Tea Wine

I've written enough times in these pages about the intersection between alcohol and tea that the site has a category devoted to this topic. Check out some of the other pieces here.

Calcutta's Telegraph recently reported about an effort taking place at India's Tocklai Experimental Station to make wine from tea. It's one of many initiatives that the station is working on to raise the profile and marketability of tea.

The article is a bit sparse on details, but you can check it out here.

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Coffee, Tea Or Coffee Tea

I'm sure there are probably those who would welcome the blurring of the lines between coffee and tea, but I'm not one of them. However, in the interests of being informative, here's the lowdown on a few products that do just that.

Take Cha Dao Tea, for example. In addition to an assortment of bottled teas, they also offer something called Yin Yang, which is a blend of black tea and coffee. More at the Web site or you can check out what the gang over at the trade magazine/site BevNET.com have to say about it. None for me, thanks.

If that doesn't grab you, try Coffee Leaf Tea, which is tea made from the leaves of the coffee plant. Here's the Web site for the company that sells it.

This coffee leaf tea thing is actually a notion that's been around for a while, particularly in Africa. Here's a previous TGS piece on the topic.

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Tea Makers

I recently got my hands on a Zarafina Tea Maker Suite (pictured) and hope to be sharing my thoughts in a review some time this week.

In the meantime, here are a few items that have to do with tea makers.

The Seattle Times recently ran a brief review of the Mr. Coffee 3-Quart Iced Tea Maker. They were not completely overwhelmed. Find out why here.

The offbeat gadget known as the Teasmade has apparently never made any kind of inroads on this side of the Atlantic, but it's said to be making a comeback in the UK. Boing Boing, who refer to it as a "frankenkettle," have a picture and some brief comments here. Here's an appreciation, of sorts, from the Mirror.

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Tea Ices

Time to cool down, tea people.

The Los Angeles Times recently dug up a 2004 article from their archives. The topic - appropriately enough, given the season - is tea ices. Staff writer Donna Deane has put together a selection of "recipes for beautifully aromatic ices and granitas using Lapsang souchong, Earl Gray, jasmine, plum oolong, genmai cha and other teas."

I was able to access the article with no problem, but the Los Angeles Times may require that you register or pay for content after a certain period of time. Here's the link.

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Tea-making In The Dustbin?

In some parts of the world, a proper cup of tea was once brewed using loose leaves. In fact, it was like this everywhere before the early part of the last century, when the tea bag came along. Now this little gimmick has become virtually ubiquitous.

Take England, for example, where loose leaf brewing has apparently become a quaint - and nearly extinct - novelty. Or Australia, where Richard Glover, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, wonders if perhaps tea-making of this sort has been "consigned to the dustbin of history."

Regardless of how you brew your tea, the article makes for interesting reading. Check it out here.

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Iced Tea Shake-Off Winners

Here are some of the first place winners from the World Tea Expo's Fourth Annual Iced Tea Shake-Off. For the full list, look here.

Ready-to-Drink Category
Best Flavored RTD
ITO EN, Dr. Weil for Tea - Jasmine White

Best Sweetened RTD
Papa's Simplici-tea, Inc., Green Tea

Best Unflavored RTD
ITO EN, Dr. Weil for Tea - Darjeeling

Best RTD Packaging
Adagio Teas, Anteadote Black Tea

Image: Papa's Simplici-tea

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Equal Exchange Brings Fair Trade...

Equal Exchange Brings Fair Trade To Small-Scale Tea Growers
(from a press release)

Seeking to catalyze changes in the tea industry, Equal Exchange announces today seven new premium, organic, Fair Trade Certified teas sourced from co-operatives of small- scale growers. The launch is part of Equal Exchange's mission to combine quality and environmental sustainability with the greatest possible economic impact at the grassroots level.

To raise the profile of small-scale tea growers, Equal Exchange is launching these seven new teas:

LIMITED EDITION LOOSE LEAF
Organic Ceylon High Grown Black
Organic Ceylon Green
Organic Darjeeling First Flush
Organic Darjeeling Second Flush

PREMIUM BAGGED TEAS
Organic Rooibos
Organic Irish Breakfast
Organic Green Magic

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Tea Contests

Feeling lucky? Here are a pair of contests currently being sponsored by tea companies.

Honest Tea is offering the chance to win a Jamis Bike. More details here. According to the company's latest newsletter, they are also sponsoring a video contest, but I was not able to find details at their site.

If recipes and matcha tea are more your style head over to the Culinary Teas site for more information about their "It's Good To Be Green" Matcha Recipe Contest.

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Snapple News

It's a Classic! Snapple Continues to Brew Up More Great Taste with the Launch of Snapple Classic Black Teas
(from a press release)

Snapple, made from the best stuff on Earth, just got even better with the addition of Classic Black Teas to brand's "Good for You" line of beverages. The new Classic Black Teas feature traditional hot tea flavors like English Breakfast, Earl Grey and Orange Pekoe that tea enthusiasts will love.

Made with high quality ingredients, such as authentic black tea blends, real sugar and real honey, Snapple Classic Black Teas are available in three traditional flavors.

English Breakfast, with a robust, full flavor and a touch of real golden honey, will awaken the senses. While the unique blend of Asian black teas and exotic bergamot orange in Snapple's Earl Grey, named for England's Prime Minister more than a hundred years ago, will leave your taste buds feeling like real British royalty! And, Orange Pekoe, imported to Europe years ago by a royal Dutch family called 'House of Orange,' is made with tender young tealeaf buds, offers the ultimate smooth tea sensation.

Made with naturally brewed tea and lightly sweetened with real sugar, these genuine black tea blends contain only 35-40 calories per serving and offer protective antioxidants.

Coca-Cola Mulling Snapple Bid - Fox News

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Guayaki’s New Unsweetened Mate Drink

Guayaki’s New Unsweetened Mate Drink Honors Rainforest Tradition
(from a press release)

The beverage innovator that introduced energizing yerba mate bottled drinks to North America is pioneering the way again by offering the first ‘naked’ organic yerba mate drink. Guayaki Yerba Mate has announced a new traditional-style Unsweetened Mate. This new low-calorie beverage highlights the robust flavor of brewed rainforest yerba mate in a premium 16-ounce bottle.

Guayaki’s organic Unsweetened Mate is styled in the South American tradition known as terere – a technique of preparing yerba mate cold, as opposed to the more typical hot tea version that is the most popular drink in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and much of Brazil.

Unsweetened Mate can be purchased at natural foods stores, supermarkets, cafes and gyms throughout North America and here.

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