Polyphenols are incredible plant-based micro-nutrients that have been relentlessly studied. The findings have concluded that polyphenols help your body fend off oxidative stress caused by free radicals. Polyphenols are found in tea, vegetables, berries, red wine, and even dark chocolate.
Oxidative stress on the cells leads to cell damage and early cell death. Unfortunately, free radicals are virtually everywhere. The damage to the cells caused by free radicals is believed to be responsible for various chronic conditions and diseases. To that end, research has concluded that individuals who eat (and drink) a diet rich in polyphenols (650+ milligrams per day) have a lower risk of death than people who consume less than 500 mg/day.
Because polyphenols help to prevent or reverse damage to cells, their role in preventing cell damage has a positive impact on nearly every system in the body.
Polyphenols have been shown to help regulate blood pressure while helping vessels to remain strong and flexible—essential for good circulation. Moreover, these mighty micro-nutrients can help decrease inflammation, a known risk factor for heart disease. Finally, polyphenols are believed to help prevent blood clots from forming.
Studies suggest that polyphenols in green teas such as jasmine tea are responsible for helping your body produce good gut bacteria. They also fight off harmful bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, and C. difficile. Science also points to polyphenols as a likely source for helping probiotics thrive in the gut.
Scientists aren’t sure why, but polyphenol-rich foods and beverages correlate with improved brain function. This is likely because they help with circulation, ensuring your brain receives the oxygen-rich and nutrient-rich blood it needs for optimal performance. But emerging science demonstrates a link between improved focus, concentration, and memory in those who consume polyphenol-rich foods.
For millions of Americans with diabetes, jasmine green tea can be a helpful tool to regulate blood sugar levels. It may also help prevent diabetes. These health benefits are partly because polyphenols are likely to prevent starch from breaking down into simple sugars. These plant-based compounds are also thought to stimulate the production and secretion of insulin, which is vital to maintaining safe blood sugar levels.
The sweet smell and richly aromatic taste of jasmine tea may initially draw you in. But the hidden health benefits will likely make it a staple in your tea catalog. If you’re new to jasmine green tea, consider starting with either loose leaf organic green tea or Jasmine Tea Pearls that can be brewed right in your cup. Contact Oregon Tea Traders today with any questions.
]]>Spearmint (named for its spear-like leaves) boasts a long, fascinating history dating back to at least the first century. Mints were once a highly valued trading commodity. Later, in the Middle Ages, peppermint and spearmint were used to treat wounds. During the American Revolution, when England was taxing teas, spearmint tea emerged as a popular drink that could be grown in the colonies. Today, spearmint is one of the 50 top cash crops in America. But spearmint is used in teas from all over the world.
There's good reason for its popularity. In addition to making a refreshing, cooling, yet lightly sweet drink, tea made from spearmint leaves may also offer relief from various medical conditions.
Spearmint contains a compound that reduces digestive tract contractions. Drinking tea containing spearmint may help to alleviate GI issues ranging from nausea to stomach pain.
The same antispasmodic properties in spearmint tea that help reduce symptoms of digestive issues may help alleviate menstrual cramps and discomfort from bloating. Teas containing spearmint may help boost the production of female hormones and mitigate androgen production. Mitigating androgen production may help reduce the incidence of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which often leads to painful periods.
Studies have shown that spearmint extract improves memory in men and women experiencing age-associated problems with memory. It may also help with mental focus and concentration.
Spearmint is rich in antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. These properties make it the perfect addition to toothpaste, mouthwash, chewing gum, and mints. Because gum infections such as gingivitis cause bad breath, spearmint helps to prevent halitosis. It also may be used to fight off several known foodborne illnesses.
Spearmint contains high levels of antioxidants which help your body repair the damage (oxidative stress) caused by free radicals. Oxidative stress is a known risk factor for diseases and illnesses ranging from cancer to heart disease.
Mint tea contains menthol. Menthol is a natural essential oil perfect for aiding relaxation. Likewise, because spearmint tea is decaffeinated, it can be an effective sleep aid. Naturally relaxing, tea with spearmint in it may even help to lower blood pressure.
Spearmint has been shown in studies to lower blood sugar. Consider adding a daily cup of tea made from spearmint leaves to your diet if you have issues with blood sugar. However, tea should never be a substitute for medication.
Study participants with knee pain and arthritis reported less pain and stiffness after consuming two cups of spearmint tea per day over four months. In medieval times, spearmint mixed with salt served as a pain reliever for wounds, including animal bites.
Shop for Loose Leaf Spearmint Tea
Oregon Tea Traders has combed the world to identify and offer the world's best loose leaf teas from sustainable farms. Shop our collection of loose leaf teas today. Feel free to contact us with any questions or recommendations.
]]>You don’t need any special houseware to brew the best iced tea you’ve ever had. You only need items you likely already own, including:
How to Make Cold Brew Iced Tea
Cold brew iced tea requires virtually no work. Also known as refrigerator iced tea, it takes longer than hot brew iced tea. It also results in a softer taste, as there is no heat to release the tannins in the tea.
If you like a stronger tea, you’re welcome to double the amount of loose-leaf tea or let the tea steep in the refrigerator longer. For a refreshing green iced tea in the summer, consider a summery flavor such as Jade Blossom, or Blackberry Basil Green.
How to Make Hot Brew Iced Tea
Making hot brew iced tea is easy. It’s also ready to drink quickly and has a bolder flavor than cold brew or sun tea.
Suppose you’re expecting guests and need iced tea sooner. In that case, you can skip the refrigeration and pour the tea over ice. If it’s too strong for your liking, add more cold water. Black teas work well for hot brew iced tea. For summer, consider a citrusy and floral blend, such as Lavender Earl Grey.
In the autumn, you may find you make the best iced tea with loose-leaf Black Nilgiri or Assam Black teas. Assam teas (which are also blended into Chai and breakfast teas such as Drizzly Days and English Breakfast) tend to get cloudy when they are stored cold. They look weird and people often think that they have gone bad, but they have not. It is just part of the chemistry of the tea. The Nilgiri will remain clear, which is why it is more commonly used than the Assam.
How to Make Sun Tea
Sun tea is a perennial favorite for millions. Using the natural warming powers of the sun, making iced tea on your balcony, patio or porch couldn’t be easier. People have been making iced tea this way for decades.
However, it is theoretically possible that bacteria can form in the tea because the water doesn’t become hot enough to kill potential bacteria. All the same, even the CDC has stated that tea has little history of disease transmission. If you decide to make tea in the sun, follow these best practices.
Loose Leaf Tea Makes the Best Iced Tea
When you use loose-leaf tea to make iced tea, the possibilities are endless. If you’re unsure which tea is best suited for iced tea, try making it with the tea you have on hand. In the summer, you may find citrusy, fruity teas especially refreshing. In the fall, consider a spicy loose-leaf tea. Experiment with different teas to find your favorite blend for iced tea.
