Tea Room

30/03/2022

Tea reached Europe in the 16th Century but people were using ceramic teapots in Asia and the Middle East 11,000 years ago.

29/03/2022

27/03/2022

What is matcha tea?
Matcha teas are a distinct style of Japanese green tea that is different in every aspect to all other teas. Matcha tea is shade grown tea (e.g., Gyokuro, Kabusecha), with the leaf matter removed from the fibrous veins and stems. This leaf material (called Tencha) is then milled between two stones until it is a fine powder called Matcha. The Matcha is then whisked into hot water where the liquor and leaf are both consumed. It is not steeped and removed from the water like traditional teas. Matcha is the tea served during the famous Japanese tea ceremony, but culinary grades are now used for all kinds of more casual purposes such as smoothies or baking.

21/03/2022

What is green tea?
Simply put, tea leaves have a green appearance. To keep that green appearance, the leaves for green tea are “fired” as the first step after they are picked off the plant. “Firing” will prevent oxidation from happening. Oxidation is a natural chemical process that turns fresh tea leaves into black tea (the same process that causes an apple to turn brown after cutting it open). A tea is “fired” by subjecting the tea leaves to a brief period of high heat to neutralize the enzymes that enable oxidation. Other types of teas go through the firing process, but green tea is the only one that goes through it as the first step.
Green tea is primarily a product of China and Japan. Chinese green teas are “pan-fired” (meaning dry heat) to prevent oxidation while Japanese green teas are “steam-fired.” These two techniques produce wildly different results and are central to each country’s signature styles. Other countries produce green teas (not all of which are bad), but they usually lack the skills that come with China and Japan’s long traditions of green tea manufacturing.
The common cup characteristics of green tea tend to be a light body with mild astringency and a vegetal/grassy flavor, but these will vary with each particular style. Green tea is often noted as having less caffeine than black tea, but this is not exactly accurate. Green tea has a tendency to become bitter and astringent, so it is usually suggested to be steeped for shorter times and at lower temperatures than black tea (which is not bad advice). This lighter steeping method will produce less caffeine in your cup. If green tea is steeped the same way as black tea, you will get as much (or more) caffeine in your cup.

20/03/2022

Ginger Tea Drink
Looking for something new and special to serve to guests? Let a soothing green tea simmer while you concentrate on preparing other dishes for your gathering. You'll ge lots of requests for the recipe. —Alexandra Marcotty, Cleveland Heights, Ohio