Tea Tastes Better in a Teacup

When most people think of tea – they usually think about a nice strong cup of black tea (usually English or Irish Breakfast) with a touch of milk and two sugars. The kettle boils, the trusty teabag goes in the mug and is left there while the brew gets stronger and darker. The teabag is rescued after about five minutes and every last drop of water squished out of the bag as it is wrapped around the teaspoon and squeezed to an inch of its death. Usually a slurp or two is taken while we madly rush around doing other things at the same time.

Tea has made a long and sometimes arduous journey to offer you its brew. Wouldn’t it make sense to take the time to really enjoy that cup? In order to do that, let’s start with a cup, not a mug. Maybe you already have a favourite one hiding in the cupboard that you never use, or it only comes out at special occasions? Make today a special occasion! Drinking real tea out of a cup and saucer brings life to your tea. If you don’t own one, make it your mission to find the perfect one for you. Find yours at a market, the op shop, a department store, online or maybe even ask your gran – she’d be delighted.

Hint: Surprise yourself, and enjoy a new ritual - brew a pot, sit down and drink in a moment of calm – just you and your cup.

Words and photo by Suzi van Middelkoop
Certified Tea Master and owner of Tea by the Sea.
 

For the Love of Tea

I have a love affair with tea. I love how it looks, I love how it smells, I love how it tastes. I even love the ritual of getting there.

I can hear the water coming to a soft rolling boil. Languid, enlarged bubbles rise to the surface of the kettle. There’s a slow anticipation but hurried desire not to miss the precise moment in which to remove the heat in order to capture its essence.

My olfactory nerve is overwhelmed by the sweet smell of dew, honey and misty mountain air. I touch the delicate leaves with my finger tips – under the fine soft fur I sense the moisture within the leaf plucked at sunrise.

The cup I choose is pink and round as the leaves sway and swirl while the water encourages them to dance. It is then I give thanks as my cup overflowth. Tea trancends time and place and gets to the heart of things. Where will your tea take you today?

Hint: Respect the tea and handle with care and it will love you right back...

Words and photo by Suzi van Middelkoop
Certified Tea Master and owner of Tea by the Sea.

Keep Calm and Drink Tea

Stressed, over worked, everyone wanting a piece of you? At boiling point? It's time for a break!
A real tea break we mean. Learning the art of taking tea may just you offer more than you think.  

Did you know tea is said to have almost 10x the amount of antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables? Antioxidants protect your body from physical damage caused by mental or emotional stress. They reduce signs of aging, help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, are great for the skin and boost immunity.

Tea also contains an amino acid found in its highest concentration in green tea, called l-theanine which is proven to reduce anxiety. When consumed with small amounts of caffeine (a combination only found in tea) keeps us alert while maintaining a sense of calm, without the jitters and the instant hit you get from a cup of coffee.  

L-theanine stimulates Alpha brain activity, scientifically known to be induce a meditative state - relaxed but effortlessly alert and able to tackle tasks.  Studies show it can improve mood, reduce stress and help keep us focussed for longer periods of time as well as improve mental clarity. This can take affect within 20 minutes and can last up to 5 hours.

Hint: Take a tip from a Buddhist monk – next time you need to work out the world’s biggest problem, reach for a cup of green tea. It might just give you the solution, or at worst make you feel like you can.

Words and photo contributed by Suzi van Middelkoop
Certified Tea Master and owner of Tea by the Sea

Cup of Gold

There is no reason why customers should have to pay a lot for a good cup of tea.
Tea is a relatively inexpensive product and you can get an excellent quality loose-leaf tea for roughly the same price as a quality coffee.
Some inner city tea shops are charging their customers up to $1000 a cup! This came as a huge shock to us. No tea costs enough to warrant charging that much per cup.
We want tea to be accessible, not an exclusive subculture.
Regularly we have seen tea shops charge up to $20 for the same teas that are elsewhere being sold for $4 a cup. Why is this so? And who benefits from this?
Not only will it limit the amount of people seeking specialty tea but it will put off the ones who are.
The point of this story is to encourage people to "shop around" for good tea.
Just because a tea shop is on a main street and has lovely teaware, it does not mean they have the best tea in town - or the cheapest.
If you want to sip your tea surrounded by smoke and mirrors, then you might have to pay five times the amount for the same brew as you would from the quiet tea house down the road.