Shop for Green and Black Loose-Leaf Tea
Oregon Tea Traders carries organic teas from across the globe. Our team is grown by sustainable farmers. Shop our incredible selection of teas, tea ware, and more today. If you’re new to tea, we recommend trying some of our best sellers.
]]>Rooibos has an earthy flavor akin to yerba mate when converted into tea. It lacks caffeine and has less tannin than green and black teas. It contains a host of polyphenols such as flavones, dihydrochalcones, nothofagin, and aspalathin.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the rooibos plant is where it grows. It is home to the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. More specifically, it is grown in the Clanwilliam Wilderness in the very unique Cederberg Mountains. The rooibos plant has grown wildly in this area for a very long time. Ants have helped with the plant's survival by dispersing seeds. Spreading out the seeds reduces the competition of parent-offspring and sibling-sibling competition.
Traditionally, people would go up the mountains and harvest the leaves from rooibos plants that grew wildly. They would roll the leaves into bags and then carry them back down the mountain on livestock such as donkeys. As rooibos became more popular around the turn of the 20th century, the local people couldn't keep up with the demand for rooibos by harvesting the wild plants alone. However, they were unable to germinate the rooibos seeds.
No matter what they tried, rooibos seeds would not germinate by usual growing methods. In the 1930s, a cultivator discovered that he was able to propagate the seeds after scarifying their shell. After this discovery, local growers could germinate and plant more rooibos than they ever had before.
There are two types of tea made from rooibos plants: green and red. The green version requires more effort and is made with a process similar to that of black tea. It has a grassier and maltier taste than its red counterpart. Due to the additional labor involved in making the tea, it tends to be more expensive.
The red tea is the more popular variety, and it is what we offer through Oregon Tea Traders. The tea-making process involves a few key steps. First, the tea leaves are harvested. Next, the leaves are bruised to release enzymes that oxidize the leaves. Quickly following this, the leaves are slightly watered and left to ferment overnight. During this time, the leaves will change from green to an amber color and develop a sweeter aroma. Finally, the leaves are dried out and ready to be used in tea.
Rooibos is commonly prepared like black tea. People often add milk, lemon, sugar, and honey to it. It can be served as a latte, cappuccino, or iced tea, and it is also delicious on its own. At Oregon Tea Traders, we incorporate rooibos tea into several delicious blends.
The earthy flavor of rooibos makes it a great addition in this classic holiday tea. Rooibos combines with spearmint and peppermint to create a delicious flavor that is perfect for the holiday season.
Harvest Spice tea contains a tasty blend of spices and rooibos. It is a warm and comforting tea well-suited for fall.
Our Rooibos Sun Tea is naturally sweet and rich. It has a subtle honey-like flavor and is great hot and cold.
Our Vanilla Creamy Dessert tea is a real treat. Sweet and aromatic, this tea has a smooth and warming quality to it. It's good on its own or with a hint of cream.
The key bioactive components in ginger are gingerols and shogaols. These two components have been linked to a variety of health benefits, including:
While many of these benefits are still being quantified, its record as a herbal remedy is ancient. It's been a go-to ingredient for treating many ailments, ranging from arthritis and diabetes to mild colds and nausea since the beginning of tea.
There are many ways to reap the benefits of ginger. You can cook ginger and add it to a dish, ferment it, dry it and ground it into a powder for a supplement, or use it in a tea. At Oregon Tea Traders, we LOVE using ginger in our teas. One of the reasons is that ginger adds such a unique and zesty flavor to caffeinated and non-caffeinated teas.
Many of the teas we offer have ginger in them. Here are some of our favorites.
Our turmeric ginger tea features the ingredients in its name: turmeric and ginger. Ginger and turmeric are siblings in the plant world, belonging to the same family of plants. Turmeric is a traditional spice used in Indian cooking and shares many of the same healing properties of ginger. Some of these properties include:
Our masala chai tea is all about adding a little adventure to your cup. It's invigorating (hence the black tea) and is pleasantly spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, and of course ginger. The tea as a whole can help increase your energy levels and provides powerful anti-oxidizing properties thanks to the black tea.
Our lemon ginger tea rides the wave of ginger and lemon zest, making it an excellent choice for cold nights and early mornings. One of the unique ingredients in this mix is black pepper, which is chock-full of antioxidants and is anti-inflammatory. Because this tea is an herbal blend, don't worry about getting too much caffeine. Instead, embrace the unique flavors of lemongrass, fennel, and ginger as they mix together in your cup.
This tea builds on the fruity notes of a traditional ginger tea. By adding peach and orange peel, we give this tea a more exotic flavor profile and with a green tea base, get ready to be energized. It's a great start to any morning or an excellent choice for a midday boost.
There's nothing like good rum punch. The classic rum punch recipe is simple, punchy, and refreshing. The traditional ingredients include a spirit, citrus, spices, sugar, and water. There's quite a bit of room for creativity here, making it the perfect candidate for some experimental tea infusions.
To add some hibiscus tea to your next batch of rum punch, simply brew ¼ cup of dried hibiscus flower with 4 cups of water. Add the flowers and water together and set it to a boil. Once boiling, switch off the flame and let the tea steep for 15-20 minutes. If you're just making hibiscus tea to drink on its own, you might add in a spritz of lime and some honey. However, since the rum punch recipe calls for citrus and sugar, we'd suggest holding off on these ingredients for now.
Once your hibiscus tea is ready, add your choice of rum and juice into a shaker with ice and shake it until it's well chilled. For fruit juice, oranges and pineapples are excellent choices. It's also popular to add a dark and light rum for more depth and complexity in your drink. You can also add a touch of freshly squeezed lime and homemade grenadine for a tart richness.
The next cocktail recipe on our list is the hot toddy. An excellent way to spice up your traditional hot toddy is by adding chai tea to it. The sweet and spicy mixture of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and vanilla is the perfect combination to add some adventure to your glass.
Adding chai tea to your hot toddy is simple. Start by gathering ¼ cup of your favorite loose leaf chai tea (we love Masala chai). Add the dry tea to an infuser and place it in a pot with 4 cups of water. Set the water to boil, and once boiling, turn off the flame and let the tea steep for about 10 minutes. Then, mix in your choice of alcohol, honey, lemon, and chai to create your tastiest hot toddy yet.
The final cocktail recipe to experiment with is the Bee's Knees cocktail. This prohibition-era cocktail is straightforward but nonetheless very delightful. It features gin, lemon juice, and honey. The gin you select will impact the overall taste of your Bee's Knees cocktail. The London Dry gin offers a more juniper berry presence, while a more modern gin features citrus and floral notes.
An excellent way to infuse tea into this drink is by creating a honey syrup with our Chamomile Lavender Caffeine Free Tea. To make this tea-infused syrup for your cocktail, you'll want to add a ½ cup of boiling water to 1 tablespoon of your chamomile lavender tea. Let it steep for 5-10 minutes. Then, add ½ cup of your favorite honey and your steeped tea to a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Stir your mixture until all the honey is dissolved. Then, allow the syrup to cool and store it in an airtight container.
