New Moon Gallery & Tea Room
Call 423-265-6321
Kathy Bransfield Jewelry
Haitian Oil Drum Art
Music of the Spheres Chime
Kitras Art Glass
New Moon Gallery & Tea Room Products
The merchandise on our site is a representation of what you can usually find when you visit our store. We do not have a catalog because of our ever-changing, unique inventory. Many items are one-of-a-kind, others are of limited production. Please do inquire if you wish to purchase what you see on our website. If something is out of stock, we will try to special order it for you.
Most of Kathy's sterling pieces open to reveal hand-stamped quotes or images that capture her trust in human faith, life’s complex beauty and all its diversity.
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For years Haitian artisans have been creating this art by hammering and cutting recycled steel oil drums then carving them into decorative pieces.
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Known as the Stradivarius of wind chimes because of their exceptional quality, these hand tuned chimes come in a variety of sizes and tunings.
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Kitras Art Glass follows in the centuries old glass blowing tradition, producing handmade decorative and functional art glass for the home and garden.
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Tea is the second-most consumed drink in the world, surpassed only by water. An often-surprising fact to tea novices is that all teas (Black, Green, Oolong, White and Pu'erh) come from the same plant, the leaves of Camellia sinensis, and differ mainly in the way each is processed. Camellia sinensis is a sub-tropical evergreen plant native to Asia but now grown around the world.
The tea plant grows best in loose, deep soil, at high altitudes, and in sub-tropical climates.
So, in short, "tea" is anything derived from the Camellia sinensis plant. Anything else, while sometimes called "tea", is more accurately referred to as an herbal tea or tisane. Tisanes include chamomile, Rooibos and fruit teas.
What is Tea?
Some of our Tea types & varieties include:
Assam Masala Chai Yerba Mate
Ceylon Genmaicha Pai Mu Tan
Darjeeling Oolong Meditative Mind
Keemun Pu'erh Ayurvedic Blends
Earl Grey Spring Jasmine Herbal Chai
Irish Breakfast Citrus Green Fruit Tisanes
Although tea is one of the most enjoyed beverages worldwide, its culture can be very "local." For example, most tea drinkers in Darjeeling, India have never had (or even heard of!) a Taiwanese Pouchong. In China, most people do not drink black tea. The centuries-old Japanese tea ceremony uses powdered, rare Matcha tea, which most folks in black tea-loving Sri Lanka have never tasted. Tea is a truly special, uniting thing when you think of how so many tea-drinking cultures developed all on their own. America's own newly found tea culture is unique because we actually enjoy all types of tea (white, green, oolong, black and pu'erh). No one else has that distinction. The amount of knowledge to be had and tea to be enjoyed is tremendous.
What is in tea?
The three primary components of brewed tea (also called the "liquor") are:
- Essential Oils - these provide tea's delicious aromas and flavors.
- Polyphenols - these provide the "briskness" or astringency in the mouth and are the components that also carry most of the health benefits of tea.
- Caffeine - found naturally in coffee, chocolate, tea and yerba mate, caffeine provides tea's natural energy boost.
While the caffeine in tea and coffee are, technically, identical, the experience is different due to three key factors:
- There is significantly less caffeine in the average cup of tea - especially when including green and white teas brewed for shorter times and cooler temps.
- L-theanine, an amino acid found only in tea, reduces stress and promotes relaxation. It works in a synergistic way with caffeine to calm the body without reducing caffeine alertness.
- The high levels of antioxidants found in tea slow the absorption of caffeine - this results in a gentler increase of the chemical in the system and a longer period of alertness with no crash at the end.
