Yep. Flush. When I first read this, I thought it was a silly nickname for the blend (or an unfortunate reference to toilets.) Upon further research, it's actually referring to the region and time the leaves were picked! Flushes seem to be a term only applied to Darjeeling teas (which are usually black teas.)
Darjeeling first flush means that the leaves were harvested in Spring (March to mid-April), from the Darjeeling region of India. The flavor tends to be floral and earthy.
Second flush means that the leaves were harvested during the summer, or second growing season. The flavor actually should have a sort of muscat (grape-like) flavor, along with the normal earthy tones. I can't say my tasting yesterday had any significant "grape" flavors that I noticed, but I am also new to this whole process!
Now that I have tried the latter, I really want to try the former. From pictures and descriptions, it seems the color is less rich and the flavor lighter, maybe even dryer.
Thank you About and the Tao of Tea for enlightening me!
Showing posts with label Now you know. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Now you know. Show all posts
20 February 2011
17 February 2011
Tea processing
I know very little, if not nothing, about the processing of tea. However, recently, someone (I can't remember who - I'm sorry!) linked an awesome flow chart on the process by which various types of teas are made. Two things that stood out to me from this chart: the fact that I'd never heard of yellow tea before, and the very noticeable differences in the processes of producing each type of tea. Of course, the latter shouldn't be a surprise - different types of tea taste distinctly different! I think I just attributed it moreso to the location from which the leaves were gathered and the oxidation process only. Anyway, on to the graph and its teachings!
At its simplest, the graph gives us six types of tea: black, oolong, yellow, green, white, and post-fermented (of which the most popular is puerh).
Black stands out in that it is the most oxidized.
Oolong is unique in that it is oxidized partially, but then kill-greened (the act of stopping the oxidation).
White tea, like black and oolong, is wilted, but then skips the oxidation process and is immediately kill-greened.
Green tea isn't wilted or oxidized at all.
Yellow is similar to green, but differs in that goes through a "moist heating" process after the kill-greening, giving the tea a distinct yellow tint.
Last but not least, the post-fermented tea differs from green tea in only the additional aging (quite often moist) that comes after drying.
Obviously, this is the sparknotes version from what the chart gives you, and what a more in-depth explanation could have. Even still, I find it fascinating, and plan to research more into this topic!
At its simplest, the graph gives us six types of tea: black, oolong, yellow, green, white, and post-fermented (of which the most popular is puerh).
Black stands out in that it is the most oxidized.
Oolong is unique in that it is oxidized partially, but then kill-greened (the act of stopping the oxidation).
White tea, like black and oolong, is wilted, but then skips the oxidation process and is immediately kill-greened.
Green tea isn't wilted or oxidized at all.
Yellow is similar to green, but differs in that goes through a "moist heating" process after the kill-greening, giving the tea a distinct yellow tint.
Last but not least, the post-fermented tea differs from green tea in only the additional aging (quite often moist) that comes after drying.
Obviously, this is the sparknotes version from what the chart gives you, and what a more in-depth explanation could have. Even still, I find it fascinating, and plan to research more into this topic!
14 February 2011
Tea grades
Wow. I was surprised how little I knew about tea grades when I looked them up. Originally this post was going to be about loose tea versus tea bags, but when doing that research I saw some terminology thrown around with regards to the tea bags and grading that I decided to look into it more closely! And without further ado, I shall jump into the grading system!
- D (Dust): This is the lowest grade. It consists mostly of small pieces of tea and tea leaves. The reason this is low grade is that as the tea leaves are broken up from their original state (whole!) they lose essential oils, which is key to a tasty brew.
- Fanning: This is a low grade. It consists mostly of pieces of tea leaves. Many generic tea bags consist of this grade.
- BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe): Ok, I was surprised to find out that "orange pekoe" was actually a grade and not a type of tea. Mind fuck! That being said, orange pekoe refers to full tea leaves, so broken orange pekoe would be - you guessed it! - broken tea leaves.
- OP (Orange Pekoe): Whole leaves!
- FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe): Flowery refers to the bud of the tea plant. This grade consists of whole leaves and the buds!
- GFOP (Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe): Golden refers to the hue of the tea leaf tips, with gold being a sign of quality. GFOP consists of quality whole leaves and buds.
09 February 2011
Teacup vs. Breakfast cup
There is a difference!
I did not know this until I was tea set browsing. While I have and love my new set, it has some flaws to it and will need some - if not all - upgrades. Whilst tea set browsing, I found a beautiful set for an affordable price! By Burleigh, their Blue Calico tea set is everything I want, with varying sizes of pieces so I could get cups/mugs for all occasions and still match. Which, you know, is crucial when having tea by yourself... matching pieces... (It's about the little pleasure in life, I say!)
