Archive for category Tea Culture / Ceremony
How to Brew a Perfect Pot of Tea
Posted by Admin in Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Industry News on January 19th, 2010
![[TOT]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PJ-AT193_TOT_DV_20100113155855.jpg)
Wall Street Journal By CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN
Long before he co-founded TWG Tea Co. in 2007, Manoj Murjani was an avid tea collector, keeping about 70 different kinds in his home at a time. Mr. Murjani, chairman and chief executive officer of the brand, which is sold in Dean & Deluca stores in the U.S. and Harrods in London, is a purist when it comes making and drinking tea.
When entertaining or dining with his family, Mr. Murjani often brews loose-leaf teas by the pot. He prefers large whole leaves and avoids using tiny tea balls, which he says don’t give the leaves room to unfurl and infuse the water with flavor. Instead, he places about two and a half teaspoons of leaves in a large strainer. “You don’t want the water to be boiling hot,” he says. It could “burn the tea leaves.” After about three minutes—or up to seven minutes for more delicate varieties like white teas—he removes the strainer. He generally avoids adding milk or sugar and feels lemon “overpowers the taste.”
New Website for Chai Tea Lovers
Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Industry News, Tea Product News on January 6th, 2010
Tea News Direct Exclusive
A new website has been launched offering “the biggest collection of chai teas on the web.”
Chai Buyer is aimed directly at those looking to buy chai tea, the delicious traditional spicy Indian tea made with milk. The website makes the final selection that much easier for those who already know they want to buy chai tea.
Chai Buyer is divided into simple categories to make browsing for chai tea straightforward. The categories are:
Loose Leaf Chai Tea Blends- Loose Leaf Black Chai Tea
- Loose Leaf Green Chai Tea
- Loose Leaf White Chai Tea
- Loose Leaf Pu-erh Chai Tea
- Loose Leaf Herbal Chai Tea
- Black Chai Teabags
- Green Chai Teabags
- White Chai Teabags
- Herbal Chai Teabags
- Chai Teabag Samplers
- Sugar and Spice…
There’s also an advanced chai tea search facility which allows you to pinpoint exactly what you want using keywords and category filters.
Chai Buyer plans to become the ultimate chai tea source on the internet, and many more chai teas have been identified for inclusion on the site over the coming weeks. Chai tea fans will be able to browse hundreds of products from the best suppliers around the world.
Manufacturers and retailers of chai tea are sought for possible inclusion on the site. For more information, please go to: www.ChaiBuyer.com
Bay Area Teahouses Offer an Exotic Break from Coffee
Posted by Admin in Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Houses on January 6th, 2010
Teahouses’ Unique Blends Are Not Just in the Cup
NYTimes.com By GREGORY DICUM
At Om Shan Tea, the air is filled with the clatter of small earthenware teapots, the sound of ethereal gongs and flutes and quiet animated conversation. Tea drinkers cluster on reed stools around low tables surrounded by antiques from tea-drinking lands.
Patrons can choose a Gong Fu presentation, with a stream of different vessels and cups. Oshan Anand, the owner of this year-old teahouse in the Mission district of San Francisco, sits at an antique tea table of dark wood and stone and pours tiny cups of pu-erh, the aged Chinese tea that, like wine, is often known by region and vintage.
Tea lover brews perfection
Posted by Admin in Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Product News on November 30th, 2009
Entrepreneur develops steeper to ease preparation of beverage.
LONG BEACH — Brewing loose-leaf tea can take an elaborate setup, according to Mei Tung, of Long Beach. Her tea set sits on a large, hand-carved wooden tray and includes small, ornamental porcelain dishes. Most hold dried tea leaves of different varieties; others are for steeping them. She poured boiling water into one of the steeping dishes. Water dripped from the kettle and ran in thin streams around the tray. After a moment, she removed a perforated ceramic basket holding the tea leaves from the hot water and poured it into tiny cups. Again, the tea dripped from the dish’s lip and wet the tray.
“Because we’re tea lovers, we really wanted to design something for tea lovers who travel so they can enjoy their favorite tea on the road,” Tung explained as the tea steeped. So she began producing the Perfect Steeper, a small, portable device that brews loose-leaf tea.
