Tea or coffee? – You decide

Yet another one of Naoto Fukasawa’s minimalistic designs, who has also designed products for the oh-so-beloved Muji in the past. This Coffee and Tea Maker can make up to 6 cups at a time! It takes 10 minutes for the water to pass though a double activated charcoal filter and the beverage to be done. The maker also has an automatic switch-off function which kicks in after an hour, letting you save some energy and the environment.

I can’t say much about how practical it is in reality, however you can clearly see that the design in a few years old. I’d like to draw some attention to the cup scale on the container – something I think is a very useful for most of us, but rarely seen on products. It makes it easy to see how much water you will need to prepare your tea. Tea AND Coffee Maker – one can argue, should you ever mix the two? I guess you would need to properly clean this device every time, if you choose to brew both beverages in it.

Available in Japan since 2007, where it received a Good Design Award, this handy gadget can now be bought in the UK as well, at the Design Museum Shop only for £149.

Teas bring the Christmas Spirit

Strong, warming aromas, sweet scents create a peculiar atmosphere in the air, Christmas Teas have indeed gained a solid position in the world of tea blends, with their distinguished character and a set of common ingredients. Today, Holiday blends are offered by many vendors and they make a great substitute for alcoholic beverages.

Christmas Teas can be easily recognized by a spicy aroma, often a mix of cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and a citrus touch of orange or lemon peels. However, nowadays vendors are more keen on moving away from these traditional ingredients, and choose a more contemporary style to create unusual flavors that will still remind us of the Christmas spirit. Dammann Freres has a Christmas series which offers some exciting and innovative flavors using such ingredients as cherry blossoms, pineapple, caramel and ginger.

Other interesting offerings are Taylors of Harrogate  Spiced CHristmas Tea which is a blend of black Chinese teas with lemon and grange peels, cinnamon and safflower petals or Apsara Winter Tea – a black tea with raisins, apple pieces, red currants, safflower petals and cloves. One thing is for sure, the options are countless and finding a favorite shouldn’t be hard.

Unlike with Indian Chai Tea, Christmas Teas should be generally enjoyed without milk, but a spoon of honey could be a great addition to enhance the flavor and add some sweetness.

Other suggestions

Stash Tea White Christmas – white tea with peppermint and ginger

Stash Tea Christmas Morning – blend of First Flish Darjeeling, Assam, Keemun and Yunnan, Formosa Oolong and southern Indian teas, with addition of jasmine

Stash Tea Christmas Eve – herbal tea with hibiscus, orange peel, rosehips, lemongrass, peppermint, star anise, ginger and cinnamon

Adagio Christmas Tea – black Ceylon tea with cinnamon, cloves and orange peel

Mariage Freres Noel Teas – a fancy selection of white, black, red and green teas

Kusmi Christmas Tea – Chinese black tea with orange, almond, vanilla and spices

Kusmi Green Christmas Tea – green tea with orange, almond, vanilla and spices

Beer Flavored Green Tea – No thanks

This, apparently not tasting anything like beer nor tea beverage, is a strange combination of two flavors – namely beer and green tea. The theoretically non-alcoholic (less then 0,5% alcohol content) soda produced by Speed Delivery Co. Ltd, is widely sold in Taiwan, where you can have with for example, your takeaway. Testimonials – disgusting! smells of chemicals! just awful! Makes you wonder…

New Vitao – Rooibos and Pear

New iced teas keep on popping up on the international market all the time. I finally got the chance to try one of the newer flavors of Nestea Vitao – rooibos with pear. I have a 1,5 liter bottle, so I could really get familiar with this drink. Unlike the somewhat failed attempts with Lipton Red and White Teas this one has a better composition and is far more enjoyable.

The beverage as an authentic pear aroma and it’s well balanced and not overwhelming. It gives this drink a tropical feel. The flavor it a little bit sour, just enough to be a thirst quencher. It might not feel that satisfactory to drink, because the sweetness is not at all intense, but if you like something refreshing this is a very good option. As far as I’m informed this flavor is available in Sweden and in Latvia.

 

Mate

A bitter, envigorating beverage that clears your mind, a herbal remedy and a symbol of friendship and understanding – mate has been a part of South American culture and tradition for nearly 400 years. It was first introduced to the Spanish colonists by Guarani Indians and has been cultivated and popularized since. Today, it is the traditional drink of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and also common practice to drink mate in Brazil and Chile.

Mate is prepared from leaves and stems of the yerba maté tree, that have been dried and crushed into very small pieces. The yerba maté trees typically grow in the tropical rainforests of south america and their leaves are evergreen. After the trees are harvested, the leaves are roasted and aged for a few months.