To concoct your Bee's Knees drink, mix 2 ounces of gin, ¾ ounces of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a ½ ounce of honey syrup in a shaker with ice and shake it until it's well chilled. Then, strain your drink into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy.
Rose tea is rich in antioxidants. Therefore, it can play a role in helping to reduce cellular damage (known as oxidative stress). Oxidative stress is known to cause premature aging. Today, there is a growing body of interest in cellular health and its maintenance. Cellular health simply means focusing on keeping your cells healthy as cells make up your body. The antioxidants in rose petals and buds (polyphenols, gallic acid, anthocyanins, kaempferol, and quercetin) help maintain healthy cells, thereby reducing the risk of certain types of cancer, degenerative brain diseases, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Traditional Chinese medicine has also used rose tea to treat menstrual pain and discomfort for thousands of years. Studies confirm that women who drink tea made from roses before their monthly period report fewer physical side-effects and better psychological health.
Rose tea is also helpful in maintaining hydration and may help promote weight loss. This is because like all teas, it is primarily water. Drinking ample amounts of water keeps you hydrated, boosts your metabolism, and can keep you feeling full so that you don’t overeat.
Tea made from roses is fat-free, sugar-free, and has no carbohydrates. It also contains vitamin C and vitamin E which help promote healthy skin and boost immune function.
Other studies have pointed to additional benefits, such as the following:
Rose petals and buds are often blended with other teas and spices to create unique chai teas, black teas, or white teas. However, you can also make your own if you have rose bushes that are free from pesticides. You should avoid making tea from roses from a flower shop or nursery.
Simply wash two cups of petals, then add three cups of water and boil them for at least five minutes. Strain and enjoy! If you have dried petals, you only need to steep 1 tablespoon for 10+ minutes. Organic honey makes an excellent sweetener if the tea is too bitter for your liking.
Rose tea in the morning is a wonderful way to load up on antioxidants and water to give your metabolism a boost. It is also delightful to use in baking. It makes an enjoyable addition to cream puffs, shortbread, scones, and of course, teacakes.
Make the most of your morning latte by infusing it with our rose chai tea. Our rose chai tea is made of fine Assam black tea and red rose. To make a rose chai latte, simply steep the rose chai tea in a cup of hot water and add your choice of milk or milk alternative. You can take this a step further by adding some food grade rose petals to milk and letting it sit in the refrigerator the night before. Strain the petals out when you're ready to use it.
Another delicious addition to this recipe is adding candied rose petals. To make these, add a small amount of food grade rose petals to a bowl and then coat them with water and add in a teaspoon of sugar. Then, let them sit out to dry and once dry, store in an airtight container. When your latte is ready, you can add them to the top for a delicious flavor.
Now this is a way to add some extra excitement to your morning or nightly beverages. Our Butterfly Pea Flower tea comes from Thailand and brews into a radiant blue color. To incorporate this tea into a latte, you'll want to let about a ¼ cup of it steep in a mug of hot water for 3-8 minutes. Be mindful that if you steep it too long it can start to taste bitter.
While the tea is steeping, simmer some milk. When the tea has steeped and the milk is warm, combine them and add honey or a sweetener of your choice.
The options of what milk to choose have exploded in recent years. If you're willing, it can be a lot of fun to make your own nut or grain-based milk. Oat milk is one of the simplest milks to make yourself. One way to go about making it is by adding half a cup of rolled oats to 2 cups of water and mixing them together in a blender. Then, strain out the oat solids.
This lavender latte recipe is one of our favorites. Using Oregon Rain Lavender Tea offers some extra flavors of lemon balm and rosemary for a very refreshing flavor. To make the lavender latte, you'll want to steep the tea for about 5-7 minutes. While this is steeping, you can simmer or froth some milk of your choice. Once the tea is steeped and the milk is ready, add the milk to the tea. You can also stir in some honey if you'd like.
To preface this, you don't need to froth your milk for a latte. Simply heating it up in a saucepan is a delicious option on it's own. However, if you do want to froth it, there are a couple ways to go about this. One method is to heat the milk, pour it in a french press and then pull up and down on the plunger until the milk is frothy.
If frothing milk is really your thing, you can invest in an automatic frother. Alternatively, if you have an espresso machine with a frothing wand attached, you can use that too.
No two teas are the same, and no two people are the same. Make sure you have something that will appeal to everyone. Stock up on a variety of flavors and strengths. Consider offering your guests the following choices:
No tea party is complete without delicious food. But what exactly is appropriate tea party food? To start, you can’t go wrong with tiny sandwiches. Whether you choose to layer organic cucumbers with cream cheese or whip up a flavorful egg salad topped with watercress, you can’t go wrong with traditional tea party food. However, it’s smart to be mindful of common food allergies, like gluten or lactose intolerance, so be sure you also offer gluten-free or non-dairy options. To be sure you’ve got something for everyone, you can always serve your tiny sandwiches in cucumber or lettuce wraps!
While traditional items are always on-trend, for an utterly unique tea party, consider serving desserts that are made with tea!
No traditional tea party is complete without shortbread. But, consider infusing just a tablespoon of Lavender Earl Grey tea into your shortbread to transform an otherwise basic tea party food into a positively regal snack.
Tea-infused cream puffs are always a decadent crowd-pleaser as the tea adds a complex yet utterly luxurious flavor. We recommend using Lavender Grey tea or Rose Chai for a fragrant, creamy delight.
Alternately, consider trying your hand at a tea-infused cheesecake. Using tea-infused cookie crumbs for the crust, then Lavender Grey tea for the cake and caramel topping, your guests will demand your recipe for this smooth, cool, creamy cake. To dress up the presentation, consider surrounding the base of the cake with a variety of spring’s blooming flowers, such as daisies, daffodils, lilies, tulips, anemones, or allium.
As your spring tea party comes to a close, consider gifting all attendees with a favor that will keep the lovely memory fresh in their minds. Teaware such as mesh tea balls, tea storage bags, bamboo teacups, tea filters, or even some of your favorite loose-leaf tea are perfectly thoughtful tea party favors.
Back to Chevre! Chevre is a type of cheese made from goat's milk. Compared to cow’s milk, goat’s milk has less lactic and can typically be enjoyed by those who are lactose intolerant. It is a lovely cheese in its own right, but also one that is fun and traditional to add flavor to! It is soft enough to absorb flavor well, and it is fun and easy to make an assortment for pairing with an almost limitless number of foods. This small roll was made using Crater Lake tea, which gave it a lovely savory flavor and cheerful color!
To reproduce the pictured cheese (though you should absolutely experiment with your favorite tea and make as much as you like!), you will need
4 oz roll of chevre.
