Archive for September, 2010

Quick and Easy Iced Tea

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

By Patrick Kidda

Often, in the afternoon, I get a craving for a tall glass of iced tea. I do have cold green tea on hand, but I prefer black tea in the afternoon.

Here’s how I make a quick iced tea:

  • Pick whatever black tea suites your mood. For me, it is loose leaf Chinese Black: Flowery Orange Pekoe from Teaflection’s catalog; yesterday, it was Earl Grey.
  • If you have access to very hot water, such as at an office or hotel, you can use that, or heat your own. I put a mug of water in the microwave for 2 minutes.
  • Drop in your tea infuser or tea bag
  • Fill up a tall cup, like a pint-size glass, completely with ice. The larger the cup of ice, the longer you let your cup of tea steep. I recommend not using an actual glass, as it may break due to the change in temperature.
  • If you want sweet tea, now is the time to add your sweetener to the cup of tea. I sometimes use Agave nectar or honey. Lemon is also sometimes nice. Personally, with the great flavors of tea available, I have found little need for sweetener and really enjoy floral and citrus hints, such as in the Orange Pekoe.
  • The final step is to pour your mug of hot tea into your cup of ice, stir and enjoy!

*Helpful Hint – Match the time you let your tea steep to how much ice you use in order to determine the strength of your iced tea. The more ice you use, the more diluted it becomes. I try to make my mug of tea twice as strong as I would normally prefer when enjoying hot tea, because I am diluting it with ice.

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Tea Lovers Choose Loose Leaf

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Though tea is definitely not the most popular beverage in the United States at the moment, more and more tea lovers are emerging to create an active group of enthusiasts who are raising the bar for quality of products.  If you have indulged in a fine cup of loose leaf tea recently, you can imagine why connoisseurs of the beverage have a great interest in seeking out the best teas available in premium form.  The taste is markedly different and vibrant in a way that those of us who had only experienced tea in pre-packaged tea bags can appreciate.  With more hype placed on quality teas, it is not surprising that more consumers are giving the premium varieties a try and making the switch to loose leaf teas.

Why are loose leaf teas better?  There are several factors that go into this answer, but ultimately, it is the difference in quality and flavor.  If you prepare tea from a pre-packaged tea bag, the resulting taste can be quite unpredictable when compared to its loose leaf counterpart.  The tea itself is often crumbled and dried out with an almost dusty appearance that does not produce a great cup of tea, and usually the taste is stronger and possibly more bitter than the same loose leaf variety.  In using smaller fragments and particles of tea in tea bags, the essential oils that flavor each variety can evaporate easily, which results in the loss of taste, and the particles can often escape the tea bags into the cup leaving you with a cloudy beverage.

However, loose leaf teas are fresher and have bigger leaves than tea that goes into tea bags, which produces a well rounded and less bitter taste when prepared correctly.  Larger leaves mean more essential oils to contribute to the tea’s flavor when brewed, and they stay intact when being prepared for greater clarity.  The profound difference in taste from loose leaf varieties can make those who never thought of themselves as tea lovers have a change of heart, as the experience of drinking a great cup of tea can overshadow previous, lackluster impressions.

The convenience of tea bags is their readiness.  They are portable for when you are on the go, and they require no further preparation than to simply add them to a cup of hot water.  Loose leaf tea, in contrast, does require measuring and the use of other utensils, such as a tea ball infuser, strainer, or ceramic tea pot, but the results are so much better that to many, the extra effort is well worth it.  In meeting the needs of consumers who would like the benefits of a loose leaf tea and the easiness of a pre-prepared option, many tea manufacturers of quality varieties are offering silken tea sachets, also known as pyramids or envelopes, which are loose enough to allow the tea leaves to unfurl and contain the preferred larger, fresh tea leaves, but also are convenient and portable.

Therefore, the time is now to start drinking loose leaf tea instead of using tea bags.  The difference in taste and quality will surprise you if you haven’t yet experienced it, and there are even pre-packaged loose leaf tea options to make the transition easier.  If you are in need of a great loose leaf tea, feel free to browse through our catalog to find your favorite variety; all orders come with a free tea ball infuser to help you in your preparation.

