HEALTH FOOD TIPS

Spaghetti: a simple Italian-American staple. Also, probably the first image that comes to your mind when you hear ?Italian food.? For some, pasta and spicy meatballs may be the extent of their knowledge of cuisine from the Mediterranean nation. Frankly, it?s easy to oversimplify traditional courses when you?re in the melting pot of the world. But what then is authentic Italian food?

For starters, Italians don?t eat pasta all day. No spaghetti in the cereal bowl, thank you. Breakfast is typically a cold meal; most start out with espresso and a pastry, both available from eateries at the local piazza, a square that functions as the social center for the entire town. Espresso, as you will find, is actually a vital part of the Italian way of life. It can be quite bitter, so traditionally a little bit of chocolate is used as a complement.

After this light meal, Italians are ready for something more substantial. Lunch is usually warm and can consist of two or three courses along with wine. It?s a crime to drink water while you are eating Italian food, so you should drink at least a glass of wine. This is an eating culture, so lunch is not hurried as in other places. People take their time, enjoy the food and talk to each other. In America, it?s the opposite: you have a warm breakfast like eggs, sausages and a very fast lunch, usually cold, like a sandwich or salad.

Dinner is the grand finale, with varieties of courses and dishes intermingling to create the perfect meal. There are, however, two key elements that set authentic Italian apart from imitators: its freshness and its simplicity. That?s the difference between a meal that is merely so-so and wonderful. You could have the same pasta dish, but it would be the fresh tomatoes that make the experience wonderful. Fresh means not frozen, canned or jarred in any way; just picked fresh from the market.

This offers a full sensory experience. Even when the ingredients are combined, you can taste each element. You can taste the tomato. You can taste the olive oil. You can taste the basil. When you eat it, it?s all very genuine, not sauce that has been boiled and had many items added to it over the hours to take away the acidity. Canned sauces tend to contain a lot of sugar which make the meal solid and heavy. Instead, you can feel satisfied when you?ve had something fresh and know exactly what you?ve eaten, without feeling overfull. The Italian likes to taste each element, not cover it up. That?s the art in Italian cooking. A good Italian chef can put together five or six ingredients and you really appreciate the fact that you can taste each of them.

High Mountain Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is referred to as semioxidized tea resembling a ball-like form produced from Qingxin Oolong varietals. Tea plantations located in The Central Mountains of Taiwan are major areas of production for the world famous oolong tea. Oolong tea gives off a strong unique varietal fragrance and tastes rich, smooth and is enjoyable. In addition, it carries a strong pleasant aftertaste.

The majority of first grade Taiwan high mountain teas are oolong teas. This is especially true for teas made from tea plantations located 1600 meter above sea level. Some of the most well known high mountain oolong teas harvested from the higher altitudes include Dayuling oolong tea, Li Shan oolong tea, Shanlinxi oolong tea, Alishan oolong tea and Wuling oolong tea.

Dayuling oolong tea mostly comes from tea plantations located between 2300 and 2600 meter above sea level. The plantations are located at one of the highest tea regions in Taiwan or arguably in the world. The unique tea growing environment allows Dayuling oolong tea to be rich and smooth in taste and is predominantly one of the finest oolong teas in Taiwan. Li Shan oolong tea is harvested from plantations between 2000 and 2400 meter above sea level. This tea growing environment also makes Li Shan oolong tea a first grade tea. Alishan oolong tea comes from plantations 1200 meter above sea level. It is one of the most famous oolong teas in Taiwan. Alishan oolong is extremely popular especially among foreign tourists from mainland China.

Milk Oolong Tea (Jinxuan Oolong)

Milk Oolong tea refers to semioxidized tea with ball-like form made from Jinxuan varietals. It comes with an unique delightful creamy fragrance and light refreshing milky taste. In addition, it leaves a satisfying milky aftertaste. The tea is highly recommended to be a great initiation to quality Taiwan Oolong teas.

Milk Oolong tea is produced from both high and low altitude tea plantations. High altitude milk oolong has a richer and smoother taste, but the low altitude allows the tea to be fresher and more economic. Milk oolong is particularly popular among female local tea drinkers in Taiwan and it is definitely a great choice for everyday tea drinking.

Four Season Oolong Tea (Sijichuan Oolong)

Four Season oolong tea refers to semioxidized tea resembling a ball-like form made from Sijichun varietal. It carries a smooth, floral and mild taste without any bitterness or dryness. The tea is highly recommended to be a great initiation to Taiwan tea.

Most of Four Season oolong tea comes from low altitude,1000 meter below sea level, tea plantations. The tea is fresh, tasty, economic and available in large quantities. All of these characterisitcs make the tea a great candidate to be an everyday tea to enjoy with friends and family. In fact, it is one of the best selling teas in Taiwan. The Mingjian tea region is where the majority of the production of the fresh Four Season oolong tea occurs.

