I’ve been creating pretty but practical tea sessions since 2012. Good tea design has helped me better share tea with thousands of people, both online and in-person. In this post, learn how to design a memorable tea session for you and your guests while getting the MOST out of your tea. It’s a common misconception that flowers and fancy teaware is a distraction from the tea. If we’re serious about tea, why bother with a pretty tea table? Tea design is more than just having a pretty looking table, though. When done well, tea design can be a powerful tool, helping us bring out the absolute best from a tea. We can extract as much flavor, aroma, and texture as possible, and create the best possible experience too. On the other hand, the wrong design choices can completely ruin your tea! In this post, you’ll learn how to start creating practical AND beautiful tea sessions, with three things to consider: Tea Teaware Decor When these three things …
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Seasonal Tea Arrangements: Spring
It’s May, and now, deep into Spring, the sunshine filtering through the window is even hinting towards summer. And for the time-honored tea traditions of the world, the tea table changes too, along with the seasons. In China, spring means the arrival of fresh green tea, just picked in March and April. Green teas are at the peak of their beauty and flavor now, and people often bust out the glass teaware to show off such gorgeous teas. It’s mesmerizing to watch the young leaves “dance” in a tall glass or tea pot. Over in Japan, the tea rooms for chanoyu are showing their spring colors, too. Chanoyu, often called the Japanese tea ceremony, is intimately tied with the changing of the seasons, and everything in the tea room is chosen carefully for the time of year. For example, heavy tea bowls are replaced by thinner, cooler ones when it’s warm outside, and any floral arrangements will always showcase the appropriate flowers for the season. Students of chanoyu spend years …
Matcha vs. Monster Energy: Which Is Better For Long Car Drives?
When it comes to staying awake for those long, solo car drives, energy drinks reign supreme. Well, at least in the marketing department. Just walk into any random gas station or convenience store in America. You’ll find racks of 5 Hour Energy, a branded fridge of Red Bull, and all sorts of other sugar-free, low-carb, max-intensity, and creatively-flavored options. Basically, if you’re taking a road trip, they want you to: (A) buy gas, and (B) pick up an energy drink for the road. They’re also (C) not really trying to sell you tea. I mean, I don’t think the veteran truck drivers of the world are hauling tea in their cup holders... Where energy drinks promise to deliver the kind of high-performance energy boost you need for long drives, tea is for relaxing and winding down, right? With one important exception: Matcha. Matcha is the heavy-hitting, supercharged, Incredible Hulk of the tea world. It’s different from most other teas because, with most teas, we’re just …
The Future of Tea: Takeaways From The Experts
The year is 1825 on the British colony of Ceylon, now modern-day Sri Lanka. The British have just gotten their hands on Arabica coffee, a variety with a smooth, tasty character. They get to work planting Arabica coffee trees all over Ceylon, hoping to satisfy Europe’s insatiable appetite for coffee. Soon, vast plantations of coffee are thriving throughout Sri Lanka, and by 1870, Ceylon is the biggest producer of coffee in the world. With one small problem: Hemileia vastatrix. In 1875, Hemileia vastatrix, or “the coffee rust”, invades Sri Lanka. This parasitic fungus lives primarily on coffee trees, and infests the leaves until it eventually kills the entire tree. As it turns out, Arabica coffee trees are particularly weak to the coffee rust, and with Ceylon planted mostly with Arabica, the disease is unstoppable. In just 20 years, Hemileia vastatrix completely decimates the coffee industry in Ceylon, destroying most of the plantations on the island. Where …
Why Do Water Experiments For Tea?
