Tea Forté Unveils Decadent Dessert Teas

Tea Forté Unveils Decadent Dessert Teas

(from a press release)
Tea Forté, creator of the contemporary tea experience, today unveiled its decadent Dolce Vita dessert tea collection, the ultimate, guilt-free indulgence for holiday entertaining. Introducing five innovative specialty blends, Tea Forte is redefining the traditional concept of tea and celebrating the extraordinary appeal of some of nature’s most extraordinary flavors. The collection of all-natural, calorie free teas includes Coco Truffle, Belgian Mint, Raspberry Nectar, Orchid Vanilla, and Vienna Cinnamon.

Available in a Medium Tin (six infusers for $12.00) and a Ribbon Box (20 infusers for $24.00), the Dolce Vita collection is one sinfully good habit to keep you healthy in 2008.

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Celestial Seasonings Introduces Saphara Whole Leaf Tea

New Saphara Tea Provides a Journey for the Senses for Premium Tea Drinkers

(from a press release)
Celestial Seasonings, a leader in the specialty tea category, takes tea drinkers on a journey for the senses with Saphara, a new line of 100 percent natural whole leaf teas packaged in pyramid tea bags. Available this fall, the premium line features herbal, green, black, white and red teas and is USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified.

Inspired by the ancient art of crafting tea, Saphara features full-leaf botanicals and real fruit pieces that enhance tea flavor, color and aroma. Saphara's silken pyramid bags are specially designed to allow water to flow around and through the ingredients, revealing the depth and complexity of the unique flavors.

The teas retail for $6.99 each and are available in six distinctive flavors: Mango Ginger Decaf Green, White Tea with Schizandra, Tropical Rooibos, Premier Estate Assam, Gen Mai Cha and Blackcurrant Hibiscus. To learn more about Saphara and to download music that correlates to each tea free of charge, visit the Saphara Web site.

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Green Tea Vodka

For those who like their green tea to pack a little wallop, Napa Valley-based Charbay Winery and Distillery offers Charbay Green Tea Vodka.

The vodka, which was several years in the making, uses extractions of four tea varieties from China's Anhwei province. It joins Blood Orange, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Meyer Lemon, Red Raspberry and Pomegranate, a line of flavored vodkas the family-owned winery and micro-distillery began making in 1998.

The company notes that this is the first green tea vodka produced in the United States (which implies that perhaps there are others being made offshore). One of their recommendations for using the product is a China Grill Green Tea Martini. It mixes 1.5 oz Charbay Green Tea, 1.5 oz freshly brewed green tea, 1.5 oz unfiltered cloudy sake and a splash of simple syrup.

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Red Espresso & Tiny Teapots

I wrote about Red Espresso some time back but here's an article from the Raleigh News & Observer that jogged my memory. Contrary to what the name might suggest, Red Espresso has nothing to do with coffee. It's actually made with rooibos. For more info, check out the Red Espresso site here.

If you ever in the mood for a really modest amount of tea, here's the teapot for you. It's made by the Chinese master potter Wu Ruishen and is billed as the world's smallest.

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Teapot Makers & Yerba Mate Gourds

Product designer Joey Roth has a Web site, where you can check out his quite striking looking Sorapot, among other things. Espresso fanciers might also be interested in the Moka Pot.

If yerba mate is more your style, or if someone on your gift list has a taste for it, you might want to check out the impressive selection of mate gourds at Patagonia Gifts.

Image: Joey Roth

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Tea Pouring Master & More

We've written a few times now about tea pouring experts. Yes, there really is such a thing. What they do is apparently called - at least according to an article in the Malaysia Star - the art of the long spout tea kettle. For more about Wang Chun (no, not the Eighties group - that's Wang Chung), a master of this art, look here.

Never heard of a "pud" before? Me neither, at least not until I read a recent article in Britain's the Sunderland Echo. After reading the article I still don't know exactly what a pud is, but it's an interesting piece nonetheless. It's about a unique and decidedly avant garde interpretation of the tried and true British standby - tea and toast - that involves a frozen "tea balloon" filled with Earl Grey ice cream. More here.

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Earl Grey Tea Cake

It's been a while since we featured a tea-based recipe. Here's one that appeared in the Toronto Star a little while back. It's for Earl Grey Tea Cake and it uses 3/4 of a cup of loose-leaf Earl Grey tea leaves.

To access similar items we've written about in the past, click the link for Tea Cuisine and Recipes at the end of this post or along the right side of the page.

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Korean Green, Oolong Shop & More

As you may recall, we made passing mention, a little while back, of The Book of Korean Tea. Here, from Korea.net, is an article on a similar theme. It's called Korea's Green Tea Thrives at Boseong.

If Taiwanese tea is more your speed, you might find something of interest in this brief article, from the International Herald Tribune, about tea tourism.

Speaking of Taiwanese tea, here's one from the Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard. It's about J-Tea Leaf House, a local operation that specializes in oolong tea.

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Desert Island Tea 5 - (Author) Beatrice Hohenegger

It's been quite a while since our last installment of Desert Island Tea, but I'll proceed under the assumption that late is truly better than never. Today's castaway is Beatrice Hohenegger, author of Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West. If that title sounds familiar, it may be because I mentioned it in yesterday's installment.

Question:
If you were stranded on a desert island (an island with clean, fresh water and tea making equipment, of course) what one tea (only one) would you like to have with you and why?

Beatrice Hohenegger's Answer:
In answer to your $64,000 question, here's what I would do: I would consult with a reputable pu'er vendor, tell him/her that I prefer shu, and let them give me the best cake of the best year they have. Then every infusion and every brewing will tell me a different story, and I won't ever be bored, it will be (almost) as if I had more than one tea with me. In addition, if I have to be stranded for a long time, the tea won't go bad but instead will get better and better -- heck, it might even give a return on the investment if I have any left over... But -- for all this to happen I'd have to have those $64,000 ...

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Tea Book Frenzy

Over the course of the last year or so there have been several worthwhile books that have attempted - and generally succeeded - in providing an all-encompassing overview of tea.

In my capacity as an occasional contributor to Epicurean.com, I've had the opportunity to review three of these books - Tea: Aromas and Flavors Around the World, Tea: The Drink That Changed the World, and The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide.

Recently I ran across yet another book that falls into this category. Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West, by Beatrice Hohenegger, was actually published earlier this year, but I didn't run across it until now. I'm not too far along on the book just yet, but it appears to be another entertaining look at the topic.


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Original Imperial Tea Court Closes

From the Imperial Tea Court newsletter, here's a bit of news that will primarily be of interest to San Franciscans.

>>The original Imperial Tea Court Closes

It is with deep regret that we announce the closing of Imperial Tea Court at 1411 Powell Street in San Francisco at the end of 2007. Although business will continue at our Ferry Building and Berkeley Location and on the Internet, It is not easy to bid farewell to the site where we opened the first traditional Chinese...<<

Read more at the Imperial Tea Court Web site.

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The Onion Takes On Tea

If you ever have reason to suspect that you're taking the tea drinking thing a little too seriously, you can refer back to this recent article from The Onion - Fancy Man Enjoys Tea.

It's not the first time The Onion has tackled the topic of tea, by the way. Here are a few other articles.

Society Tea Party Spoiled By Ocelot

Sales Of Chamomile Tea, Gas Masks Up Sharply

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