Three are tons of tea videos on the internet. I've posted some of them before. Here are a few more. If there's one you'd like me to see, send me the link!
James Norwood Pratt on tea on Chow.com
A tragic love story about tea bags, feat. The Cure
"Good Eats" on tea
Have a good weekend and be sure to drink lots of tea!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Bottled vs. Fresh-Brewed
Whole Foods answers a question on bottled vs. fresh-brewed tea. Excerpt:
When you brew tea yourself, you can control this steeping process in a way that will maximize the polyphenol content of your tea. When you buy a bottled tea, however, you may or may not get a tea that has been carefully brewed. In addition, you are likely to get a tea that includes other ingredients and is not simply 100% brewed tea.
Isn't that the truth! Most of the bottled teas on the market have sweetener, flavorings, and all kinds of other additives. Of course, there are a few exceptions to that, but I usually prefer to brew it myself.
When you brew tea yourself, you can control this steeping process in a way that will maximize the polyphenol content of your tea. When you buy a bottled tea, however, you may or may not get a tea that has been carefully brewed. In addition, you are likely to get a tea that includes other ingredients and is not simply 100% brewed tea.
Isn't that the truth! Most of the bottled teas on the market have sweetener, flavorings, and all kinds of other additives. Of course, there are a few exceptions to that, but I usually prefer to brew it myself.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tea during Wartime
The New York Times (somewhat) recently started to allow everyone (not just paying subscribers) to see their full archives online. Here are two articles on tea during wartime that I found to be interesting:
The first is from 1916. It's about the German coffee and tea supplies being taken over by the state. There great was concern that when coffee ran out, tea would act as a coffee replacement (in addition to a popular drink on its own) and run out soon after.
The next article is from a year and a half later, when England's tea supply was nearly gone. The man interviewed blamed the shortage on exportation to Germany earlier in the war.
Other notes on tea (and coffee) during wartime:
During WWI and WW2, people in the US often drank chickory in lieu of coffee and rooibos in lieu of "true" tea (from the camellia sinensis plant).
Russian samovars have a bloody history. During wartime, samovars were often melted down to make guns. During times of peace, the guns were melted down to make samovars. Somehow this always makes me think of the scene in Lord of War where they talk about how the militia snorts lines of cocaine mixed with gunpowder. Yikes!
The Opium Wars were waged over tea. Tea had caused an enormous trade imbalance between the Chinese and the British, so the British started growing opium in India and importing it to China, despite laws forbidding it. Soon, the nation was addicted and the government was outraged. And then... wars. Two of them, to be precise.
The first is from 1916. It's about the German coffee and tea supplies being taken over by the state. There great was concern that when coffee ran out, tea would act as a coffee replacement (in addition to a popular drink on its own) and run out soon after.
The next article is from a year and a half later, when England's tea supply was nearly gone. The man interviewed blamed the shortage on exportation to Germany earlier in the war.
Other notes on tea (and coffee) during wartime:
During WWI and WW2, people in the US often drank chickory in lieu of coffee and rooibos in lieu of "true" tea (from the camellia sinensis plant).
Russian samovars have a bloody history. During wartime, samovars were often melted down to make guns. During times of peace, the guns were melted down to make samovars. Somehow this always makes me think of the scene in Lord of War where they talk about how the militia snorts lines of cocaine mixed with gunpowder. Yikes!
The Opium Wars were waged over tea. Tea had caused an enormous trade imbalance between the Chinese and the British, so the British started growing opium in India and importing it to China, despite laws forbidding it. Soon, the nation was addicted and the government was outraged. And then... wars. Two of them, to be precise.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Vee Tea Event Photos
A few weeks ago, I visited North Carolina for a tea event. It was entitled "Urbana Nirvana: Teas of India." We had eye candy (in the form of a video of footage from my trip to India, edited by my friend Nathan Bezner of Nightowl Productions), six teas from India (one masala chai, one Assam, one Nilgiri, one Darjeeling first flush, one Darjeeling second flush, and one Darjeeling white), tasty Indian food from a nearby restaurant, and hand massages with Red Flower Indian Jasmine massage oil. Of course, I got to talk about each tea with all the guests, which was great fun for me and, I think, for them, too. See for yourself in the photos!
PS--One of the guests at the event was a yoga teacher who recently visited India, too. You can see her travel photos here. All the folders from India have "India" at the beginning of the title.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Post-Thanksgiving Post
I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. I did! My menu was as follows:
Endive and Fennel Salad with Feta and Homemade Vinaigrette
Sweet Potato Cornbread
Herbed Baguette with Brie and Camembert
Collard Greens with Cayenne
Broiled Salmon with Mustard-Vinaigrette Glaze
Latkes with Applesauce
Port-Poached Pears, Baked with an Oat-Walnut Crumble, Topped with a Port-Yogurt Granita
Mulled Wine
Honeydew White Tea
Lung Ching
Earl Green
What did you make? What kind(s) of tea did you serve?
Endive and Fennel Salad with Feta and Homemade Vinaigrette
Sweet Potato Cornbread
Herbed Baguette with Brie and Camembert
Collard Greens with Cayenne
Broiled Salmon with Mustard-Vinaigrette Glaze
Latkes with Applesauce
Port-Poached Pears, Baked with an Oat-Walnut Crumble, Topped with a Port-Yogurt Granita
Mulled Wine
Honeydew White Tea
Lung Ching
Earl Green
What did you make? What kind(s) of tea did you serve?
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tea Art?
I recently happened upon a site for coffee art. Anyone out there making frothy tea-based drinks into art? I'd love to see it!
I'm off for a few days to do the Thanksgiving thing. What kinds of tea are you serving at your big meal? (Next week, I'll tell you what I served at mine.)
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Vee Tea Mention
I recently got to visit Amai Bakehouse for some wonderful tea, sweets, and conversation with the owner, Kelli. Christine Rillo of Adagio covered our tasty and fun visit. Check it out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
