The Tea Scoop

What's the Deal with Tea and Health?

We've all heard that tea is good for you because it contains lots of antioxidants, which are also good for you. But what does that really mean?

Well, first of all, it's true that tea is packed with antioxidants, and it's a great way to boost them in your diet, without adding any calories (unless you add milk and sugar of course).

So, what's the deal with antioxidants? Well, there are different kinds, for one thing. One of the most common types of antioxidants in tea are polyphenols, which are collectively called catechins. Catechins are also found in chocolate and red wine. So what do they do? They're great for the heart, for one thing, because of their cardio protective effects, and may also be good in lowering cholesterol and promoting healthy blood lipid levels. As if that's not enough, they're good for your brain too! They have "brain protective" properties that keep the brain sharp, and promote cognitive performance and mental alertness.

But wait! There's more! They may also help the body deal with stress and positively affect blood sugar levels.

So, if you want the most polyphenols, which tea do you drink? Green tea is the richest in polyphenols, and has a few added benefits. When it's used as a mouthwash, it reduces plaque build-up, and it may even help protect from UV radiation. Sounds like a miracle to me!

But for all you black tea lovers, do not despair. Black tea contains the same total amount of antioxidants as green tea, just in different proportions of other types of antioxidants.

So how much should you drink to get antioxidant rich? If you want to match medical studies, drink three 8 ounce glasses of tea per day, preferably between meal times as tea can interfere with the absorption of iron or other nutrients. And drink them throughout the day, as antioxidants are water soluble and therefore have short lived effects.

This information is from theWhole Foods Podcast.

Bagged Tea vs Loose Leaf

Since teabags were invented by Thomas Sullivan in 1904, the debate has raged on: Bag or Loose?

Certainly, for convenience, teabags win out everytime. Individually wrapped, they can be carried about, and all one needs is a cup of hot water. Loose leaf tea is certainly more inconvenient, and can be a bit messier. Strainers or infusers must be rinsed and leaves discarded. So what advantage does loose leaf tea over bagged tea?

The answer is simple: flavor. But why? First of all, to get the full amount of flavor from tea leaves, they must have room to expand fully. In the case of oolong teas, the difference between the tightly rolled dry leaves and the unfurled steeped leaves is quite dramatic. If they are unable to unfurl, some of the flavor stays trapped within the leaves. Ideally, the leaves should be able to swirl freely in the water in which they are steeping to get the full flavor.

The second reason is because of the size of the leaf. The smaller the leaf, the more quickly bitter tannins are released, and the more quickly tea becomes bitter. Most loose leaf tea is whole leaf, while tea bags are filled with fannings, or tea dust from the bottoms of crates and barrels of teas. Basically, the cast off bits of tea.

Teabags also tend to go stale more quickly. Tea can stay fresh for up to two years, if properly stored in an airtight container and kept in a cool, dark place, like a cabinet. Teabags are frequently improperly packaged for freshness. Celestial Seasonings, for example, has the teabags loose in its paper boxes, so no freshness is preserved at all.

For these reasons, given the option, I would take loose leaf tea everytime, and it is most frequently what I drink when I am at home, or if I have my Nissan Thermos with me, with its handy infuser. However, on airplanes and in restaurants, these options aren't practical.

So, if you must use teabags, what do you look for?
The most important thing is packaging. Make sure that your tea is going to be as fresh as possible, so avoid any tea that is solely packaged in paper. Tazo and Celestial Seasonings are the most common culprits. Twining's is slightly better: the bags are packaged in plastic wrappers. However, once you open the plastic, put the teabags in an airtight container, separating flavors. Bigelow is the best of the traditional bagged teas, as each teabag is individually foil wrapped. Ashby's are also individually foil wrapped. However, in recent years, as tea has grown in popularity, tea companies have experimented with ways to combine the best of both worlds, and whole leaf tea is now frequently available in infuser bags that allow more room for the leaves to unfurl. Adagio, Revolution, Mighty Leaf, and Two Leaves and Bud are four companies that market tea in this fashion, of which Revolution is my favorite brand.

Revolution is great, because although the outer packaging is paper, the inner packaging is a resealable plastic container.

Adagio is also amazing, and very reasonably priced for both loose leaf and bagged tea.

Remember again, no matter in what form you infuse your tea, keep in in a cool, dark place, in an airtight container, away from strong odors. And enjoy!

