The Tea Scoop

The News Bulletin

There is quite a lot going on in the world of tea lately, according to my World Tea News e-newsletter.

McDonald's has decided to serve more socially conscious tea, and is pairing with PG Tips to serve environmentally friendly tea in the UK. I'm hoping this is an idea that will cross the pond and raise the quality of the tea in U.S. McDonald's as well.

Honest Tea has changed their label and introduced several new bottled teas, now with an EGCG rating on the label. They are also attempting to go green with their new Citrus Green Energy Tea. Honest Tea buys renewable energy credits to make up for the energy used along the entire production chain for this flavor. Another benefit is that this is an energy drink without all the added caffeine of other energy drinks.

Science Daily released an article today telling us that green tea may hep combat super bugs.  All the more reason to drink as much as possible!

Tea Recommendations

Due to a request, I'm making up a shopping list for those of you who are not yet sure of what you might like or what you should get. I'm going to do this in parts, the first part consisting of what you might find at the grocery store. 

Brands to look out for:

• Bigelow: Foil wrapped freshness, and a brand that many tea drinkers start out on.  They pretty much only carry green and black teas at the grocery store, so if you're looking for antioxidants and general health benefits, that's the way to go.
• Adagio: Not carried at all grocery stores, but many.  These are whole leaf teas, some in bags, and some loose leaf.  The infuser bags are a great way to start transitioning to the full flavor of loose leaf tea.
• Revolution of Tea: Infuser bags with whole leaf tea.

Types of Tea:

• All teas have antioxidants, are good for your heart and teeth, and help insulin effectiveness
• Green and white teas are higher in some antioxidants.
• White tea is great for skin
• Green tea and oolong teas help to lose weight by helping speed up the metabolism and metabolize fat better

 

From Revolution

The Tao of Tea

I recently ordered Tao of Tea's white Earl Grey. Unfortunately, depending on your point of view, they delivered the wrong package, and I ended up with two tins of teas I didn't order: 500 Mile Chai (a masala) and a red chai. When I called up the company, they agreed to send me my tea, apologized, and said to put the box back out for the UPS guy to take back. They said if he didn't pick it up in a couple weeks to throw it out. (Well he didn't, so it's now been "thrown out" to the tea shrine). But I did finally get the tea I had ordered.

The leaves are a good quality silver needle, very light and completely unbroken. There are no fannings in the tin at all from what I can see. The leaves smell more like white tea than bergamot, but the flavor is excellent. I followed their steeping instructions of five minutes, and it worked out quite nicely. The tastes complement each other quite well, even though I'm quite loyal to my black earl greys. In fact, I haven't been impressed by green Earl Greys, but this is definitely something I would order again.

The 500 Mile Chai is excellent as well, very traditional, and fantastic with milk and sugar. It tastes very fresh, and is full of spiced flavor.

The tins are attractive as well, with pictures of the tea on the front, and a double sealed top for extra freshness. On top of which, the prices are extremely reasonable. These organic teas run much less expensive than some other online retailers. The White Earl Grey costs $9.00 for a 2 ounces in the classic tin, while the 500 Mile Chai is only $9.50 for four ounces in a tin. Of course I can't complain since the chai was free!

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.