[-] After many cries of "my tea never tastes the same when I make it!" I've decided to take some action! Your tea at home should be as wonderful as the pro's cuppa.

Tea Intro Party Dec 3rd! - http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8978713742049177378/8189702287675292774/comments/default

[-] Siliguri, Nov. 19: Small tea growers of north Bengal are on a visit to Gujarat to study the success of Amul and replicate the model in their sector.

“We had been toying with the idea to visit Amul to witness the activities right from grassroots to the top level,” Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the vice-president of the Confederation of Small Tea Growers’ Associations of India and a grower of north Bengal, said over phone from Gujarat. “The opportunity finally came and we reached here yesterday to study how milk producers, who form the lowest rung in Amul, could taste success through a concerted effort and planning.”

The three-day visit to Gujarat was organised in association with the National Dairy Development Board.

“Self-help groups are mushrooming in our sector on a regular basis,” said Debasish Pal, another grower from north Bengal in the delegation. “Seeing that more growers are joining, we are contemplating on a plan to reach the consumer directly with our branded tea like what Amul is doing with its versatile range of products.”

The eight-member delegation has members from other tea producing states as well.

“If milk producers can unite, work on an accumulated capital along with financial assistance and take the help of technology to become a model cooperative movement in the country, why cannot the small tea growers, whose number is going up everyday, replicate the process?” Pal asked.

With the research organisations in India busy in working on value added products like specially flavoured tea, tablets, drink, chocolates and biscuits, the growers of the country are keeping their fingers crossed. “In case we take the strategy adopted by founders of Amul and get success, the value added products can be merchandised,” Chakraborty said.

During their visit to Gujarat, the small growers met with officials, milk producers and other stakeholders of Amul. “We witnessed how milk is accumulated and processed to make different products. Also, we got ideas how the producers are paid, what other facilities they enjoy, how the entire chain is maintained,” said a member of the delegation.

Small growers on Amul mission - http://teanewsdarjeeling.blogspot.com/feeds/3607168861875641849/comments/default

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Outside cold winds blow at what few leaves still manage to cling to dry branches.
Inside one awakes at the crack of dawn to prepare tea.

Mystery Sample #3 From Thomas at Tuo Cha Tea - http://mattchasblog.blogspot.com/feeds/4424816276195259395/comments/default

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About the Author

EnJie is the owner of Valley Green Tea : a site promoting premium grade Chinese tea. EnJie sells quality Pu-erh tea on-line and comments on related preparation and health aspects.

Pu-erh tea: About this new Celebrity Slimming tea - http://healthycup.blogspot.com/feeds/1944441715643204613/comments/default

[-] November is over half over and I've yet to announce the tea of the month to our online audience. We're celebrating pu-erh tea this month. All of the usual benefits apply--we've got informational handouts and samples in the store, and all of our pu-erh stock is 15% off for the month. If you're unfamiliar with pu-erh, you can check out the rather lengthy introductory article I compiled in May. A Google or Wikipedia search will also deliver some good results--pu-erh is becoming quite a craze in the West (it's been extremely popular in Asia for at least 10 years though) and there are a lot of enthusiastic bloggers and hobbyists online. In a market saturated by the mediocre, cheaply-made pu-erh that has become commonplace since pu-erh's recent surge in popularity, we're happy to offer several choices that don't have much trouble distinguishing themselves from your average teas! I'll hopefully be able to present several of our pu-erh choices before the month is over, starting with this 2007 Xi-Zhi Hao 8582 sheng (raw pu-erh) cake.

