The Tea Scoop

Pink Ribbons

All around us, we are seeing merchandise sold to benefit breast cancer research.  Practically everything you buy comes in pink to show your support.  Kitchen-Aid sells enough to outfit your entire kitchen.  But there is good reason for this. Practically everyone has someone in their lives who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and often we know multiple people. Several women in my own extended family have fought breast cancer. 

We know that antioxidants in tea appear to be beneficial in the treatment and prevention of cancer.  Now, a recent study shows that women under the age of 50 who consume three or more cups of tea a day have a 37 percent reduced risk of breast cancer.

I am no doctor, but it seems to me that every day the medical community gives us another reason to drink tea.  

Want to help?  Republic of Tea has a line of "Sip for the Cure" products, a portion of which will go directly to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  So far, Republic of Tea has contributed over $700,000.  There are five flavors to choose from. 

URGENT: Tea Contest!

So I recently tried Tetulia tea, but haven't written my review yet. Here's a short recap: delicious organic tea from a socially responsible tea cooperative in Bangladesh. 

I know, not my usual style of review, but there is a reason for me to give you the shortened version as quickly as possible.

I just received word that there is a contest to receive a gift box filled with different varieties of Tetulia Tea. 

See, isn't it pretty?  I have already entered, but the contest is almost over. It ends at midnight tomorrow night.

For your chance to win, click here

Kalahari Blue Tea

Two-hour delays are fantastic.  They give me time to enjoy my morning tea sitting down, looking out my window at all the snow, without walking around a classroom, cup in hand, mindlessly sipping. To honor the occasion, I thought I'd try something new.  

And yes, you read right, blue tea.  I'm not talking about mutant blue tea. It is a little known fact that oolong is also known as blue tea.  After all, you have black, green, white, and red tea (although of course the red tea isn't really tea, but I digress). Why doesn't oolong get its own color?  There is also yellow tea, but that is a post for another day.  

Today's blue tea is Kalahari's Citron Oolong.  Now I happen to be a big fan of oolongs, perhaps from years of drinking it at Chinese restaurants. They are also very economical, as they improve with successive steepings. Often the third steeping, not the first, is the best.  So, I drop my little tea bag into my mug, and take a nice big whiff as its steeping.  

It smells like Earl Grey.

Not a problem, as I love Earl Grey.  But I turn over the packaging, and aha! Among the other ingredients on the package is listed "Organic Bergamot Flavor."  Bergamot oil, from the Bergamot orange, is what gives Earl Grey its distinctive flavor.  This tea, besides the organic Chinese oolong, contains organic eleuthro root and guarana.  The latter two ingredients are rich in antioxidants, making this tea especially healthy in that area. Guarana also adds a bit of a caffeine kick.  

But what does the tea taste like? It's delicious. It is rather like an oolong version of Earl Grey, something I haven't come across before.  I think that Earl Grey Oolong might be a more descriptive name than Citron Oolong, which might imply lemon or more traditional orange flavors.  Like all of Kalahari's flavorings, it is very subtle, a quality which I appreciate about their tea. 

Tastea Suggestions

Sometimes, I look in my cabinet, and I am absolutely overwhelmed with choices. Sometimes I pick my beverage based on my mood, sometimes for other reasons. But you don't have to have a full tea cabinet to be confused about what tea to choose. Sometimes you have options when you go out to dinner, or in the aisle in the grocery store, or at the local tearoom. How do you pick which tea to have?

In some ways, both choosing and tasting tea is similar to being a wine sommelier.  Certain teas pair better with certain foods. In some cases, it has to do with the history of a tea. Japanese teas, for example, pair best with Japanese foods. Genmaicha, a Sencha green tea prepared with toasted rice, is the tea soulmate for sushi. Journalist Sandra Kallio is out to discover some other tips for choosing your tea. In Kallio's article, teahouse owner Anthony Kerbrick suggests that white tea, like white wine, pairs excellently with fish and seafood dishes.  Black tea stands in where red wine might be chosen, with stronger flavors or with rich desserts, especially those with chocolate.  

As my faithful readers know, I often experiment with tea as an ingredient in cooking as well as my favored beverage.  Kallio has suggestions on that front as well, some of which sound like great ideas.  She suggests cooking rice in jasmine green tea (having done this, I can vouch for the wonderful subtlety of flavor infused into the rice).  She also discusses using tea as a rub for fish or a marinade.  Sandra, I can't wait to try these ideas out!

Chocolatea Review and Recipe

Ok, ok, I'm coming out of the pantry.  As you may have guessed from recent posts, I am not only addicted to tea, I am also addicted to chocolate.  Thus my continuing quest for for craving-fulfilling chocolate teas.  If tea and chocolate go so well together, why aren't they a natural flavor combination within one beverage?  

Today my quest continues with Kalahari's line of ChocoLatte Red Tea. This particular flavor is Raspberry Truffle.  The ingredients, once again organic, are rooibos, dark roasted cacao, and chocolate flavor.  The natural raspberry flavor is not listed as organic.  These are not full leaf teas, so it is impossible to tell if they actually included ground up raspberry. I'm going to guess on raspberry oil.  (Natural flavors in tea usually come from oil whether or not there are actual chunks of fruit or flowers.  The oil has a more potent flavor.)

