Steampunk Teapots? Sure, why not. Head on over to Tea Finely Brewed to get the full lowdown, as well as links to all sorts of other novelty teaware.
Looking for A Handy Gadget for the Tea Lover Who Has Everything? How's about a self-stirring mug or more specifically the Whirl Wind Self Stirring Mug, as mentioned recently at A Quiet Tea Spot. For more on self-stirring mugs, check out our 2006 post.
If you're worried about the caffeine content of your tea or other caffeinated beverages, you'll need to be stocking up on some D+Caf Caffeine Test Strips. As the manufacturer's blurb notes, "These simple to use strips will help you determine whether your coffee or tea is really decaf."
San Francisco’s Red Circle Tea Introduces First Taiwanese Tribute Tea in US (from a press release)
Red Circle Tea announces the exclusive release of one of the rarest teas in the world, Tribute Red Jade #18. This tea was hand picked and completely hand-processed in a Taiwanese monastery and took over 100 man hours to make. The monastery farms organically, and tea plants are fertilized using only soybeans and honey. The tea represents the revival of ancient hand processing methods that were replaced with the introduction of machines.
The tea plant Red Jade #18 is unique. Unlike Taiwanese teas which are generally grown and processed as oolongs, Red Jade #18 is a red tea (completely oxidized tea leaves), made from grafting Burmese Assamica to a Taiwanese native tea plant. The prefix of “Tribute” is added to the name to indicate that the tea was made in tribute to the art of hand processing. This is the only known Taiwanese Tribute tea hand processed and sold in the US.
Tribute Red Jade #18 is exclusively available at Red Circle Tea and is available for pre-sale in mid-December. Over 80 percent of the profit from Tribute Red Jade #18 will go back to the farmers, ushering in a new level of connection between consumers and tea farmers.
Canada’s RedUmbrella Tea Teams Up with Canadian Artists to Launch National Arts Series Label Program (from a press release)
In partnership with six Canadian artists, Canada’s RedUmbrella Tea has launched its Canadian National Arts Series Label program.
The RedUmbrella Tea Canadian National Arts Series mission is to enhance and enrich the lives of all those who come in contact with RedUmbrella Tea by bringing the artistic work of foremost Canadian artists to RedUmbrella Tea customers, and the wider Canadian public at large, and by using a portion of the sale of each loose leaf tea product to help fund charitable programs, like Toronto’s Yonge Street Mission.
Decorated Canadian artists Wilf McOstrich, Valerie Kent, Gill Cameron, Rina Gottesman, Marianne Broome and Valerie Russell each donated one of their artistic works for use in the program.
The art donated by the six artists will be used to label RedUmbrella Tea’s loose leaf tea products.
(Disclosure: RedUmbrella is currently an advertiser at Tea Guy Speaks)
Golden Yunnan I've said it before and I'll say it again - a truly great black tea is a thing of wonder. I'd rank Yunnan as my second favorite of the black teas, after Assam. But while dishwater Assams outnumber the great ones by far, I have yet to be disappointed by a Yunnan and this one beats all comers hands down. It has a rich, almost sweet flavor with just the faintest hint of spicinesss and a very smooth mouth feel with nary a trace of bitterness. Oh, be still my beating heart.
Keemun Keemun is a Chinese black tea that seems to find its way into English Breakfast blends a lot. I don't have a lot of experience with it but of the three Keemuns I've reviewed since starting this site I'd put this one at the top of the pack by a nose. It has a nice full flavor and a hint of smokiness on the finish. The latter is something that usually puts me off, but it's subtle enough in this case that I found it appealing.
Dragonwell A good solid Dragonwell, this one. Stellar? No, doesn't quite reach that level, but I could drink it on a regular basis. Rishi calls it "mellow and smooth with a fresh bittersweet finish and roasted chestnut aroma" and I see no reason to argue with that.
Hojicha There are a number of teas that are clearly not for me. Hojicha is one of them. This is not a reflection on Rishi's Hojicha, of course. Anything smoky or roasted - hojicha is a Japanese green that falls into the latter category - is rarely to my liking. That doesn't mean that you won't like it, but for me to discourse on its merits is like asking a vegetarian to review a steakhouse.
Your attention please. The mainstreaming of specialty tea is now complete. Please pack up your things and go home. We present, as Exhibit A, the Fine-T 7 oz. Young Pu-erh Loose Leaf Tea, currently available at Walmart.com.