Pop the tea in a blender, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle and process until the tea is fine enough to go through a colander. This allows it to absorb enough moisture from the cheese to be eaten along with the cheese without feeling a bit as if there are twigs in your cheese. Roll the cheese in the tea, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or beeswax cloth. The pressure is part of the process, so putting it in a lidded bowl won't work for this. Refrigerate for at least a week to allow the flavor to permeate the cheese.
Unwrap and enjoy! I suggest spreading this on a slice of nice dark rye bread and adding some fresh cucumber and tomato. Have some hot tea, and bring a good book, so you have good reason to take your time enjoying this lovely indulgence!
Cream Puffs are a magical thing. They are utterly luxurious and something many of us don't think to make for ourselves, but it isn't that hard, and it is SO worth it! The addition of tea adds a complexity of flavor, and somehow makes the luxury into pure decadence!
Combine the strained cream, 2 eggs, ¼ cup sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1T of starch (I used arrowroot, but tapioca powder, corn starch, potato starch, etc. will work too) in a double boiler and whisk until slightly frothy. Slowly heat till the water in the bottom of the double boiler is at a rolling boil, then simmer and stir often until it becomes relatively thick. Remember, it will set a bit as it cools, but you want it to be thick enough to scoop or pipe, not ladle. Many recipes call for heating the milk first, then tempering the eggs, and then cooking it all together. When there is starch involved, I have never found that necessary. As with all of my cooking, go for it if you need to alter the ingredients a bit! Have 3 egg yolks left from something? Use those instead of 2 eggs. Need it non-dairy? Almond creamer (not almond milk, it needs to be thicker than that) works great! So does goat milk!
Set it in the refrigerator to cool. While it is cooling, Heat the oven to 400F.
Strain the milk into a pot on medium-low heat. Cube up 1/2C of butter and melt it in the milk. Add 2T sugar (Optional, but good), a pinch of salt, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add 1C all-purpose flour all at once and stir like mad.
It will look like a disaster for about 10 seconds, then turn into a smooth, sticky dough. Keep it on the heat for a minute or so more until you start getting a thin film of toasted dough on the bottom. If you have an instant-read thermometer, you are looking to hit between 165F and 175F. This does something magic to the gluten called gelatinizing. It is what makes it possible for the dough to puff up the way it does.
Take the pot off the stove and let it cool a bit. The next thing you are doing is adding eggs, and you don't want scrambled eggs, but you also need the dough to be still a bit warm, so it is loose and not concrete (which is what this will turn into if you let it get cold).
Add 3 eggs, one at a time. Mix until the dough is smooth between each egg. It will become smooth and glossy as you add more eggs. Scramble the 4th egg and drizzle it in while mixing until you get something thick enough to go through a pastry bag but stiff enough to scoop with a spoon. Don't worry too much- if it is a bit thick or a bit thin, it may not be perfect, but it will still be good! It can be helpful to let the dough rest an hour or so, but it isn't required.
Baking these is one of the few times I use parchment paper. Line a baking pan with the paper and dampen it a little to help with the steam action that puff and make mounds of dough on the paper. You can use a pastry bag, a ziplock with the corner cut off, a small ice crème scoop, or plain old spoons to do this. The ones in my pictures were done with a zip lock. At this point, you can glaze them a bit if you want- paint them with egg mixed with a bit of water, with melted butter, or simply spray with pan spray - I won't tell! It will help them be shiny and crackle less on top. That said, I didn't do that to mine!
How long they bake depends on the size and shape. My little ones took about 15 min. Don't open the door while baking, but looking through the glass, when they have gone POOF and look nicely toasty, turn the heat off and leave them for about 30min. Opening the door during baking usually results in watching as your glorious puffs deflate into pancakes.
When cool, split them open and fill them with the cream! You can top them all kinds of ways, I did chocolate, but powdered sugar or some of the tea caramel from a few recipes back would be lovely!
The Chocolate I used was ½ cup dark chocolate chips, 2T strong tea (surprised? I didn't think so), and microwaved in 10-second bursts until I could stir it smooth and drizzle it on.
* many recipes for Choux paste call for water. I used a milk-based one as the acidic nature of the tea seems to affect the puffs. My theory is that it changes the chemical structure of the gelatinized gluten. The milk brings the liquid back closer to PH neutral or base. I did not try this with a milk substitute- if you do, let us know what you used and if it worked!]]>Tea was first planted in the 1840s as an experiment, and the plant did well in the Mediterranean climate. A small quantity of specialty tea was produced, but the political instability in the region changed production. As Georgia became a part of the Soviet Union, the production of tea increased. Both Lenin and Stalin were tea drinkers, and in order to provide enough tea for the large country, they focused on the high output of tea from Georgia, cutting quality significantly. Georgian tea farms supplied the Soviet Union with low-quality tea for many years, but the collapse of the Soviet Union decimated the industry. With open borders, cheaper teas from India were imported, and the low-quality Georgian tea suddenly had no market. Most of the country’s tea farms were abandoned or torn out.
A few years ago, a group of men and women from Estonia and Lithuania decided to quit their corporate jobs and get back to the earth. Without any previous knowledge of tea growing and processing, they formed Renegade Tea Estate, reclaiming abandoned tea farms in Georgia. Battling 20 years of weeds and having to win over the locals was not an easy task. Through persistence and hard work, they have succeeded in not only reclaiming these long-abandoned plants but in harvesting and processing the leaf into a wide range of wonderful teas (a much harder accomplishment than it sounds!).
The farms they reclaimed are unique, particularly because the bushes are so old and well established. The flavor difference between teas from young bushes and old is significant. Old tea plants are thought to produce teas with a much more complex flavor. Older, established bushes also tend not to require the use of herbicides (they are big enough to shade out the weeds around them) and pesticides (once established, tea bushes in temperate areas are not at high risk for pest infestation).
We are very excited to begin carrying their teas! As Renegade ramps up their production, their batches will grow in size, but for the moment, they are very limited so order yours soon!
Prodigy Mesame Oolong Tea Burnished Beauty Black Tea Leaves
This recipe has a simple ingredient list and can be made in a short amount of time.
My Grandfather collected champagne glasses with hollow stems and made me Shirley Temples in them on special occasions, so now that those glasses are mine, I enjoy using them just to watch the colors swirl through the glass.
As always, food should be fun! You could even continue the mocktail concept and add a spike of fresh berries or a wedge of lime. And yes, it's also quite tasty on ice cream!!
]]>1 cup strong Daydreamer's Cardamom tea, strained
2 peeled and sliced pears. Slightly unripe ones work best
1 cup sugar
3/4-1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup chopped pecans (or your favorite nut. Allergic to nuts? Try chopped pepitas)
2 tbsp butter
In a heavy-bottomed pan big enough to hold the pears (an enameled cast iron frying pan is perfect if you have one) add the tea and sugar, and heat to simmering. Add the pears, and poach until tender. Timing will really depend on your pears, so don't walk away from the stove! Usually 8-12 minutes.
