The Teavana Tea station focuses on world music with upbeat rhythms and rich sounds. It is music that sits well with a great cup of Oolong, Rooibos or Darjeeling. Not only will it brighten your day, it will make your tea taste better! So come enjoy our Teavana selections with your hot cup of tea.

“Our study focused on Sjogren’s syndrome, so learning that EGCG also can prevent and delay insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes was a big surprise,” Hsu said in a statement.

EGCG is a catechin that is very abundant in green tea. EGCG helps prevent cancers and is involved in numerous tests for helping improve everything from skin damage to multiple sclerosis. We already know the other benefits of green tea, but this is a new one:

EGCG also dramatically slowed the development of type 1 diabetes in the rodents. At 16 weeks, they found, 25 percent of the mice given the green tea compound had developed diabetes, compared to 67 percent of the mice given water. At 22 weeks, 45 percent of the EGCG group had diabetes, while 78 percent of the control group did.

Earlier studies have shown that green teas (and other teas) can help control blood sugar levels for those who already have diabetes. But this is the first study I’m aware of that actually shows green tea delaying the development of diabetes. In the end, we should probably all drink more green tea:

The current study supports earlier research showing EGCG’s impact on helping prevent autoimmune disease, the researchers conclude.

The next step is to perform some studies on humans to see if the same effect holds true. Although other teas (like White teas) have more antioxidants than green tea, green tea is the best one to drink for EGCG. And this is another great reason to try some green tea!

So which teas were upgraded? These:

• MateVana Mate Tea
• Precious White Peach
• Dao Ren Green Tea
• Choconut Green Tea
• Sencha Green Tea
• Dragonwell Green Tea
• Rose Marzipan Delight Black Tea
• Strawberry Slender Pu-Erh Black Tea
• Azteca Fire Herbal Tea
• Organic Mango Green Tea
• Mandarin Orange Organic Green Tea
• Irish Breakfast Black Tea
• Rooibos Cloud 9
• Rooibos Hazelnut Dolce (formerly Rooibos Caramel Creme)
• Eastern Chamomile Herbal Tea (formerly Egyptian Chamomile)

So the next time you try one of the teas above, they will have a better flavor coming from a better leaf. So you can steep it a little longer without making the tea bitter.

For the first time in four years you have the opportunity to vote. So get your travel tea mug ready, add your favorite tea leaves and head over to your local polling station. It’s time to Rock the Vote!

Don’t hesitate, just go vote.

Or you can interactively learn more about them on our new Teas page here. Just click on the tea that looks interesting and you can read more about it. We are also giving away a full collection of the teas! Just vote for your favorite new tea and you will be entered to win. The collection will include 2 ounces of each of the new 28 teas, so it’s a wonderful prize that will have you drinking tea for months!

Thanks for shopping at Teavana.

Samurai Chai Mate Tea. Sweetly robust mix of citrus and Mate will awaken the Samurai within.

Zingiber Ginger Coconut Rooibos. Exotic and spicy Ayurvedic tea combines ginger, coconut, and spicy black pepper with Rooibos.

Pacific Sunrise Rooibos. Hawaiian-inspired herbal tea with coconut, pineapple and more. The taste of Pina Colada in a Roobios tea!

Yin Yang Dragon Rooibos. A unity of opposites combines sweet candied fruits, decadent cocoa bits, spicy pepper and Rooibos tea.

Bangkok Lemongrass Rooibos. Zesty lemongrass, tangy apples, candied citrus all tempered with sweet vanilla and a touch of Rooibos!

Swiss Vervaine Melange Herbal Tea. Comforting blend of Vervaine, marshmallow, ginger, and peppermint. Nighttime tea.

Tarocco Ruby Orange Herbal Tea. Blood Orange + citrus makes for unique herbal harmony in this fruity concoction.

Ginseng Vitality Rooibos. Energizing ginseng combined with zesty ginger and soothing St. John’s Wort. A great wellness tea.

Black Dragon Pearl Black Tea. Hand-rolled tippy black tea is sweet, chocolaty, and malty.

Darjeeling Vidyaranya Black Tea. From one of the oldest estates in India. Has a crisp, muscatel cup.

