Summer School- All About Tea Chapter Three

My summer school is dragging into the autumn months!! Oh well..... we will just keep plugging ahead. Chapter three focuses on herbal teas. This chapter was filled with information I did not realize. For one thing, rooibos is not a tea at all, but the leaves from an herby bush in South Africa.. This was SO surprising to me. I have been buying a rooibos blend for years from a tea shop and had no idea it was herbal. Rooibos can be red or green, depending on the specific shrub it's from. Red rooibos is allowed to oxidize like black tea, and green rooibos is steamed and treated like green tea leaves. This tea has no caffeine and no calories.

Among the many teas in my collection are several hibiscus teas and blends. Hibiscus flowers for tea are not the same as the kind we grow in gardens. It makes a bright pink, beautiful and floral tea with some proven health benefits. Ground up, the hibiscus petals a lot like matcha powder, especially in cooking, giving the beautiful fuschia color and a unique flavor that is unlike anything else.

Mate tea is also not a tea- another surprise for me! It's from a plant that's a relative of the holly plant, and this one has caffeine. It's about the same level of caffeine as a cup of coffee. Mate is also used to make a Brazilian latte drink with cocoa, almonds, and steamed milk. In my collection I have a rooibos and mate blend that is just fantastic. It has little bits and bobs of things like fruit peels, flower petals, chocolate bits and spices. It's absolutely fabulous as a hot cup of tea. It's probably my favorite. I purchased this tea, which is actually a half and half blend of two of my favorites, from a tea shop in the mall, and I've head that they were bought by a huge coffee company and are all being sent to the chopping block. I's so saddened by this news. I can only hope the coffee chain will continue to sell these beautiful teas. My container is quite large and is currently full but it won't last forever, so as long as I still have it, why don't we make a latte?

Rooibos Latte

1 tea bag or 1 teaspoon loose tea

1 cup milk-dairy, almond or coconut milk will work

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon sugar

Combine the milk and water and heat until steaming. Add the tea to the mixture. If using a tea bag, open the tea bag and dump the loose tea into the liquid. Whisk the tea in and simmer for two minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla and sugar. Strain into cups and serve.

This is probably the easiest latte recipe on the entire planet. No steaming milk separately, no mixing hot ingredients- it's all heated and steeped together then strained into the cup. Super fast!! You need to try this!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Summer School- All About Tea Chapter Two

The second chapter in my Tea 101 class was a trip down memory lane, and a look at my life right now. This chapter spoke to me in two ways- one, the art of steeping, having lived in England for four years and experiencing high tea and being introduced to the British Brown Betty, and two, my new love affair with iced teas. I remember my mom making tea once in a while, with her old whistler tea kettle and big boxes of Lipton tea bags. Simple but exactly what she wanted. Today I have no fewer than ten different tea bags in my kitchen along with at least six loose teas. A bright turquoise vintage looking whistler sits on top of my stove, and a mug tree stands on the counter holding my favorite mugs. 

So back to the lesson. The water is key. Always start with fresh COLD water. To boil or not to boil? Well that depends on your tea. If you are using green tea or white tea you want the water to be ALMOST boiling. Boiling water "cooks" the leaves and results in a less flavorful cup. This was news to me! I thought I always had to use boiling water. Then the tea you choose is the next important step. Always use the best tea you can find. If you're using loose tea you want to use one teaspoon of loose tea for every 6 ounce cup of water. 

How long do I steep my tea? Again, that depends on the tea and how strong you like your tea. I usually shoot for 5 minutes, unless the box says something otherwise. Toss the bag or strain the tea into the cup and enjoy it. I like mine just as is, but you can add sugar, honey, milk, lemon, whatever you like.

This same chapter also touched on iced tea, which is nothing more than brewed tea, served over ice, but you already knew that. You want to brew your iced tea at double the strength of regular tea since you'll be serving it over ice which adds water to the drink. I have mentioned that iced tea is my new thing. It totally is. All my life I hated iced tea, hated the taste, hated the smell, and no amount of sweetener or flavoring would change my mind. One day, last year, I tried a nice glass of ginger peach iced tea at a coffee house in Hannibal, Missouri, with not a bit of added sugar, and it was mind blowing. I was instantly sold, and my love affair with all teas over ice began. I bought a couple different teas that very same day and have been trying new iced teas every chance I get.

Since we're talking about iced tea, let's make one I really really love-

Iced Matcha Lemonade

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
1 cup ice, plus more
1 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and fairly melted.

