices and serve, with milk and/or sugar.

Common Chai Recipe

4 cups water 1-2 whole cloves 1 stick cinnamon 1-2 cardamom pods (cracked open) Bring these to a boil; let stand as long as possible. Then add: 4 tsp. loose Assam Summer Tips for a strong robust flavor. and let steep. Then add: 2 cups milk to the tea-spice mixture and heat but do not boil. When hot, strain and add: 4 tablespoons of sugar (or a little less) Stir and keep hot. Variations: The beauty of making chai is you can vary the ingredients according to your taste. Some Chai lovers enjoy the taste of ginger in their chai. Add ginger flavor either by adding fresh ginger pieces or alternatively use our ginger assam tea, an exceptional blend of Assam leaf tea and natural ginger root. Variety is the spice of life. Try incorporating some of these spices in your chai, according to your taste preferences: anise seed, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and nut meg. You may also want to substitute different types of black tea. For subtler chai flavor use a high quality darjeeling or premium nilgiri tea.

Masala Chai

   
Click on the photo to view larger

Cooking Time: 7 min | Preparation Time: 2 min | Servings: 1
This is amazingly refreshing Spiced tea.
Category: Beverages | Course: Tea

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 tsp lose tea leaves
2. 1/3 tsp grated ginger
3. 1/3 tsp cardamom
4. 1/3 tsp cinnamon
5. pinch of nutmeg powder
6. a pinch of ground clove
7. handful mint leaves (optional)2 tsp honey or sugar as per taste
8. 1/3 cup water
9. 3/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Get water to a boil and add all spices
2. After a min add the milk and honey/sugar as well and stir it well.
3. With constant attention keep it on for 4-5 min.
4. Strain it and serve hot.