Tea travels made easy

One of my best tea purchases ever!

I recently discovered this great tea set designed for anyone who can't live without their loose leaf while on-the-go! Purchased from a small tea shop in Chinatown, Singapore, the set contains a small gaiwan, pitcher and five cups that all nicely fit into a soft, green, zip-up case. It easily fit into my carry-on and made it possible for me to enjoy plenty of loose leaf tea while in London. I've seen similar sets being sold here in the UK on Etsy and ebay but in terms of cost, it's of course much cheaper if you can buy something like this in Asia - I only paid $13 Singaporean dollars for mine!

Chocolate tea

The lovely folks at Big Tree Farms in Bali show how this cacao fruit transforms into...

...cacao nibs by taking out the beans from the inside and processing them.

When I started this blog, I had a dream to create an entire line of cacao-based ‘chocolate teas.’ And while that dream never came true, I thought I’d share some tips for creating your own chocolate teas at home.

Cacao nibs are a great ingredient for making indulgent, dessert-flavored tea blends. I first started including cacao nibs in my chai mixes years ago and quickly invented a rooibos and cacao-based ‘cherry chai’ mix that I craved every evening. Cacao nibs also pair well with tisanes like peppermint, spearmint or hibiscus - just be sure to use about twice the amount of cacao nibs to your tisane per serve (ie 1 tsp peppermint to 2 tsp cacao nibs).

Highly recommended after a big meal or whenever you’re craving some guilt-free ‘chocolate’.

Tea made from antlers

No, not from an animal, but I did think that initially!

As part of an international ‘tea swap’, the lovely Nicole at Tea for Me Please sent me a sample of Finlays Malawi Specialty Tea made with White Satemwa Antlers. And where do these ‘antlers’ come from? Instead of using the camellia sinesis leaves, this tea is made from the stems of the plucked shoots.

This tea was a bit tricky to measure with a spoon, so I simply grabbed a small handful of ‘antlers’ and steeped for 2-3 minutes at 85C (or until it reached a nice golden colour).

The flavour of this tea is like nothing I’ve had before, with strong floral notes that explode on the palette without leaving any bitter aftertaste. A second steeping created a lighter and more refreshing taste, but just as enjoyable to drink as the first! Who knew ‘antlers’ could taste so good! 

Tea made from tree twigs

Surprisingly these stems...

...make a very satisfying cup of tea!

Japanese Kukicha, or ‘twig’, tea is literally made from the stems and twigs of the Camellia Sinensis bush. This is of course the exact same plant whose leaves are responsible for the thousands of tea varieties in countries around the globe.

Much lower in caffeine than ‘leaf’ tea – and unfortunately also lacking in the flavor department - there is something strangely soothing about Kukicha that entices you to come back for more. Good thing you get a few steepings out of a couple of tablespoons full!

Although you’re supposed to treat this like a green tea, steeping it around 80C, I’d recommend a much higher steeping at 95C until it gets a nice, dark colour – it will have a much stronger, nuttier flavour.

A teacup grows in Brooklyn

I had this terrarium custom made for me by Twig Terrariums a couple of years ago. If you look closely, you'll even see a woman enjoying a cup of tea on the bench...

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!

Travelling with tea...

...is alot easier than you might expect!

Now that I've built up my tea addiction, there really isn't anytime or anyplace that I'm not craving a cup! So I've started packing my own loose leaf tea to brew while travelling - yes, even on those 24-hour flights from New York to Sydney. I also started using Stash Tea's tea filter bags, which are so small and thin, they could fit inside your wallet. These super lightweight mesh bags are easy to fill, with a flap that folds over and closes off the top so your tea leaves don't escape. They are so durable I've used them for multiple infusions, so now all I need when travelling is hot water and a cup (which of course are provided just about everywhere). And since they are disposable when done, I don't have to worry about putting away a wet strainer when I'm on a long flight.

I've looked for them here in Oz but have yet to find any, which is a shame given how long the travel times are to most places! That said, a metal strainer is also an easy option, especially at hotels when drying them isn't as difficult.

All shapes and sizes...

While in NYC I’ve had the opportunity to try some pretty amazing and unusual teas and I thought I would feature a few of them here.

First off, is a personal favourite, In Pursuit of Tea’s Fragrant Leaf Green (raw) Pu’erh which is pictured above, literally wrapped inside a tan-coloured leaf! Inside are pu-erh leaves from China's Yiwu mountains which totally remind me of drinking mulled wine - with spice flavors such as nutmeg and cinnamon - when brewed. A great one for the holidays!

Sitting beside it, is Chicago Tea Garden’s Wild Orange Pu-erh. These pu-erh leaves have been aged inside hollowed-out clementine (a variety of mandarin) rinds at man-made caves in the US. The leaves are originally from China and after the aging process, you’ll taste some nice subtle citrus flavors after brewing.

The final uniquely-shaped tea to make my list is Butiki Tea’s Organic Blue Nettle green tea leaves. The leaves are from Sri Lanka and have been twisted together by hand. So easy to brew, you don’t even have to measure them out! Three of these at a time will brew up a refreshing cup of green, vegetal-tasting tea.

Thanks to all of the lovely tea retailers for taking the time to share some tea!

Gaga's diamond teacup

What do you buy for the tea lover who has it all this holiday season? How about Lady Gaga's $695.00 Swarvoski crystal encrusted teacup, with a 'diamond' at the bottom! Available at Gaga's Workshop at Barneys New York. It's on my wish list!

My guilty tea pleasure

Coffee or tea? For some, it's a tough decision but not anymore! Many tea industry retailers are enticing coffee lovers with what many are labeling as ‘coffee bean tea’.

Sun’s Organic Garden is just one of the many tea retailers in the US now offering these ‘coffee bean’ tea blends. Their Ying Yang Coffee Bean tea is a mix of coffee beans, black tea leaves and chocolate pieces. In other words, ALL OF MY ADDICTIONS IN JUST ONE CUP!

Brewed just like a tea (I brewed about 1 tsp in 1 cup boiling water for 3-5 minutes), this cuppa tastes just like it sounds – chocolate, coffee and black tea flavors all swirl pleasantly around in my mouth. In fact, I actually prefer this one without milk – maybe its because I don’t have a proper espresso machine where I can heat the milk, but I think mostly its because on its own, you can actually taste all three of these amazing ingredients. Super decadent, extremely satisfying and now instead of choosing one over the other, I can simply have both.

Tea lattes?

For all those tea lovers craving something warm and creamy once in awhile, there’s a growing trend towards combining tea and milk. And I don’t mean just the traditional method of pouring some into your cup of Earl Grey…

During my travels in the US, I’ve sampled a number of tea lattes, or tea with steamed milk. Argo (this place is what Starbucks is to coffee here) combines their Armenian mint tea as a base with steamed, frothy milk on request. There’s also a cute little café by me in Brooklyn that does what it calls a London Fog. It’s the same Earl Grey you’re used to drinking but with served in a tall glass with plenty of steamed and super frothy milk.

Of course, the idea of milk and tea is nothing new. In many parts of Asia, they have a tradition of combining condensed milk with black tea, which not only gives it a creamier flavour, but adds a nice sweetness as well. The most popular example of this would of course be Malaysia’s famous Teh Tarik, or pulled tea (pictured above). The act of pouring the tea from one cup to another - at amazing distances!- gives this tea a nice, frothy top very similar to a cup of cappuccino. As much fun to watch as it is to drink!

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....