Sour Cherry Serenade Black Tea. Sour cherries accompany black and green teas in this unique symphony.

Cacao Mint Black Tea. Black tea + hazelnuts + cocoa make a great after-dinner tea.

Kamiya Papaya Oolong Tea. Hawaiian Oolong includes candied papaya and pineapple.

Maracuya Passion Oolong Tea. Tropical blend of Oolong with passionfruit, papaya, and citrus.

Sweet Oolong Revolution Tea. Spicy blend of Oolong with pumpkin, cloves, cinnamon, and papaya.

Utopian Jewel Oolong Tea. Fruity Oolong includes raspberries, strawberries and a touch of malt.

Kuki Matcha Green Tea. Uniquely creamy green tea combines Kukicha green tea with Matcha.

Fruta Bomba Green Tea. Adds a touch of Rooibos along with papaya, peaches, and more. A great, fruity green tea.

Apricot Caramel Torte Green Tea. Dessert in a cup combines caramel + apricot + green tea. A guilt-free delight!

Au Lait Verde Green Tea. Unusual combination of Chinese green tea blended with the creamy taste of milk.

Earl Grey White Tea. Modernized Earl Grey combines white tea and bergamot oil for a unique twist on the old favorite.

Emerald Bamboo Forest White Tea. White tea is enhanced by the mildly sweet taste of bamboo combined with succulent fruits.

Frutto Bianco Pearls White Tea. Hand-rolled white tea pearls are complemented by kiwi, coconut, and candied tropical fruit.

Garden Aria White Tea. Ambrosial fruit bits are combined with delicate white tea in this steaming cup of harmony.

Imperial Acai Blueberry White Tea. White tea + “Superfood” blueberries, acai, and black currant for a royal treat. Delicious!

White Ayurvedic Chai Tea. Energizing and spicy chai includes white tea, green tea and spicy bursts of cinnamon.

Strawberry Paraiso White Tea. Escape to paradise with White tea, fresh strawberry and white popcorn.

Peach Momotaro Blooming Tea. Hand-tied, peach scented artisan tea blooms as it steeps. Our newest blooming tea!

In addition to launching the new teas, we’re offering a special reason to try our new teas. Next week, purchase 1lb or more of the following teas and we’ll take 20% off of all the teas in your order:
Kamiya Papaya Oolong
Imperial Acai Blueberry
Sour Cherry Serenade
Fruta Bomba
Bangkok Lemongrass
Tarocco Ruby Orange
Emerald Bamboo Forest

Each week for the next four, the teas will change, but the offer will not. So be sure to stop by and learn more about our new teas starting on Monday!

UPDATE: Shop our new teas here.

Here are my personal favorites:

Ecstasy is a glass full of tea and a piece of sugar in the mouth.
- Alexander Puskin

If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you.
- William E. Gladstone

Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane.
- Honore De Balzac

All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes.
- George Orwell

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.
- C.S. Lewis

I always fear that creation will expire before teatime.
- Sidney Smith

Where there’s tea, there’s hope.
- Sir Arthur Pinero

Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world.
- Tien Yiheng

Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea.
- Author Unknown

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.
- Bernard-Paul Heroux

There’s so many others, but I’ll limit myself to these. Post your favorites below - and watch us on Twitter to see more great tea quotes!

The Problem of Stress
Why should you stress about stress? Well, you shouldn’t. However reducing stress - or at least the effects of stress - can help prevent numerous medical problems down the road. In the short term, consistent states of stress can result in fatigue, headaches, inability to concentrate and depression. But in the long run the real problems of stress come from the medical problems that can arise: ulcers, a weakened immune system, cardiovascular problems and even mental issues.

So reducing the stress in your life should be a priority. And there are great ways to reduce you personal stress including exercise, getting enough sleep, practicing yoga, slowing down your life, even having sex or laughing more. But there’s also a very easy way to reduce the effects of stress on your life that everyone can do: drink more tea!

Tea and Stress
How does tea reduce the effects of stress on your body? There may be more than one answer, but clearly one of the ways is by reducing the stress hormone cortisol in the body after a stressful event or day. A recent study on black tea explains why this matters:

“Our study suggests that drinking black tea may speed up our recovery from the daily stresses in life. Although it does not appear to reduce the actual levels of stress we experience, tea does seem to have a greater effect in bringing stress hormone levels back to normal,” says researcher Andrew Steptoe, of the University College London, in a news release. “This has important health implications, because slow recovery following acute stress has been associated with a greater risk of chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease.”

