I was conducting some gentle perusing of the internet when I came across a web directory at searchsight.com. A web directory similar to many others offering search of their huge database and also enabling people to submit their site.
So I thought – nothing ventured nothing gained. I’ll add Wonders of Tea. So as is the custom with such sites I go to the submission page shown below.
Notice anything missing? No tea category!
How on earth can these people miss one of the greatest beverages ever conceived and yet they’ll include muddy water (aka coffee)?
Absolutely unbelievable.
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Well I recently received my new contract mobile phone and being a ‘nerd/geek’ I went for the Google phone on the T-Mobile network. Well it was just a normal phone until I came across Tea Time! It’s an Android phone app that has a tea timer. You simply select the type of tea you’re brewing (e.g. black, green, matcha, etc) and then set the timer off. It will countdown to the optimal time for that particular type of tea.
So with my new phone I’ll never get stewed or weak tea ever again!
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The economic problems have had some seriously dire consequences but possibly one of the worst I’ve seen so far is the cutting of tea at IBM’s many international offices.
It seems IBM are too poor to afford to pay for staff to drink this most essential of refreshments.
More at the Australian Business.
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Found a great page on the net which shows some interesting tea packaging.
Here’s one:
More at Toxel.
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Lydia Gautier’s “Tea: Exotic Flavors and Aromas” is the National Geographic of all tea books! It is suitable for any coffee (TEA) table in the world, whether in the breakfast nook of a cottage on Martha’s Vineyard or resting on a foyer table in a manor home in England’s Hertfordshire.
The black and white photographs interspersed with the vividly colored pictures are breathtakingly beautiful – thanks to photographer Jean-Francois Mallet’s good eye for subject matter. Paired with Ms. Gautier’s informative text, tea aficionados will find the visual impact and written word riveting. Non-tea drinkers will find the historical and cultural details seductively interesting as well.
The book is quite large, which does the author and photographer justice. Mr. Mallet’s close-ups are exquisite – real works of art. You won’t need a looking glass to examine the details of the pictures, as the publisher generously gave full two-page spreads to the photographs that could not be contained on a single leaf. Who knew the curled and rolled buds of the Camellia sinensis bush could make such a captivating still life?
Go ahead. Splurge. This book is a must-have for your collection. You will enjoy many cups of tea looking over this masterful volume.
5 stars.
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If you’re living in the USA then you may be interested in TeaMap.com. They list all the tea shops and tea rooms across the US.
Find your nearest.
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This tea book
is pretty, but not that exciting. Despite its attractive photos the volume falls short – not so much because there is anything innately “wrong” with it, but rather because it pales in comparison to its competitors in the tea book niche.
It’s not a comprehensive almanac of tea trivia and it’s not a tea table book with breathtaking photos. Because of its title, “Having Tea: Recipes and Table Settings,” you might expect a book that flaunts its tablescapes – real innovative table displays or traditional settings done right with exquisite pottery, linens, utensils and themes. But instead, you are left feeling rather ho-hum, disappointed that there is very little inspiration for new décor ideas for the up-and-coming tea society season.
It’s almost like “Having Tea” went to press before it was finished. Did the deadline arrive and the publisher say, “That’s good enough”? With just a little more research, Ms. Foley could have seen what her fellow tea book authors were up to and tried to address the deficits. The recipes were run-of-the-mill for the most part. In this day of global accessibility and a plethora of communication devices, surely Ms. Foley could have tapped her resources and gotten some recipes to pique the interest of her tea savvy readers. It was not a bad book, just uninspiring.
3 Stars
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“The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea” by master tea blender Michael Harney is suitable for the hard-core tea merchant, as a reference book for a culinary professor, or for the tea connoisseur whose hobby borders on a fetish.
The book does not bother itself with pretty pictures of lovely Victorian tea sets, but instead focuses on the analytical facets of tea: the best environment for growing Camellia sinensis, the ideal time and temperature for brewing a particular type of tea, what the dry leaves or tea buds look like, how the liquor appears when it is made properly, and what to expect from the tea’s aroma. For example, Mr. Harney describes one of China’s most famous black teas, Keemum Mao Fengke, as having hints of “light notes of chocolate or cocoa with the suggestion of ripe apricots.”
Such a book would be helpful if you ever participate in a tea tasting or food pairing or are trying to train your palate to detect the nuances of different teas. The volume dispenses trivia as well that would be of interest to tea buffs and Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy game show addicts. On the back cover, Mr. Harney writes:
“You can’t judge a tea by its name: Consider Orange Pekoe. “Orange’ stands for the Dutch Royal House of Orange and once indicated tea of a quality suitable for its monarchs. ‘Pekoe’ is a mispronunciation of the Chinese words ‘bai hao’ – bai meaning white and hao meaning tippy or downy. ‘Pekoe’ may have once meant tippy tea, but the ancient word has long since lost its original meaning.”
The book is probably not for the general population, but is ideal for those have raised the bar on their relationship with tea.
4½ stars.
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One of my favourite US tea merchants has started offering free shipping to people up to the 25 of April with this coupon code: MOMSGIFT! This is perfect timing to take advantage of one of their Mothers Day gift sets.
They have a great range on offer from special Tea Lovers Gift collections to Spring Blossom Tea sets (pic). All you need is this coupon code – MOMSGIFT – and a mother who loves tea!
Mother’s Day Tea Gifts
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With Pu Erh tea spending anything from days to years underground you’d expect this fermentation process to produce some health benefit. We having brought together scientific papers, research and advice I find out the truth.
What did I find?
Pu erh tea has been drunk in china as a tonic for digestion. Far more so than any other tea. In traditional Chinese medicine it is believed to have high levels of Qi (chi) which helps to flush the body of toxins.
Yunnan Natural Medicine Research Institute in China found it to have a significant impact against cancer cells of the throat and mouth.
In another cancer study they found a side effect of the consumption of pu erh caused a reduction in weight, lowered cholesteral and lower triacylglycerol levels.
Pretty good and it makes a dam nice cup of tea too.
My recommendations…
A great tea brick called
Horse Pu-erh (2002)
is available from Mighty Leaf Tea.
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