Pull pears out with a slotted spoon and continue simmering the tea syrup until it is about as thick as pancake syrup. Pull off the heat and slowly stir in the heavy cream. Set burner to medium and return pan to burner. Stir as it thickens. Remember it will be thicker as it cools, so when it becomes thick enough that it looks like ice cream topping, pull it off the heat!
Toast the nuts in the butter, stirring as they become toasty and crunchy.
Arrange pear slices, drizzle with caramel sauce, sprinkle with nuts. I like a little extra cream with mine, ice cream is also wonderful.
This will make more caramel sauce than you need for the two poached pears. I don't think that's a problem, do you? Nope, didn't think so!
]]>A brief history.
From 2006-2009 I lived in Dharamsala, India and remote Tibet studying Tibetan Buddhism, painting, and language. I met and married Shedhe Labrang while I was there, and when we decided to move to the US, I finished my degree in Cultural Anthropology from the U of O. At that point, realizing how useless a bachelor's degree in anthropology was, I searched for a career that could combine my love of travel, allow us to visit Shedhe’s family in China occupied Tibet, and give me flexibility to be a mother. The answer came during my last few terms in college. It's a long story involving a truck and a chicken, but the result was that I met a woman who had started a tiny tea company but wanted to move onto other things in life. I purchased the company (then named LMF Tea Traders) and began my journey into self employment.
Shedhe and I both worked part time jobs while getting our bearings about being business owners, and late in 2011 I became pregnant with my first child, Sonam. It was a wild year, full of changes. The business was pushed to the side, but we sold teas to a few more stores, updated our website, and began selling at the Eugene Saturday Market nearly every weekend.
2 years later we changed the name of the company to Labrang Tea Traders, celebrating Shedhe’s cultural heritage (Labrang was the name of the monastery in Tibet that he grew up in) and had a full redesign of the labels. Business was growing very slowly, as family and other jobs took precedence, but pieces were built one by one.
In 2015, after the birth of our second child, Shedhe and I divorced. Shedhe was working another job and I retained ownership of the company. It was an excruciating time for me, being a scared single mother who was too poor to afford any kind of child care, didn’t qualify for any government assistance due to being self employed, and had very few options but to just get through one day at a time. It took me a long time to begin feeling like myself again. I had to rediscover who I was, what I liked to do, what I was capable of doing, and what I wanted in life.
Though the thought of ditching tea and getting a full time job with a steady paycheck was appealing, I knew it would not work for my family, so I soldiered on. I packed tea while my kids slept, caught up on accounting in the middle of the night, gave them endless cardboard boxes to make into forts while I unpacked shipments, took them to shows with me, packed them on my back while making deliveries. My customers quickly got to know my children and still ask about them frequently. My children were my lifeline, and tea was my path to care for them.
As my children grew older and became more self reliant, life became easier bit by bit, and over the years I learned the lessons of business ownership by doing them. Business grew slowly but steadily, and I began to find an itching for something new. That something new slowly came to light when I traveled all the way to Mississippi to a meeting with the US League of Tea Growers. The concept of domestically grown tea was extremely appealing to me, and I dove into the organization head first. I began as their secretary, and am now their president. We are building the industry and the organization one piece at a time, and I have learned invaluable lessons along the way. I had so many mentors along my journey: Gary Smith from my local SBDM, Jason and Timmy from The Great Mississippi Tea Company, tea consultant Nigel Melican, and many others. My mother and sister have always been an unending source of support and love, and my children have been the air that I breathe. Despite all of life’s hardships I am so incredibly lucky. Though there are plenty of challenges ahead, this anniversary is really important to me because I have made it. Life has not always been kind, but I have weathered the storms, and recognize the growth that I have gained from them. I feel more alive than ever in my life, and am incredibly grateful for all that I have. Tea has been such an important journey, and the relationships I have with my customers have been so precious that I could not have gotten this far without them. It warms my heart when people tell me how much my teas mean to them. Their support pulls me up when I am feeling down, and gives me confidence when I feel crazy.
What is in our anniversary set?
Daydreamer’s Black Tea – This tea has been our most popular over the years. Cardamom, vanilla and rose with a smooth black tea. Slightly sweet and very flavorful with a wonderful cardamom flavor. Cardamom being one of my favorite spices in the world, I couldn’t resist adding it to this tea.
Black Magnolia – In 2018 I became heavily involved with the US League of Tea Growers and am their current president. I work regularly on issues related to growing (pun intended) a domestic tea market, both from the farmer’s and retailer’s perspective. Jason McDonald and Timmy Gipson from the Great Mississippi Tea Company have mentored me through this whole process and I am very proud to offer their award winning teas through my website.
Sticky Rice Puerh – This is such a unique tea I cannot help but love it. Puerh is an ancient style of Chinese tea that is growing in popularity in the US. Like oolongs, it comes in such a wide array of styles and flavors that people who are really into it hardly drink anything else because just within this one category there are nearly infinite variations. The only challenge with this type of tea is that it can be a bit of an acquired taste. The aged varieties are deeply earthy, sometimes mushroomy with a hint of compost. Not everyone loves them, but those who do love it with a passion. I began carrying these small puerh teas compressed with an herb called Nuo Mi Xiang which tastes exactly like sticky rice because their small size and familiar flavor are a perfect introduction to this style of tea. It's very smooth and easy to drink, but carries the dark earthiness that is characteristic of puerh teas.
Oregon Rain – I am a true Oregonian through and through. I love Oregon, and yes, even the rain. Local agriculture is another passion of mine, and I tired of importing the herbs that grew prolifically in my backyard! Finding local farms that had large supplies of dried herbs was a challenge, but this was one of the resulting teas and it is one of my favorites.
Crater Lake Blue – This is another tea that is primarily Oregon Grown, but it includes Butterfly Pea Flowers from Thailand which I have fallen in love with. They brew into a bright blue color and change to purple and fuschia with the addition of acid (such as lemon juice). They are a novelty, but to me they represent the boundlessness of tea.
Birch Chai – A combination of sweet dark spices such as clove and star anise with the earthy root beer flavor from birch bark. This amazing tea is one of our newest blends, but I adore its complexity.
Locally handcrafted tea mug – Pottery has been one of my passions such my college years when I began working with clay. Not having the time to make my own now, I adore supporting local potters. The cup included in this set was made by Jon King, a fellow Saturday Market member, and one of my favorite Eugene potters.
Cone Tea Infuser – People comment all the time is that loose leaf teas are just too complicated and messy to use. I understand the need for things to be easy in life, and these are my daily infusers for just that reason! They are super easy to use, easy to clean, and resilient. I have a stack of them in my kitchen, and have used them every day for 10 years. I want tea to fit into people’s lives, and though different infusers may work better for some, these fit my lifestyle and the life of many others that I know.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, for supporting us, and for your care and love.
]]>As the weather warms, my desert cravings turn to smooth cool creamy cheesecake. (Not that there is ever a time when cheesecake isn't good!)