Darjeeling Tasting

Teavana carries three types of Darjeelings: Makaibari, Puttabon, and Margaret's Hope. These names distinguish the various estates on which the tea is grown, and all three are fairly well-known estates. The Makaibari garden in particular is famous for its organic tea. It is important to note that not only are there many Darjeeling estates, each estate puts out several flushes. At Teavana, the Makaibari and Margaret's Hope are second flushes, while the Puttabong is a first flush. The first flush is the highest quality produced by a garden, the first leaves harvested in the spring.

Darjeeling Makaibari: (Organic)
The leaves were small, rolled, and dark. When steeped, the liquor was a terracotta color, and the leaves opened wide, and were mostly whole leaves. The taste was very light, and slightly sweet.

Darjeeling Margaret's Hope:
The leaves were very similar to the Makaibari, but the liquor came out as a much deeper reddish brown. This one was a little more full-bodied, and a little nutty, much more like a traditional black tea than the other two.

Darjeeling Puttabong:
As the "champagne" of teas, I must say I expected more, but it might be a matter of personal taste. These leaves are much greener, and bigger, and the liquor was a golden color much closer to a green tea or an oolong than to a black tea. It was even lighter than the Makaibari in terms of taste, and was slightly floral. Despite it's lightness, it wasn't as grassy as a green tea, but did have some similarity to an oolong.

The Margaret's Hope, from one of the most famous gardens, was my favorite, most likely because of my preference of black teas over anything else rather than quality. I was surprised to find such a different between the different Darjeelings, although true experts can distinguish even more. The best tasters can tell not only the garden, but also the elevation, when it was picked and what the weather was like.

The Tea Test

The Tea Association of the United States of America has published a test for retailers and those in the industry to brush up on their tea knowledge. While somehat geared towards these inviduals, it is just a fun way to test your own tea knowledge.

You might be surprised at what you learn.

The Tea Association's Website is a great resource to learn about tea, with everything from articles about health and a glossary, to just basic introductory information about tea. If you're looking to pursue a career in the tea industry, this is definitely the website to keep an eye on.

Cast Iron Teapots

Growing up in an anglo family, I've always been more drawn to porcelain and traditional English teaware, but without a warmer or cozy, my tea got cold too quickly if I brewed a large pot. But my Joyce Chen 22-Once ounce Japanese Tetsubin Cast Iron Year of the Horse Teapot with Stainless Steel Infuser keeps it warm for up to an hour, if it is properly pre-heated (which simply means swirling a bit of hot water around before adding the hot water which will be used for steeping). After several pots of tea, I'm already noticing the enhanced flavor as it absorbs and seasons itself. Another nice feature is the built in mesh infuser. It's quite a solid little teapot too. I've dropped the lid a couple times, and it seems more likely to dent the floor than itself. While it's one of my most expensive teapots, I've found it to be worth it, and it is truly an heirloom piece.

Whole Foods Market

Every tea connoisseur is also a gourmet. One cannot appreciate tea without an appreciation of taste. In that vein, I am partially going to digress today to talk about a most marvelous place that provides many things other than tea.

Whole Foods.

Coming up, I actually have some recipes for cooking with tea that came from the Whole Foods Podcast, but today I am going to talk about the store itself, specifically the new store that just opened in Fairfax, Virginia, in the Fair Lakes Area.

Last night I visited for the first time, and on a Friday night, the "joint was hoppin'" A grocery store? Oh yes, but it's so much more. Any conceivable ingredient can be found for one thing, including ostrich and emu eggs, at $20 an egg, to goji berries in several forms. I have to admit, I had never even heard of goji berries until last night. But gourmet food items aren't the only thing that makes it special: there are five sit-down eateries, each with a different theme: seafood, barbeque, cheese, japanese, and a wine-tasting room with eighty wines on tap. We chose to do progressive meal, starting with fresh Chincoteague oysters at the seafood bar, served with the usual cocktail sauce but also with a red onion-vinegar that was divine. The wine recommended for oysters (yes wine in a grocery store) was a muscadet that was very light, and very nice with the oysters. The next step was the cheese bar, where we shared a bowl of tomato bisque and a baked gouda sandwich. The tomato bisque was unusual and delectable in its sweetness, but the sandwich was divine. In addition to the gouda, there were slices of apple and gruyere cheese. It was served on sourdough bread, grilled and melted to perfection. There are several cheese plates available that are also served for wine tastings in the upstairs wine room, and we chose the French Flight, which featured a double cream brie (our favorite), a goat's milk cheese (chevre), and a delightful dab of jam, along with walnut pecan raisin bread. Delicious!

