National Australia Day, bottled water and the cold and flu season

Today, January 26 is National Australia Day (at least in Australia it is!)

This day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the proclamation at that time of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of New Holland.

Although it was not known as Australia Day until over a century later, records of celebrations on January 26th date back to 1808, with the first official celebration of the formation of New South Wales held in 1818. It is presently an official public holiday in every state and territory of Australia and is marked by inductions into the Order of Australia and presentations of the Australian of the Year awards, along with an address from the governor-general and prime minister.

On 09/26/09, hundreds of people marched through the picturesque rural town of Bundanoon to mark the first day of its bottled water ban by unveiling a series of new public drinking fountains. Such a smart move, knowing that bottled water is just tap water anyway ...

And Australians know the wonders of Lemon Myrtle, one of our best selling herbal tisanes and the perfect answer to the cold and flu season which will soon be peaking. Lemon myrtle is a plant grown in Australian and enjoyed as a beverage, a seasoning and can also be used as a insect repellant or antiseptic.

For general wellness, we recommend one cup a day. If ``something's going around'', two cups a day. And if you are already not feeling well, three cups back to back as soon as possible.
Usually $3.00 per ounce we'll have it on sale for the rest of the week at $2.50 per ounce.
Drink ... and be well!

12 things about tea your local dim sum restaurateur won't tell you Read more: 12 things about tea your local dim sum restaurateur won't tell you

Here's an interesting take on tea!

I can't prove or disprove any of it, but I agree with most of it!

Neotame ... the new neurotoxic sweetener

Neotame, New Neurotoxic Sweetener: FDA Says No Label Needed, Not Even in Organics
A Monsanto-created chemical, Neotame is likely more toxic than Aspartame. The FDA has quietly decided that we don't have the right to know if it's adulterating our food, not even if the food is labeled USDA Organic.
by Heidi Stevenson
2 January 2011

Aspartame can step aside. There's a new sweetener in town and it isn't saddled with the inconvenience of having to be listed on labels, so it can be sneaked into any prepared food, even USDA so-called Organic. So sayeth the FDA. Neotame is a Monsanto-created chemical similar to Aspartame, including its neurotoxic properties.
Monsanto developed Neotame as their Aspartame patent was expiring, and had no trouble in gaining FDA approval in 2002. They added 3-dimethylbutyl, a chemical listed as hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to Aspartame, making it both sweeter and more toxic.
Toxicity
Both Aspartame and Neotame contain substances that are metabolized into formaldehyde, a highly toxic poison, and an excitotoxic amino acid that agitates, thereby damaging, nerves.
At the time Neotame was originally approved by the FDA, Feingold.org, which battles the addition of many dodgy food additives, stated:
We did a search of MedLine to find studies of adverse effects or side effects of Neotame. Only four studies appeared, two of which were not studies, and the other two of which were actually a single study done by NutraSweet company researchers.
Feingold aptly described one of the nonstudies as effectively saying, "If we don't look, we won't know anything bad." The other, by the World Health Organization, is not a look at potential toxicity, but rather is about setting acceptable daily intakes of Neotame, along with other artificial sweeteners. Note: One must wonder how the FDA justifies non-listing of an ingredient for which there's an acceptable daily intake.
Mary Nash Stoddard, founder of the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network, compared the historic arc of tobacco company research with that of Aspartame. It applies equally well to Neotame:
There is a parallel issue with which to compare the Aspartame issue. That of cigarettes and the deadly effects of smoking. The massive Tobacco Industry is able to produce large volumes of scientific studies showing smoking does not cause: lung cancer, heart disease, strokes or death. Today, mainstream science accepts the fact that smoking can be deadly and addictive. So it is with Aspartame, whose approval was based, not on scientific fact, but as an issue of public policy.

Bad news from Assam, India

Assam teas, grown in the Assam region of in northeastern India, are known for their heartiness, boldness and maltiness and are therefore typically used as the base of most breakfast tea blends. The link provided here will lead you to a story that may help explain changes you may see coming in your strong teas in the future.

I beg that in the future if such changes occur within your teas, that you understand that I cannot control the climate that results in these changes.