CURIOUS TOOTLING SOUL: May 2016

BLOGAPALOOZA: Horizons Charting the Uncharted

“What is Blogapalooza?”

That was my question to my best friend who is the blogger behind StretchYourPeso site.

I started blogging 2010, but sadly it was been 6 years of ‘ON and OFF’ relationship with social media platform that at first I didn’t believe to become a ‘hype and necessity’ nowadays. Yes, I admit, I made a false assumption, judging the capability of technology before then, so now I regret being lazy for the past 5 years of just keeping my blog site hanging and unattended. Now, the feeling of becoming a social media newbie strikes me.

My best friend kept on encouraging me to search and register in Blogapalooza and she really bugged me to attend the event. I told her many excuses like, “I have something on that day,” “I don’t know that, hello.” “I’ll try but I don’t have business cards.” “It is too far from my place!” Ahahah! However, she still won on convincing me and I went to check it out.

Since it was my first time to go to Blogapalooza, I was quite unsure of what’s going to happen, but when I landed my feet at the Prosperity Hall in Elements at Centris Quezon City, I saw a lot of booths giving out some freebies! And yes, I felt happy. So what I did is to check out what every booth has in-store. I found registration areas to get freebies and exchanging of business cards. So many booths inside and while most of bloggers were excited to get some giveaways and participate to all of the raffles and contests, I was busy strolling around taking pictures and munch on for free food bites.

Well, I would like to thank Arla Philippines, Vita Coco and Hotteok King for sparing me out of hunger during the event. They are my favorite booths, who kept on feeding me.I guess I had 4 packs of the coconut drink by Vita, 5 slices of breads by Arla and two cups of rice toppings by Hotteok, ahaha!

Well going back to Blogapalooza itself, entitled Horizons: Charting the Uncharted, Blogapalooza is the biggest business-to-blogger event in the Philippines serving as a catalyst for networking among entrepreneurs and netizens. With its reach of a total viewer base of five million from its blogger network and links to brands, Blogapalooza's plans of transforming how businesses and bloggers interact are now coming to life.

Thank you so much to Blogapalooza 2016 sponsors for the giveaways! Special mention to Arla Philippines, Blue Water Day Spa, Hotteok King, Megawatt, Minoxidil Regroe, SpeedyCardsPH, Victoria Court, Vita Coco, HeyKuya.Com, SkinStation, Empire East, Etobee, EicaDesigns.Com, Tag Cash, HappyFresh, Goldstack, Rappler, Cocio, Fragrance Factory, World Vision

ahahha! Sorry! My 'dugyot' face with International Singer Actor Christian Bautista

Noted industry leaders and speakers like Ginger Aboleda, Erika Padilla, Matec Villanueva, Mikael Daez, Grace Nicolas, Christian Bautista and Miguel Olfindo have conducted their insightful presentations about blogging as a business, working with brands, maintaining strategic blogger relations, and using videos as a marketing tool.

Indeed, Blogapalooza was a fun-filled event full of ideas, giveaways, prizes, and surprises!

To know more about Blogapalooza, check out their active social media platforms:

Facebook page: http://facebook.com/blogapalooza

Facebook group: Blogapalooza Bloggers

Twitter: @Blogapalooza

Instagram: @BlogapaloozaPH

Web: http://blogapalooza.ph

Email: info@blogapalooza.ph

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Argentina

TWG: Tea Appreciation

Just recently, I was invited to experience a tea appreciation gathering in TWG Tea Boutique at Shangri-La Plaza. Branded as the "first and only upscale tea salon" in Singapore, TWG Tea sells tea, as well as tea-infused food, such as savoury items, pastries and desserts. It also sells upscale tea accessories, such as gold and platinum teacups.

Since it was my first time to experience a lavish tea appreciation, I tend to listen to every statements that our hosts uttered that time. They told us about the history of tea leaves and also mentioned about the TWG Tea company background.

Being amazed on how tea leaves become helpful to the body, its an interesting topic and that I made a short research on the factual benefits of drinking tea every day.

Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world next to water. It is the only beverage commonly served hot or iced, anytime, anywhere, for any occasion.

