tea tours
Photo by wjpbennett. I recently watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in which Tony visited China. It was a great episode with one glaring and (in my opinion) huge exception: no tea! How can you have a show focused on food in China without mentioning or even showing tea? I love you Tony, but I think you broke my heart a little bit with that episode. I was reminded about this, somehow, when I checked out the Tea in London Tour website (mentioned by Steph here). It looks like a fantastic tour, though in all honesty the English tea experience is quite contrary to my reasons for drinking tea. English tea time has too much pomp and circumstance. One of my main reasons for loving tea is that it reminds me to simplify, to cut out the extra, unnecessary stuff. In my mind, the English tea party celebrates that extra stuff, with its saucers and table cloths and doilies and scones. Not that I can’t acknowledge those things are great, they’re just not my style. And so, I thought, wouldn’t it be awesome to go on a “Tea in China Tour”? I haven’t done any research to see if such a tour even exists, and with a baby on the way, I doubt I could arrange one for any time soon, but it’s a lovely thought. I would go to all the places Anthony Bourdain should have visited!
Posted by Rachel at Monday ~ October 08, 2007 | 6 Comments
Category: Tea Stories, Tea
Tea of the Month Clubs
Green tea 2 by Ayelie. I like shopping locally to support the community I live in, but when it comes to buying tea, I don’t have many local options. There is one coffee and tea chain retailer that I’ve bought tea from, but they just don’t have much of a variety or good-quality teas. A friend of mine imports tea, but his clients are mostly companies and restaurants. In other words, he doesn’t actually have a store. So, in order to buy from him, I have to call in advance to make sure he’ll be around. Not only is it an inconvenience to me, but I often feel like I’m inconveniencing him, too. Still, I buy most of my tea from him and turn to the internet for the rest of my tea purchases. I’ve been curious lately about Tea of the Month Clubs. I used to be a member of a Pencil of the Month Club (I know, I’m a geek), and I loved receiving a new package each month and learning about the history and manufacturing process of each pencil. And imagine getting that package each month, but instead of pencils, getting new teas! That would be awesome. In my quest for Tea of the Month Clubs, I came across a list by Tea Guy Speaks. It’s just a list, though, so he doesn’t summarize membership benefits or provide information beyond the links. I, however, am looking for a Tea Club that meets specific criteria: I want something affordable (under $100) and I’m particularly interested in Chinese tea (though not every selection must include Chinese tea). Those two criteria rule out most of the clubs. So, what’s left? Silver Tips Masterful Tea of the Month Club: “The best teas we can recommend in any category - black, green, oolong or white. 1 oz. of each month’s selection sent in the middle of each month.” A 3-month membership (approx. 84 grams of tea) is $65. And they list the selection of teas they’ll ship: Jan 2007 China Display Tea Feb 2007 Yellow Tea Mar 2007 Zhen Qu Yunnan Apr 2007 Gyokuro May 2007 Yin Zhen Silver Needle Jun 2007 Keemun Imperial Jul 2007 Assam Silver Needle Aug 2007 Dragon Ball Sep 2007 Makaibari Silver Tips Oct 2007 Kaziranga Nov 2007 China Rosettes Dec 2007 Royal Gold Yunnan The Tea Table Tea of the Month Bonus Plan: The “Bonus Plan” indicates that each shipment includes a special, surprise gift. I don’t much care for that, but this is the only option that included The Oolong Plan and The White Tea Plan: These plans are $85 each, with shipments going out every three months for one year. Totally TEA-riffic Tea of the Month Club: “Each shipment will consist of 4 oz of tea chosen from the category that you choose. (Some shipments may be less than 4 oz for the more expensive rare teas.)” The Chinese Black Tea category caught my eye. I’m not a big drinker of black tea, but I like that this category includes only Chinese tea. The cost for six months is $84.95. The Tao of Tea World Tea Club: “During the first week of each month, you will receive three teas in sampler size quantities. Depending on the tea, each sample will typically make 25-30 cups of tea.” This club is a bit of a crap shoot, in that you don’t at all know what you’re going to get, but I do like the sound of most of the “possible” teas they list. A 4-month membership is $80. TeaSource Tea of the Month Club: TeaSource has a particularly interesting tea club, in that it is catered to individual preferences. They actually recommend calling them first for a consultation! Here’s their price chart: Membership Level 6 month membership 12 month membership Premium $30.00 $55.00 Select $42.00 $79.00 Rare $72.00 $139.00 So, which will I go with? The jury’s still out, but I find TeaSource’s club to be particularly attractive. Have I overlooked any clubs that meet my criteria? Let me know in the comments!