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Tea Hangover Cures

Friday, September 17th, 2010

When you have a hangover, you are ready to do about anything to get rid of it.  Between the incessant headache, nausea, and dehydration, the misery surrounding a hangover can ruin your day, and many hangover suffers have developed strange and gross ways of fighting the symptoms.  From drinking sauerkraut brine to concoctions that might actually induce vomiting instead of combating it, the selection of natural remedies can be less enticing than just dealing with the symptoms until they dissipate on their own.

However, the last time I got a headache and nausea from drinking a bit too much, I was on the search for a beverage that would rehydrate me instead of going for a glass of soda or a cup of coffee.  That’s when I had the wonderful idea of drinking a cup of green tea.  This idea was more than appealing at that moment, as the thought of a hot, clean beverage that has plenty of caffeine seemed like an ideal solution, but I wasn’t sure if it would actually work until I gave it a try.  Amazingly, the green tea worked beautifully in alleviating my hangover, and by the end of two cups, I felt completely better.  No headache, no nausea, and I was rehydrated.

My curiosity was peaked by this accidental discovery, and I then searched online to see if others had also realized that this hangover cure works as well as I had experienced.  The answer was, of course, yes, and green tea is often recommended as a natural hangover cure, amongst other herbal teas that can help with upset stomach and nausea symptoms.  The antioxidants in green tea help in detoxifying the liver and improve its function, which is one of the reasons this cure works so well.  Since a hangover is technically a combination of withdrawal symptoms from alcohol, the headache experienced, in addition to the stomach related symptoms, comes from constriction of the brain’s blood vessels after the alcohol is gone, as alcohol opens up the blood vessels.  Therefore, the caffeine in green tea dilates the blood vessels in the brain to relieve the pressure that causes headaches.

Another recommendation for the green tea hangover cure is to add honey to each cup of tea, because honey is rich in sodium, fructose, and potassium, which are depleted in the body after excessive alcohol consumption.  Other teas, besides green tea, that can help with the upset stomach and nausea from a hangover are peppermint and ginger tea.  Ginger, especially, has been heralded as an effective homeopathic remedy for nausea and has been used for this purpose, outside of hangover symptom relief, for centuries.

Why choose this homeopathic remedy instead of an over-the-counter pain reliever and water?  Well, don’t skip the water, but do pass on the pain medicine.  Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are both rough on the stomach and could lead you to feel more nauseated than you were before, and they are also hard on your liver, as it has to process medicine as well as alcohol.  So the next time you have a hangover, or the beginnings of one, get your relief from a soothing cup of tea.  We recommend finding a great green tea variety from our catalog to have ready the next time those annoying hangover symptoms strike.

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People Who Made Tea Popular

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

It is hard to imagine a world where tea was not a staple of Western culture.  From the British custom of afternoon tea to the American fixation on green tea as a healthy weight loss beverage, we often take for granted the people who have pushed tea into popular culture and have made it fashionable.  Though the history of tea and its initial voyage to Europe through the Dutch East India Company in the 17th Century is in a large way responsible for the influx of tea drinkers in France, Germany, and England, there were still trend-setters who set the stage for the culture surrounding tea.

Tea gained its initial demand in France in the 17th Century shortly before the British caught on to the trend.  It was very popular amongst the aristocracy, as during this time, it was ridiculously expensive.  They were the first to set the posh attitude that followed tea for the next few centuries, and their influence in sharing this status symbol with the aristocracy of other countries only aided in spreading the popularity of tea.  Through the letters of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, whose formal title was Marquise de Sevigne, we see how the obsession with tea was formed, as she documents in her letters the massive amount of tea consumption that took place amongst the aristocracy.

However, in England, during the 19th Century, the social culture surrounding tea was changed forever by the introduction of the famed tradition of afternoon tea, which was started by Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford.  Tea was already a popular beverage in England at this time, and had been for around 200 years, but the Duchess of Bedford found that in the afternoon around four or five o’ clock, she became tired and in need of a snack, and thus, afternoon tea was single-handedly brought into fruition.  This social tradition has endured, and there are still tea rooms around the world that host afternoon tea time with light refreshments and, of course, fresh brewed tea.