Varieties:

Black, Green, Oolong, Dark and White teas all come from the same plant, a warm-weather evergreen named Camellia sinensis. Differences among the five types of tea result from the various degrees of processing and the level of oxidization. Black tea is fully oxidized and Oolong teas are partially oxidized. After withering and rolling, the tea leaves undergo natural chemical reactions resulting in taste and color changes and that develop the teas distinguishing characteristics. Green & White teas are not oxidized after leaf harvesting. Oolong tea is midway between Black and Green teas in strength and color. Dark teas are fermented after manufacture.

Grown In:

Much of the world’s tea is grown in mountainous areas 3,000 – 7,000 feet above sea level, situated between the Tropics in mineral-rich and acidic soil. Leading tea-producing countries include Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Taiwan.

Tea is nearly 5,000 years old. It was discovered in 2737 BC by Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung, also known as the “Divine Healer,” when as legend goes, some tea leaves accidentally blew into the Emperor’s pot of boiling water.

Qualities:

Tea is an all-natural and environmentally sound product from a renewable source. The tea plant is naturally resistant to most insects; oxidation of the tea leaf is a natural process; and, many tea packers use recycled paper for packaging.

Health Qualities:

Tea is a refreshing beverage that contains no sodium, fat, carbonation, or sugar. It is virtually calorie-free. Tea helps maintain proper fluid balance and may contribute to overall good health.

Tea contains flavonoids, naturally occurring compounds that are believed to have antioxidant properties. Tea flavonoids often provide bioactive compounds that help to neutralize free radicals, which scientists believe, over time, damage elements in the body, such as genetic material and lipids, and contribute to chronic disease.

Every day, new findings from the international scientific community lend credibility to tea’s healthy properties. Recent research has explored the potential health attributes of tea through studies in humans, animal models and through in vitro laboratory research. For the most part, studies conducted on green and black tea, which are both from the Camellia sinensis plant, have yielded similar results. Recent research suggests that tea and tea flavonoids may play important roles in various areas of health and may operate through a number of different mechanisms still being explored.

Heart Health:

Human population studies have found that people who regularly consume three or more cups of Black Tea per day have a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke. The current body of research suggests that drinking tea can offer significant heart health benefits ranging from reducing heart attack risk to lowering Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol, with benefits seen with just one cup and upwards of six cups a day. A Harvard study found that those who drank a cup or more of black tea per day had a 44% reduced risk of heart attack. In a large population based study, adults who drank just over two cups of green tea per day reduced their risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 22-23%. A US Department of Agriculture study found that participants who drank five cups of black tea per day along with a diet moderately low in fat and cholesterol reduced their LDL cholesterol by about 11% after three weeks. Additionally, a study published in the December 2013 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that black tea reduced blood pressure, and among hypertensive subjects, it helped counteract the negative effects of a high-fat meal on blood pressure and arterial blood flow.

Certain Cancers:

More than 3,000 published research studies exist that evaluate the role tea—whether white, green, oolong or black—and tea compounds, such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), may play in cancers of various sites. Benefits to gastrointestinal health reaped by tea-drinking seem to be cumulative and dependent upon the amount of tea consumed per day as well as the number of tea-drinking years. One study found that women who consumed the equivalent of 2.5 cups of tea per day had a 60% reduction in rectal cancer risk, compared with women who drank less than 1.2 cups of tea daily. An additional study found tea drinkers to have an approximate 42% reduced risk of colon cancer compared to non-tea drinkers. Men who drank more than 1.5 cups of tea per day were found to have a 70% lower colon cancer risk. One study showed that participants who drank iced black tea and citrus peel had a 42% reduced risk of skin cancer and hot black tea consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of the most common form of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma. A study published in the February 2015 issue of the Journal of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research found that the main antioxidant in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), helps kill cancer cells through the destruction of the cells’ mitochondria.

Metabolism, Obesity and Body Composition:

Several studies suggest drinking calorie-free tea may help with weight management. Preliminary research suggests that tea flavonoids help elevate metabolic rate, increase fat oxidation and improve insulin activity. Tea catechins can also provide modest shifts in metabolism that may improve weight loss and maintenance. In one review, researchers concluded that subjects consuming green tea and caffeine lost an average of 2.9 pounds within 12 weeks while adhering to their regular diet. The results of another meta-analysis suggest the increase in caloric expenditure is equal to about 100 calories over a 24-hour period. The weight loss benefits of tea vary based on many factors, but studies have found benefits with the equivalent of as little as 2.5 cups of green tea.