As it steeps, it smells incredibly delicious, just like raspberries.  It actually reminds me of Land O' Lakes Raspberry Hot Chocolate.  

One of the great things about rooibos is that when it has a bold flavor, like raspberry, you hardly realize you aren't drinking black tea.  In my opinion, most herbal infusions are no satisfactory substitution when you really want tea.  But, rooibos can fulfill my needs in a caffeine-free way pretty satisfactorily, and this is no exception.  It tastes a lot like other raspberry black teas I've had. After a sip or two, I added a little sugar, because I find many fruit teas to be so tart it's all I can think about. Once again, like the Matcha Mint, the chocolate flavor is subtle. You have to think about what you are drinking to taste it.  The raspberry fills your mouth first, like the thick raspberry filling on a piece of chocolate cake.  Then the chocolate slides across your tongue, quickly fading.  It's an absolutely fascinating flavor. And it pairs quite nicely with the recipe I have posted below, especially on an icy morning such as this.

Sometimes, I feel a little lost while I'm waiting for my tea.  First I have to wait for the water to boil, then I have to let it steep. I know it's all about the process, but sometimes, I do get a wee bit impatient.  I have found a solution. Make a snack to go with my tea.  And yesterday, I stumbled upon the perfect snack to prepare during this time. Chocolate Cake.

You don't believe I can make chocolate cake in less than ten minutes, without making a big mess in the kitchen that will take even longer to clean up?  Oh, watch me.  

I found this recipe on Tastespotting.

Gather the following equipment:

An over-sized mug (as a tea drinker, I am sure you have one of these.)

A spoon

A small bowl (cereal-sized is fine).

A sifter or a mesh strainer. 

That's it. Seriously.  

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 fluid ounces milk, orange juice, or other complimentary juice, or perhaps even...tea?
•   
• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and a pinch of salt if you desire, into the mug. Stir to mix evenly. In the small bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave. (About a minute.)  Crack the egg into the mug and mix well.  Add the chocolate, butter, and milk. Stir until no longer lumpy but don't over mix (sifting helps with this.)  Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Let rest for 3 minutes.   
•   
• And you have chocolate cake right about the time your tea is done steeping.  I made it with milk last night and ate it steaming hot with whipped cream.    
• Click the photo for a link to the original recipe.  

Craftea

When tea becomes part of your lifestyle, when it becomes more than a beverage, it has the tendency to slow things down.  When you have a tea ritual, it can be the calm in the middle of our busy lives.  Tea can bring people together, sitting together and chatting over a pot.  Perhaps it is no surprise that this calming and social ritual should be joined with other slower-paced activities.  

In this case, knitting circles.  I'm a very novice knitter (I can knit in straight lines, and I can't even purl) but I do find it relaxing. I'm a fidgeter by nature, and it gives my hands a focus in the same way that focusing on the pleasure of a hot cuppa can focus my mind.  Both are pleasant activities to share with other people, and apparently, I am not the only person to think so.  Tea and knitting shops are beginning to pop up, apparently mostly on the west coast. I have never heard of one on this coast, but if you know of one, please let me know.  This article in World Tea News writes about three different shops on the west coast.  Some of these owners talk about the sense of community created by these shops. “We knit and have tea and scones. We are a close group – we have been through births, deaths, marriages, divorces, illness and bad house keepers," says one woman.  

Celester Varner, the owner of Loop and Leaf in Santa Barbara, California, says that it gives non-knitters something to do while their friends peruse the shop, and says that she has customers that come only for the tea.  All three shops have a wide variety of loose leaf tea for the customers to choose from.  Twisted, in Portland, provides hot water machines, steepers, and timers for the customers to prepare themselves.  Emily Williams and Sharon Squire, who own Twisted, share my feelings that both activities are inherently smoothing. They started combining the two while still in college. Williams adds that having tea contributes to the soothing, relaxing environment.  

The yarn display at Twisted. Photo from World Tea News. 

Kalahari

Kalahari is a South-African company specializing in rooibos, a popular alternative to caffeinated tea.   They have recently expanded their lines and are now importing other kinds of tea as well.  I have quite a few of these to try, mostly chocolate flavored as I continue my quest to satisfy my chocolate and tea cravings simultaneously.  

The first of these is Matcha Mint, an all-organic blend of Sencha, Matcha, peppermint, cacao and chocolate flavor.  As recommended, I steeped for three minutes, in slightly less than boiling water.  The overwhelming aroma was similar to every other chocolate tea that I have tried, a smell that I often find off-putting as it does not quite smell like chocolate.  But I stuck my nose deeper into the cup and with another whiff was rewarded with a cooling peppermint tingle.  Taking a sip, I found that peppermint, not chocolate, was the dominant flavor.  Not quite as minty as Moroccan Mint, a little more subtle, allowing the sweetness of the Sencha to shine through.  The chocolate was elusive, light, subtle.  It was one of the better chocolate teas that I have tried, because of the subtlety of the chocolate flavor.  I was not inundated with a pale substitute for a bar of chocolate, but teased and seduced into taking another sip and yet another.  

