Where I run

This is where I run twice a week, clocking my 10kms. It is only this year I shifted to this stadium , as I felt having other runners within my vicinity gives the extra motivation to put in incremental mileage or improvement on times. Besides, with the unpredictable late afternoon tropical storms , the stadium provides good temporary shelters.

There are all sorts of runners on the running tracks , young and old , all shapes and body conditions .. some serious runners preparing for a high school competition and yet others getting themselves ready for inter association meet. I know there is also a team of regular runners practising their baton change for their 100m relays .. and a couple of half-marathoners going through their routines.

As for me, I have always enjoy running side by side the better runners , usually the medal prospects in the local road races. It is interesting to gauge our body conditions and to see how we pace ourselves against them. At the end of each run , not only did I burn the extra 500 calories , I think I have achieved a good vigorous cardiovascular exercise.

Virgin Coconut Oil

Walk into an organic store or health shop, chances are you will find this miracle oil. And it is gaining popularity. The health and nutritional benefits for consuming Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) are numerous and varied. Not only it serves as a food source and dietary supplement, it can protect and nourish the skin. VCO is helpful in tropical relief of skin disorders such as eczema , psoriasis and can also act as a sun relief. Its natural anti-viral and anti-bacterial qualities are widely recognized.

Extracted from fresh coconut flesh , it undergoes a cold pressed process. Highly resistant to rancidity , VCO is functionally safe without the need for refrigeration or special storage.

A close friend of mine takes two tablespoons a day, and he claims he has been able to keep the doctor away !

Rising tea prices

As I was still having some more fresh tea samples from the tea gardens in West Java , I continued to visit more tea blenders in the city ... when I gave quotations , I usually look at their facial expressions. A couple of calls ... I know whether my prices are going to be well-received. Once in a while, eyes popped out if we have a really good deal !

Yesterday, I had my tea tasting with the two famous brothers of Setapak. Each time I visited them, they would share their latest invoices and receipts from suppliers. Well, what do you know ! Indeed the tea prices had gone up at the weekly tea auctions, in tandem with global commodity market. The surge in demand is obvious. Almost all the receipts showed a hike of 40% for CTC and orthodox teas.

I left with a good feeling, a commitment for a 1st container order in July ... when their inventory runs down.

A different cup of tea !

As a salesperson, I knocked on many doors. I visited hypermarkets, university shops, provision shops, industrial canteens, coffeeshops, convenience stores, multi-level marketing companies, distribution houses, factories ... but yesterday my visit was to a tea blender & merchant in Kuala Lumpur. Since getting into the bulk tea business, I spend considerable time sampling and tasting tea with this unique group of passionate individuals.

This particular tea blender I visited started selling tea when he was 17. Today after 36 years in the tea and coffee business , he is quite an authority in as far as distributing tea and coffee to the downline trade. Quite proud of his personal success, he was dying to tell me his story from the very beginning ...

After giving me a tour of his factory, our conversation centred on consumption habits at the mamak coffeeshops and kopi tiams. He was complaining about dipping sales trend for his tea. He thought consumers consumed less teh tarik , tea with condensed milk, because of government clampdown on artificial colouring in tea. The banned colouring fooled many unsuspecting consumers who thought darker tea meant a stronger tea. The colouring was an attempt to stretch the tea concentrate in the tea stocking .. so that the tea maker can churn out more cups of tea thereby increasing profits.

What my tea blender friend did not notice was that competition was the real culprit. The product offerings at the mamak coffeeshops and kopi tiams have expanded. Hot drinks vs Cold drinks. Carbonated drinks vs Non-carbonated drinks, Home-made drinks vs manufactured drinks. And the influx of ready-to-drinks tetrapaks, bottled and can drinks , all of which fighting to quench the thirst of the consumer.

There is competition everywhere - product categories, brands and even the storage areas and coolers of the on-premise outlets. My tea blender friend may have found the formula for the best cup of tea after 36 years experience, but to win over the customer may be a different cup of tea !

How do you to make a perfect brew of tea ?

To make a good cup of tea, you should use freshly drawn boiling water. Filtered water makes a better cup of tea. In order to draw flavour out of the tea, the water must contain oxygen. This is reduced if the water is boiled more than once. Place tea leaves or tea bags and pour boiling water over the tea. Allow to steep for 3 to 5 minutes and remove tea leaves or tea bags. A measure of sugar and milk can be added, to individual preference.

Joys of Running

Running is one of the things I like to do. Finding a scheduled time to do the weekly runs is often a luxury. Nevertheless I have been keeping track of all my runs last couple of years. Especially after I managed to win a few medals and certificates , albeit the smaller ones ! This year , I started running twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays from 1730 to 1915 hours. From 5km to 7km runs ... I have progressed to 10 km runs every running session.

It has come to a stage where I will push myself to gain extra mileage or improve my time. And it gets to be very addictive. In the course of running and trying to stay fitter, I will try to read and share more articles on running ...

Black vs Green

We know Tea contains natural protective antioxidants called flavonoids. Antioxidants help protect the body from free radical damage. These antioxidants also help boost our overall body circulatory systems. But which tea , Black or Green , has a better health promoting benefit for individuals at risk with Parkinson's disease ? Each year, one million Americans have to face this degenerative condition that affects movement and balance.

A study by the American Journal of Epidemiology with 63,257 Chinese men and women concluded that by drinking 23 cups of black tea a month or 3/4 cup a day, the risk of developing Parkinson's disease will be reduced by 71%. This revealing results show that Black Tea is just as good , if not better !

Blogging in Malaysia

Just fancy to read from Malaysian newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, that there are 500,000 active bloggers in Malaysia. For a small population of 26 million, the blogging community certainly does create an impact on the thoughts of the average Malaysian. Politics is the most popular category.

Better times for Tea growers

Tea growers are smiling once again as prices have started to soar this year. There is a global surge in demand especially from Middle East, North Africa , Eastern Europe and China. The trigger went off as a result of concerns of a global shortage of tea.


Political upheavel in Kenya's tea growing region pushed prices above normal levels. Farmers everywhere from Sri Lanka to Indonesia have for the last couple of years tried to mitigate against the rising fuel costs, labor and packaging costs. Indeed this time around, a sigh of relief for many tea estates as weekly tea auction prices have hit record highs everywhere. In Colombo, the biggest weekly tea auction now sells tea at USD3.15 per kg.

According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), tea will be a bull market in 2008. If there is a drought or civil unrest in any of the leading tea growing region, the demand will be lifted. Also, being the second most popular beverage after water, the tea category will continue to see positive growth.

For the consumer this commodity boom will translate to paying more for a cup of tea, at least for this year !