Brewing the Perfect Cup of Black Tea

After water, Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. An agricultural product of leaves, leaf buds and inter nodes, of the Theaceae family, white tea, yellow tea, green tea, oolong, pu-erh tea and black tea are all harvested from this Chinese species.
 
Scientific evidence shows that the polyphenols and other antioxidants in tea may reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and other afflictions. However there is a huge gap between the perception that tea consumption is healthy and the actual amount of the healthful nutrients. The black tea's ability to keep disease away is limited to home-brewed teas. The popular varieties of black (red) tea include Assam tea, Nepal tea, Darjeeling tea, Nilgiri tea and Ceylon Tea. So how do we actually make this ritual befitting to our health –

Step 1 : Just about the most common fault while preparing black tea is to use water at too low a temperature. Many of the active substances in black tea do not mature at temperatures lower than 90°C (195°F). The water for black teas should be added near boiling point 99 °C (210 °F) as the temperature will have as large an effect on the final flavour as the type of tea used.

Step 2 : It is also recommended that the teapot be warmed before preparing tea. I personally keep the pot over the lid of the boiling water, adding the tea leaves with other spices till the water is done. A whiff of ginger, crushed fennel seeds or holy basil can be added for aromatic flavors. For delicate chinaware, it can be easily done by adding a small amount of boiling water to the pot, swirling briefly, before discarding.

Step 3: When the tea has brewed long enough to suit the taste of the drinker, it should be strained while serving. A tea cozy used as a cover for the teapot, keeps it insulated and warm. Usually four to five minutes is enough for the brewing process, but the precise time depends on a number of factors such as type of tea, weather or water quality.

This delicious beverage can now be had with milk or simply black !

Enjoy !!

Miley Cyrus Shows Off Engagement Ring at LAX

Miley Cyrus is happy as can be to be engaged, and she showed it this week. She sported her giant 3.5 carat rock (which you can see clearly above) at LAX, rocking a tight white tank, jeans and shades — because that bling is pretty blinding.
Cyrus and longtime boyfriend Liam Hemsworth confirmed their engagement on Wednesday (June 6). Hemsworth reportedly popped the question on May 31, much to Cyrus’ delight. She told PEOPLE mag, ”I’m so happy to be engaged and look forward to a life of happiness with Liam.” There’s no word on a date yet, but the cute couple have been cohabitating for quite a while, sharing a brood of pups between them.
As we mentioned earlier, the 3.5-carat bling is a Neil Lane diamond. A diamond expert states that the diamond ring probably cost Hemsworth about $100,000; the diamond is cushion-cut and set in an “Art-Nouveau” gold band.
The ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ singer isn’t the only Cyrus stoked on the news. Her mom, Tish, and dad, country singer Billy Ray, are beyond thrilled for their little lady’s engagement. Both parents took to — what else? — Twitter to share their sentiments.
“All I ever hoped for as a Daddy was to see my kids reach their dreams,” Billy Ray tweeted, adding, “To find happiness…peace of mind …and someday know… true love.” Awww! Mama Bear Tish gushed, “Wow! All of the love pouring out for Miley and Liam is incredible! So happy for my precious baby girl and the love of her life!”

Favorite Kanye West Album – Readers Poll

Happy birthday, Kanye West! Since the early 2000s, Yeezy has been churning out chart-topping albums that each have a sound all their own. In 2004, we were introduced to the young rapper on his debut, Grammy-winning LP ‘The College Dropout.’ In less than a decade’s time, he released five more albums with each going straight to the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 and three receiving Best Rap Album Grammys. We want to know: Out of Yeezy’s six studio albums, which is your absolute favorite?
In 2004, a then little-known rapper named Kanye West dropped one of the year’s best albums. The Chicago native truly came onto the mainstream music scene with a bang, dropping songs like ‘Through the Wire,’ ‘All Falls Down,’ ‘Jesus Walks’ and ‘The New Workout Plan.’ Lucky for his fans, Kanye is not one to just sit around and soak up success like dried up sponge. He was back in the studio in no time and in 2005, he released his second studio album ‘Late Registration,’ which boasts singles like ‘Diamonds From Sierra Leone,’ ‘Touch the Sky’ and ‘Gold Digger.’
2007 saw the release of Yeezy’s third album ‘Graduation,’ and this one was another massive success for the Chi-town rapper — ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing,’ ‘Stronger,’ ‘Good Life,’ ‘Flashing Lights’ and so many other amazing records appear on this LP. In 2008, Yeezy dropped ’808s & Heartbreak,’ which includes the Auto-tuned hit ‘Heartless’ and the exhilarating tribal-inspired track ‘Love Lockdown.’
Two years later, West unleashed his critically-acclaimed, collaboration-heavy album ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,’ with a track list that includes ‘Power,’ ‘Runaway,’ ‘Monster,’ ‘Lost in the World,’ and ‘All of the Lights.’ Finally, in 2011, Yeezy teamed up with his pal Jay-Z to create the joint album ‘Watch the Throne’ (‘N—–s in Paris,’ ‘Otis,’ ‘No Church in the Wild’).