For Iced Tea consumption, it was said approximately 85% of tea consumed is iced.

Tea and Reduced Risk of Osteoporosis:

Although high caffeine intake has been suggested to be a risk factor for reduced bone mineral density (BMD), drinking tea has been linked to higher bone mineral density (BMD) and has been shown to boost bone-building markers and improve muscle mass, both of which may reduce the risk for osteoporosis and fracture. Compared to non-tea drinkers, tea drinkers have been found to have a higher BMD. Research suggests that polyphenols in green tea may help improve bone quality and strength. One study found that drinking tea was associated with a 30 percent reduced risk in hip fractures among men and women 50 years of age or older.

Key Tea Terms:

Antioxidant: A substance that helps prevent or delay oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen and or reactive nitrogen species. Oxidative damage to the body, cells and tissues may contribute to diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Phytochemicals: Naturally occurring plant compounds. Many phytochemicals are thought to play a role in decreasing the risk of cancer and heart disease and may boost the immune system. Some phytochemicals such as tea flavonoids are also antioxidants.

Flavonoids: A class of polyphenolic phytochemicals found in tea that are effective antioxidants. Tea flavonoids and related bio-active compounds in tea may play important roles in various areas of heath and may operate through a number of different mechanisms still being explored.

Flavonols: A group of flavonoids found in tea and many fruits and vegetables that are antioxidants and are thought to contribute to some of the potential health benefits in these plant foods. They include rutin, quercetin and kaempferol.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG): The principle catechin in Green and Black Teas. EGCG is a strong antioxidant and has been shown to reduce formation of lung, esophageal and skin tumors in animal models of human cancer.

Theanine: An amino acid commonly found in tea that can cross the blood-brain barrier, therefore has psychoactive properties. It may reduce mental and physical stress, and may produce feelings of relaxation by increasing levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin, dopamine, and alpha wave activity.

TWG Tea is a brand of tea which was established in Singapore in 2008. The company promotes itself as a luxury brand. TWG stands for The Wellbeing Group.

The finest luxury tea brand in the world, TWG Tea is a marriage of contemporary style and timeless tradition. The highest standards of quality permeate every aspect of TWG Tea, fostering its culture of innovation and cultivating its passion for epicurean creativity in an ever-evolving tea industry. A spirited sense of ingenuity infuses the TWG Tea culture and encourages its foresight into the future of tea appreciation. These values have transformed a privately owned business into a global purveyor in the modern luxury tea market.

Finest Global Luxury Tea Brand

TWG Tea is the finest international luxury tea brand with a broad global appeal, strategically headquartered in Asia at the epicentre of the tea producing region. TWG Tea sources, blends, designs, manufactures, packs and distributes the finest quality loose and packaged teas, teabags, tea accessories, tea infused patisseries and gastronomy through Tea Salons, Tea Boutiques, Shop-in-Shops and Airport Boutiques, as well as through a network of wholesale luxury hotel and fine dining restaurant customers in over 40 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, North America and Europe.

President and CEO Taha Bouqdib and partners founded TWG Tea in 2007 with a strong background and experience in building global brands, as well as privileged knowledge and key relationships in the tea industry. TWG Tea began as part of The Wellness Group and was subsequently established as a separate entity in April 2008. Today, TWG Tea has rapidly gained recognition and established itself as the finest luxury tea brand in the world with an extensive tea collection of unsurpassed quality.

Epicentre of Asia

Founded in Singapore, TWG Tea is located at the crossroads of legendary tea routes and celebrates Singapore’s historic beginnings as a tea trading post in 1837 with the establishment of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce.

Situated at the heart of Asia’s tea producing region, TWG Tea’s headquarters in Singapore enable us to develop exclusive relationships with tea growers, influence processing methods and ensure the origins of our teas. As there is no dominant tea culture in Singapore, TWG Tea is not affiliated with any specific tea tradition, but rather, showcases the very finest teas from every tea producing country in the world. With an established

reputation for quality of origin, taste and packaging, TWG Tea is highly acclaimed for its tea list of over 800 different single estate fine harvests and exclusive blends – the largest in the world – and iconic products such as the Silver Moon Tea and Haute Couture Tea Collection.