Anyway! I noticed on that set they had mugs, tea cups, and... breakfast cups? What the heck is a breakfast cup?!
Well, in a nutshell, teacups are smaller than breakfast cups. Teacups are 200ml, whereas breakfast cups are 300ml (half a pint). I find the term breakfast cup is a perfect name for that size cup. Oftentimes, one doesn't have time or want an entire pot of tea for breakfast like at a tea service, so a large cup would suffice for the morning caffeine. However, for a tea service, the smaller cups means going through a pot more slowly and evenly, particularly with company.
So, with this new set, what pieces do I intend to buy as far as cups go? I think I will look at buying two mugs, two breakfast cups, and four tea cups.
Thank you Stack of Recipes for the measurements!
I did not know this until I was tea set browsing. While I have and love my new set, it has some flaws to it and will need some - if not all - upgrades. Whilst tea set browsing, I found a beautiful set for an affordable price! By Burleigh, their Blue Calico tea set is everything I want, with varying sizes of pieces so I could get cups/mugs for all occasions and still match. Which, you know, is crucial when having tea by yourself... matching pieces... (It's about the little pleasure in life, I say!)
Anyway! I noticed on that set they had mugs, tea cups, and... breakfast cups? What the heck is a breakfast cup?!
Well, in a nutshell, teacups are smaller than breakfast cups. Teacups are 200ml, whereas breakfast cups are 300ml (half a pint). I find the term breakfast cup is a perfect name for that size cup. Oftentimes, one doesn't have time or want an entire pot of tea for breakfast like at a tea service, so a large cup would suffice for the morning caffeine. However, for a tea service, the smaller cups means going through a pot more slowly and evenly, particularly with company.
So, with this new set, what pieces do I intend to buy as far as cups go? I think I will look at buying two mugs, two breakfast cups, and four tea cups.
Thank you Stack of Recipes for the measurements!
05 February 2011
Coffee vs. Tea
While this blog is dedicated to tea and tea service, there is that brother from another mother out there infiltrating our cups: coffee! While tea is generally considered the healthier alternative, is this necessarily true? Tea is almost 3000 years older than coffee; does age trump youthfulness here? Let's find out!
There are two major 'ingredients' usually associated with tea and coffee: caffeine, and antioxidants. While many people automatically assume caffeine to be a bad thing, this is not the case! If you need a pick me up for alertness, caffeine is your drug of choice. Caffeine also used to be a go-to relief for sufferers of asthma. So long as these beverages are reasonably consumed (a max of four 8 oz. cups a day, and that's being generous) then one has nothing to worry about. And antioxidants have been shown to reduce inflammation of blood vessels, and to reduce the likelihood of cancer.
Now, which beverage has more or less of these things! In order of most to least amount of caffeine, it goes: coffee (~150mg/cup), black tea, green tea (~55mg/cup), and white tea. In order of most to least amount of antioxidants, it goes: white tea, green tea, black tea, and coffee (fancy that!)
Because there is such a thing as too much caffeine, because coffee has little support to its health benefits, and because there really isn't such a thing as too much antioxidant, I would say that tea is the healthier choice. But again - so long as it is consumed within reason - I would really recommend you just drink whatever you prefer!
Thank you ABC News and and Diffen for some of the above info!
There are two major 'ingredients' usually associated with tea and coffee: caffeine, and antioxidants. While many people automatically assume caffeine to be a bad thing, this is not the case! If you need a pick me up for alertness, caffeine is your drug of choice. Caffeine also used to be a go-to relief for sufferers of asthma. So long as these beverages are reasonably consumed (a max of four 8 oz. cups a day, and that's being generous) then one has nothing to worry about. And antioxidants have been shown to reduce inflammation of blood vessels, and to reduce the likelihood of cancer.
Now, which beverage has more or less of these things! In order of most to least amount of caffeine, it goes: coffee (~150mg/cup), black tea, green tea (~55mg/cup), and white tea. In order of most to least amount of antioxidants, it goes: white tea, green tea, black tea, and coffee (fancy that!)
Because there is such a thing as too much caffeine, because coffee has little support to its health benefits, and because there really isn't such a thing as too much antioxidant, I would say that tea is the healthier choice. But again - so long as it is consumed within reason - I would really recommend you just drink whatever you prefer!
Thank you ABC News and and Diffen for some of the above info!
02 February 2011
Teafusion
After my bout with the Vintage Castleton having a very short peak of deliciousness, I have realized I need to take the time to invest in a tea infuser.
