The Tea Scoop

Whole Leaf Tea Bags

While I was writing yesterday's article about top tea brands, I stumbled across a New York Times article about the rise of whole leaf tea bags. The article itself is from 2006, but if you missed it three years ago, it's worth a read, simply for the history of the tea bag. I was aware of the origins of the tea bag (samples sent to customers) but enjoyed reading more about the steps along the way.  I'm a big fan of the convenience and quality of whole leaf tea bags, when making a pot of tea at home is just not in the tea leaves. 

The Biggest Tea Party

Boston, 1773. Disguised men climb aboard a ship in Boston Harbor and throw all of its cargo, a shipment of tea, overboard, caffeinating an untold number of fishies. But why? And why was it such a big deal to have a tax on tea anyways?

Read my article on the English Tea Blog to find out!

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!

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. 

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. 

Fun Articles About Tea

This is a fun article about tea and weddings from Adagio's "Tea Muse."  It includes a historical anecdote about tea and tea as a component of Chinese Weddings.