Tea good enough to eat?

I recently visited one my ‘hidden’ tea favorites in New York, Sun’s Organic Garden. Located towards the end of a bustling street in Chinatown, most wouldn’t pick it, but the owner Lorna not only has an amazing selection of organic teas, her knowledge about the healing properties of tea is remarkable!

Lorna creates all of her unusual tea blends herself, using either tea leaves or herbs. One of her newest blends, called Five Elements tea, is created with a mix of sultana, gogi, sencha and other secret Chinese berries that have amazing health benefits for just about every part of the body, including the ability to improve eyesight after one month of use – as personally attested to by Lorna who no longer needs her glasses to drive at night!

But the trick is…you need to eat the tea after you’ve steeped it (about 1 tbsp for five minutes in 1 cup boiling water) and enjoyed many cups throughout the day. The actual taste of this tea is quite sour at first – to me, it looks and tastes a bit like pink lemonade. But since it’s said to detox and boost my immunity, I drink up and then move on to eating the tea itself - but be warned, unless you've brewed this several times, it will be very sour! Lorna’s customers swear by this tea, so much so, it’s become a best-seller.

Tea-infused cooking and cocktails in SoHo

In a city where Earl Grey is quickly becoming a popular flavour for martinis, ice cream and cookies, and even your craving for a green tea doughnut can be satisfied, I was particularly excited to sit down to an entire meal where tea was the star flavour.

Sanctuary T, located in SoHo, New York, not only offers great cups of loose leaf tea, it uses tea as the star ingredient in many of its savoury dishes and cocktails. I went with a friend for lunch recently and we both dined on roasted bell capsicums stuffed with oregano basil vegetables, perfectly capped off with a rooibos tea-infused tomato sauce. The rooibos gave the sauce a lovely sweetness but for anyone wanting to spice things up, you could always sprinkle some chilli pepper rooibos or tahitian green ‘t dust’ found on every table in lieu of salt and pepper shakers. We also gave the popcorn spiced with tea-infused butter a go – really yummy, especially if you decide to order one of their tea cocktails…

My green tea margarita, made with matcha green tea, tequila, peach schnapps, triple sec and a touch of lime – packed a bit more punch than expected! But perfect for adventurous tea drinkers looking to relax after some serious New York shopping.

Teaspotting in SoHo, New York

More New York tea stories to come....

Tea made with flowers

Before my 24-hour plane ride to New York, I stopped by My Tea House in Sydney to say goodbye. The owner, Raymond, happened to have some new chrysanthemum tea, perfect for drinking before a long flight.

Chrysanthemum flowers are technically not a tea (it’s a tisane or herbal tea) and therefore have no caffeine. They look beautiful and have a rich aroma and taste (the scent is very pungent, almost like mustard seed but the taste is very smooth and slightly sweet). This particular flower is called blood or snow chrysanthemum and it grows at high-altitudes of more than 3,000 metres north of Tibet. It’s easy to make – brew at least five minutes in boiling water.

But it’s not the taste that makes me think I’m drinking the perfect cup of tea before my long flight. Health benefits of chrysanthemum tea include cooling the body temperature, relaxation, improving sinus congestion and detoxifying the blood. It is especially good for varicose veins, so I can only assume that it’s a good drink before a very long international flight. If only you could get it on board!

Does white tea really prevent ageing?

As loose leaf tea surges in popularity, there’s been much talk of its health benefits. White tea (the least processed of the six different varieties) is supposedly high in antioxidants which attack those nasty free radicals that can cause premature ageing in our skin. So does white tea really make you younger?

In the US, cosmetic companies like Sephora sell cosmetics and fragrances with white tea, including everything from facial cleansers to eye cream to perfume. And there does seem to be some scientific evidence to back up its anti-ageing claims. A recent Kingston University (London) study seems to suggest that white tea does in fact help prevent wrinkles.

So what should you look out for when buying and drinking white tea? White tea is one of my favourites. When drinking, it has a rich, velvety texture with soft, sweet honey notes. Very decadent! And yes, the scent of fresh, white tea leaves is beautifully fragrant (hence its growing popularity as an ingredient in everything from scented candles to perfume). I recently had the privilege of smelling the aroma of a freshly opened bag of Silver Needle white tea, recently picked in China, at My Tea House (pictured above). I could have fallen into a deep sleep, I was that relaxed by it. Leaves with a strong, pungent scent and vibrant colour are always the best indicators of fresh, high-quality tea. And if you store white tea in a tin, it should keep fresh for a few months – just enough time to see if it actually keeps you looking young!

Spring in a teacup

Enjoyed a beautiful cup of Zealong oolong this morning and couldn't believe the size my leaves got to by my third brew!

Is Japanese green tea safe to drink?

I was watching SBS’s Dateline this past Sunday when I suddenly took notice of an update on Japan’s radiation levels. The report stated that green tea grown in the famous Shizuoka prefecture was testing positive for high levels of radiation. Since I had just enjoyed some great Japanese green tea the day before, it got me thinking about alternatives to Japanese green teas grown in Shizuoka, especially its famous Sencha tea.

Although many types of famous Japanese green teas, including Sencha, Matcha and Genmaicha are grown in the Shizuoka region, other Japanese green teas such as Gyokuro, are grown in the Fukuoka and Kyoto prefectures. Gyokuro is very similar in taste to Sencha, with a sweet, grassy flavour. As far as I could tell, radiation hasn’t affected this area, so Gyokuro is a great alternative to Sencha tea. You can find it at most tea shops, especially Taka Tea Garden.

If you’re lucky enough to live in Australia, you can also buy Australian-grown Sencha. This green tea is grown in Victoria and sold at The Tea Centre. The flavour is a bit richer and less grassy than Sencha, but very tasty!

The other alternative of course is to drink Chinese green teas, such as the famous Longjing or Dragonwell tea. Although I personally don’t find Chinese green teas as grassy as Japanese greens, their fuller body and rich, buttery texture make them some of my favourites! You can buy online at My Tea House.