Pour over additional ice into two glasses and serve.

Today's photos feature my own teacups and teapot, which is a vintage-style whistler in a pretty turquoise enamel. The teacups are the only two I have, and they have no real historical or family significance. The photos do share a few of my extensive collection of tea towels, these particular ones are made by DII For The Home and feature some pretty French macarons and stripes almost identical to my teapot! They were perfect for these photos.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Summer School- All About Tea Chapter One

So........I signed up for an online class about tea. Yep. I figured, why not, it's free and I love tea, always have loved hot tea and believe it or not, I have finally learned to love iced tea too, so I might as well learn a little bit about it, right? And guess what!! I'm going to share it with you! To help me with my Tea Project I have asked friends to share their tea pictures with me, whether it's a fancy china teacup or a big and chunky mug, I want to see what everyone drinks their tea from. I think it would be fun to also include pictures of tea, tea collections, kettles, anything! I'll be sharing these pictures, and some of my own, throughout the series of Tea 101.

This beauty is owned by Sherri Chapin.

Chapter One focused on the different types of tea and how they're grown and processed. The very first thing I learned was that there are more varieties of tea in China than there are varietals of wine grapes in France. That caught my attention and I knew I'd be hooked. The chapter starts with black tea, which is the most common tea in the United States. To make black tea, the tea leaves are allowed to wither, then they are rolled up and allowed to oxidize. Much like foods like apples, potatoes and avocados will turn dark when exposed to the air, the same thing happens to the rolled up withered leaves. When the leaves have reached just the right stage in oxidation they are "fired", or heated to dry the leaves and stop the oxidation process.

Next on the list was green tea. I had to giggle as I realized that as I was reading I was sipping an iced green tea! Green tea is HUGE in Japan and China and gaining popularity here in the U.S. as well, mostly because of the health benefits associated with it. The first notable difference from black tea is the steaming process. The leaves are harvested then steamed to bring on a bright green color. This also prevents oxidation so the leaves don't turn black.  After steaming the leaves are rolled or twisted into shape, then fired. Green tea has many anti-oxidant properties and is very light and flavorful. I personally am addicted to iced green tea lemonade and could drink it all year long, maybe even heated. I bet it would be very soothing when winter cold season rolls around. I'll have to keep that in mind!

Laura Duffield Biegger's teacup is almost
exactly like some my mother owned.

The third tea discussed just so happens to be one of my current obsessions- matcha. Matcha is green tea's close relative. To make matcha, the green tea plants are grown in shade then ground into a fine powder. Instead of steeping in tea bags, the powder is whisked into hot water and served in all kinds of ways- by itself, over ice, or in lattes and similar beverages. The dry powder is also used in any dishes, such as baked goods. I'm constantly playing with desserts containing matcha. If you are familiar at all with Japanese history, you know that matcha is the form of tea used in ancient tea ceremonies. I have always been drawn to matcha ever since I first heard of it so I am excited to learn even more later.

A Chinese tea was the next tea covered. I remember oolong tea from the old Chinese Restaurant, King Ying Low, that was in downtown Des Moines when I was a child. My mom never learned to drive so we would take a taxi downtown to do our shopping, and we'd almost always have lunch there. Mom always had oolong tea. Oolong tea leaves get their oxidation time in direct sunlight, and when they become fragrant like peaches or apples, they are fired to halt the process and preserve the fruitiness. I prefer oolong over black tea.

White tea is something I discovered about ten years ago. White tea buds are picked the day before they open and can only be harvested in the spring. The leaves are not rolled or twisted, but left to dry as they are. The chapter said white tea was introduced to the West in 2002 but I'm not so sure that's accurate. I'd swear I've had it before that.

I had never heard of the next tea- pu-erh tea. Pu-erh tea can only come from the Yunnan Province in China, much like wine restrictions in France, and cheese and sausage restrictions in Italy. This type of tea is processed similar to green tea but it's then piled up and heated with moisture added to get a little fermentation going. When the tea is just the right stage it's partially fired, which stops the bacterial activity but still allows the tea leaves to age, like wine, and they stay good, always changing, for decades. Pretty amazing actually.

Last, but not least, we learned a little about herbal teas, which are not really teas at all but steeped herbs and fruits, and those types of teas will get a chapter of their own later on.

Did you learn anything new about tea in this brief overview of teas? I did! I can't wait to see what Chapter Two brings!    

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."