It was obviously a matter of time until some disturbed individual came up with a true bacon tea, or in other words, a tea that actually contains real bacon. I wrote about bacon tea a while back, but the blends mentioned therein only simulate bacon flavor by the clever use of various flavored teas, most notably Lapsang Souchong. Leave it to the gang at 52teas.com to blaze the bacon tea trail with Maple Bacon Black Tea. No need to send a sample, by the way. Thanks.
The good people at Reuters recently blessed us with their thoughts on the Top 10 Places To Enjoy A Cup Of Tea. Among them, such unlikely choices as the Sahara Desert and Peru's Inca Trail. Hang on while I get my hat and coat. See you in a few months.
Master Tea Merchant Roy Fong Publishes Great Teas of China, a Convenient and Authoritative Guide to China’s Finest Teas (from a press release)
Roy Fong, a leading tea expert and proprietor of San Francisco’s renowned traditional Chinese teahouse, Imperial Tea Court, has published Great Teas of China, a compact, readable, guide to the top teas from the land where tea was first cultivated over 3,000 years ago.
Great Teas of China is a unique blend of detailed factual information about artisanal practices for growing and processing the teas it discusses, as well as personal anecdotes from Fong’s twenty-year career as a tea merchant traveling around fast-changing China. The book covers over a dozen of Fong’s favorite classic teas, ranging from hand-picked West Lake Dragon Well and expertly crafted oolong from Wu Yi Shan, to patiently aged Yunnan puerh.
Also included are Fong’s insights on choosing, brewing, and savoring each selection, plus background information on tea farming, local history and culture of tea-growing regions, and artisanal techniques for processing the leaves of Camellia sinensis, the flowering perennial at the heart of Chinese culture.
Available from the Imperial Tea web site or Amazon.
Bigelow Tea Blazes Trails Online (from a press release)
As a family-owned company, Bigelow Tea® understands the value of personal connections, and has built its company on those values for 65 years. While traditional advertising has been instrumental in establishing Bigelow Tea’s brand, the company understands that a new generation of Internet users expects more from their favorite companies: namely, the ability to have a two-way conversation. So Bigelow Tea has embraced interactivity, reaching out across multiple online networks to engage directly with tea drinkers of all ages via the following channels:
The Bigelow Tea Talk Blog is brimming with frequently refreshed tea news, brewing tips, recipes, recommendations and health information. The blog also provides an opportunity for Bigelow Tea’s management team to personally “talk” about noteworthy developments such as ongoing green initiatives, product developments and more.
As a microblogging site, Twitter allows Bigelow Tea to interact with tea lovers from around the world in near-real time, providing healthy tea tips and general information in 140 character bursts.
Facebook is another population of over 1500 tea aficionados that follow the Bigelow Tea brand. If you are a “fan,” then you can watch Bigelow Tea videos, read status updates, check out the blog feed, buy tea and learn more about the Bigelow Tea company from the “boxes” page.
Video Channels are additional sites where Bigelow Tea hosts several short made-for-online “Tea-V” videos. Cindi Bigelow teaches viewers how to prepare a perfect cup of tea, she visits with tea drinkers on the streets of New York City and teaches Wally the Green Monster at Fenway Park how to drink tea which is both educational and entertaining. Especially popular is her chat about the health benefits of green tea with sports idols Joe Torre and Phil Simms. Videos are cross-posted on major web video destinations like YouTube, Blip TV and more.
Adagio sez: Young and elegant tea leaf buds with a whisper of jasmine aura. All the appeal and softly sweet nuances of a classic Silver Needle tea, enhanced with the aroma of night-blooming jasmine flowers.
I've never cared much for the practice of ruining a perfectly good tea with flavoring. But, of course, this is a subjective thing, everybody likes what they like and one tea drinker's ruination might be another one's liquid bliss. So there, I say to myself in a stern tone of voice.
Of the better-known varieties of flavored tea, I'm probably most fond of jasmine. A good jasmine, in my opinion, is very subtly flavored and not perfumey tasting. Which is a pretty accurate description of Adagio's Jasmine Silver Needle. It takes a well-known variety of white tea, doctors it up a bit and makes it pretty palatable all around.
Remember the story of The Little Yerba Mate Company That Could? Me neither. But one of the more prominent yerba mate purveyors - Guayaki - turned up not so long ago as the subject of a lengthy article in a recent issue of Newsweek. As the teaser blurb puts it, "Taking on Coke is no easy task. But the founders of a relatively small tea company think they've got a formula for success. All they need is a little help."