To prepare mate the traditional and perhaps the most convenient way, you will need a gourd

There are many reasons to drink mate. Although it is referred to as a herbal drink, it does contain caffeine and can be a great substitute for coffee or regular tea. It also effect the body in a similar way to green tea – it can prevent vitamin deficiencies, detoxify blood, lower cholesterol and improve digestion.

Better known brands Nativa

Gauchos share mate around the campfire

sharde from person to person

plain and flavored mate and it tea bags – mint orange, lemon

Mate is an acquired taste and a lot of people do not like it when they try it for the first or even several first times.

prepared in hot, non-boiling water usually between 60-80 C

A bitter, envigorating beverage that clears your mind, a herbal remedy and a symbol of friendship and understanding – mate has been a part of South American culture and tradition for nearly 400 years. It was first introduced to the Spanish colonists by Guarani Indians and has been cultivated and popularized since. Today, it is the traditional drink of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, but it is also common practice to drink mate in Brazil and Chile.

Mate is prepared from leaves and stems of the yerba maté tree, that have been dried and crushed into very small pieces. The yerba maté trees typically grow in the tropical rainforests of South America and their leaves are evergreen. After the trees are harvested, the leaves are roasted and aged for a few months. This process produces the yerba – the basis of mate.

To prepare mate the traditional and perhaps the most convenient way, you will need a gourd with a metal straw called the bombilla. The gourd is also called a mate and can be made of wood or stainless steel, sometimes with decoration and ornaments made of other materials. The bombilla works both as a straw and sieve – is has one closed end with small holes that let the liquid though, but stop the yerba in the gourd. You fill the about 2/3 of the gourd with yerba and cover the opening of the gourd with your palm. You turn it upside-down and shake it to make sure that the small particles of the yerba end up close to the opening. This will prevent the smaller particles from entering the straw while you drink, while the large particles additionally block them from coming near the holes. You tilt the gourd sideways to form a yerba ‘mountain’ and now you are ready to pour water into the space opposite of the mountain. The water should be hot, but never boiling – 60 – 80ºC is good for mate, because you do not want the first infusion to be very bitter and the later ones watered out. A lower temperature helps to distribute the flavor over many infusions. This is a general way to prepare mate, there is however a more detailed and careful way of doing it.

There are many reasons to drink mate. Although it is referred to as a herbal drink, it does contain caffeine and can be a great substitute for coffee or regular tea. It also effects the body in a similar way to green tea – it can prevent vitamin deficiencies, detoxify blood, lower cholesterol and improve digestion. It is known to contain antioxidants as well as minerals and vitamins.

On the streets of many South Amarican countries it is very common to see people socializing and drinking mate together, bringing their mate kits to the parks. In such social settings, mate is drunk in a ceremonial way, where one gourd is passed from one person to another. The cebador, who is the server of mate, prepares the beverage and drinks the first steeping which is considered bad, because it is rather strong and bitter. He does it out of politeness, in order to not offend other participants. He then refills the gourd with water and passes it to the next person. When the straw makes a sucking noise it means the person has finished drinking, gives the gourd back to the cebador, who refills it again and so on. Mate is so popular in South America that they even serve it at McDonalds often instead of coffee.

It is very easy to get confused with all the names referring to this wonderful drink, so I will clarify that mate is the name of the beverage drunk in South America, but it is also the name of the gourd it is drank it. Yerba mate on the other hand is the plant and after its leaves are processed, the dry herb mixture is simply referred to as yerba. Today you can buy plain yerba, but also flavored, most often with mint, orange or lemon. Some of the better known brands are Nativa, La Cachuera and Amanda. It is even sold in tea-bags under names “Cruz de Malta” in Argentina or “Mate Leão” in Brazil. Mate is an acquired taste and a lot of people do not like it when trying it for the first time. It is easy to get used to and start enjoying the flavor when drinking it with friends and family. Nevertheless, it is a great was to pass time and share this beverage with others once you have learned to enjoy it.

Month’s Reviews | June 2009

This month the following teas were reviewed in the Tea Colleciton

• Tien Dat Lotus Tea
• Ziamese Sisters Green Mulberry Tea Extra
• Mariage Freres Thé Vert Marco Polo
• Fukujuen Matcha Seiyu No Shiro
• Himalaya Matcha

Month’s Reviews | April 2009

This month the following teas were reviewed in the Tea Colleciton

 

• Dammann Freres Christmas Tea Blanc
• Tetley Honey Lemon Green Tea
• Anna Bergmans Morning Dew
• Five o’Clock Yunnan Refreshment
• Silkenty Honeydew Green

