Thoughts on Tea

Tea Paraphernalia

A few weeks ago, I had a very interesting conversation with a coworker. She mentioned having a sore throat, and I suggested a cup of tea. When she said, “I’ve never drank tea before”, I was astonished. I teased her and gave her some of mine (I keep several kinds at my desk), and told her it was an herbal tea, so she could just let it steep as long as she wanted. When she looked at me and said, “…um… what’s steep?” I wrote the following. As a daily tea drinker for years, I felt it was my duty to educate my friend. A few days later we went to the co-op and she bought her first bags of tea. It was a beautiful thing.

So, for anyone who might find themselves wondering about the basics, here you are: Tea 101. These are just my thoughts and things I’ve picked up over the years of being a tea-drinker. If anyone has any corrections or additions, please feel free to comment!

Basic vocabulary:

Steep - to let the tea leaves brew in hot water.
Loose-leaf - Tea leaves that are bought whole and not in a bag. You can use metal infusers or cloth bags for drinking loose-leaf tea. Many kinds of pots and cups also come with built-in strainers that are nice for loose teas as well. Loose tea is generally higher quality tea than bagged. It is the whole, full leaves that are picked and dried, as opposed to bagged tea which is sometimes the remnants on the bottom. Loose tea has a fuller flavor as well.

Kinds of teas:

Herbal - This kind of tea is naturally decaffeinated. It is typically picked and dried herbs and other flavorings such as peppermint, lemon peel, lavender, chamomile, dried fruits (peaches, blueberries, etc.). Sometimes herbal teas can be mixed with white/green/black teas for enhanced flavor. Herbal teas can be steeped (refer to vocabulary above) indefinitely. The longer you steep, the stronger the flavor. Some choose to let it steep till the end of the cup. Yum. Peppermint tea (shown below) is very good for soothing an upset tummy. Especially if you’ve eaten too much spice. *sheepish grin*

A Strong Mug of Peppermint Tea

*Note - White/Green/Black teas are all from the same tea leaf. What makes them different from each other is the maturity of the leaves when they are picked.

White - This is the kind of tea when the leaves are picked at its earliest stage possible. Very young leaves produce very little caffeine and have a very delicate flavor. Steeping time should be minimal (under 5 minutes) or the tannins will become too strong and bitter.

Green - This is the next stage of a tea leaf. Green tea is wonderful for you. There are lots of health benefits of drinking a cup of green tea daily. There are several kinds of green tea (my favorite is Jasmine - green tea infused with Jasmine flowers), and the caffeine content is minimal - more than white, but less than black and far less than coffee. Again, steeping time should be less than 5 minutes so it doesn’t become bitter.

Black - The most mature stage of the tea leaf. Highest in caffeine content, it is often served with milk or sugar. (I like honey in my black tea). Some classic examples are Darjeeling (which gets its name from the Indian region in which it is grown) and Earl Grey (my personal favorite - black tea infused with bergamot - amazing with some honey and cream!) If you get white/green/black teas that are decaffeinated, it’s best to get organic, because the decaffeinating process is often chemical-based. These teas can be decaffeinated on your own at home easily - steep the tea in a couple of inches of hot water for 30 seconds, then transfer the leaves over to a fresh cup with fresh hot water. The majority of the caffeine comes out of tea in the first 30 seconds, so this is a very simple - and natural! - method.

Rooibos - My favorite kind of tea by far. It is naturally decaffeinated, as it comes from the rooibos (pronounced roy-boss) bush in South Africa. It is also referred to as red bush tea. By itself it has an earthy, nutty flavor that is very mellow. It is often mixed with different herbal flavorings, such as apricot, cinnamon, or rhubarb. It is one of those that can be steeped forever, and the longer it steeps, the better it is for you, as it is also loaded with antioxidants!

Decaf Earl Grey and Peppermint Loose Leaf Tea

How-to:

Place the tea bag in the empty mug, and let the hot water pour over the top of the tea. Ideal is to heat the mug first, and then use boiling water from a kettle. Some people just microwave a cup of water and pop the teabag in it… that works if you’re not a tea snob. ;)

The Kettle on to Boil, and a Brew Bag Waiting in my Mug

(I have to take a moment and share my favorite mug with you. I drank tea out of this mug every morning when I was in Uganda. At the end of the trip, I offered to buy it off of our host family - they amusingly obliged, and I have a beautiful memento. I love it. I use it often.)

What is your favorite kind of tea?

Tags: Tea

This entry was posted on August 26th, 2008 and is filed under Thoughts on Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.