Traditionally, green tea has been recommended for helping reduce the effects of stress, but this particular study focused on black tea. Another study shows that Oolong teas can help reduce the affects of stress. This one focused on the physical (and immediate) effects of stress on the body:

The results of the study concluded that the women who consumed tea showed reduced signs of physical stress related symptoms like headaches, stiffness in the neck and back and eye fatigue. Those participants receiving oolong tea showed greater benefit than those receiving barley tea. However, participants receiving barley tea showed greater benefit than the participants receiving water.

Barley tea is a herbal tea that is popular in Asia. Both the herbal tea and the Oolong had positive effects, but teas made from the Camellia sinensis plant seem to have the most positive effect. This would include Black teas, Oolong teas, Green teas and White teas. It’s still not clear exactly what ingredient in tea has this positive effect:

“We do not know what ingredients of tea were responsible for these effects on stress recovery and relaxation. Tea is chemically very complex, with many different ingredients. Ingredients such as catechins, polyphenols, flavonoids and amino acids have been found to have effects on neurotransmitters in the brain, but we cannot tell from this research which ones produced the differences.

So which teas work best for stress?

Best Teas to Reduce Stress
There are a few teas that stand out from the others in terms of reducing stress. The differences are primarily because of the other ingredients added to the teas, which give it an improved ability to fight stress and the effects of stress.

I would recommend starting with Earl Grey or Earl Grey Creme. Both are black teas, which means they help the heart and circulatory system in addition to helping reducing the effects of stress. But the also contain Bergamot Oil, which has been shown to reduce depression. Depression is another side-effect of stress, so these two teas in particular can be very effective at offsetting the effects of stress.

Next, I would consider Jasmine Oolong tea. Jasmine is commonly used in aroma therapy to help reduce anxiety and stress. As soon as the scent of this steaming cup of tea hits you, you’ll understand why. And Oolong also helps the circulatory system and blocks the abosorption of some cholesterol into the body. Although it contains a bit of caffeine, this tea is actually very relaxing and soothing.

Another tea to consider is Moroccan Mint Green tea. Mint, like Jasmine, has been used for centuries to relax the body and mind. It is especially effective at fighting headaches. The aroma of this tea alone helps to relax you immediately. And green tea also helps regulate your blood sugar and includes EGCG, which helps prevent oxidation damage that can become cancer.

Finally, I recommend Tranquil Dream herbal tea at night to help you relax. Although this isn’t strictly a tea (it’s a herbal tisane), it does include chamomile. Chamomile helps to relax and calm the body, but also reduces stress and acts as a natural anti-depressant. Drinking a cup of Tranquil Dream before bed helps relax your body and mind before bed, so that you get more sleep as well.

These teas are all exceptional at reducing the effects of stress on your body. The studies I mentioned seem to recommend around 4 cups of tea a day to see the best effects. Why not add one of these great teas to your regular schedule? It can only help with reducing stress in your life!

The Zooma Runs are a series of runs throughout the U.S. Atlanta is only the second run of the series. So stop by ZoomaRun.com and find a race near you to participate in. It’s a fun and healthy way to support a great cause. If you can’t run, consider sponsoring another runner or helping out CARE. Teavana donates 1% of all profits from teas sold towards CARE International, which helps fight poverty in the tea producing areas of the world, but this is a way for everyone to help a little more.

And for those runners in Atlanta, look out for TEAm Teavana, which will be running and raising money for CARE.

There’s something compelling about a hot cup of tea on a cool Autumn evening. I think it makes my list of the best times and places to enjoy a cuppa tea. I also really enjoy a steaming cup of pumpkin or cinnamon flavored tea in front of the fireplace during winter. It just seems to be the time of year where tea is an essential part of relaxing and enjoying life just a bit.

What are your favorite places and times to enjoy tea? Is there a special place or time of year that you can’t imagine without a cup of tea? For me, it’s Autumn without a doubt.