A recent Chicago College of Dentistry study showed that people who rinsed their mouths with black tea multiple times a day had less plaque buildup than those who rinsed with water. "Polyphenols in tea suppress the bacterial enzyme that triggers plaque accumulation," says Christine D. Wu, Ph.D., the lead study author. "Drinking tea a few times a day could have the same effect."

Gourmet coffee houses have recently introduced a whipped frozen green tea drink which includes sugar and fat content that increases the buildup of bacteria in the mouth due to the heavy sugar content in the whipped cream-covered, fat-filled, sweetened drink. Those drinks are also made with green tea extract, rather than traditional fermented black tea which offers the cleansing effect mentioned in the dental study.

Ceylon Tea offered by Tastes Of The World Gourmet Coffee and Tea is traditional black tea with all the health benefits of reducing plaque and cavities. UVA Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Black Ceylon Tea is imported direct from Sri Lanka. This black tea is spicy, with the sweet fragrant hint of orchids.

Medical research has shown that drinking black tea offers protection against heart disease and blood-vessel disease, some types of cancer, and also reduces bacterial infections. New studies show black tea contains compounds known as theaflavins and thearubigens, which offer health benefits originally attributed solely to green tea.

Consider this more traditional healthy Ceylon Tea as a relaxing daily treat that offers healthy qualities without the cavity-causing sweetener of the frozen blended drinks at coffee houses. Black tea is especially enjoyable with the available Muggatea tea mug sold by Tastes Of The World.

A report was prepared for the Intergovernmental Group on Tea meeting in Bali (July 20-22, 2005) to review the current world tea market and its medium-term outlook. The US tea market was worth $5.4 billion in 2003, according to the Tea Association of the USA, up from $1.84 billion in 1990. US tea imports increased 5.3 percent to 99,000 tons last year, according to the FAO, which also reports that Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) has increased production of Ceylon Tea 1.3 percent to 340,614 tons.

Fans of Tastes Of The World Premium Single Estate Ceylon Tea can visit the Gourmet Coffee & Tea Coffee Talk Forum at tastesoftheworld.net/talk to discuss the beneficial health effects of teas, including Spica Tea, specially formulated with Ganoderma, Radix Glycyrrhizae and other natural herbs. Spica Tea is mild and does not contain caffeine, artificial coloring or preservatives.