Tea Elle C Garden Cafe

The most commonly ordered items and dishes from this store

Sourdough bread bowls filled with breakfast.

Baked to order; please allow approximately 15 minutes.

All salads are made to order.

Afternoon tea is served all day at the tea gardens.

Black tea is fully fermented, thus giving it a stronger, fuller flavor. Research suggests that black tea is good for the heart, lower cholesterol, and promotes healthy bones and skin. It also has a compound that reduces inflammation and helps arthritis. It is a great pick-me-up tea and tastes delicious with milk and sugar. (Medium caffeine).

Green tea is unfermented, and is the most popular tea in China. It has been around for thousands of years, being the first tea to be discovered. Two small cups of green tea have as much vitamin C as a large glass of orange juice. It has antioxidants and EGCG, which stimulates the body to burn calories. It detoxifies your body, promotes healthy teeth, bones, and skin, and regulates blood sugar.

Honeybush was discovered in South Africa in the 18th Century. It’s a shrub with yellow blossoms that smell like honey, very similar to Rooibos, only a little sweeter. Traditionally used to treat coughs because it has Pinitol, which is also good for lowering blood sugar, and is being considered as a drug for diabetes. It contains flavone, isoflavones, coumestans, 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, polyphenols, and antioxidants, and may help lower blood lipids.

Known as a brown tea, it is the most complicated tea to make. Repeated wilting and shaking in bamboo baskets assures that it will arrive at the perfect state so as to capture the essence of the leaf. Oolong is semi-oxidized, and has polyphenol, an antioxidant that has a protective effect on several diseases, like some cancers and heart disease. The Chinese believe this is the healthiest of all teas.

Rooibos, the red tea, is unique to South Africa, fermented and dried in the sun. The process is totally natural. Discovered in the 18th Century, its medicinal qualities were not known until Annique Theron documented how it soothed and pacified her baby. Studies show Rooibos fights allergies, colic, insomnia, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and joint inflammation. Also shown to alleviate acne, eczema, warts, nappy rash, and cradle cap, when applied topically. It is caffeine-,additive.

White tea is the smoothest of teas; the finest leaves are used from each bush. It is produced in small quantities in a very labor-intensive process. Tea connoisseurs consider white tea the top class of all teas. It has many health benefits: studies have shown that it is 10% more effective in improving health than green tea. It is excellent at detoxifying the body, good for the skin, and is high in antioxidants. (Low caffeine).

In South America, mate is known as the “drink of the Gods.” It comes from the mate tree, native to Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. It contains 24 vitamins, 15 amino acids, and 11 polyphenols. The Pasteur Institute in Paris concluded that “it is difficult to find a plant in any area of the world equal to mate in nutritional value,” and mate “practically contains all of the vitamins necessary to sustain life.” Mate gives “good energy,” which contributes to mental clarity, reduces fatigue, boosts.

Herbs, fruits, and edible plants are not teas but tisanes. Most often referred to as “herbal teas” despite the fact that they contain no tea leaves and have no caffeine. Tisanes are very rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. They taste good hot or cold, and milk is not recommended, except for Rooibos.