TWG Tea at ION Orchard
ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, #02-21, Singapore 238801

Teas Direct from Source

The cornerstone of TWG Tea’s philosophy of excellence is to offer the finest teas of the world directly from the source, working closely with renowned tea planters to create exceptional TWG Tea harvests. And just like haute couture fashion designers, TWG Tea takes certain of these exquisite teas to transform into exclusive tea blends in its state-of-the-art blending facilities in Singapore. Packing is done by hand to ensure consistency in quality and the freshest leaves. Its location in Asia – and in Singapore – is therefore essential to fulfilling this promise to its customers.

Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2, Departure/Transit Lounge South, Unit No. 026-102-01, Singapore 819642

TWG Tea Garden at Marina Bay Sands—The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue, B2-65/68A, Singapore 018972

Singapore has a world renowned reputation for quality of service, integrity, transparency and open trade, a unique positioning in the region. Headquartered in Singapore, TWG Tea is not only at the geographic epicentre of the world’s tea producing region, but draws on these same values, offering products that are a true representation of this same reputation excellence.

Inspiration for the Tea Table

A symbol of taste and refinement, TWG Tea also creates exquisite signature tea accessories in a myriad of colours, materials and precious metals, updating and innovating traditional designs, now spiced with a touch of sensuality and originality. TWG Tea works closely with specialized suppliers and skilled artisans from around the world to create unique products and to ensure brand consistency in terms of image, design, quality and distribution.

Nostalgic of the gallant custom of offering the gift of tea and mindful of the demands of the modern customer, TWG Tea thoughtfully packages and beautifully wraps tea gift collections that are elegant, fashionable and designed above all to give pleasure and to reflect a quality of life. Today, TWG Tea offers well over 350 different specially designed and crafted retail and gift products – all conceived, designed and packed in-house – as well as tea accessories that are unique in the world.

Using rounded shapes in the form of curved glass walls, patisserie counters and rotating tea pillars to lend an organic yet contemporary look and feel to the customer experience, the trademark TWG Tea island locations provide intimacy for TWG Tea shoppers and diners, all the while conserving a light and airy transparency for surrounding brands, integrating TWG Tea perfectly into the most premium locations in the world’s luxury shopping environments. This chic and elegant interior design serves a dual purpose to showcase both the TWG Tea brand and the fashion trends in neighbouring shop windows.

TWG Tea has also developed innovative interiors to flaunt new tea-infused creations, such as the TWG Tea collection of tea-infused ice creams and sorbets or the world’s first tea infused chocolate counter. The latter concept was launched in Singapore, where the warm decor of rich mahogany and burnished brass set the stage for a unique, world pulley system hand crafted from hand-blown glass, each dome charmingly showcasing assortments of precious chocolate bonbons.

The lustre of the beautiful bell jars is reminiscent of jewel cases filled with the most valuable wares. TWG Tea has created a rich and compelling atmosphere for customers of all ages, uniting both the well-heeled, well-travelled connoisseurs and the young and aspirational fashion-conscious customers into one unique location and ambience.

At the forefront of tea gastronomy, TWG Tea is continually drawing from its vast collection of fine harvest teas and exclusive blends, integrating a myriad of these signature teas into savoury recipes as a most precious component, introducing a whole new world of sensations and flavours to gourmands and tea lovers when they dine at TWG Tea.

With breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner specialties, as well as tea beverages and cocktails, tea is woven into every aspect of the meal – an unmistakable nuance that deliciously enhances each dish.

Tea Institution

In Singapore, where TWG Tea is headquartered, a new training institute with state of the art facilities – including individual tea preparation counters to better impart the skills required to become a full-fledged tea connoisseur – has been specially designed to immerse all TWG Tea trainees into the brand’s philosophy, values and mission. The training agendas are diverse, targeted to build skills in each of TWG Tea’s target sectors and departments, including tea connoisseurship, tea preparation, and even tea sales workshops, which focus on the selling ceremony, team management, after-sales service and visual merchandising, to name just a few.