Cheesecake is really just a very firm custard. It is sugar, eggs, and dairy. No combination of those three things can really be bad, so if you have to use one less egg, or have half and half instead of cream, or are blessed with huge amounts of chevre and no cream cheese- it's ok! Your final dessert might be a bit less firm or be a bit more crumbly, but it will, I am sure, still be amazing! Many families have a favorite recipe as well, and this idea can easily be adapted to your favorite recipe.
Here is what I used.
1.5 cups heavy cream + 4-5T Lavender Grey Tea (½ cup goes to the cake, the rest to thecaramel top)
35 oz of cream cheese, room temp.
6 eggs
1 1/3 cups white sugar
2t vanilla
1t lemon zest or a few drops of lemon extract
For crust:
2 cups finely crushed Lavender Grey Cookie crumbs (this is why you make EXTRA!!)
For the top- 1 more tablespoon of tea leaves, see instructions below! *
9-10 inch spring form pan (You can use almost any pan, it's just hard to get the pieces out of asolid sided pan)
Baking dish big enough to put the spring form in, with at least an inch between the edges.
Note - I buy cream cheese in 1kg blocks, which is 35 oz or so. If you buy the regular silver wrapped 8 oz blocks, buy 5 and you will have 40 oz. Add another egg, maybe use 1.5 cups sugar, and proceed!!
The day before you make the cheesecake (Or at least 8 hours) put the tea in the cream, stir, and refrigerate until use.
When you are ready to make the cheesecake:
Make crust by pressing the cookie crumbs into the bottom of the spring form pan. Most crust recipes involve crumbs, butter, and sugar. These cookies usually don't need the added sugar and butter, but test it by squeezing some in your hand. If they hold together it will work. If it is a bit crumbly, add a tablespoon of melted butter and try again.
Just after putting it in the oven, make 16 oz of tea. Pour yourself a cup to drink while the house fills with the scent of cheesecake, and leave the leaves in the other cup until it is very strong. Strain, and add 2 cups of sugar.
When you have taken the cheesecake out of the oven, boil the tea syrup in a wide flat pan. I use an enameled frying pan as it is good for even heat and easy washing. When the syrup begins to thicken, take it off the heat for a minute and slowly add the rest of the heavy cream. On medium high, stir until your caramel sauce is just a bit more runny than you think it should be for pouring on your cheesecake. It will thicken as it cools. Let cool a few minutes, then take cheesecake out of the refrigerator, Run a hot wet knife around it and take off the sides. Pour on the caramel, and put it back in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
This is a great cheesecake recipe for doing on a day off when you really just want to relax and read a good book, and end the day with something that makes it look like you worked hard all day! It is a series of fairly easy tasks with long periods of waiting around in between. The end result is somehow greater than the sum of its parts. Next weekend I think I may try a cheesecake recipe with Rose Chai tea!
]]>Shortbread is my favorite cookie to make. It only takes three ingredients, the dough is safe to eat raw, it's a great one to have kids help make, and while it is marvelous on it's own, it is also fun to play with flavoring! What better flavor than one of my favorite teas? Follow along to see my favorite shortbread cookie recipe!
I have used non dairy vegan butter substitutes for this, make sure to use the solid stick type, not the stuff in a tub, and look for one that is meant for baking. You can also make these gluten free- my favorite way to do that is use Buckwheat flour (which is not actually a wheat, it is distantly related to rhubarb) in a 1:1 substitution, the nutty flavor of the buckwheat would go well with a robust black tea.
Shortbread dough is done by percentage measured by volume. As you go down the list of ingredients you double the previous measurement.
I find it easiest to do this in a large bowl with my hands. When I do it with kids we call these playdough cookies! Mix the tea infused butter (along with the liquid at the bottom) and sugar together until smooth, add the flour and mix. If you are using an electric mixer be sure not to get it fluffy, these are a rich dense cookie.
On a floured board pat or roll flat. I like them to be about 1/4 inch thick, but these are pretty flexible and can be made to taste. You can even just pat it into a cookie sheet with edges, bake the whole thing, and cut them into lozenges when they are hot out of the oven.
Use your favorite cookie cutter, or cut circles by tracing a knife around a plate, and then cut into the traditional wedges.
Bake at 350 until barely golden at the edges. The ones shown here took 8 minutes in my oven.
The tea flavor will become more pronounced as the cookies cool... assuming you managed to bake them and not just eat the dough!
The global standstill brought on by the pandemic has changed the way people drink tea. Instead of relying on coffee shops, people are making their tea at home. Tiring of the same ten tea bag options at the grocery store and finding time to up their game, more and more people are branching out to higher quality teas to fill their cups and fuel their hectic schedules of working from home with kids.
Fearing for their lives amid this serious virus, people have also been more interested in healthy living and DIY projects. Both of these factors have created a stark interest among consumers in specialty teas and herbs. The hospitality sector (typically the safe and steady market for most companies) has seen an unprecedented decline, but the independently owned specialty sector is thriving. Being a small specialty tea company, we cannot complain. However, we do not expect this growth to last forever.
One unexpected consequence of this surge in business is the fact that the global supply of tea and herbs has been strained. Many of these products are only harvested once or twice a year. Thus, supply cannot be made on demand. For the first time that I have ever seen in 10 years, herb companies have stopped taking on new accounts, only allowing a certain number of orders a day, or had shipments backed up by weeks. Tea and herbal companies quickly began hoarding herbs as they were not sure when they would be able to restock. Out of Stock notifications, often uncommon in normal years, are the new norm.
In addition to unprecedented demand, producing countries had shutdowns and reduced yields due to distancing measures and quarantines, which caused entire harvests to go to waste because people could not get to the fields. The famous Darjeeling first flush was nearly lost due to the shutdown. Harvests of some materials, such as organic cardamom pods (which we go through a considerable quantity of), fluctuate year to year. Due to the unpredictability of climate change, there is also an increasing number of bad years and short harvests. Short supply means higher prices.
Freight has been another factor in the sweeping price increases. Shipping from many producing countries has more than doubled due to several COVID-induced factors. Small parcels used to make their way on airplanes traveling across the globe, but as air travel took such a sharp decline, packages are backed up, waiting for a plane to board. As nearly all of the teas and herbs we enjoy on a daily basis are imported, this has no small impact.
As if this was not enough, raw materials, such as aluminum for the tea tins we use, rose in price due to tariffs on Chinese goods put into effect by the last administration. Shipping containers are scarce, and companies who rely on a variety of packaging materials from China are unable to get their products, or if they are, they are late and far more costly.
All of this, unfortunately, trickles down to costs that need to be absorbed by the companies until they raise their prices. The volatility of prices and the desire to keep prices low have kept many companies from implementing steep price increases. However, as I told one of my suppliers, "I want you to do well because I want to continue doing business with you. It does not help me for you to go under because you cannot cover your overhead costs." Companies are facing the reality that it's increase or sink, and slowly that is what they are doing. Costs of any specialty tea and herbal products will be continuing to increase for the foreseeable future until supply levels out.