I'm kind of fond of all things ginger, so I was excited to try Mighty Leaf's Ginger Twist. As they describe it, "our Ginger Twist herbal tea is a harmonious mix of lemongrass, tropical fruits, and mint fueled with a touch of ginger and ginseng."
This is all well and good, but the ginger seems to be something of an afterthought. This was a bit disappointing, considering that it is ginger tea. Putting aside the relative gingerlessness, however, this was not a bad blend. I'm not enamored of lemongrass, but all the flavors are so subtle and well proportioned that the end result is quite appealing.
Here are some brief notes regarding some other teas Mighty Leaf has sent along. They seem to specialize in flavored blends, which are not necessarily my cup of tea, but some of them are not bad.
White Orchard White tea, melon and peach. I've always had kind of a thing for peach-flavored tea so this one worked for me.
Orange Dulce Black tea with orange, vanilla and jasmine. The vanilla spoiled it for me but your mileage may vary.
Green Tea Tropical Green tea with pineapple and guava. Another nice blend, though, as in most cases with flavored blends, the actual tea is overpowered by the flavored stuff.
Whatever your thoughts about tea bags, you'll probably agree that origami tea bags are kind of a nifty notion. Check out an example here.
Yet another clever use for tea bags and a pretty great one at that - a tea bag curtain. Check out the article, which is complete with instructions for making your own. (tip of hat to The Voice of Tea blog)
Are we about to see a new tea magazine? Apparently so. Some time back the people at Pearl Fine Teas announced that the first issue of SIP would debut sometime in Fall 2009. Haven't located any updates at their site or blog, but keep an eye open for this one.
My interests in tea tend mostly toward black and green, for the most part, but I'm not averse to a good oolong now and then. The heavier, smoky oolongs don't do much for me but the lighter more delicate varieties do. Which is where Adagio's Huang Jin Bolero fits in. This one has that subtle, fragrant - almost fruity - aroma that I think of when I think oolong. But your mileage may vary.
Here's Adagio's blurb for Huang Jin Bolero: "Huang Jin Gui is an Anxi oolong whose name means "Golden Flower." A lightly roasted oolong our 'Bolero' reveals an intensity with hints of honey and flowers you will find enticing and seductive."
I'm all for conservation, recycling and green living in general, but let's admit that it is possible to take this sort of thing too far. As the Telegraph recently reported, a British government agency recommended that "reheating cold cups of tea could save consumers £110 million a year, and help cut back on the 3.5 billion cups thrown down the sink every year." More on the environmental impact of wasting tea here.
Hardcore tea fans have probably experienced the phenomenon of being tea drunk at some point and the inevitable hangover that follows on the heels of any binge - be it tea or something stronger. A while back, Imen at Tea Obsession wrote about a heavy duty tea drinking binge that went on for hours, included 16 different teas and produced a hangover of rather daunting proportions.
It's not really tea-related, but Advertising Age magazine recently looked at What Your Taste in Beer Says About You. Which makes for interesting reading and raises the question - what does your taste in tea say about you? Hmmm.
Last up, a decidedly offbeat beverage. It's called Kuka and it's made with - among other things - the leaves of a plant that often gets a bad rap, for obvious reasons. That would be the coca plant. More here.
And you thought you drank a lot of tea. Well, no matter how much you drink it's a mere drop in the teacup compared to what took place at Mercy Health Center, in Fort Scott, Kansas a little while back.
As reported in the local paper, the Morning Sun, "The cup held 700 gallons of tea. The tea alone weighed more than two and a half tons, and served almost 15,000 servings. The teacup, created by J.D. and Ed Webster, is 9.5 feet wide at the rim, has a three foot handle, and stands 5.5 feet tall." No word on what kind of tea was served.
More about this spectacular tea extravaganza (and a photo) here.
Tea Master Training Slated for San Diego (from a press release)
Aspiring tea aficionados will be gathering in San Diego in January to take part in the 13-Week Tea Mastery Certification Course offered by the American Tea Masters Association. The training includes the initial 3-Day Comprehensive Tea Mastery Course held on-site at the Courtyard by Marriott, Liberty Station, followed by the 12-Week Tea Master TeleCourse involving home study, tasting and evaluating 38 different teas, and weekly group teleconference calls for registrants to share their personal experiences.
The program offers the high level of focus and support needed to gain the competence and confidence to serve as a tea master or tea sommelier at any distinguished restaurant, hotel or tea room in the country, or start or expand one's own enterprise. It contains all the educational requirements an individual needs for achieving the association's prestigious Certified Tea Master designation and lapel pin once the training program, final examination, and blind tea tasting are successfully completed.