Xi-Zhi Hao (Double Happiness) is a premium pu-erh line produced by San Ho Tang pu-erh factory. The owner, Mr. Chen, began researching the historical pu-erh production methods in the 1990's and began producing his own pu-erh at the end of the decade. Today, Xi-Zhi Hao stands as some of the highest-end (quality-wise and price-wise) pu-erh available on the market. Essentially what makes this type of tea high-end is the leaves--since the late 90's there has been a surge of interest from pu-erh collectors and producers in using "ancient," "wild," "arbor" or "tree" pu-erh leaves (as opposed to plantation leaves, which can vary in quality). These leaves come from either completely wild tea plants or from plants that were once cultivated but have grown wild for decades. Generally the plants are very large (more tree-like than bush-like), and the leaves are sized to match; vigorous, bold and healthy-looking, with bold but complex flavor and high propensity for successful aging. Leaves of this type come from very specific (usually mountainous, like "Yiwu," for example) areas in Yunnan province, China, and there are only so many leaves to go around (hence the high price tag). Manufacturers will often label their tea cakes with these words when they only have a small percentage of the old, famous-mountain leaves, but the Xi-Zhi Hao brand has a good reputation for quality and reliability with their "ancient tree" pu-erhs. In addition to their heralded super-premium pu-erhs, they have also produced some outstanding upper-mid-level pu-erhs. This cake falls into that category--high quality leaves which are mostly from plantations around Menghai county. The title "8582" refers to the classic Menghai Tea Factory blend recipe, which was provided to Xi-Zhi Hao by an ex-Menghai factory master blender. Menghai has been a quality-standard pu-erh brand for decades, and this blend ("85" for 1985, when the recipe was invented, "8" for the "level" or "grade" of leaves used, and "2" meaning Menghai Tea factory) is designed to recapture the pu-erh quality that existed when this recipe was new.

You can see in this picture that the cake is composed of nice-looking whole leaves, and there are plenty of silvery buds visible on the surface, which lets you know that this should be a pretty sweet-tasting pu-erh. Since the cake is very young, there is plenty of contrast between the buds and leaves. This will change in a few years as the buds gain a more golden coloration. The cake is well-compressed; not as tightly as an "iron cake"-styled pu-erh, and not as loosely as a traditionally stone-molded cake. Just opening the wrapper, the aroma floats gracefully out and fills the room.

For tasting, I gently pried off a small chunk (the fewer broken leaves, the mellower and less harsh the tea will brew). 3.8g in a 100ml teapot, with a 20 second rinse to open the leaves up a bit. After that, it was 30-20-30-40-60. Not overly methodical for gong fu brewing, but good enough to catch some of this tea's intricacies. This is a spring-harvested tea, and it tastes that way. It's simply brimming with energy--after a rinse and first infusion, the aroma really dominated our tasting area. Floral, fruity and slightly woody/earthy tones permeate the complex aroma, and depending on when and how deeply you inhale, it can change completely. The liquor is a deep golden color with good clarity. Flavor-wise, this tea has multiple strengths. First is complexity: all of the elements from the aroma are present in the liquor, as is a potent sweetness. Second is hui gan, or "returning aftertaste." The sweet finish pervades long after the tea is gone, which is a very desirable characteristic in a pu-erh. Also notable are a couple absent aspects: smokiness--commonplace among low-end pu-erhs--is virtually zero, which means this pu-erh was processed very carefully, with delicate care during the firing, drying and steaming processes. The other characteristic--bitterness--is somewhat muted and mostly transforms to sweetness in the aftertaste. Bitterness in a young sheng pu-erh is almost universal and is not regarded as a flaw, and it's nice to see that it fits comfortably among this pu-erh's other attributes.

Having tasted some of Xi-Zhi Hao's single-region pu-erhs, I can say that this 8582 recipe cake could be described as less refined, but to me it's also somewhat more interesting--rather than leaves with uniform character, this cake is a blend of different-sized and styled leaves (see the picture below for more evidence of this), which gives it a shifting, active, dynamic, even clamourous(!) complexity that isn't necessarily present in the super-premium cakes. For personal drinking I'd probably use more leaves, but not too much more--this cake can be extremely potent and aggressive if you use too many leaves (partly because it's a spring, plantation cake and partly because it's so young), and I think it tastes best and most complex when it's toned to a more light, floral and ethereal tea like I cupped it today. I'm very excited for this cake's aging potential; the original 8582 Menghai cakes are tasting really good these days, and I can see this cake's complexity becoming really nice as it mellows out a bit. We have this cake available for in-store drinking as well as bulk--1 oz samples or entire 400 gram cakes. With all pu-erh stock 15% off for the month, now is a great time to snag one. Stay tuned for more tasting notes!