]]>Books about tea used to be hard to find, but these days they are being published left and right. Here are some of our favorites (in no particular order):
An essential tea book for anyone wanting to learn how to process or taste tea. It is thick with chemistry, and nothing else compares to it if you want to really delve into the science of what is happening in your tea leaf.
One of the best books about tea for overall historical explanations that I have found. It is dense but provides a great historical analysis.
An easy-to-read novel with a great explanation of Chinese tea, particularly puerh tea. Despite its fiction status, the facts about tea are sound.
Written by long-time tea importers, this tea book provides not only an overview but some great in-depth details about tea production and history, particularly in China, India, and Japan.
A great overview of tea in several different countries. Easy to read but doesn't have the depth that some of the other texts do. I often use this tea book as a textbook for my intro classes.
A fantastic tale of historical espionage. This book tells the tale of a Scottish botanist named Robert Fortune who disguised himself as a Chinese man and wandered into the depths of China to steal the tea plant and bring it to India during the 1850s. It's a fun story to read, plus it provides a lot of background information on the development of the Indian tea industry.
A picturesque view of the famous Darjeeling region of India. This book looks specifically at the Darjeeling Region, famous for producing the "champagne of teas."
Sometimes referred to as the "Tea Bible," this book was the first of its kind. Written in 1935 and the size of a dictionary, this book details tea growth and production at the time. Despite not including newer technological innovations, the information provided is still very useful.
A highly accurate (and we don't say that lightly), albeit slightly brief, explanation of tea. This book gives a brief chemical description of the tea leaf and then gives details of some common types of tea from around the world.
This book was composed in 1906 by Japanese writer Okakura Kakuzō. It gives an overview of Chadō (teaism), including the Japanese tea ceremony, Zen, Daoism, and Japanese aesthetic preference. It's a very important period piece for understanding Japanese tea culture.
]]>We love tea for the flavor, so why not bring all that lovely flavor to the table? Here are infused vinegar recipes where tea has been infused in vinegar rather than in water.
Crater Lake Blue infused in champagne vinegar is a lovely aromatic complement to a vegetable salad, and the color can't help but make you smile. The acid in the vinegar turns it a lovely shade of brilliant purple. I used a tablespoon of tea in half a cup of champagne vinegar and let it sit overnight in a lidded container. Then strain and enjoy!
In a related idea, dilute your tea infused vinegar with an equal amount of water and add 1 T of salt per cup of liquid. Marinate bite-sized vegetables overnight and serve. Here I used red bell pepper, shallots, and purple, orange, and white carrots (the lovely color came from the carrots. My favorites so far were Green Blackberry Basil and Oregon Rain. The Blackberry Basil is a little sweeter, and the Oregon Rain is more savory. Let your imagination run free!
Ingredients:
-1 TBSP of choice (we used Crater Lake Blue)
-½ cup champagne vinegar
Preparation:
Combine ingredients in a lidded container or jar
Let sit overnight
Strain
Enjoy over your favorite salad (we used romaine lettuce, mushrooms and cauliflower)
Ingredients:
-Prepared tea infused vinegar (we used Green Blackberry Basil and Oregon
-Water
-Salt
-Vegetables of choice (we used red bell peppers, shallots, purple, orange and white carrots)
Preparation:
Dilute tea vinegar with equal parts water in a jar
Add 1 TBSP of salt per cup of liquid
Marinate vegetables overnight
Enjoy with your favorite salad or by themselves
One of the many benefits of growing herbs is that many of them produce beautiful flowers and lush foliage so they can simply be integrated into your gardens to create an intentional and colorful landscape in your yard. Most can also grow easily in pots and sometimes indoors. Depending on your climate and availability of sunlight and space, find herbs that will grow plentifully at your home or office.
Below is a list of some of our favorite tea herbs:
*Please note that you must be careful with any herb. It’s important to research what variety and what part of the plant may be edible. Make sure what you are growing is indeed edible before consuming. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For educational purposes only.
]]>]]>Rice pudding is one of my favorite comfort foods, and a hot cup of tea solves many a dreary mood in my house, so combining them in this time of cold weather and global stress seems like just the thing!…
]]>Rice pudding is one of my favorite comfort foods, and a hot cup of tea solves many a dreary mood in my house, so combining them in this time of cold weather and global stress seems like just the thing! It is relatively inexpensive in these days of ever-increasing grocery prices but satisfies as few other foods do. Harvest Spice is such a warming fragrant tea and it was natural for this recipe.
Now, many of us have favorite ways to make this dish, and they are all good. Some like it creamy and sweet, some like it sliceable, there are fans of warm, cold, oven-baked, stovetop cooked, with egg, without egg, sweetened, unsweetened, or even savory and this idea is adaptable for any of them, but I will share my most often made version, with some possible alterations at the end.
A brief note on ingredients:
Rice: A short-grained white like Arborio will take a higher percentage of tea, and make a softer creamier pudding. A white Jasmine is about 2 to 1 tea to rice and makes a slightly more solid aromatic final product. Various types of brown rice work well too! They add a slight nuttiness. I don't recommend black or purple rice or wild rice for this as the strong flavor of the rice overwhelms the tea.
Milk: I like this made with whole cow milk, goat milk, cashew milk, you name it! Just be aware that the plant milk will result in a less firm custard.
Eggs: smaller eggs make a less solid final pudding, but that really isn't a problem. Anything larger than a large chicken egg, though, and you will have rice frittata instead of pudding. Also not a bad thing, just not the goal here!
Sugar: I've made it with honey, raw sugar, white and brown. In this case, if you add sugar I would stick with white as it doesn't overwhelm the tea flavor. On the other hand, if you decide to use this idea and use one of the strong black teas, honey might be really nice!
Base recipe:
2.5 cups water
1 cup rice
1.5 cups milk
2 large eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cups Harvest Spice Tea
The night before (or at least a few hours)
Brew 2.5 cups of very strong harvest spice tea. I used ¼ of a cup to 2.5 cups water. Cover and let steep until time to cook rice.
Measure out 1.5 cups milk, and stir in ¼ cups Harvest Spice tea. Cover and allow to infuse in the refrigerator until after the rice is cooked.
Next day (or at least several hours later)
Cook rice in strained tea, using recommended rice to liquid percentages for your chosen rice.
Whisk together strained milk, eggs, and sugar, and add to the cooked rice, stir well. I find a potato masher handy for making sure there aren't any lumps of cooked rice. I usually use about 1 and 3/4 cups of cooked rice, but if you are a little under or over it's ok!
Pour into a greased baking dish and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until a knife comes out of the middle clean! Cover for a moister pudding, bake uncovered for a toasty almost caramelized top.
Optional variations:
Bake in small single-serve cups with less or no sugar for a pre-made breakfast - just heat and eat! I use wide mouth canning jars filled halfway. I can throw a lid on them and take my breakfast to work in a microwave-safe glass container, with room for more milk to be added to my protein-rich 'hot cereal'! Keep an eye on them in the oven, they bake a bit faster.
