Tea
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Sources:
We purchase our teas from 2 different sources currently. Our whole leaf tea (60 varieties) mainly comes from The Coffee and Tea Exchange in Chicago . From Numi Tea we get our Flowering Tea (6 varieties). Whole leaf tea is served in a French press with a porcelain cup and saucer. All Numi teas are served in clear glass pots again with a tea cup and saucer. Flowering tea is a thrill to watch as the bud slowly opens inside the pot and the brew is excellent.
Types:
We have a variety of teas to include: black, oolong, green, white, red, herbal, flowering, and spa and here we go………………….
Assam TGFOP *: Black tea with golden tips which produce a pleasant aroma and sweet smooth taste.
Darjeeling TGFOP *: Medium-lengthed brownish-green leaves with gold tips. Our tea of choice for plain black iced tea.
Earl Grey* (Decaffe Earl Grey available using Ethyl acetate process): Reg and Decaffe Earl Grey infused with all-natural bergamot oil. Freshest Earl you can get (in more ways than one.)
English Breakfast : A traditional breakfast blend that makes an excellent substitute for coffee. A golden brown color and smooth taste.
Keemun : Famous for its superb flavor and aroma, a fine and twisted leaf with a complex flavor and distinctive aroma.
Mango Indica Black : Black tea combined with the essence of mango fruit pieces and cornflowers. Makes great iced tea!!!
San Francisco Spice Black : Black tea fused with spicy cinnamon and orange peels.
Yunnan FOP : A brisk, large-leaf tea with full aroma and taste.
Sechung (Mainland) Oolong : Our house oolong, this uniformly dark green fired tea brings forth a unique nutty character.
Imperial Gold Oolong : This tea creates a jade color while delivering a sweet yet toasty cup made for any Emperor or Emperess.
Celebration Green : Green tea with apple bits, pear bits and rose petals.
Dragonwell (Lung Ching ): A Chinese green tea, it delivers a delicate golden brew with a lingering slightly sweet taste.
Earl Grey Green : Japanese Sencha green tea infused with bergamot oil
Mutan White Tea : This Chinese tea is processed by hand and consists of a sweet and mild flavor produced from silvery white leaves.
Chamomile : This native of the daisy family provides a honey sweetness and and a relaxing aroma.
Magic of Roses : (combines: roses, rosehips, lemon peels, orange peels, cornflowers and dried fruit bits) Truly the nectar of the Gods. This tea combines several fruits to make a colorful and naturally sweet cup of tea.
Mixed Berry Herbal : (combines: blueberries, elder berries, hibiscus, raspberries, and rose petals) This tea combines three berries which creates a naturally sweet beverage hot or cold. Definately worth trying!!!
Rooibos : This African red bush tree has a medium brown brew and a taste of toasted honey.
Yerba Mate : Another natural stimulant from the regions of Argentina . Has a unique taste and holds well with cream and honey.
If you want to learn how to talk TEA, here are a few good words to use. Might even impress someone that cares...
TEA TERMINOLOGY
Autumnal - A seasonal term applied to teas grown during the autumn.
Baked - Unpleasant taste caused by excessive temperatures during the firing process resulting in a loss of moisture.
Body – A liquor possessing fullness/richness and strength.
Brisk - A live taste in the liquor vs. flat or soft.
Burnt - An undesirable note in teas that have been exposed to excessive heat during the processing.
Character - An intangible quality in a tea that identifies its origin of growth.
Color - A measure of the depth of the tea's physical color. Based on season, growth,
& grade factors.
Cream - The "cloudiness" one notices upon the cooling down of brewed tea. A bright
color denotes quality.
Dry – Baked or high fired. Once again, a quality that denotes an over-processed tea.
Flat - Usually a symptom of old or improperly stored tea. The briskness of the brew is lacking.
Full - A term used to describe a full-bodied tea with color and strength.
Attractive - Quality made with uniform color and size leaf.
Bold - Pieces of leaf that are too big for the grade it's in.
Chunky - A tea that possesses large sized tips.
Cut - A method of leaf production that utilizes a "breaker" as opposed to a "roller".
Even - A grade of tea that is comprised of equal sized pieces of leaf.
Flaky - A flat, open leaf which has been improperly withered and rolled.
Golden Tip - A quality to look for in a tea. This denotes proper withering and rolling.
Grainy -Well made hard leaf.
Large - Pertaining to leaf grade/size. Applies to a leaf that is too large for its grade.
Make - To have "make" is a desirable quality to have if you're a tea. This means you have been properly processed.
Milled - This applies to tea that is cut and ground with a cutter machine. (Oh, the agony of the leaf!!)
Mixed - Teas that have other grades of teas added to them.
Neat - A desirable quality: a well made tea that has an attractive quality.
Ragged - Rough an un-even leaf.
Shotty - Well-made and rolled ......... usually applies to Orthodox teas.
Small - A grade of tea that has a smaller size leaf than it normally has.
Stalky - A by-product of sloppy plucking-excessive amount of tea plant stalk is visible.
Stylish - Neat with premium quality leaf apparent.
Twist - When referring to whole leaf teas, the leaf has a "rolled" appearance denoting careful processing.
Well-Made - All is well here!! Beautiful color of the leaf, even texture and size...
Mould - This denotes an old improperly stored tea or one that has been exposed to moisture/water.
Musty - Also pertaining to mould
Old - Flavor/palette lost to age.
Pungent - Very brisk- this is GOOD
Strength - A "presence" of body in the mouth.
Thin - Teas lacking in body that have been over withered and/or inadequate fermentation.
Wild - An undesirable quality usually found in end-of- season teas. A harshness/thinness is apparent.
Bright - A cup with "liveliness"- as opposed to dull and lifeless.
Coppery - This term describes the color of the infused leaf- denotes quality.
Green - Typical of first flush- lacks depth. Generally an undesirable quality.
Dull - Lacking in sheen/lifeless. Something you don’t want
Even -This term applies to a bright, coppery tea that has no unevenness in color
Thursday, January 07, 2010, les