Some tea quotes

Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world.
- T’ien Yiheng

Tea is instant wisdom – just add water!
– Astrid Alauda

It is very strange, this domination of our intellect by our digestive organs.  We cannot work, we cannot think, unless our stomach wills so.  It dictates to us our emotions, our passions.  After eggs and bacon it says, “Work!”  After beefsteak and porter, it says, “Sleep!”  After a cup of tea (two spoonfuls for each cup, and don’t let it stand for more than three minutes), it says to the brain, “Now rise, and show your strength.  Be eloquent, and deep, and tender; see, with a clear eye, into Nature, and into life:  spread your white wings of quivering thought, and soar, a god-like spirit, over the whirling world beneath you, up through long lanes of flaming stars to the gates of eternity!”
– Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat

The best quality tea must have creases like the leathern boot of Tartar horsemen, curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock, unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr, and be wet and soft like a fine earth newly swept by rain.
– Lu Yu

The first cup moistens my lips and throat.  The second cup breaks my loneliness.  The third cup searches my barren entrail but to find therein some thousand volumes of odd ideographs.  The fourth cup raises a slight perspiration – all the wrongs of life pass out through my pores.  At the fifth cup I am purified.  The sixth cup calls me to the realms of the immortals.  The seventh cup – ah, but I could take no more!  I only feel the breath of the cool wind that raises in my sleeves.  Where is Elysium?  Let me ride on this sweet breeze and waft away thither.
– Lu Tung, “Tea-Drinking”

A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards.
– A.A. Milne

Tea does our fancy aid,
Repress those vapours which the head invade
And keeps that palace of the soul serene.
- Edmund Waller, “Of Tea”

All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes.
– George Orwell, “A Nice Cup of Tea”

Tea…is a religion of the art of life.
– Okakura

Our trouble is that we drink too much tea.  I see in this the slow revenge of the Orient, which has diverted the Yellow River down our throats.
– J.B. Priestley

Tea’s proper use is to amuse the idle, and relax the studious, and dilute the full meals of those who cannot use exercise, and will not use abstinence.
– Samuel Johnson

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.
– Thich Nat Hahn

Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane.
– Honoré de Balzac

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.
– Japanese Proverb

Tea should be taken in solitude.
– C.S. Lewis

Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one.
– Ancient Chinese Proverb

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.
– Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

If you are cold, tea will warm you.  If you are too heated, it will cool you.  If you are depressed, it will cheer you.  If you are excited, it will calm you.
– Gladstone, 1865

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.
– Bernard-Paul Heroux

Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage.
– Catherine Douzel

Source - http://www.quotegarden.com/

 

Valentine’s Day? – Buy a tea

So… Valentine’s Day coming up and if love itself does not feel like is enough of a gift you should probably start considering buying…. a tea! I have found some interesting tea ideas for the V day, which could make excellent gifts. I haven’t tried most of them, so I can’t make any specific recommendations on this one.

The first one is White Chocolate Kisses Valentine Tea by Bigelow – a bagged black tea with white chocolate flavor, carob and cinnamon. Sounds very sweet and interesting. Looks a bit ‘cheap’.

Harney & Sons has their own Valentine’s Blend which is also is a chocolate tea (strangely popular with V day) and rosebuds. Looks like a nice and classic gift.
 

Another tea, which I have actually tried, but was not so fond of is Dammann Pomme d’Amour (Apple of Love). This black tea has additions of cooked apple, maraschino and sunflower petals. The aroma and flavor lacks harmony and definition, drinking this tea was a strange experience for me, but I don’t doubt that is could have its enthusiasts. It’s available in different caddies and also silk teabags, but the one below I think is most appropriate for the occasion.

My last suggestion is Valentines Flavored Tea from Adagio. This cup of true love combines Ceylon black tea and chocolate-dipped strawberry flavor.

What is decaf tea?

I think that many of us would like to drink tea all day long, dosing up on all those antioxidants, but the truth is that tea does have caffeine and drinking a lot of it especially in the evening can cause sleeping problems. At some point you might want to consider decaf tea. This was the case for me when I thought about decaf tea for the first time – and I wondered what it means for tea to be decaf, does it change the tea in any significant ways?

There are two ways in which tea can be decaffeinated. The first one uses a solvent called ethyl acetate and it allows about 30% of the polyphenols (antioxidants) to be retained. This method is cheaper, but also less beneficial for us as consumers. 

The second process is called effervescence and is more natural, using just water and carbon dioxide. Here 95% of polyphenols are retained, making this a more desired way of decaffeinating tea.

An alternative way to decaf tea yourself, which I mentioned in an earlier article is letting your tea steep for 30-40 seconds, pouring out the liquid and continue to steep the same tea leaves. The tea you pour off contains most of the caffeine, because it gets released in the beginning of the steeping. You can also choose naturally caffeine-free teas like rooibos or herbal infusions. You want to avoid bagged green tea, because it contains more caffeine then loose leaf and also you get less control of how much tea to brew. 

Since the three main substances in tea leaves (polyphenols, amino acids and caffeine) all affect the taste of the infusion, it is inevitable that the decaffeination process will alter the flavor.