Distracted as we were by the actual wares of the grocery store, we were there for two and a half hours before we realized it, and our progressive dinner was halted by the cessation of service at 8:30 (the store closes at nine). We did not leave right away however, as there was a tea aisle to be explored.

They had more tea than I had ever seen in a grocery store: a whole section of Republic of Tea, with just about every bagged tea that they feature in their catalog; Adagio; Rishi; Numi, and many others that I have not yet tasted or even heard of. They even had a wide selection of bottled teas, some sweetened, some not. I brought home a bottle of Honest Tea, an unsweetened Assam, to try. I also took a 4oz jar of Adagio's Darjeeling.

But wait, there's more! At the food bars, there is a great comaraderie between fellow diners, and we fell into talking with several, one of whom pointed out the coffee bar, where they will grind the beans to make your coffee on the spot. We headed over, and not only did they have coffee, but a wide array of Rishi loose leaf teas, with little saucers of leaves on display for looking and sniffing. The tea is sold by the ounce, and is extremely reasonably priced. I left with 2 oz of Ginger Pu-Erh for about $2. We also accepted cups of tea (16 ounces for about $2.00), which were prepared in Adagio's "Ingenuitea." Unfortunately, the recommended steeping time of four minutes proved to be a bit long, and it was too bitter.

Finally, for those who like to combine catechin categories, there is a chocolate section which includes a trifle called "Queenie" which is a chocolate with green tea and Earl Grey mousse in the center. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view), the dark chocolate is so strong that the tea flavor is completely overpowered, so it just tastes like chocolate. The chocolate was of fine quality however. A second chocolate that was much more impressive was a bit of chocolate topped with rock salt. The perfect combination of salt and sweet, and a unique presentation.

Whereas in the average grocery store, customers are greatly discouraged from sampling the produce or products, several times we were encouraged to try tastes of things. In produce it was cherries and miniature apples, and at the chocolate counter, we were handed samples of items that we were discussing.

It was a truly incredible experience!

Nissan Thermos

As a loose leaf tea drinker, I am constantly searching for a way to make tea on the go that won't be too messy. I'm not a fan of tea balls to begin with, because they don't allow large leaves to unfurl, and the tea just doesn't mix as well with the water, making the flavor less strong. Plus, I find they are a pain to clean out as well. And lo and behold, the answer to my prayers:

This little 11 ounce thermos is quite possibly the most amazing thermos I have ever encountered, and I have a fair number of thermii in my pantry. Forget your Starbucks travel mug, this baby keeps drinks hot for hours. After six hours, tea is still piping hot, and after more than eight hours, the tea was still pleasingingly warm to drink, if no longer steaming. As for the infuser, it works great. There is an absolutely leak-proof cap, and when you put that on top of the infuser insert, you can turn the cup upside-down for a quick infusion, or you can allow it to sit for a full-length infusion. I am always spilling from my travel mugs, because they never seem to be completely leak proof, even one by Starbucks that claims to have a vacuum seal. Not a problem here. And as one reviewer on Amazon notes, the deepness of the sipping lid prevents spilling even while drinking. Another bonus? The same insulation qualities that keep the tea (or coffee) steaming hot also keep the heat inside from burning your hands. As for making loose tea on the go, I carry a ziplock baggie for whichever lid I'm not using. And for some reason, tea doesn't seem to get caught in the mesh of this one as much as it does with other infusers I've used. I am absolutely in love with this mug.

You don't have to take my word for it, just read some of the reviews on Amazon.

Tea Mug Cozies

The tea cozie apparently came about when a woman, tired of her husband complaining of cold tea, plopped his hat down over the pot until he was ready to drink it. She found that it worked, and soon, there were specific little caps to put over teapots, the tea cozies we know today.

Everything Ok! on Etsy.com took the idea of the cozie a step further, and created: the tea mug cozie.

I have a set of four, which were custom-made for me in the color scheme that I wanted, at no additional charge, and they were delivered in a timely fashion as well. I love them, and they really do keep my tea warm. When not in use as warmers, they keep the dust out of my mugs, and make a lovely conversation piece as I keep them out on display!

Tea, Lace, and Roses

Tea, Lace, and Roses
I recently went with two friends to the Victorian teahouse called Tea, Lace, and Roses, located in the historic district of Culpeper, Virginia. It was about an hour and fifteen minute drive from Reston, located in Fairfax County.

