Tea Room

28/03/2022

Tea
tea brewing from tea bags in a glass mug
Tea is the most popular beverage in the world after water. It’s a simple preparation of pouring hot water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The first recording of tea described it as a medicinal beverage in China in the 3rd century AD. Merchants helped its popularity to spread quickly across continents. In the early 19th century, Great Britain popularized the concept of afternoon tea, a break from one’s routine in which tea is served alongside sandwiches and baked goods such as scones. The flavor of tea varies by where the tea leaves are harvested and how they are grown and processed. Black tea is the most popular worldwide, followed by green, oolong, and white tea.
Herbal teas are not made from the Camellia plant but from dried herbs, spices, flowers, fruit, seeds, roots, or leaves of other plants; they do not typically contain caffeine as do traditional teas.

26/03/2022

25/03/2022

The art of reading tea leaves is called tasseography.

21/03/2022

What is white tea?
White tea is minimally processed, so it’s better defined by what it is not. It is not “fired” like green tea, but it is not intentionally oxidized like black tea. There is no rolling or shaping of the leaf, so the finished product will be big, bulky, dried leaves. The only deliberate action taken upon the tea leaves is a slow and methodical drying to reduce moisture and achieve a desired aroma and flavor. This simplicity limits it to only three different styles: Bai Hao Yin Zhen (“Silver Needles”), Bai Mu Dan (“White Peony”), and Shou Mei.
White tea often is described as “delicate”, but our experience does not bear this out. White tea is actually quite forgiving and can be steeped in almost any manner you see fit. It does not easily become bitter or astringent so there’s no need to be overly gentle. The flavors tend to range from bright/fruity/herbaceous for the less oxidized versions to spicy/nutty/woodsy for something more oxidized.
White tea (like green tea) is also commonly advertised as having less caffeine than other types of tea. This is not accurate. Like any other tea, the amount of caffeine in your cup is primarily dependent on how hot you steep it and how long you steep it. Many tea sellers suggest very low temperatures and short steeping times for white tea, which would greatly reduce the caffeine in your cup.

18/03/2022

Spotlight on tea and antioxidants
Polyphenols, or flavonoids, are likely a key component to what makes tea a healthful drink. These chemical compounds act as antioxidants, which control the damaging effects of free radicals in the body. Free radicals can alter DNA by stealing its electrons, and this mutated DNA can increase LDL cholesterol or alter cell membrane traffic—both harmful to our health. Though green tea is often believed to be richer in polyphenols than black or oolong (red) teas, studies show that—with the exception of decaffeinated tea—all plain teas have about the same levels of these chemicals, albeit in different proportions. Green tea is richest in epigallocatechin-3 gallate whereas black tea is richest in theaflavins; research has shown that both can exert health benefits. Herbal teas contain polyphenols as well but will vary highly depending on its plant origin.
Indeed, one reason for conflicting results in observational studies may be the wide variations in tea types with varying flavonoid content. Where the tea leaves are grown, the specific blend of tea leaves, type of processing, and addition of ingredients such as milk, honey, and lemon can alter specific flavonoid content. How accurately people report their tea intake (e.g., type, amount, brew strength) and their overall diet (e.g., do they eat other foods rich in flavonoids?) are other factors that need to be clarified as they can affect study results. For example:
Some research suggests that the protein and possibly the fat in milk may reduce the antioxidant capacity of tea. Flavonoids are known to “deactivate” when binding to proteins so this theory makes scientific sense.
One study that analyzed the effects of adding skimmed, semi-skimmed, and whole milk to tea concluded that skimmed milk significantly reduced the antioxidant capacity of tea. Higher-fat milks also reduced the antioxidant capacity of tea, but to a lesser degree.All said, in practice it’s important to keep in mind that tea—even tea with a splash of milk—can be a healthful drink.

16/03/2022

ROOIBOS TEA
Rooibos is technically a herbal tea, but the bold flavor of rooibos (also known as red bush) is often mixed up with black tea. If you love the rich tannins and depth of black tea but need to avoid caffeine in tea at all costs, rooibos is the answer. Rooibos tea is caffeine-free.
We recently wrote a Guide to Herbal Tea, including their nutritional values, how to brew them, and some interesting health benefits.

15/03/2022

PU-ERH
Pu-erh is considered a more specialist type of tea. Those who drink pu-erh tend to be tea-fanatics - it's not the kind you usually find in your local grocery store. Pu-erh tea goes through a lengthy process of aging, which alters the flavor of the tea, and it's often packed into tea cakes rather than left loose or in bags.
Once brewed with hot water, a cup of pu-erh has between 50 and 80mg of caffeine. The aging and fermentation process doesn't actually add more caffeine or erode it.