East End Greenfest

August 1-2, 2009 in Mattituck, Long Island

What better way to spend the weekend than at New York’s East End Green Fest? New Jersey visitors and locals look forward to this environmentally conscious community celebration of all things green including exhibitions, bands on a solar powered stage, local wineries, and natural products for sale. Deborah Dufton of the East End Green fest announces that the festival will be “very similar to the Green Fairs in Europe and San Francisco where there is a fun atmosphere filled with live music, unique performers, and lots of energy as people learn about ways to go green.” A few of the participating artists include folk rock force Jaden South as well as Yukari Roja. There will also be Poi dancing (an art-form which originated in the South Pacific as a Maori celebratory dance) in addition to the Infinite Roots Ethnic Drum and Dance group. The event asks all attendees to bring non-perishable foods, household items, personal care products and pet food for donation.

For more info on the East End Green fest visit: http://www.eastendgreenfest.com/index.html

Remember to find SEN CHA Naturals Green Tea Mints featured in East End Green Fest’s goodie bags!

SEN CHA Morning Lychee Parfait

Ingredients :
1 cup lowfat organic yogurt
4 fresh peeled lychee fruits
½ S EN CHA M orning Lychee Green Tea Bar
1 tbsp agave nectar

Directions:
Chop up the Morning Lychee Green Tea Bar. Set aside. Dice peeled lychee fruits.
Fill up a third of the of cup with yogurt. Crumble chopped bar pieces on top of the yogurt. Repeat until
there are 2 layers of bar, and 3 layers of yogurt.
Top with chopped lychee fruit. Drizzle agave nectar on the top.

Green Tea History Revealed...

Using Green Tea as a fundamental key in our healthy diets seems to be a novel trend, but Green Tea has been around for longer than we can imagine; cultivating, harvesting, drinking, and even eating Green Tea dates back about 5,000 years.

So who figured that boiling the Green Tea leaves produces an array of health benefits? Chinese tradition tells us that the scholar and herbalist Sh’en Nung was resting under a tree when the little leaves accidentally plopped into his pot of boiling water. Another version of the story speaks of Siddhartha Gotama , or “Buddha”, unknowingly stumbling upon a tea tree when encountering a lull in his 9 year stretch of meditation. He claimed that drinking Green Tea helped him stay observant and brought him back into focus. In the 3^rd century textual evidence determined that tea was used by communities in Asia to increase alertness, alleviate depression, and heal digestive and nervous conditions.

In addition to drinking it, people would use Green Tea for preparing their favorite dishes. The Green Tea leaves were used for flavoring seafood and meats. It was used as a broth in soups, and the potent syrup was utilized as a base ingredient in cakes and breads. The communities trusted Green Tea as an essential staple in their diets.

We are proud to be pursuing the noble Green Tea traditions of early civilization by using this extraordinary leaf in our Green tea Mints and Bars. We will continue to make Green Tea inspired products with the highest expectations of quality, and with the hopes that we can spread good health to communities everywhere.

Trends at Fancy Food Show, NYC

Only at the Fancy Food show in New York City can you find bacon flavored lollipops, super-fruit syrup, blood orange marmalade and black garlic. We witnessed fashionable foods strut their stuff, and a few of our favorites were chocolate sprinkled with gourmet salt, pomegranate acai jellybeans, and yuzu fruit infused treats. Banners of Gluten-free, Kosher and Fair Trade were proudly on display. Traditionally, the remainder of the food from the event was donated to City Harvest, a leading anti-hunger organization. High attendance at Fancy Food shows that the specialty food industry continues to thrive despite the country’s economic mood. We continue to feel honored as participants at Fancy Foods year after year.

We invite you to experience our Morning Lychee Green Tea Mints, which earned much recognition and a Sofi Silver award at the Fancy Food Show in the Outstanding Confectionary category.

View our photos from the show on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/senchanaturals/

What it means to be G-Free

Gluten free foods can be found in more places now than ever before. From your local natural foods store to corporate chain supermarkets, stores are making it easier for people with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease to find great tasting foods and to eliminate the hassle of preparing labor intensive gluten free meals from scratch.

So what does it actually mean to be gluten free? The “g-free” nutrition plan began as a means for those affected by gluten sensitivity and Celiac Disease to discard gluten filled foods from their diet, which are said to cause bloating, fatigue and intestinal problems. The G-Free diet has extended to the general public because of its many health benefits; supporters boast of more energy and increased immunity to sickness.

Gluten can be found in grain products such as wheat, barley, and rye as well as in condiments, dressings and seasonings. It has been said that gluten has never been natural for human consumption, and that grain farmers have been increasing amounts of gluten in their crop because grain with higher protein content raises the retail cost.

SEN CHA Green Tea Mints and Bars have always been gluten free and may aid in reducing symptoms of gluten sensitivity. Naturally, fruits and vegetables are gluten free, and many new products catering to g-free diets are on the market as well.

For more info on Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity visit

www.celiac.org

www.gluten.net