My Tea Break

Rediscovering Tea around the world

Monthly Archives: June 2011


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It´s nearly Friday!

This morning I am trying a Green Tea – It is called Xue Ya (Snow Buds).

This Tea is from the Fujian region, China. The buds were hand-picked in late March 2011. The buds are green with some white hair.

The Tea is very light in colour – light green- and very soft in taste.  This is a fresh and very interesting Tea, as it mixes sweetness with a finish of hazelnut (that you can detected just by smelling the buds!). I highly recommend it!

For more information, please go to:

http://www.cantonteaco.com/snow-buds-xue-ya-green-tea-489.html

Have a great day! Mariana!


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A lovely morning

Another very interesting Tea. I am having a strong black Tea called Ying De Nº 9. Delicious!

This famous tea from Guangdong Province is made from the varietal No 9 which is considered the best. This Tea is organically certified OTRDC (China).

As you can see from the pictures the leaves are quite dark.  The liquor is a bright dark amber colour which is robust enough to carry milk if desired.  However, I would not really recommend it, as it tastes wonderfully on its own.

Although the colour and smell are quite strong, the taste is smooth and quite sweet – notes of caramel, honey and chocolate.

Unfortunately this Tea is no longer available through the site…

Have a great day!

Mariana


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Good Morning!

Hey everyone,

This morning I am tasting the Huang Jin Gui, which is a Oolong Tea - Yellow Gold Oolong Tea. This Tea is from the Fujian region in China. It has a soft, floral smell (like the Osmanthus flower); a yellow/gold colour; a light but personalised floral taste. It is a very good light floral Tea. Maybe I would recommend it for later on in the day.

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For more information, please go on:

http://www.cantonteaco.com/yellow-gold-oolong-tea.html


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What a good way to start my week!

Edgar Thoemmes from the Canton Tea Co., very kindly sent me some Tea samples.  This week is a week of big decisions in my personal life. Therefore, I thought what totally relaxes me? Of course the answer is Tea!! I have decided that each morning of this week I am trying the Teas Edgar sent me and allow myself to properly relax before the day starts….

So, I am waking up earlier, (which believe me is something that is quite hard for me!!) and in the silence of my home I will taste and enjoy this experience!

I didn’t think I was a big fan of Black Tea, but today I tasted what I thought was a great Black Tea. As soon as you open the pack you know this Tea will be delicious.

It’s name is Black Bai Lin Gong Fu. I think the website description of this Tea says it all, so here we go – “this Bai Lin Gong Fu is made from young wild white tea buds, twisted into tight elegant gold-streaked curls. The liquor is reddish-brown and tastes naturally of caramel and cream so needs absolutely nothing added. This is a wonderful example of whole leaf black tea. It it is a glorious breakfast tea and very reasonably priced for a tea of this calibre. An everyday affordable luxury.“

For more information, please go to their website. I highly recommend it!

http://www.cantonteaco.com/bai-ling-gong-fu-black-tea.html

Have a great day, Mariana!


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Green Tea Latte

It sounds complicated but you can prepare this beverage at home.

Green Tea Latte

You need to make the tea first, then add the hot milk and foam.

  • Sift 1 tsp of Matcha green Tea into a cup
  • Melt the matcha by adding 2 oz of hot water and stirring until it becomes a smooth paste
  • Pour 6 oz steamed milk (skinny, soy,…) into your matcha bowl or teacup
  • Add “melted” matcha tea to the milk
  • Scoop foamy milk on top
  • Sprinkle with matcha dust powder
Adjust the amount of milk and Tea to your taste. There are no rules!
Happy Tea Latte. :)
Tania 


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Argo Tea

If you’re ever in Chicago, New York, St. Louis or Boston and want to visit a modern Tea shop or grab a Tea on the go then you need to visit Argo Tea.

Argo Tea shop (Photo Source:argotea.com)

The company opened in Chicago in 2003 and now have more than 20 shops.

Argo Tea brings you Teas directly from growers around the world and blend them together into signature beverages and Teas. Today I tried the Green Tea ( a blend of Japanese sencha with matcha) which is refreshing and very high quality bringing you the best of Japanese Green Tea. My Favourite! I also tried two signature drinks: The MojiTea, an iced signature drink that mixes mint, fresh lime and pure cane sugar and a peach Tea sparkle which carbonates white Tea with the peach flavour. In my opinion these were both too sweet…

The environment in the shop is comfortable and welcoming and the package and cups are very easy to grab and go but the quality of the Tea is still good with a wide range of blends and original flavours. You can also buy their Tea and accessories.

I can’t wait to see Argo Tea in Europe. :)

Happy Tea Break.

Tania


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How to make Masala Chai

Ingredients for 5 glasses of Masala Chai:

  • 1\2 Teaspoon of Masala Tea (a special blend of ground spices for tea sold in Indian grocery stores)
  • 2 Teaspoons of whole-leaf Assam Tea (the leaves should be strongly aromatic with dominant and floral notes )
  • 1pint/1/2 Liter of whole milk

Put the Masala and the Assam Teas in the milk and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 1 or 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow standing for 3 to 4 minutes. Strain the milk and pour into glasses. You can add sugar and some cardamom seeds placed in each glass for decoration!

Happy Tea Break, Mariana!


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Blended Tea

We already introduced the concept of flavoured and scented Tea but this should not be confused with blended Tea, which is created by mixing more that one type of Tea from different productions with different characteristics to create a specific flavour and aroma. This has been mainly used with black Tea and as a way to cover lower quality Teas. All Tea bags and most supermarket brands are blends and some have as many as 30 different Tea types.

You will notice that Tea blends always maintain the same taste. Every season, the same Tea producer feel variances in quality and taste depending on the weather, soil, plucking,… but with blended Tea these differences are disguised. Obviously, this can also be seen as a form of art because the Tea tasters in charge of doing this need to make sure that the blend always tastes exactly the same.

Experienced Tea drinkers may prefer to do this themselves using individual varieties but many blends are so successful that they have become mass produced and sold as separate Teas. Some of the most famous blends that you might find:

  • Breakfast Tea – a robust, rich full-bodied blend of Black Teas that is designed to be served with milk and is traditionally associated with the Full English Breakfast. This is the most popular drink in the UK, usually served in Tea Bags, and often referred as Builders Tea.
  • Earl grey – This blend is distinctive by the mixture of Indian and Ceylon Tea with the citrus flavour of bergamot.
  • Masala Chai – A spiced blend from India that usually mixes black tea flavoured with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, black pepper and clove.
  • Russian Caravan – A blend of Oolong, Keemun and Lapsang Souchong Teas.

Nowadays, there are also plenty of blends that mix loose leaf Tea with flowers, fruit or herbs like lemongrass, chocolate, hazelnut, vanilla, orange, peach, blackberry,…

My good friend Joana brought me different Tea and herbs from Siem Reap in Camboja and I love mixing the green Tea with jasmine, ginger and lemongrass. It is a very refreshing combination!

How would you feel about creating your own blend? We would love to hear your view on this.

Happy Tea Break. :)

Tania

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