When we arrived, there were ladies dressed in Victorian garb who apparently sew all their clothes and meet for a monthly luncheon there. Our table was already set for us, three settings with a bread plate, silver, and three different tea-cup and saucer sets, in the Lilac room, which of course, had lilac colored walls. There were three small rooms in total, as well as a tiny gift shop that overflows into the upstairs rooms of the square building.

On the table was a "sniffing station," which were racks of small jars with a few teaspoonfuls of tea leaves in each one, so that customers can smell the teas before they choose one. The selection was extremely wide, with everything from the traditional Earl Greys and Darjeelings, to exotic blends called "Once Upon a Tea" and "Wedding Tea." I decided on the "Rose Petal" which was a traditional Rose Congo, a black tea scented with rose petals and a very nice floral flavor over Chinese black tea. Lauren chose "Cheeky Peach," a peach flavored black tea, and Jessica went with the Darjeeling. Our tea quickly arrived, and we each had our own extremely generous sized pot, which held probably about six cups of tea. The tea had already been steeped and filtered, and the waitress poured out for our first cup, and then we were allowed to serve ourselves after that. My favorite touch on the teapots was the little paper drip catcher on the spout. We were all satisfied with our teas, and I found the Rose Petal to be steeped to perfection, not requiring the slightest bit of sweetening, although we were offered a choice of cubed sugar or artificial sweeteners.

There are many levels available in terms of food accompaniments, from a salad tea of crudites and fruits, to the full English tea, which had four courses. The waitress recommended the English tea for first-time visitors, and we took the suggestion.

The first course was a scone course. The offerings change from day to day, and the scone of the day was a cherry scone with cherry curd on the side, as well as an in-house clotted cream. The scone was hot from the oven, and just soft enough, and the curd (available in the gift shop) was the proverbial icing on the cake, especially with the clotted cream. It was absolute perfection.

After we had finished with our scones, a three-tiered tower was brought out to us. On the bottom plate was the finger sandwich course. It included a chicken salad sandwich on a half-croissant, an open face cucumber sandwich with dill-wasabi spread, and a mini filo dough pastry shell filled with strawberry ham salad. The chicken salad was absolutely delicious, but my favorite was the cucumber sandwich. The wasabi was very light, and did not make it spicy at all, simply lending it a little je ne sais quoi. It was a very nice twist on the traditional tea fare, as was the strawberry ham salad. I would not have thought to put the two ingredients together, but the berries gave it just the right amount of sweetness.

The second tier held the savories. The first was a slice of cucumber with dill hummus and sweet peppers on top, which was divine, and a filo dough pastry filled with hot spinach and melted cheese, which was the hands down favorite of the savories and sandwiches. The third item was a cheese and sausage ball, which while good was not nearly as impressive as the rest of the food, being slightly dry and bland in comparison.

The third tier was the dessert course, with a white chocolate cake, a nut bread made from a house recipe called "Neiman Marcus Cake" and a Russian chocolate swirl cake, all of which lived up to the rest of the meal.

The service was delightful, the other patrons friendly, and a unique atmosphere. Perhaps what made it quite unique was the dress-up room, which contained boas, hats, gloves, and long pearl necklaces for customers to dress up. It appeared that almost all customers, from child to adult, took advantage of this. We certainly did!

And we enjoyed the experience so much that we plan to go back at a future date.

A few other bits of information: Rooms can be rented, and with at least 72 hours notice, a Royal Tea can be given, which includes champagne, caviar, salmon, and other options not usually available. I would recommend reservations, as it is quite a busy little shop, and it becomes more so towards spring, according to the staff.

The Gift of Tea

I was recently given several tea related gifts.

• Four square white ceramic teabag rests
• A chest filled with Bentley teabags
• Bonjour Harmony Glass Teapot

The tea chest is an attractive wooden box painted to look as if it is made out of bamboo and with a nice latch on it. Opening it is a joy as rich aromas waft out from the six varieties of Ceylon tea inside: Peach, English Breakfast, Raspberry, Orange Spice, Earl Grey, and Green Tea. There are ten of each flavor.

The teapot has been an absolute delight so far. It includes the wooden trivet and scoop shown in the image, and comes with instructions to use five scoops for a full pot. The built in infuser has such a fine mesh that hardly any fannings (tea dust) made it through, and there was enough room for even oolong leaves to expand for the maximum flavor. The great thing about glass teapots is that it allows the tea enthusiast to fully appreciate the color of the liquor. It also goes perfectly with my Trendglas Tea Warmer, available from Teavana.