Ineeka Tea Design
The following link will take you to a blog post about Ineeka Tea’s new tea bag design: http://www.arghyle.com/2007/03/26/great-design-ineeka-tea/ While innovative in the industry, and a creative and fresh idea, this new design is a slap in the face to what many tea drinkers believe in: conservation of resources in this world. This innovative design could easily be replaced by a reusable strainer, and the tea could basically be sold loose. This tea will probably sell well because schmucks will buy it for its “cool” factor. Just an interesting tidbit of news!
Posted by CB at Friday ~ March 30, 2007 | 9 Comments
Category: Tea Technology, Tea News, Tea, Uncategorized
Murchies Keemun Reviewed
After finally running out of my green tea stash I moved on to Murchies Keemun, a Chinese long leaf black tea. Murchies is a tea importer and distributor located in Victoria BC Canada. I didn’t know what to expect when I opened up the small box of 12 bags. Unpeeling the plastic wrap, the faint smell of black tea was noticeable. After looking at the bag and snapping a picture I threw it in the boiling hot water for a 4 minute steep session. The black tea infused the water into a rich dark brown with a slight red tint within seconds of being submersed. The steam wafted out of the mug and carried with it the earthy sweetness of the black tea. The tea was sweeter than I had expected. The flavor was as rich as the color, and the sweetness was a lightly fermented taste. It was not as earthy as the aroma would have led you to believe, in fact it was quite refined. There was no detectible after taste resulting in a very clean finish.
Overall 8/10 Flavor- 9/10 Aroma- 8/10 Presentation- 7/10
Posted by CB at Thursday ~ March 15, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Black Tea, Tea Reviews, Tea, Uncategorized
Decaf your Own Tea
For some tea lovers having a cup is a two sided sword. One side filled with the elegant flavors and relaxing aromas and the other with caffeinated jitters. Personally I drink me tea in the morning to get a kick from the caffeine, but lots of people out there are sensitive to this stimulant. For those of you who want all the flavor without the jitters try this simple method to turn your caffeinated tea in to decaf. 1. Select tea you wish to drink, and steep it for 30 seconds in boiling water. 2. Take the wet leaves and steep in fresh boiled water. 3. Enjoy your newly decaf drink. This method will take away around 80% of the caffeine in your drink, which is also an excellent way to make tea at night if you get a craving and want to get to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Posted by CB at Thursday ~ March 15, 2007 | 4 Comments
Category: White Tea, Recipes, Tea Processing, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Green Tea, Tea, Health Benefits, Uncategorized
8 Great Tea Quotes
You aren’t the only one who has spoken about their love of tea. Here are some classic quotes about tea for your reading enjoyment! “Bring me a cup of tea and ‘Times’” - Queen Victoria’s first command upon the throne “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me” - C.S. Lewis “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” - Thich Nat Hahn “If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.” - Japanese Proverb “The spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort, and refinement.” - Arthur Gray “Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order” - Okakura Kakuzo “Tea is liquid wisdom.” - Anonymous And finally……….. “”I hope next time when we meet, we won’t be fighting each other. Instead we will be drinking tea together.” The final quote was said by the immortal Jackie Chan in the cinematic masterpiece, Rumble in the Bronx.
Posted by CB at Thursday ~ March 15, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Tea Stories, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Tea News, Uncategorized
Read Tea Leaves
Tea has so many great attributes, everything from increasing mental ability to fighting off harmful bacteria. It doesn’t surprise me that tea has also been associated with mysticism. Looking in to the future by interpreting how tea leaves fall at the bottom of a steeped cup has been practiced by cultures in Asia, the Middle East and even ancient Greece. Each culture independently began engaging in tea leaf reading, which is known as tasseography. Well now you can give it a shot as well: 1. You make a cup of tea with loose tea leaves 2. Drink the tea, while making sure not to ingest the leaves. 3. Then comes the tricky part, letting your imagination spot symbolism in the way the tea leaves lie. Some symbols and their meanings aresnake (enmity or falsehood), spade (good fortune through industry), mountain (journey of hindrance), or house (change, success). A whole list of symbols and their meanings is available here. Vola, now hopefully you will be able to read the future! If you got the knack at reading the symbolism tell me what the heck is going on in the show LOST.
Posted by CB at Wednesday ~ March 14, 2007 | 1 Comment
Category: White Tea, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Green Tea, Uncategorized
The Great Debate: Tea vs. Coffee
Here is some more ammunition for this seemingly never-ending (but one-sided) battle. Everyone and their grandma know that coffee can provide you with a burst of energy. And drinking coffee before exercising can help energize you and contribute to burning more fat. Well as it turns out not only can tea do this, but it has been shown to be vastly more effective for fat loss! Research now shows that tea’s natural caffiene and antioxidants are amazing at promoting fat loss, due to the rise in body heat production. New evidence also suggests that tea can help protect lean muscle tissue and stabilize your blood sugar levels. To put it bluntly, tea is far mor effecient at stimulating fat burners than coffee. One more reason to drop that java in the morning and start steeping!
Posted by CB at Wednesday ~ March 14, 2007 | 1 Comment
Category: Tea Facts, Health Benefits, Green Tea, Uncategorized
Numi Mint Tea Review
As soon as I took this tea bag out of its individual package the strong, crisp smell of mint was present. The tea bag itself appeared to be made of recycled material, but individually wrapping each one kind of defeats the positive environmental impact. The boiled water immediately began transforming in to a deep, clear, golden brown as soon as the tea bag touched it. The mint aroma was very strong as the tea steeped. After removing the tea bag I took my first sip. The flavor was simple and bold. The sharp mint flavor was extremely refreshing and soothing. There was a slight hint of earthy tones followed by a cool clean feeling in my mouth. After finishing this cup of refreshing herbal goodness I realized that there is a whole other world of teas outside of the green, black and white blends that I usually drink. I would definitely drink this tea again. Overall 8/10 Flavor- 9/10 Aroma- 9/10 Presentation- 6/10
Posted by CB at Saturday ~ March 03, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Herbal Tea, Tea Reviews, Tea Facts, Tea, Uncategorized
Robot Serves Tea in Japan!
Japan is pretty serious about robotics. If the droids are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea. Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring just that. In a demonstration this week, a humanoid with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc. poured tea from a bottle into a cup. Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate life with robot technology. You can find the whole article here.
Robots in Japan are serving tea! I would be set if one of these robots would come over here and make me a nice cup of green tea right about now! Here’s a little bit of the article:
Posted by CB at Saturday ~ March 03, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Tea Technology, Tea Stories, Tea News, Tea, Uncategorized
Ever Wondered How Green Tea is Made?
This video shows each step in making green tea. Watching this video really gave me an appreciation on how much work goes in to a cup of tea.
Posted by CB at Saturday ~ March 03, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Tea Videos, Tea Processing, Tea Facts, Tea, Green Tea, Uncategorized
23 Reasons to Drink Tea
Posted by CB at Friday ~ March 02, 2007 | 5 Comments
Category: Tea Facts, White Tea, History of Tea, Health Benefits, Green Tea, Tea, Uncategorized