Keep in mind, though, that shipping is NOT included in these prices. For a six month membership, add an extra $23.40 (or $46.80 for 12 months). Those shipping costs seem high to me, but the Rare 6 Month Membership still comes in under $100.
Posted by Rachel at Thursday ~ October 04, 2007 | 6 Comments
Category: Tea
Blog Roundup
Tea Competition from the Chinese Tea Culture Online Museum. There are so many great tea blogs out there, often written by knowledgeable tea enthusiasts (and in some cases, professionals). Here are links to recent, interesting posts by other bloggers: It’s an interesting thing going to a store that focuses on its pots, rather than its tea. Yesterday there was a crowd of potheads gathered around the table with the owner sitting there, casually brewing some aged oolongs in a big well made pot that I’m sure is a few thousand dollars, at least. The discussion (to the extent that I could understand when they spoke in mandarin — most of the conversation was in Taiwanese, which is hopelessly difficult) was all about pots. Who made what, which one’s nice, if it’s a real one, how much, look at that nice clay, the good calligraphy, etc etc Read the full (and very interesting) post here. If only he included photos!
Posted by Rachel at Thursday ~ October 04, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Tea
Tea and Pregnancy
Pregnancy by Ola Czechowska When I learned I was pregnant, the first thing I did was a little research to find out the things I should eliminate or reduce from my diet. Smoked fish, soft cheese, alcohol, and caffeine topped the list. I love smoked fish, soft cheese, and alcohol, but they’re not things I consume on a daily basis. Caffeine, however, is in something I love and consume daily: TEA! I’m hot, hungry, and tired all the time, and on top of that I’m not supposed to have tea!? Let me look into this a little further. The Yale University School of Medicine published the results of their research on maternal consumption of caffeine during pregnancy in 2003. The concern was that caffeine contributed to low birth weight, but the study determined that “[t]his small decrease in birth weight, observed for maternal caffeine consumption, is unlikely to be clinically important except for women consuming Three other things worth noting: Considering how much tea I drank pre-pregnancy, there’s a good chance that I was consuming around 600 mg of caffeine. So, I have drastically reduced the amount of tea I drink, but I’m relieved that I don’t need to complete eliminate it.
600 mg of caffeine daily (approximately six 10-ounce (1 ounce = 28.3 g) cups of coffee). ”
Posted by Rachel at Tuesday ~ October 02, 2007 | 4 Comments
Category: Herbal Tea, Black Tea, White Tea, Tea Facts, Tea, Health Benefits, Green Tea
…With Green Tea
A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine who imports tea handed me a bit of chocolate to taste. It was dark chocolate with green tea. Milk chocolate tends to overwhelm my tastebuds with sweetness, but dark chocolate has a more complex, interesting flavor. And this particular chocolate wasn’t made with green tea just to be cute or ride a trend, but rather I could actually taste the green tea. And, perhaps more interestingly, I could see the green tea. There were little twisted pieces of tea in the chocolate, and they created a nice crunch while eating the chocolate. I wish I knew what kind of chocolate it was, as I neglected to write down the name and haven’t touched base with my friend since then. Last night, I stopped by my favorite local eco-store. After I had already checked out, I spotted some organic dark chocolate with green tea made by Vivani. I picked up a bar and went back to the counter to make my purchase. It wasn’t long before I was unwrapping the chocolate to take a bite. The flavors were all there, but the crunch wasn’t. This was a different chocolate. Still, I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, this is really good stuff. And I like the company, too. According to their website, all of the ingredients they use are organic and purchased from Third World regions to promote small-scale farming and sustainable agricultural practices. They also have some interesting information about Catechins: CATECHINS protect the heart. Catechins belong to the flavonoid family – a group of biological pigments. They have strong antioxidant capabilities, which have more of an effect than Vitamin C and E. Catechins may help to protect against heart disease and cancer. Catechin content in mg: Neat, huh? Hurray for chocolate and green tea!