The Eight Cranes Perfect Steeper is available online from Amazon.com
One Love: British Tea Council Describes Their Perfect Cup
Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Recipes on June 22nd, 2009
by alexis
British magazine, Waitrose Food Illustrated, took a close look at their nation’s beverage of choice, tea, by commissioning a survey that sought to discover what made the perfect cup. In order to gain true insight, the magazine questioned a 70-person panel, dubbed the Tea Council, which was made up of ”top chefs, food and drink writers, tea experts, etiquette gurus, builders, hoteliers, cabbies, vicars and teachers.” Each panel member was asked the seemingly simple (but obviously complicated) question, “how do you make the perfect cup of tea?”
The British Panel specifically described their perfect cup as:
- English Breakfast loose leaf tea
- In a mug
- Steeped for 3 1/2 minutes exactly
- Made in a China pot, which must be pre-warmed
- Tea In First
- Splash of milk
- No sugar
Bigelow Tea Releases “How-to” Video
Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on March 24th, 2008
Tea lovers around the world can now learn the secret behind the perfect cup of tea with Bigelow Tea’s (www.bigelowtea.com) newest online video. Hosted by Cindi Bigelow, President, this short clip explains the unique differences between black and green tea leaves and offers specific step-by-step tips on how to prepare the respective brews.
Charming and informative, Bigelow explains the importance of using fresh, aerated water and describes the significant step of steeping, or covering, the cup before consumption. With a vibrant and useful demonstration, Bigelow walks viewers through the necessary, and different, steps for both black tea and green tea, bearing in mind the health benefits that accompany each cup.
India: City of Indore breaks record as 30,000 join tea party
Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on March 24th, 2008
Thaindian.com – Bangkok, Thailand
As more than 30,000 people Sunday raised their designer cups and took a sip of tea, Indore city of Madhya Pradesh set a new record for hosting the largest tea party. Citizens responded with enthusiasm to the novel event and started arriving at a stadium, the venue for the function, well ahead of the scheduled time of 3.30 p.m. and within an hour all seats were taken.
Community: The Great Tea Exchange
Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on February 18th, 2008
By Brandice
LiveJournal is generally a great place to generate conversation about specific interests, so I am a member of several tea communities. Recently, a new one caught my interest, because it involves the actual exchange of tea with a special tea penpal. From their community description:
This is a community for tea lovers to share their favorite teas with other members, as well as make friends/penpals! This will work just like any penpal community – post an intro, comment on ones that interest you and exchange info between yourselves. You can work out what you want to send between you.
How to brew a good cup of tea
Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on January 27th, 2008
Inside Bay Area – Oakland, CA, USA
By Chris Welsch
FIRST, ditch the tea bags. Tea in bags tends to be the lowest grade of leaf, and the bags impede steeping. Buy loose-leaf tea and brew it in a pot or cup that allows for free circulation. That means no tea-ballers, either.
In China and Japan, tea drinkers use the smallest possible pot for the number of people to be served and keep a thermos of hot water handy for re-steeps. That’s so they don’t have to leave water standing on leaves. That can create bitterness.
The Black Drink
Posted by Admin in Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Product News on January 27th, 2008
This plant is a beloved plant. Southeastern Native Americans used the leaves to brew a highly caffeinated tea known as the Black Drink. Today, the plant is called Yaupon Holly, but long ago Creek Indians called it the “beloved plant.” The leaves were a prized commodity among all the Southeastern Native American tribes. The leaves were roasted then boiled to produce the Black Drink. The Indians consumed Black Drink much like Americans consume coffee, but with a few minor differences.
The Black Drink was served as an emetic during purification rituals that took place before councils convened or warriors went off to war or hunt. The natives believed that a physical purity led to a spiritual purity, and the Southeastern natives possessed a religious zeal for purity. Before a man could proceed with any important undertaking, he would first purify himself by purging with the Black Drink. Yaupon Holly became so closely associated with the purging ritual that botanists gave the plant the Latin name Ilex vomitoria.
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