For a baked or stovetop vegan version, try infusing your favorite plant milk, and cooking your rice in it. Use about ½ cup more of the milk than you would water for your rice of choice. The starch from the rice will mix with the infused milk to lend a slightly creamy sauce.
After you have made it once so you know the flavor and complexity the tea adds, you may want to add chopped dried fruit or nuts. I like it plain, but I certainly would not turn it down if it arrived warm and fragrant on my table with some dried pear bits baked in with it!
For a truly decadent dessert, serve warm with half and half, or fresh whipped cream. If you are thinking those too could be tea-infused...you are correct!
For example, green teas have very little oxidation, while black teas are fully oxidized. The rest are somewhere in-between. Traditional methods call for hand harvesting and processing these leaves. This is an incredibly difficult and time-consuming process, so these days the majority of commodity teas (anything you find in a traditional grocery store) are made from leaves that were machine harvested and processed. Usually, they are broken up into very fine pieces and packed into tea bags. We call these teas fannings or dust. Because they are so broken up, the water has lots of surface area to get into the leaf and pull out the flavor. It also means that the more bitter components of the tea will be released and that the leaves will only last for one cup. This type of mechanical processing usually does not focus on producing refined flavors, but instead opts simply for strong and consistent flavors.
If you have whole-leaf specialty loose leaf tea, especially one that was processed in small batches (either with mechanical help or fully by hand like ours!), the tea is more likely to have been processed with care to retain its full flavor potential, producing a more nuanced and layered cup. These teas are less likely to get the bitter or astringent notes that the bagged teas often have, and they can be reinfused several times.
History:
There is a lot of speculation about the exact origins of this type of tea, but its thought to have originated during the late Ming (1368 to 1644) or early Qing (1645 to 1912) Dynasties. Its hard to say exactly how it occurred, but like many other innovations, it likely happened by accident as a way to quickly fix a green tea. Today, it remains very rare and is almost exclusively processed in China and Korea (except for the new one from Mississippi and a few other examples).
Brewing:
We prefer a gaiwan for brewing yellow teas. The leaves are usually full, so there isn't much reason for concern about a lot of little leaf pieces coming through. Use cool water, around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Boiling water can make the tea more bitter. Brew quickly, 30-45 seconds in a gaiwan, or 2 minutes in a larger pot.
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Our Daydreamer’s makes a fabulous cold brew so I’ll use that as an example for the recipe.
Ingredients
2 Teabags
1 oz of Daydreamer’s
Gallon or ½ gallon container
~
Put the loose leaf in the tea bags. Fill the jug up with water and then place the tea bags in the jug. Then pop it in the fridge! Wait at least a couple hours or let it chill overnight and your delicious iced tea is made. Super easy and simple!
If you use a jug that’s ½ a gallon you only need one tea bag full of loose leaf. If you use a gallon of water I recommend using two tea bags.
Let us know in the comments what you think of this recipe!
]]>I personally find oolongs to be the most complex, delicious and fun teas to brew. The best way to brew oolongs is in the gong fu style. I recommend getting a Gai Wan if you don’t already have one. Gaiwan’s can be used to steep a lot of tea for a short amount of time to bring out the various complex notes. Use boiling water and steep for 20 seconds to a 1 minute. Don’t be afraid to experiment and note how the tea to water ratio and steep time can drastically impact the taste!
If you’ve never tried an oolong I highly recommend Ti Kwan Yin (try our newly imported fancy Ti Kwan Yin!). We also have a milk oolong, which is one of my personal favorites. See for yourself the deliciousness of oolongs teas.
]]>White tea is the most misunderstood type of tea. People believe that it is low caffeine or without caffeine. However, the opposite is true. The young buds that make up most white teas and the process of making the tea actually can increase caffeine levels in the tea. If you’ve ever had the misfortune of drinking white tea in the evening and lie restlessly awake staring at the ceiling regretting your life choices then you understand that decaf or caffeine free white tea is pure myth.
Lavender Jasmine White Tea
Some of the most common white teas in the US are Silver Needles, Bai Mu Dan, Rose Peony, White Peony, and aged white tea. If you are looking to try a delicious white tea one of our most popular teas is Lavender Jasmine White Tea. We have free tasting samples at the Eugene Saturday Market!
]]>That’s because camellia sinensis, the tea plant, grows in the US. In fact, it grows particularly well in Oregon! Angela has dedicated a lot of time and energy to learning about how tea can grow in the US and her patio is filled with tea starts and tubs of germinating seeds.
At the past USLTG meeting, hosted at Angela's house, she shared 5 tips for how to grow your tea from seed.
1. Choose your Seed Stock Wisely
Buy the camellia sinensis variety sinensis and avoid the assamica variety. Buy your seeds in the fall.
2. Be Sure to Use the Right Soil and Water
Tea plants prefer acidic soil and water with a pH of 4.5 - 5.5.
3. When Germinating, Keep the Plants Moist!
Also make sure you don't bury the tea seeds in soil. They'll rot! Instead cover them lightly with soil, keep them moist, and out of the sun. Angela uses lidded trays to keep the environment nice and moist.
4. Make Sure to Prune your Plants to Create a Plucking Table
Make sure to prune the plants so they will become "bushier." Angela recommends doing so at 9 inches, then 12, and on up.
5. Harvest Every Two Weeks: April to September
Be sure to harvest each flush, two leaves and a bud, and don't be afraid to experiment processing the teas!
Oregon Tea Traders is committed to supporting tea growers in the US. So much so, that Angela volunteers her spare time to help organize for the United States League of Tea Growers or USLTG. If you are looking to learn more extensively about growing tea I highly recommend attending this year's upcoming Annual USLTG meeting July 21st from 8:30 am to 6 pm in Eugene at the Valley River Inn. This will be an amazing experience to network with tea growers from all over the US and learn more about growing tea locally! Register here.
]]>I think there is a lot of hesitation around green tea and how to drink it. I find it to be the most temperamental of all the tea types. In my opinion, it can also be the most rewarding. I think the best way to illustrate this is through an experience I had with green tea recently.
The other day my co-worker, who is an exchange student from the mainland China, brought his whole tea set to work (upon my request) and some Dragonwell or Long Jing Shi Feng. Dragonwell is a very famous green tea from China. What was interesting is that he made a couple of comments about the tea that I thought were very interesting. This was a 2018 Dragonwell and he apologized because it was old, but still okay to drink. He also mentioned that green tea is best drank fresh. I had boiled some hot water and put it in my thermos, but then I realized I needed to open the thermos so the water could cool off. I also like my tea brewed thicker so he added more leaves upon my request. He also steeped the tea very quickly.
To maximize your experience with green tea it is very important to follow a couple golden rules
I hope this post was helpful to you. Please comment below or reach out to me at lmftea@gmail.com if you have specific questions or a suggestion for the next blog post!
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