Chris Brown ‘Turns Up the Music’ on the ‘TODAY’ Show

Chris Brown brought his dance moves and his catchy tunes to the ‘TODAY’ show this morning (June 8), performing his new smash ‘Turn Up the Music’ and ‘Yeah 3X.’ Team Breezy showed up in droves, packing the performance space in the Big Apple so Brown could entertain ‘em.
Before launching into ‘Turn Up the Music,’ the hot single from his new album ‘Fortune,’ which drops on July 3, Brown thanked the fans for sacrificing sleep to see his perform, saying, “I know y’all came out real early so let’s party, okay?” What a way to start a Friday! If you woke up early to catch the perf, Breezy showed his gratitude. Forget a cup of coffee. Breezy’s perf was all the caffeine we needed.
With his signature dance moves, a New York Yankees cap on his head while wearing black skinny jeans and a bright colored windbreaker  – which he later tossed to show off a white tee — Brown kept the crowd (and viewers at home) fully entertained from start to finish. Despite his somewhat salty reputation, once Breezy hits that stage, he comes alive and everything else is left behind.
There are few pop stars actively working today who can dance as well as Chris Brown. Performing on national TV a few weeks before his new album drops is always the best way to promote.
Check out the track listing for ‘Fortune’ here and after that, crank up the speakers and enjoy his TODAY performance.

Top 10 Kanye West Music Videos

Kanye West music videos are not your typical rap videos. Throughout his music career, the rapper-producer never fails to create eye-catching visuals for his album tracks.

In a 2010 interview, Kanye West talked about his music videos and how he hopes they connect fans to his music as a whole. “One of the hardest things and what I think is the most successful art — is when it just connects across the board which is one of the hardest things to do,” he explains to SOHH. “I always use the example of people like Will Smith and Marc Jacobs, people that can connect multi-culturally … with the souls of so many. When I make my music, every song, every line, I want to connect in that way. But be a hundred percent me. A hundred percent what I’m feeling.”
On his 35th birthday (June 8), we salute West’s video-making abilities and present PopCrush’s list of the Top 10 Kanye West Music Videos. The clips selected on this Kanye West video list were picked solely on their visual appeal. We think you would agree that the G.O.O.D. music rapper has a great eye when it comes to making stunning videos.

Breathe Carolina, ‘Hit and Run’ – Video Trailer Premiere

Breathe Carolina tease their next music video ‘Hit and Run’ with a brief trailer, in which the 2012 Warped Tour headliners establish a mysterious plot line surrounding secret agents and a wanted femme fatale. And you can check out the trailer exclusively here on PopCrush.
The trailer features just 15 seconds of actual footage but serves its purpose as a teaser that will leave viewers eager to see the rest of the clip. Band members David Schmitt and Kyle Even burst into a restaurant kitchen and punch out the cook, who collapses next to a newspaper with a large “Wanted” headline under a photo of a beautiful woman.
Next to that story in small print is a photo of Breathe Carolina with the headline, “Renegade Cops Hot on Her Trail,” which provides our biggest clue about the possible plot of the video. The caption refers to the guys as “special agents.” The subsequent image is a performance scene where the band plays the electropop track for an enthusiastic crowd, singing, “Tell me that you’re ready cause I don’t wanna hit and run.”
With the black-and-white footage and the abundance of gentlemen in suspenders, the performance could be set in an earlier era. Or we could simply be watching a supremely fashionable crowd. The missing pieces of the puzzle will be filled in when the full video premieres on June 13 on Vevo.
‘Hit and Run’ is available now on iTunes. The track is expected to appear on Breathe Carolina’s next album, the follow-up to 2011′s ‘Hell Is What You Make It,’ which produced the infectious hit ‘Blackout.’