Catechins effectively catch free radicals and prevent deposits in the blood vessel walls*, regulate the blood pressure**, and stimulate the immune system.
The positive medicinal effects of Catechins are also found in green tea and red wine.
Dark chocolate (100 g)
53,3 mg
Milk chocolate (100 g)
15,9 mg
Green tea (1 cup)
ca. 25,8 mg
Posted by Rachel at Monday ~ October 01, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Health Benefits, Tea, Green Tea
Christine Misiak Tea Sets
I love tea. And when people and businesses come up with eco-friendly tea products, I’m able to love tea even more. Christine Misiak is one of those people. She’s a British product designer who has given new life to old tea sets. While I tend to prefer minimal Asian tea design to traditional British tea style, at my core I’m a design geek who can appreciate good design, wherever it comes from. On her site, Christine explains: My tea sets aim to preserve and portray important aspects of the past, and reminding us of the importance of past objects by using features from old neglected tea sets and blending them with the new and modern. Updating old tea sets and reinventing them to make them current and fashionable for today’s market. . . . Therefore the idea of reusing these old things acts as a way of giving them a new lease of life. Reusing and reinventing old tea sets to make them current and fashionable again rather than just a forgotten thing of the past. Christine has recreated/recycled several different tea sets. One’s an exciting kelly green, one is a bold orange, then there’s a mod citron, and a black one… see them all here! (via Inhabitat)
Posted by Rachel at Monday ~ September 24, 2007 | 2 Comments
Category: Tea Tools, Tea Technology, Tea
Tea Culture in South China
Picking tea leaves by xrodgers This summer, China celebrated the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return from Britain. National Geographic honored the event with a series called “Tea Culture in South China.” If you missed it, as I unfortunately did, you’re in luck! It can be found in five episodes (just under 10 minutes each) on YouTube. Click here to view these great videos! (I would embed the video, but I can’t get it to work in this version of WordPress. So sorry!)
Posted by Rachel at Monday ~ September 17, 2007 | 1 Comment
Category: Tea Videos, Tea Stories, History of Tea, Tea
Bagged Tea
A plain ol’ tea bag. I can be a bit of a tea snob sometimes. Looking at a tea bag, I usually can’t help but wonder, what’s really in there? When sniffing a cup of tea made from a tea bag, I might even have a hint of a frown. As bad as that might sound, I used to be worse. I wouldn’t even consider drinking tea made from a tea bag, regarding it as grossly inferior to loose leaf tea. In fact, that kind of tea was just a drink. In my mind, it could not possibly create an experience worthy of the word tea. But since then, I’ve had a lot of bagged teas. All kinds of teas and tisanes in all kinds of bags. Let me tell you, all tea bags are not created equal. The Mighty Leaf Tea Pouch If I had to point to a particular tea bag that changed my mind, it would have to be the tea pouch from Mighty Leaf. These pouches are larger than the usual tea bag (which means they allow the tea enough room to expand) and are filled with whole leaf tea (unlike typical tea bags that often contain dust and tea particles). The first time I saw these pouches, I was intrigued. They were aesthetically appealing in their design, and I really, really liked that I could actually see what the tea looked like. I tried the Ginger Twist, “a harmonious mix of lemongrass, tropical fruits, and mint fueled with a touch of ginger and ginseng.” Fragrant and soothing are the words that come to mind. In addition to several herbal and fruit blends, Mighty Leaf offers green, white, and black teas. They can be ordered as loose leaf teas or in tea pouches. I think the tea pouches in particular are a terrific introduction to “real” teas for people who might be intimidated by loose teas, scales, timers, and thermometers. Plus, though the pouches look like a silken nylon, they’re actually made of GMO-free polylactic corn. I’m not sure what that is, but it is biodegradable!