The 13-Week Tea Mastery Certification Course is open to a maximum of 12 participants. Tuition for the complete program is currently $2,475, less our Economic Stimuli Discount (worth $500), resulting in a net cost of $1,975. However, the Economic Stimuli Discount expires on December 31st.
Time for another round of tea gadgets and gimmicks. Let's start with the tea pill, which has been under development in India for some time now. Here's an article from the Times of India about how the pills are being given to members of the armed forces there. No, thanks.
I haven't figured out what to make of Emergency Tea Unit, a site sponsored by Pembrokeshire Tea Company. Apparently it's a parody, of sorts, on emergency response organizations of yesteryear. The Remain Calm and Drink Tea shirt isn't a bad gimmick, now that you mention it.
If you're in the market for an infuser gadget or tea junk to take on the road, check out what Mellow Monk had to say about Aladdin's Magic Infuser Mug or have a look at this video demo of Eight Cranes' Perfect Steeper. Or check out this great overview of Tea Travel Mugs, at Tea Finely Brewed.
Why does your teapot dribble? Enquiring minds may or may not want to know, but rest assured that we've got people working on the problem. Read all about it in this article from Gizmag.
Last up, some "tea inspired beats" from Dax at the review site, Tea Amigos.
Magazine and newspaper editors seem to have a great weakness for stories about ridiculously expensive tea. Which, most of the time, means puerh. Case in point, a recent article at CNBC with the lurid headline, The $1,000 a Gram Tea. I'd prefer to drink tea, rather than use it as part of my keenly honed investment strategy, but if you're into this sort of thing, take a look.
If you are looking to invest in some pricey tea or if you've just got a spare $888 lying around, check out this Imperial Tribute Harvest Purple-Tip puerh from the Imperial Tea Court. Which is probably a bit rich for most people's blood. Those who seek something decidedly more affordable might investigate this Pu'erh Tea Starter Pack, which includes Bana Tea Company’s own Limited Edition 2008 Vintage raw puerh and a Piao I teapot.
Last up, a plug for our hometown tea shop - Seven Cups of Tucson - who recently released their own puerh cakes. More here.
Looking for an unusual place to take tea? You could start with Teas And Toes, located in Glen Elyn, Illinois. They bill themselves as a "teahouse and foot sanctuary." So if you're keen to have your little tootsies soaked and rubbed while pounding down some Sumatra Oolong Barisan or Temple of Heaven, this would be the place.
If you'd like to try something a little more off the beaten path, consider the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse, in the Canadian Rockies. It's not exactly what you'd call accessible, but that didn't stop it from recently marking its fiftieth anniversary.
Speaking of remote and not very accessible, have a gander at this posting from the Tea Finely Brewed site. If you're afraid of heights, though, just looking at these pictures of a climb to a frightfully lofty Chinese teahouse might be too much.
It's not clear if you can actually go there for tea, but check out this four million dollar golden teahouse anyway. Too rich for your blood? How about a teahouse made of recycled paper? Afternoon tea at a crocodile farm? Well, sure. Why not?
Rishi Tea Announces Taste Of Origin Gifts From Wild-Harvested Ancient Tea Trees (from a press release)
Rishi Tea, the 1st Place Award winner at the World Tea Championship for two years in a row, debuts Taste of Origin. This distinctive program will educate tea drinkers about the geographic origin of tea — and why it matters. The first featured Taste of Origin is Mannong Manmai in Yunnan, China, where remarkable teas are harvested from wild, ancient tea trees.
The Taste of Origin program launches with 3 exclusive Organic and Fair Trade Certified Gift Sets. Each set features unique teas from exceptional micro-lots, hand-selected during the peak harvest season for their superior representation of Mannong Manmai.
I've been a vegetarian for a while but that wasn't always the case. So there was a time when I wasn't exactly immune to the charms of bacon. Even with that in mind, I can't help but find myself a bit baffled at the relatively recent and dramatic upsurge in the popularity of this particular pig product.
For some examples of bacon tea, check out the custom blends (here and here) concocted as part of the Adagio Signature Blend's series. Don't be alarmed, though. No porkers were harmed in the making of these teas, both of which include Lapsang Souchong as a prominent ingredient.
A while back the good people at Adagio Teas offered to send samples of some of their newer chai blends. Even though I don't like chai that much, I accepted, figuring I could be objective enough to allow me to taste these blends and review them.