In addition to the wide range of subjects covered, TWG Tea training sessions provide opportunities for enriching exchanges amongst participants, who travel from each country where TWG Tea has a presence to perfect their tea knowledge and skill sets required for their role.

This training program enables TWG Tea to achieve its status as a veritable tea institution. TWG tea connoisseurs are passionate about sharing expertise with customers, making TWG Tea a point of reference for tea lovers thirsty for knowledge. TWG Tea connoisseurs in turn conduct innumerable customer workshops, events, and conferences on the subject of fine teas, and TWG Tea is dedicated to providing each and every wholesale customer with regular tea trainings about the different varieties of tea, tea and food pairing, as well as proper tea preparation and service.

The most consumed tea is Black Tea, next is Green Tea, and the small remaining amount was Oolong, White and Dark Tea.

The tea industry anticipates strong, continuous growth, will come from all segments driven by convenience, interest in the health benefits of tea, continued innovation and the discovery of unique, flavorful and high-end couture tea. Future success also relies on the adoption of tea by new consumers who are looking for healthy beverage options.

TWG Tea-infused patisseries - which include macarons, entremets, tarts, tea breads, scones, muffins, cookies, chocolates, ice creams and even mooncakes - are entirely conceived and crafted by hand daily in its central kitchens and high tech patisserie laboratories in each and every country where TWG Tea is established, ensuring the very finest tea gastronomy to its discerning customers.

With TWG Marketing Manager Sir Enzo Santos

A TWG Tea blend of green teas accented with a grand berry and vanilla bouquet. Suave, with just a hint of spice. A tea for that special moment.

"Follow me, let's have some tea."
This tea was inspired from an old Japanese love story

A beckoning blend of the finest harvest green tea and rare ginseng root is crowned with alluring and unforgettable notes of succulent royal pineapple. An exceptional tea to pursue to the ends of the earth…

Our everyday favorite tea to start a day

This classic was originally blended as an accompaniment to the traditional English breakfast. Very strong and full-bodied with light floral undertones, this TWG Tea broken-leaf black tea is perfect with morning toast and marmalade.

With TWG Trainor Sir Samuel John Arellano

The TWG Tea team is constantly shaping the aesthetic image underpinning all of our teas, accessories and gourmet foodstuffs, offering a totally distinctive experience to our clients and customers, an experience which is always of the highest quality, never stagnant, but continually evolving with the tastes, fashions, and trends of the day.

Here is a short glimpse for what happened during the Tea Appreciation Day. Speaking is Mr, Enzo Santos

For some tea indulgence, please visit TWG Philippine Salons located at the following:

TWG Tea at Greenbelt 5 Mall
Greenbelt 5 Mall, Level 1, Legaspi Village, Makati City, 1226, Philippines
Tel: + 63 2 720 8667
Opening Hours:
Sundays to Thursdays 11:00am to 9:00pm; Fridays and Saturdays 11:00am to 10:00pm

TWG Tea at Rockwell Manila
Archaeology, R2 Level of Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City 1200, Philippines
Tel: + 63 2 478 6136
Opening Hours:
Mondays to Thursdays 11:00am to 9:00pm; Fridays 11:00am to 10:00pm; Saturdays 10:00am to 10:00pm; Sundays 10:00am to 9:00pm

TWG Tea at Resorts World Manila
Resorts World Manila, Ground Floor, Shop 17B Newport Mall, 100 Andrews Avenue, Newport Cyber Tourism Zone, Pasay City, Philippines
Tel: + 63 2 551 0925
Opening Hours: Mondays to Thursdays 12nn to 12 midnight; Fridays to Sundays 12nn to 1:00am

TWG Tea at Shangri-La Mall
Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mid-level 2/3, East Wing Expansion, Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
Tel: + 63 2 654 1421
Opening Hours:

Mondays to Thursdays 11:00am to 9:00pm; Fridays 11:00am to 10:00pm; Saturdays 10:00am to 10:00pm; Sundays 10:00am to 9:00pm

TWG Tea at Central Square
Lower Ground, Central Square, 5th Avenue cor. 30th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Tel: + 63 2 950 8275
Opening Hours: Sundays to Thursdays 11:00am to 10:00pm, Fridays and Saturdays 11:00am to 11:00pm

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, by igdonlineportfolio