Korean green (and gold)

My morning ritual

I've tasted plenty of tea but I can't remember ever trying Korean green before. So I was pretty excited to get up this morning and give it a go. Upon opening my sample from Tea Horse, the leaves have a very strong scent - not the usual fresh, grassy smell I'm used inhaling when opening my Japanese greens. But after two minutes at 80C, those leaves have created a beautiful, golden brew that has an amazingly velvety taste. I actually think I prefer this blend to many of the Japanese Senchas I've tried, which can sometimes be a bit too grassy and strong for my first cup of the day. This one is easy to drink (even on an empty stomach) and hits the spot.

So true!

Tea with a 'rock star'

I was recently invited by Lipton to attend a special tea tasting event with their Tea Master Kuranush Bharucha - a total rock star by tea sommelier standards! I mean we're talking a about a guy who's not only found a way to make a living tasting tea - up to 1,000 cups a day! - but who's been doing it for the last twenty-eight years of his life at Lipton.

The event, part of the Masterchef Dining & Bar pop-up over at Circular Quay, featured Bharucha's tea wisdom and Lipton's new Pyramid tea bag range paired with some memorable Masterchef desserts like Vegemite caramel chocolate cups (surprisingly yummy!). Hey, anyone that's brave enough to pair Vegemite-inspired sweets with tea is a winner in my book. I've even been caught out recently using a Lipton Pyramid tea bag on hectic mornings before work...enough said!

A taste of spring

As the weather begins to warm up here in Sydney, I think I've found the perfect oolong to get me in the mood for sunshine, picnics and plenty of blue sky. The scent of fresh cut flowers fills the air as soon as I open up my bag of Jade Oolong from Tea Horse. The label promises me tasting notes of honey, jasmine and lily of the valley - basically 'spring in a cup'. And it doesn't disappoint. This is a light, refreshing blend with prominent floral notes. But take the temp up higher in your second or third steeping to 95C and you'll bring out those richer honey flavours. Highly recommended for sunny mornings! For steeping directions, please visit www.teahorse.co.uk

Is your tea organic?

Picking tea leaves at Zealong

Tea of course originates from China, where tea trees can be thousands of years old. Older tea trees are naturally resistant to pests, but outside of China it can be hard to come by trees that old! Last year around this time, I visited New Zealand’s first tea plantation, Zealong. Their teas are single source, chemical and residue free and carry the ISO22000 HACCP food safety standards certification. There’s no machine picking here, everything is done by hand. Zealong General Manager Vincent Chen, whose own family came to New Zealand from Taiwan, brings expert tea pickers from Taiwan whose nimble hands pick about 30-50 kilos of dry tea leaves each day during harvest!

The plants themselves are harvested beginning at just three years old and Vincent explains that he uses organic soyabean fertilizer and sometimes even a milk spray to naturally protect the plants from pests.

And the taste? Zealong teas tend to have a remarkably clean, crisp and fresh quality to them. You can find more of my reviews on Teaviews. The main thing to remember when buying organic is of course to check for the certification. If you can’t find this, then it’s a good idea to find out which region the tea comes from and how it's grown. 

Loose leaf tea made easy for the office

Now there's no excuse not to drink loose leaf tea at work! Check out this great little teapot which brews tea leaves in the strainer at the top. Once you've steeped for the right amount of time, a simple push of the read button on the top lid releases the brewed tea into the bottom - making it easy to pour straight into your cup! Perfect for all of those tea addicts who want to enjoy a quality cuppa at their desk throughout the day! Currently on sale at My Tea House, Neutral Bay.

Caffeine levels in tea

I've met quite a few people recently who are committed to starting the New Year by cutting caffeine for awhile. And many are unsure of just how much caffeine is in tea and how it compares to coffee. I found this great chart recently at Sanctuary T which I think explains it pretty well.

It's also important to note that caffeine levels in tea decrease with each successive steeping. So for instance, if you are brewing loose leaf oolong tea, the first steeping will have the most caffeine. So you can either throw this away or simply drink less. Oolong is a great choice if you want to use the same tea leaves for multiple steepings. On average, 1 tablespoon of high-quality oolong tea leaves should yield about 5 standard cups of tea (measured at about 1 standard cup per steeping in your teapot) . Enough for you to decide if you want to just drink the last few cups, which of course should have less caffeine!