A Kettle Watched, Boils to Perfection

Did you know that you should vary the temperature of water depending on the variety of tea you are making?
 

It comes as second nature to put the kettle on and wait until it boils right? Next time you do that, you might just want to watch the kettle boil!
 

The only teas which require boiling water for infusion are black teas, herbals and aged puerh teas. Whites, greens and oolongs require varying temperatures from 80 – 95 degrees.
 

It comes down to personal taste, which comes from experimenting, however the following is a good guide to follow:

White tea: 80 – 85 degrees

As white tea is extremely delicate and the least processed of teas it makes sense to use a lower water temperature to bring out the subtle flavours. Often when tea is allowed to cool, the fruit and floral notes are more prominent.

Green tea: 85 – 90 degrees

To avoid scorching the tea and ruining the nuances, use water that is just off the boil.  This is what is referred to as a soft roiling boil or “crab eye water” which has large bubbles forming in it.

Oolong: 90 – 95 degrees

As oolong has some green and black characteristics, so it makes sense to use water just before it boils – this is a slightly more rapid movement than green tea known as “fish eye water” which is made up of smaller bubbles.

The more you watch and listen to the water as it is about to boil in your kettle, you will learn when to pick the right temperature. A clear kettle or jug is perfect for learning. Failing that, we are now spoilt for choice as a number of electric kettles available on the market now have pre-set temperatures - perfecting for sampling all types of tea.

Hint: When tea is brewed at the right temperature, you will start to develop your palate and detect subtle flavours that would otherwise be lost if boiling water was used.

- Contributed by Certified Tea Master and guest blogger Suzi van Middelkoop from Tea by the Sea

It's True! Tea Blending Training is Coming to Oz

Off the back off our awesome Certified Tea Blending course in Las Vegas earlier this month, we are excited to announce that the course will be coming to Australia.
We are so pleased to be bringing this brilliant curriculum to Aussie shores. Now budding tea blenders can bask in the knowledge that certification in this specialist area is just around the corner.
The date will be confirmed shortly, but you can register your interest in the course by emailing info@australianteamasters.com.au. That way, you'll be the first to know and have the opportunity to book into the limited-capacity class.
The Las Vegas course was amazing. We met a special group of enthusiastic people interested in tea, and helped to develop their skills to blend tea proficiently.
They had fun identifying various herbs and flowers in the 'mystery blend' and cupping a variety of different blends of their own.
They are now working on a specialist project which they must pass to become a Certified Tea Blender.
We look forward to seeing some great results.

This photo is the Las Vegas class and tea blending tutors.

Back on Solid Ground

Phew! Our feet are back on solid ground after a huge trip to America for World Tea Expo and to conduct our Certified Tea Blending course.
We'll talk about the course in a separate blog (it was so brilliant it deserves its own ramble!) but first, we would like to debrief about the biggest tea expo in the world.
World Tea Expo, recently held in loud and outrageous Las Vegas, is the tea event that professionals from around the globe attend.
It was a flurry of tea excitement and a fascinating experience to be part of. Connecting with so many passionate tea people has to be our number one highlight, but these were a few other things that really stood out for us:
- Tea and beer pairing. Wow. What a brilliant concept and one we utterly intend to replicate in this corner of the world. It will no doubt go down well in the land Down Under. The art of wine and beer tasting is quite similar to the art of tea tasting, and those with an appreciative palate can apply their cupping skills to both beverages. Bliss!
- The Hi-Spirits Extractor. This wonderful little machine extracts the goodness from plants (coffee leaf, tea, power leaves, etc) making potent elixirs that are fit for kings! Seeing this groovy little wonder-machine in action and meeting the super Hi-Spirits crew from New Zealand was great. Oh, and just so you know, if you want to get your hands on one of these bad boys, then contact us by emailing info@australianteamasters.com.au. We'll hook you up.