While tea originated in China, the infuser wasn't introduced until tea became popular in England. The first infusers were silver and became popular in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, but have unfortunately since lost a lot of their popularity with the onset of teabags. However, I would argue that tea infusers are picking up momentum with the rediscovery of good tea in America. Most tea bags are made with lower quality leaf remnants (called fannings) that do not compete with the taste of proper loose leaf teas. For a more detailed and eloquent history on tea infusers, go here!
A tea infuser essentially acts as a holder for tea leaves as they steep. Instead of simply dumping the leaves into a pot or cup of tea, the infuser makes clean-up quick and easy. In the case of finicky teas such as the Vintage Castleton, infusers also make it so you can remove the leaves before the tea gets too bitter.
My experience with tea infusers has been limited. I received a one-mug infuser as a gift a long time ago (it has since been retired). It hung on the side of the mug. Now, I need to investigate either basket-type infusers that rest inside the top of the pot, or little bobble infusers (called tea balls) that have a keychain to fish the bobble out of the water once steeped. There are many many other types as well, with funny shapes, designs, etc, but they all have the same central purpose: to help make effortlessly awesome tea!
Here is one of my favorites that I've found in my searches - a shark tea infuser!
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/design-shark-tea-infuser/
While tea originated in China, the infuser wasn't introduced until tea became popular in England. The first infusers were silver and became popular in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, but have unfortunately since lost a lot of their popularity with the onset of teabags. However, I would argue that tea infusers are picking up momentum with the rediscovery of good tea in America. Most tea bags are made with lower quality leaf remnants (called fannings) that do not compete with the taste of proper loose leaf teas. For a more detailed and eloquent history on tea infusers, go here!
A tea infuser essentially acts as a holder for tea leaves as they steep. Instead of simply dumping the leaves into a pot or cup of tea, the infuser makes clean-up quick and easy. In the case of finicky teas such as the Vintage Castleton, infusers also make it so you can remove the leaves before the tea gets too bitter.
My experience with tea infusers has been limited. I received a one-mug infuser as a gift a long time ago (it has since been retired). It hung on the side of the mug. Now, I need to investigate either basket-type infusers that rest inside the top of the pot, or little bobble infusers (called tea balls) that have a keychain to fish the bobble out of the water once steeped. There are many many other types as well, with funny shapes, designs, etc, but they all have the same central purpose: to help make effortlessly awesome tea!
Here is one of my favorites that I've found in my searches - a shark tea infuser!
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/design-shark-tea-infuser/
22 January 2011
E-tea-quette
Did you know that raising your pinky when drinking a beverage - albeit tea, or anything else - is actually improper?
The origins of the phenomenon of raising one's pinky is debated, though the most convincing explanation (to me) is as follows: because Asian tea cups or mugs are handle-less, one's fingertips would get quite warm when drinking hot beverages. While people were much more hands on in most professions way back in the day, the pinky finger was more than likely much less calloused and abused than the other fingers, which would then cause the tea imbiber to lift their pinky whilst drinking tea!
While I know it's a bit of a stretch, it's at least something. So why ISN'T lifting your pinky actually proper?
I'm not entirely sure. I haven't been able to find a real answer to this, other than "it just isn't!"
There are actually many other little etiquette oddities that I would not have thought of without doing a little reading up!
And that's a little taste of tea etiquette!
The origins of the phenomenon of raising one's pinky is debated, though the most convincing explanation (to me) is as follows: because Asian tea cups or mugs are handle-less, one's fingertips would get quite warm when drinking hot beverages. While people were much more hands on in most professions way back in the day, the pinky finger was more than likely much less calloused and abused than the other fingers, which would then cause the tea imbiber to lift their pinky whilst drinking tea!
While I know it's a bit of a stretch, it's at least something. So why ISN'T lifting your pinky actually proper?
I'm not entirely sure. I haven't been able to find a real answer to this, other than "it just isn't!"
There are actually many other little etiquette oddities that I would not have thought of without doing a little reading up!
- Hold your saucer underneath your cup, lest you spill any tea whilst sipping!
- Stir your tea quietly - don't let the spoon clank on the sides of the cup.
- Do not ever leave a spoon in your cup. Rest it on the saucer.
- Do not ever drink tea from the spoon, or lick the spoon. Tea is good, but there ought to be enough to not have to resort to this!
- Milk over cream. Cream is far too heavy for tea and overwhelms the lighter flavors of tea.
- Lemon + milk = fail.
- Always serve lemon slices, not wedges.
And that's a little taste of tea etiquette!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)