Jade Oolong Tea (Cuiyu Oolong)

Jade oolong tea refers to semioxidized tea resembling a ball-like form made from Cuiyu varietals. It gives off a jasmine fragrance and tastes refreshing, mild and smooth. In addition, the tea leaves a sweet pleasant aftertaste. Jade oolong tea is highly recommended to be a great initiation to Taiwan teas.

Similar to Four Season oolong tea, the majority of Jade oolong tea are produced from low altitudes tea plantations ,1000 meter below sea level. The tea is fresh, tasty, economic and available in large quantities. It is highly recommended to be a perfect everyday tea. Jade oolong tea is one of top and best sellers among Taiwan teas.

Pouchong Tea

Pouchong tea is slightly oxidized and mostly produced in the Pinglin Township near Taipei, Taiwan. It is processed and rolled into stick-like form in contrast to oolong tea which appears in ball-like form. Pouchong is a popular and excellent choice of quality Taiwan Oolong teas. It gives off a floral fragrance and tastes rich, mild, smooth and pleasant. In addition, the tea carries a great reputation for its strong pleasant aftertaste.

Pouchong tea is known as wenshan pouching tea among locals in Taiwan. Wenshan tea region has been one of the most important tea regions for over a hundred years and it is still a popular and major tea producing region.

Wenshan pouching tea is prepared by strictly following old fashioned tea processing methods. Local tea farmers make sure every step of the tea processing is fully completed before moving on to the next step to ensure that the tea produced can be at its highest quality.

Wenshan pouching tea is old-fashioned in almost every aspect even when it comes to pricing. On the rest of tea regions in Taiwan, tea is sold mostly according to place of origin, season, and reputation of the tea. There is no doubt that these three can almost guarantee that the tea has to reach a certain level of quality. However, taste affects just slightly on its price. If the tea harvest came from a bad season of weather, customers may still have to pay the same price to enjoy the tea; simply because the tea is produced from a region with an excellent reputation. In contrast, wenshan pouching tea is mainly sold according to its taste and quality. You may see wenshan pouching teas coming from the identical place of origin and seasons are sold at different prices. Sometimes ten times the difference!

Many tea varietals are produced in the Wenshan region, such as Qingxin Oolong, Jinxuan, Sijichun and Tikunayin. After years of tea production experiences, local tea farmers realized that Qingxin Oolong is by far the best to make first grade pouching tea due to its unique fragrances. Qingxin Oolong has now become the most popular candidate in producing pouching tea.

When the attention is placed on oolong tea, do not overlook the pouching tea as well. The fragrances are preserved which allows the local tea farmers to enjoy the old fashioned methods of producing this type of tea. Give it a try for yourself and you will understand why pouching tea is popular among the locals in Taiwan!

The Gaggia Baby Class espresso machine is a full featured, easy to operate semi-automatic espresso machine. Gaggia has been manufacturing espresso machines for over 25 years, and is actually the creator of the modern pump espresso machine. The Gaggia Baby Class is one of Gaggia’s newest and most updated machines, and is available in semi-automatic design for the professional espresso maker.

The Baby Class features a new sleek, brushed stainless steel exterior, which is only one of the improvements made to this already terrific espresso machine. One of the numerous new features of the Gaggia Baby Class is a three-way valve and dual heating elements, which minimize heat, and steaming time. The portafilter and the brew group are now made of sturdy chrome plated brass, and the Baby Class has a powerful 15 BAR pump. The boiler quickly heats water, eliminating wait time. The water is easy to add to this machine, as the 60 oz. water reservoir is removable. This machine can be used to simply heat water to make hot chocolate, tea or even soup. This greatly increases the overall value of the versatile Gaggia Espresso Maker.

Of course the best feature of the Gaggia Baby is the delicious Italian style espresso it produces. Always thick and creamy, there is simply none better. It includes a turbo frother pivoting steam wand, which has been improved with this new model. It creates a creamy froth to top off not only espresso, but cappuccinos or lattes as well. This Gaggia espresso maker uses either finely ground coffee or E.S.E. style espresso pods. It comes with an accessory kit, which includes single and double filter baskets, a plastic tamper, and scoop. Prices vary but are generally from $499 to $600, depending on the retailer. The Gaggia Baby Class is not cheap, but commercial quality of this kind seldom is. It is fairly heavy at 17 lbs and it uses 120 volts, 1425 watts of power.

In product reviews, users boast that the Gaggia Baby Class espresso machine does indeed live up to its reputation. Enjoyed most are the quick brewing time and consistent results. People also love the fact that the machine is pretty to look at, and they enjoy having it sitting out on the counter instead of hidden away when not in use. The Gaggia espresso machines seem to offer the best quality, style and durability of all the espresso machines. This Baby Class is a top consumer pick and highly rated.