“Visualize World Teas,” Souders proudly declared as sunlight poured through a StoneWood Coffee & Tea Co. window in Broken Arrow.

Over a steaming cup of aromatic raspberry green tea, Davit Souders grinned as he rattled off slogan ideas for a line of T-shirts aimed at diehard tea drinkers.


“Visualize World Teas,” Souders proudly declared as sunlight poured through a StoneWood Coffee & Tea Co. window in Broken Arrow.

Then the local hard rocker/tea junkie went on to say “Give Teas a Chance” before moving onto “Put the Kettle to the Metal.”

Now, for those who enjoy a traditional English tea time, maybe they’d get a kick out of “It’s Four O’clock Somewhere.”

Maybe his T-shirts would sell — maybe they wouldn’t. What’s for sure, though, is that Souders’ cup of hot green tea didn’t need a slogan to sell itself.

After all, that cup of loose-leaf green tea is more than just a warm, soothing drink.

“Some researchers have suggested that tea might protect against cancer because of its antioxidant content,” according to American Cancer Society literature. “In animal studies, some teas (including green tea) have been shown to reduce cancer risk, but findings from human population studies are mixed. But Mary Ann O’Dell, a registered dietitian with Akin’s Natural Foods Market, thinks there’s enough evidence to think green tea “may help reduce risks for certain types of cancer” as well as “reduce the risk of heart disease because of its effect on cholesterol.”

O’Dell also mentioned that green tea could be helpful with weight loss and it “can help with oral health.”

And its benefits aren’t just found in a tea cup.

Heck, the natural, loose-leaf green stuff has survived thousands of years to be packed into tea bags, tooth paste, gum, capsules and even sunscreen, among other products.

Green tea, which has less caffeine than black tea and coffee, O’Dell said, even comes decaffeinated these days.

Oh, how the ancients would shake their heads at how far their beloved drink has come thousands of years later.

Of course, David Fell, the man who brewed Souders’ cup of green tea, isn’t much on newfangled tea bags.

Rather, he opts to sell 15 varieties of green tea in its simple, loose-leaf form.

At his StoneWood Coffee & Tea Co., Fell’s customers can order green tea flavored with everything from cocoa mint to mandarin orange.

And like O’Dell, the shop owner can rattle off a bevy of health benefits linked to green tea.

Actually, Fell’s love for the green stuff is more than apparent once you get him talking about how to brew the perfect cup of, say, Casablanca Twist green tea — one of his favorites.

“Ever since I began brewing green tea correctly — the proper temperature, steeping time, etc. — I’ve really, really been drinking green tea for the flavor.

“It’s not at all bitter, or like someone says, ‘Like eating a mouthful of grass.’ If you get that sensation, then your green tea hasn’t been steeped properly with the right temperature or length of time.”

So for those of us who don’t own a coffee and tea joint, how do we go about brewing a perfect cup of green tea at home?

The key to success is heating the water to 180 degrees, he said, and steeping the tea for three minutes.

After all, as Fell said, “Green tea steeps best not only in regards to flavor, but also in regards to extracting your different polyphenols and your different antioxidants at 180 degrees.”

Then, once the tea is ready to serve, you’ll be ready to, as Souders says, put the kettle to the metal.