Though tea in the past may have been considered an aristocratic or formal beverage, this sentiment has not endured, as tea has maintained its presence through time and has its own place in the cultures of various regions.  Sweet iced tea is still very much a part of the South’s beverage menu, and fine hot tea is enjoyed by a large base of both connoisseurs and novices throughout North America and Europe.  Today, numerous popular culture references about tea have helped in securing its place in our culture, although we are flooded with choices for an extreme number of processed and ready-made beverages.  For example, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek is often depicted drinking hot Earl Grey tea and is cited as a significant influence in maintaining the popularity of this traditional tea variety.  Also, Lady Gaga has contributed to the popularity of tea by being photographed with a tea cup and saucer in hand, thus making tea a fashion statement for younger, future connoisseurs.

For the popularity of tea to have occurred, history has required the help of influencers to set the trend for others to follow.  Tea, in all its forms, is a significant part of our world’s culture, and the traditions and variations inspired by this beverage have been set into motion by significant tea drinkers.  If you are looking for a great tea variety to enjoy, visit our catalog for premium loose leaf tea, and be one of the many influencers who have helped in making tea popular.

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The Similarities Between Tea and Wine Tasting

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Though tea and wine have substantial differences as beverages, there are striking similarities between the tasting processes used to evaluate their flavor profiles.  In sharpening my own tea tasting process, I found that many of the terms and techniques between the two overlap, which was surprising at first because they are made in completely different ways from different sources and processes.  However, the more I compared tea and wine from a sensory standpoint, the more I felt that the tasting process should be the same, because both types of beverages have various levels of quality based on where they were cultivated, amongst other factors, and an extensive following of connoisseurs who sample them.

The first step in tea and wine tasting is to examine the visual aspects of the beverage.  For tea, you want to start by looking at the unprepared leaves themselves, determine if they appear to be fresh or old, and note the quality before brewing.  Then, you form visual impressions of the brewed cup of tea, especially focusing on the clarity, color, and presence of sediment.  This visual evaluation is almost the exact same for wine tasting, as you look for the clarity, color, and sediment in the glass before drinking to form impressions of the overall quality.  In both instances, having a white background for the liquid to be compared against is helpful, and white interior tea cups are most often used in the tasting process; in contrast, since wine is sampled from an appropriate glass, a paper towel is often held up to the glass for easy comparison.

As for the aroma, tasters of both beverages always make sure to mention the scent profile they gather, as scent and taste work hand in hand.  Tea connoisseurs sometimes put their nose directly in the unprepared tea leaves to evaluate the aroma, and they also consider the fragrance produced by the prepared brew.  Likewise, wine tasters sample the aroma of their subjects by putting their nose at the top of the glass and make note of the various nuances they sense from the smell alone.

Lastly, the actual tasting process for both tea and wine considers all aspects of the beverage’s evolution when being consumed.  The process starts with drinking either tea or wine in a way that makes sure the whole tongue is covered by the liquid, because the tongue has varying taste buds that sense different aspects of flavor.  Therefore to get the best impression, the liquid must be moved through the whole mouth.  Some connoisseurs of both tea and wine decide to spit out their sample once they have evaluated the flavor of the beverage, though I think this step is probably most important for wine tasting, as tea is not likely to leave you intoxicated after a few samples.  The final step in examining the overall taste of both tea and wine is to note the finish of the beverage and how the taste evolves after being consumed.

The overall experience from doing a tea or wine tasting definitely has its differences, but the process itself is not vastly contrasted between the two.  Quality is the main factor in both realms, and the visual impression, aroma, and evolution of taste are all factors that must be considered to effectively review tea and wine.  Though there are many specifics of tea tasting left to be mentioned, understanding the general points of the process can help in your own evaluation of different tea or wine varieties.

To find excellent loose leaf teas to sample and enjoy, visit our catalog, and order a fine variety that is shipped directly to your door.

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