Elliot

2007 Xi-Zhi Hao 8582 Sheng Pu-erh - http://mirotea.blogspot.com/feeds/2753550407319442848/comments/default

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This charming story ~ The Tiger Who Came To Tea" by Judith Kerr ~ can be purchased here.

Kids Day! "The Tiger Who Came To Tea" - http://uniquelytea.blogspot.com/feeds/4260383321417726446/comments/default

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SFTGFOP1

While it may appear that your favorite Sommelier, once again, fell asleep on the keyboard, this seemingly random group of letters and number is actually a grade of tea. In fact, there are dozens of different classifications of the quality of tea, most with their own modifiers and addendums. These are usually boasted on the packages of most gourmet tea companies. However, to most consumers, this is almost completely nonsensical. In this lesson, we’ll discuss how these grades are determined, what they mean and how to apply them to your tea life.

Tea grading is a confusing and commonly misunderstood subject. Most folks think that a high grade tea will be superior to a medium grade. While this may be true, it may also be false.

The problems with tea grading run wide and deep. First of all, the grades of tea are not standardized worldwide and may vary according to the country of origin. The leaf grades result exclusively from the last stage of production. The grades pay no attention to other factors, such as the climate of the region, soil quality, storage, etc.. These categories simply indicate the different leaf sizes. This is an important realization, in that it means a tea’s grade does not necessarily indicate good flavor or quality-it is only a measure of how good the leaf looks.

When grading most whole leaf teas, they usually start with the name of the leaf, Pekoe (P). The lowest grade of whole-leaf tea is PS (Pekoe Souchong) which then graduates to BOP (sorry Charlie Parker fans-this means Broken Orange Pekoe), then to OP (Orange Pekoe*), then FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe)… ad nauseum. Then, graders will add modifiers such as GFOP (Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe) which is “even better.” After that, even more letters are added, signifying even higher quality.

*As a side note, this is also were we get the famous term Orange Pekoe- pronounced ‘Peck-o.’ Orange Pekoe actually has nothing to do with oranges or orange flavor. This is a very common misunderstanding. It is merely a classification of leaf size.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more exciting information on the grading of tea leaves (or you’ll get an F!).

Measuring Quality, part 1 - http://tavalon.com/blog/?p=176

[-] Description (from Teavana.com): This close relative of South African Rooibos, is a delicious tisane with a rich honey overtone, flavored with genuine Madagascar vanilla beans. Rich in vitamins and Antioxidants.

Review: I really do not like how this smells or tastes. Teavana has a thing for putting bizarre ingredients in tea blends that would be just fine without additional flavors, and this is one instance of that happening. I don't know what is in here, but if it were just vanilla, it'd be fine.

There is something tart and somewhat unpleasant in this blend. Something fruity, perhaps. Honeybush, to me, is rather tart on its own, but whatever else is in here -- it tastes kind of citrusy -- makes it worse. I'd personally stick with something that only has vanilla flavor, or something that is not so absolutely tart and strong. Honeybush and rooibos are both really cheap, so paying a ton at Teavana for something that tastes like warm Kool Aid is totally not my thing.

Pros: none
Cons: tart, strong, too many added flavors that are unspecified -- should have just stuck with the vanilla
More Info/To Purchase: Teavana Honeybush Vanilla


Teavana Honeybush Vanilla - http://authoritea.blogspot.com/feeds/3655979230611271549/comments/default

[-] I've been having matcha out so much lately that this morning, I wanted to make it myself. It's been awhile, but thanks to expert tips from the lovely founder of Matcha Source, Alissa White, I just made the best bowl of it I've ever had at home.


First the tea is sifted into a warmed, dry bowl.


The water is poured on top and whisked to aerate the brew.


The most important step is how you consume it.

I sat in my favorite spot in the pale morning sunlight and concentrated on the feel of the bowl, the sweet, vegetal smell of the tea, and that unmistakable taste- it's like drinking the essence of green.


My back against the wall, I held the bowl until the last trace of warmth dissipated. I got up, rinsed the bowl, and was now ready to write.

Matcha Source is just over two years old, and the company finds its high-quality tea in Uji and Nishio, Japan.

In Alissa's words, "Matcha was love-at-first-sight experience for me. A friend popped open a can in my kitchen, and the green matcha smoke wafted out of the tin and that was it: I was hooked. It looked like pigment and smelled like something I'd never come across before.