Posted by Rachel at Wednesday ~ September 12, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Tea Technology, Tea
Demmer’s Satin White Bio Reviewed
Demmer’s White Satin Bio Back in August, on the T Ching site, Aaron of Art of Tea magazine wondered “whether you would rather learn the Chinese terms for all things tea related, via roman pinyin of course, or develop some kind of standardized English translation.” Pinyin, by the way, is the transliteration of Chinese using Latin letters. My preference is for pinyin. White Peony sounds lovely, but knowing it as Pai Mu Dan is far more useful. The best solution, I think, is using both the pinyin and English. I bring this up for a reason. I am sitting here sipping some Chinese white tea – White Satin Bio, to be exact. But beyond that English name, I have no information about this tea. And that’s a shame because there’s a good chance that if I walk into another tea shop wanting to buy this particular tea, I couldn’t do so. This could be a staple white tea. It has everything I tend to expect from Chinese white teas: sweetness, delicacy, a soft color. White Satin Bio, out of the bag. This is a large-leaf tea. The 50g of Oolong I bought fit into a cute little bag, but the 50g of this tea filled a large, clear bag (to my chagrin, actually, since clear bags and tea are not friends!). I placed 4-5 grams into the infuser, which filled it completely. I heated the water to around 75°C (around 170°F) and poured over the leaves and allowed them to steep for 4 minutes in My Daily Tea Pot. White Satin Bio, steeped. The result was not out of this world, but it is a tasty tea that I could serve to any guest. It’s smooth and uncomplicated, just what a late afternoon or evening tea should taste like. Overall 7/10 Flavor- 7/10 Aroma- 8/10 Presentation- 7/10
Posted by Rachel at Tuesday ~ September 11, 2007 | No Comments
Category: White Tea, Tea Reviews
tea pots
Bodum Marcel Glass Tea Press I have four tea pots. That’s just enough to let people know I’m serious about tea, without making them think I’m a little crazy. You see, I already have lots and lots and lots of books, so having lots and lots and lots of something else also just wouldn’t seem right. My four tea pots serve four distinct purposes: one Yixing pot for Pu-ehr, another Yixing pot for green tea, the Bodum Marcel Glass Tea Press for serving tea to several people (and for display teas!), and my daily tea pot. My Daily Tea Pot My daily tea pot is a simple, unassuming pot. It was given to me last December as a holiday gift. Talk about a perfect gift! It holds enough tea for four people, though I make several pots for just myself every day. It bears no identifying marks as to its maker. Its base color is off-white with tiny pinkish dark beige splotches that dot the surface, creating a rustic appearance and a nubby texture. It has metal handles that I’ve learned to interlock to keep them from getting too hot. This tea pot does not pour perfectly. It was an annoyance at first, but now it makes me love it even more. So what if there are always a few drops of tea next to the tea cup? Everyone who sees this tea pot remarks on what a perfect little tea pot it is, and it is. So, at the moment, I’m good on tea pots. My next tea-related purchases (aside from tea, of course) will be a tea warmer and tea tins. I’ve gone without these tea items for my whole life, so why do I suddenly feel like I need them? Links: Pot Luck Tea Company (where I bought my Yixing pots)
Posted by Rachel at Monday ~ September 10, 2007 | 1 Comment