I've decided that I'm not the right guy to be reviewing chai after all. We all like what we like and there's just something about chai that really puts me off. Ditto for flavored teas like Lapsang Souchong, Earl Grey and certain others.
In any event, in lieu of a proper review, I'll just say that if you do go for chai, you're probably likely to find that at least one of these six blends is to your liking. More here.
Hang around here long enough and you'll find that every now and then I go off on a mild rant about tea's alleged health benefits. If you're new here, I'll reiterate my position (like you care). I don't doubt that tea actually has some health benefits, of which I'm glad to be a beneficiary. I also don't doubt that there are a lot of dubious claims about these benefits being floated in the interests of selling more tea. Whatever.
Something caught my attention recently as I opened my latest round of emailed news alerts regarding the search term tea. One link led a story in the British press with the headline, "Five cups of green tea a day lowers cancer risk." The very next link led to a story in the British press with the headline, "New study casts doubt on green tea's anti-cancer properties." Whatever.
As I've suggested before, it might not be doing our health much good to be spending so much time worrying about our health.
Here's the link to article one, which appeared in the Telegraph. Article two appeared in the Tea News.
A perfect cup of tea is an elusive sort of beast. Not only are there a host of variables involved in producing the stuff, but then you've got to take that dried leaf and add water, a process that opens another can of worms.
One of the variables you might not have given much thought to is slope direction, or to be more specific, the direction in which tea plants face while they're sprouting those little tea leaves. Imen at Tea Obsession briefly discoursed upon this very topic a little while back.
And then, of course, tea ain't much without water. Or at the very least it's kind of tough to get down. T Ching recently published some of James Norwood Pratt's thoughts on the importance of selecting the right water, not to mention this brief piece in which he mused upon the topic of water temperature.
On a similar note, here are some thoughts from Imperial Tea Court's Roy Fong on the ever critical question of how long tea should be steeped. One of the most important points he brings up, "tea is not an exact science and shouldn't be treated as such." Indeed.
If you've ever found yourself longing for "the simplest internet tea timer EVER" you're in luck. Check out what Steep.it has to offer.
There are no shortage of nifty gizmos these days for tea drinkers on the move. Here's one with a rather pleasing design.
If the name Steven Smith sounds familiar it might be thanks to his connection with Tazo Tea. The company he started some time back was later assimilated into the Starbucks empire and Smith is in the tea biz again, with the aptly named Smith Tea. Now, if you really want to know exactly where the tea that went into your Smith Tea came from, simply go to their Web site, enter the batch number from the package and click. How's that for a gimmick?
Tea Company Gives An Extra Benefit For Drinking Tea (from a press release)
One lucky tea drinker will be extra happy this holiday season when they open their package of Tavalon Tea and find a Golden Tea Ticket inside the box - worth $1,500. You too can be a winner, just by referring your readers.
By placing an order on the Tavalon website, consumers are automatically entered to win the Golden Tea Ticket. All purchases must be made before October 28, 2009.
In addition, if the winning contestant is referred to Tavalon’s site by a blogger or other website, that blogger also receives $1,500. To be eligible, the blogger has to provide a link to the contest’s web address and/or add the contest’s banner to their web page directing their readers to Tavalon.
Winners will be chosen by Tavalon and announced during the first week of December. Visit Tavalon for more information on Tavalon’s Golden Tea Ticket contest.
Tea - it doesn't grow on trees, you know. Oh wait. Actually tea does grow on trees and as is the case with any agricultural product, it requires that there are people involved in every step of its production from planting until the point when we the consumers are clutching the finished product in our sweaty little paws.
In recognition of this fact, Adagio Teas recently launched their Roots Campaign. It will allow their customers to meet the individual farmers who produce their teas and to gain an insight on the process of growing and making tea. The project is slated to run for 12 months and will feature 12 farmers from different tea-growing regions around the world. The first two farmers featured are a grower from China's Fu Jian province and a rooibos farmer from South Africa. More here.
Itching to stir up a ruckus in the tea community? Here's how to do it. Publish (presumably with good intentions) an oft-repeated but somewhat dubious bit of information about how to decaffeinate your tea with a brief rinse. Then step back and watch the fur fly.
Which is exactly what happened a little while back at the T Ching blog. Though the debate raged for a while and brought forth some interesting data on the topic, thankfully it appears that it never reached the point where dueling pistols had to be broken out of their cases. Read the original article and the lively comments thread here.