Sustainabilatea

Like many of you out there, I spend a lot of time thinking about ways to make my lifestyle more sustainable, especially by trying to buy local when I can.  From May to October, we have a farmer's market within walking distance that makes the produce part easy.  We can even buy local dairy and buffalo meat.  But, local tea has been out of reach.  While I can find local sources of herbal infusions, my camellia sinesis habit has to be fed by China, India, Japan, and other places on the other side of the world.  I do seek out organic and fair trade as much as possible, but it's still a huge carbon footprint to bring it across all that water.  

Bigelow has bragged of having the "only American tea garden," in Charleston. This is a place I would definitely like to visit, since I have never been to a tea garden, but I'm not so much a fan of the tea itself. Now this may be because the American Classic is only offered in bagged form, and so I can't taste the full flavor that a whole leaf would offer, and I would encourage Bigelow to work on offering a whole leaf variety, either loose or as part of their Novus  whole leaf tea bag line.  

The big push for "going green" may have an impact on the tea industry beyond just organic and fair trade teas.  According to World Tea News, there are also tea gardens in Hawaii, Washington state, Oregon, and Alabama.  Hopefully over the next several years, we can look for more locally grown teas. 

Tea Experiment Week: Chocolate Chai Pudding

Tea Experiment Week is coming to a close.  I may not have invented any new and amazing blends, but I have enjoyed having extra incentive to try new things, like Mint Truffle tea.  And, the cooking part of experimenting with tea is always fun.

Tonight's adventure was Chocolate Chai Pudding, from World Tea News.  

Chocolate Chai Pudding
Tea ingredient: Chai tea
By: Chris Cason
From: Tavalon
 
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp cornstarch

Pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons Kama Chai Sutra
1 large egg
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a saucepan, slowly bring milk to a boil. Take off heat and add tea leaves, straining after five to six minutes. Pour out and allow to cool completely.Meanwhile, clean the pan and whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt. Gradually whisk in the chai milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and boil, whisking, until thick, about three to five minutes. Remove from heat.Immediately beat the egg lightly in a medium, heat-proof bowl (like a ceramic mixing bowl). Very gradually add the hot chai-chocolate mixture to the egg (called “tempering”), whisking constantly. Add in the chocolate chips until they are melted and the mixture is smooth.Pour the pudding into teacups. If you want, cover the surface of each of the chai pudding cups with some cut out wax paper to prevent a skin from forming on the top of the pudding. Refrigerate, covered, until cold.

I'd never made pudding from scratch before, and it was pretty easy, although you definitely have to keep an eye on the milk when you are bringing it to a boil.   I used Tao of Tea's 500 Mile Chai once again, as that happened to be the chai that I had lying around.  The verdict? So deliciously decadent, and, the best part is that even with all the chocolate, the spice of the chai still came through.  Of all the tea recipes I have tried, this was definitely the most successful in terms of highlighting the tea flavor, and one of the most delicious!  I think I'll be making a cup of the Naughty Mint Truffle (having bought whipped cream specifically for that purpose) and enjoying it with my pudding later.  

Tea Experiment Week: Chai Pumpkin Bread

This afternoon, shivering from the freezing weather, I was in the mood for some comfort food so I went through my tea recipes, looking for something new to try that would be warm and satisfying.  Enter Chai Pumpkin Bread, from an article in World Tea News. 

Here is the original recipe:

Pumpkin Tea Bread
By: Pamela Schaefer
From: Special Tea Shoppe
INGREDIENTS: 
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon each salt, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts 
1/4 cup chai tea (make with 1 teaspoon chai tea leaves)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pour boiling water over chai tea leaves and let steep.  Combine sugars, pumpkin, oil and eggs, beat until well blended.  Sift flour salt, soda and spices.  Add to the pumpkin batter and mix well.  Stir in raisins, nuts and chai tea.  Spoon into well oiled 9x5 pan.  Bake at 350 for 65 to 75 minutes or until done.  Turn on rack to cool.  Enjoy with a nice hot cup of tea!
Variation: Substitute chocolate chips for raisins.

I made the above recipe, substituting chocolate chips for raisins as suggested, and changing walnuts for pecans (I think pumpkins and pecans go extremely well together.)  I used Tao of Tea's 500 Mile Chai for my leaves.  I love this tea, but I think next time I might use Tealuxe's Kashmiri Chai.  The 500 Mile Chai is great for drinking, but the pumpkin and chocolate flavors were so strong that the only spice that could be tasted was the cinnamon. I think the cardamom in Kashmiri Chai would stand up very well.  I think I might make a more concentrated tea as well, to ramp up the flavor. I also think that I would double the amount of ginger, because I couldn't really taste it at all, and I think it would have been nice to add some more spice.  It is delicious, especially hot out of the oven with the chocolate chips melted and gooey.  To get your masala fix,  I would recommend drinking it with a nice cup of masala chai with milk and honey or maple syrup.

Note: In general, tea is overwhelmed in most recipes.  If you have a recipe where the tea really shines, please share it!