My dream is to make matcha accessible for Americans; to promote it as a delicious (and nutritious) beverage that is easy to prepare; to encourage experimentation and to build confidence so people are not intimidated by its history and mystique."

It's a noble dream, and one I share.

Matcha, in case you've been sleeping through this entire year of blog posts, is a Japanese green tea (tencha), stone-ground into a fine powder. It's best known as the centerpiece of chanoyu, the elaborately codified Japanese tea ceremony. But you really don't need a tea master, a solid gold antique kimono or centuries-old chawan (tea bowl) to enjoy it. As Alissa points out, it's as easy as spooning the tea (1-2 teaspoons per ounce of liquid) into a vessel, pouring hot water (165°-180° F, never boiling) over it, whisking to mix and give the brew an airy, frothy texture, and just enjoying it.

It really is that simple. The only other essential tips are to sift the matcha before using it (which can actually be done to the whole canister in advance, if you prefer) and to drink it quickly. Matcha doesn't actually dissolve in water; rather, the tiny particles are temporarily suspended after whisking, which is also why it should be mixed vigorously and consumed quickly.

If you really want to sound like a nerd- and risk your physical safety at parties- learn the various grades: thick (koicha), the superior and sweetest variety that is used for chanoyu, thin (usucha), a more everyday brew, and ingredient-grade, which Alissa recommends when baking or blending matcha with milk or juice.

And finally, when asked about her favorite tea ritual, Alissa recommends "one shared with a friend on a fall afternoon, served in a warmed cup." I can't think of a better way to spend the rest of the day.

As a treat to warm up Tea Spot readers, take 10% off any order at matchasource.com with the coupon code SPOTCHA. It's got everything you need- from premium tea to tools and vessels- to enjoy matcha every day.

Matcha: The Source - http://teaspotnyc.blogspot.com/feeds/3524064059128874765/comments/default

[-] Today's living simply theme tackles the topic of holiday gift giving. I've made it a hard-and-fast rule this year that I am only giving gifts that feel good to me. This means:

• I'm not giving any "obligation" gifts. Yes, I will leave people off the list, even if that person gives something to me. (E.g., The co-committee chair who brings me cookies.) I will be a gracious recipient and I am letting go of the associated guilt. (This, for me, takes a lot of courage. It's easier to type than put into practice!)
• I will ask friends and family to indulge me and reduce gifts to me. For example, my brother-in-law and sister and the DH and I have decided NOT to trade gifts. In addition, two friends and I have decided to make donations to a charitable organization in lieu of gifts. That warms my heart!
• My niece is one. While I am tempted by several tea-themed gifts, I am resisting. I will give a contribution to her college fund instead. That will last a lifetime.
• I'm not giving "throwaway" gifts. Each gift I give will be something that I have made or chosen with the recipient specifically and thoughtfully in mind. No generic gifts.
• I'm not giving plastic crap. I am trying to get as much plastic as possible out of my life, so I won't give it to others.
• Where possible, I will make gifts. This provides a creative outlet (gift) for me and is a one-of-a-kind for the recipient. This is where I will spend most of my time related to gifts!
• When I purchase a gift, I will try to make that purchase from a local (non-chain) store or directly from the creator through sites like Etsy.
• I will purchase absolutely no gift-wrapping materials. I will use what I have on hand and get creative! I've seen amazing gift wrapping made from stamps and junk mail!
• Where possible, I will make donations to charitable causes. For example, each year we trade male/female gifts at my family's large Christmas Eve gathering. It's hard to make a personal gift when I don't know who will receive it. Instead, I plan to make a donation in my family's name and give that to my family member, along with some hand-made treat and/or tea.
• I will set a reasonable budget and not go over it for gift-giving. This allows me to be even more creative!

As I read this, it seems a little scrooge-ish to me. But I'm OK with that! Our world has too much excess and waste, especially this time of year. (Think of the mountain of wrapping paper thrown away on Christmas morning!) I want to minimize my contribution to this craziness.

What wisdom can you share on this topic?

Holiday Gift Giving - http://stephcupoftea.blogspot.com/feeds/8779965264311005618/comments/default