Wherever Chinese people go, you can bet to find tea in there someplace. The Chinese were the first to discover the tea leaf. There are many fairytale stories about the discovery of tea, but the most common is a monk meditating who plucked a leaf and started chewing on it. He found out that it made him more alert and tasted good too. After that you can only imagined what followed…Anyways, we all know how great tea tastes, but it is also the healthiest thing to drink on this planet. It is the most consumed beverage in this world besides water. Tea contains many vitamins, tea derivatives, essential oils, and fluoride. It is a diuretic, attributed with the properties of improving the eyesight and increasing alertness, so we believe that tea drinkers enjoy an increased life span and all around better health.
What is Tea? Tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant. All true teas come from this plant with the exception of herbal/flower tisanes and some other “teas” that are just made up of some other plant material. You may ask yourself, “Then why are there so many different types of teas out there?” Because it is the process of the tea leaves after they are picked which determines the out come of the final tea. It really is very simple, but everyone gets confused somewhere along the way. The three most common teas are Green, Oolong, and Black/Red.
Green Teas usually come from China and Japan. After the leaves are picked they are steamed or pan fried/fired to stop the leaves from absorbing oxygen. Thus, Green Tea is considered non-oxidized and very raw. Green Tea contains the highest levels of antioxidants known as ployphenols which are flavonoids.
Oolong Teas are the best, most flavorful and complex of all teas. Oolongs from Taiwan are of the highest quality, but China produces some good ones too. Oolong Teas are allowed to oxidize under the sun after being picked. This allows for a partial oxidation of the leaf. Anywhere from 5%-80% of the leaf would show signs of oxidation, with reddish-brown in color around the edges of the leaf. Oolongs teas can be very green, medium, or dark. All oolongs are dry roasted to stop oxidation.
Black Teas are fully oxidized and roasted. They are full and rich, but don’t have the complexity of oolongs or rawness of greens. Most Black Teas come from China and India. China produces our favorite Black Tea called Pu-Erh. It is an aged black tea that is fermented in underground caves that naturally oxidizes and produces a very earthy taste. Most iced teas in the US are made from Black Tea Blends.
What is the best way to brew tea? Every tea is different, but if you stick to our advice you can't go wrong. The quality of water, temperature, quantity of dried tea, and steeping time all play together to make the perfect pot. You can of course experiment yourself to accommodate your own tastes, but be careful you might just be ruining perfectly good leaves.
Green Tea needs cooler water at about 165-170F/80C. Use a heaping teaspoon of dried leaf per 8oz pot and steep for two minutes. You should be able to get 2-3 steeping from the same leaves. We prefer to make our green teas in a pot with a strainer on the inside, because green tea is not usually whole leaves and it is a little bit more tedious than other teas. Tea bags don't give the tea room to expand, thus you don't get everything out of your tea. Avoid microwaves when heating your water. It is best to use a tea kettle on the stove or and electric device.
Oolong Tea is best prepared using the Gong-Fu method. Gong-Fu in Chinese means skill. This is the skillful/artful way of making tea. Really any tea can be prepared this way and it will be great. We suggest that you use a small clay teapot to prepare our teas in. One from Taiwan or China will work fine. Make sure that the volume of the pot is not too big and between 100-350cc. First, make sure that your water has just finished boiling. Now fill the teapot with 1-2 tablespoons of dried leaf depending if you like it stronger or not. Pour in the hot water, replace the lid, and immediately pour out the tea into a tea vessel or tea ocean. This first rinsing of the leaves is used to warm the pot, rinse the cups, and get rid of any caffeine that the first steeping may accompany. It also gets rid of any small bits of tea that might give off a bitter taste too. You may discard the first rinsing by pouring it in each cup and then back over the clay teapot. The first steeping is much the same as the rinsing. You just pour the water in, replace the lid, then let the tea steep for 10-15 seconds. Pour out the tea into a vessel/ocean or cups. With each steeping you should double the time that you let the tea steep. For example, the second steeping you would let steep for 20-30 seconds and so on. Our high quality teas should produce 7-10 fragrant steepings per pot. If you have any questions about tea preparation please contact us.
Black Tea is easy to prepare. Just add water that has just been boiled to the tea. Usually a tablespoon per 8oz pot works, but you might want tso let is steep 3 minutes depending on the tea and your own tastes.