What’s The Point of Water Experiments For Tea? Here’s the deal: If you drink tea, but you don’t really care what it tastes like, you can stop reading now. But if you enjoy exploring the flavors, textures, and aromas of your tea, you should be paying attention to your water. Bad water can turn even the most delicious tea into dishwater, if you’re not careful! Is it worth investing in good tea, when your water ruins it at the end? You can see how drastic the differences can be in my “Comparing Bottled Waters for Green Tea” experiment, where I found that out of 8 waters, a full half were pretty bad for the tea. I was really disappointed! And even if we rule out my flavor notes, since flavor can be a matter of opinion, just check out the color differences in those photos. Water makes tea taste, feel, smell, and even look different. This effect isn’t limited to green teas, either. All teas are affected by water, even the darker ones! Check out this Assam black tea, which I …
Details On Bottled Waters
Hey there! Here are the details on the waters I picked for the Water Matters / Green Tea experiment. Looking for the experiment itself? Click here for the post. Selection I picked the top 6 best-selling waters in the US, as ranked by the following report: https://www.statista.com/statistics/188312/top-bottled-still-water-brands-in-the-united-states/ From that list, I substituted Poland Spring spring water for Arrowhead, as we don’t get Poland Spring here on the West Coast. Arrowhead is the company's West Coast equivalent. I also added Evian, to include a European water to better compare with our European friends. Finally, I added my own tap water, to represent city tap water in general. About TDS, and "light" vs "heavy" water These aren't technical terms, but I use the words "light" and "heavy" to describe how the tea feels, mostly based on texture and a little bit of taste. This is caused by the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in the water, which is a …
Water Matters! Comparing Bottled Waters for Green Tea
Welcome to Water Matters! A series of tea & water experiments here on TeaCurious, because I am kind of crazy about water. I firmly believe that good water is just as important as good tea. I know, I know. The idea of water tastings might seem… a little ridiculous, and almost snobbish. Remember those articles about water sommeliers that came out a few years ago? From what I remember, many people thought it was super pretentious. If you live in Las Vegas like I do, though, you might understand. Our city has some of the worst water ever, and it’s so heavily treated with chlorine that it might as well be pool water. It leaves a hard water stain on everything, and slowly kills any plants I water with it. It also kills tea. Don’t believe me? Just ask any tea lover who has visited to Las Vegas (and who brought their tea stuff, of course), then tried to brew tea using the tap water at their hotel.... ...Yeah. Bad water means bad tea. In 2008, when I started …
How To Fix Bitter Green Tea
“I want to like green tea, but everytime I make it, it’s tastes so bitter.” “I love the green tea at Chinese restaurants, but I can't make it the same way at home." “Green tea tastes terrible, but I drink it because it’s healthy.” Sounds familiar? I hear things like this all the time. And whenever I do, I just want to rescue anyone in the world who is suffering through horrible, bitter green tea (that tastes more like overcooked spinach than tea). Green tea doesn't have to be this way! And yet, many people who've never had a cup of good green tea before just assume that green tea is always that way. At least, that's what I thought when I was just starting to get into tea, too. Years ago, I used to drink mostly Earl Grey and herbal teas, until I picked up some green tea leaves from Chinatown one day. Up until that point I had never seen green tea leaves before, just green tea bags. Of course, I brewed my green tea up the only way I knew how to. Like black tea, …
Getting To Know Taiwanese Tea
Have you ever had Taiwanese tea before? If not, then you’re in for a treat, because Taiwan makes some damn good tea. In this article, I hope I can help you start exploring them with confidence. Get to know Taiwan and some of its most common teas, like Oriental Beauty and High Mountain. Learn what to expect from each tea, and what to look for when selecting a tea. First, let's look into what makes Taiwan so great for tea in the first place. Why is such a tiny island like Taiwan such a big deal in the tea world? About Taiwan Located just southeast of Mainland China, Taiwan is a small but beautiful island. Modern, bustling cities hug the coasts and central valleys, as much of the land area is covered by verdant forests and misty, mountainous terrain. It’s not uncommon for city folk to spend their weekends enjoying Taiwan’s beautiful natural environment, which is easy to do, as the Taiwan High Speed Rail can take you north to south of the island in just …
Getting To Know Taiwanese Tea: Common Teas
This is Part 2 of Getting To Know Taiwanese Tea. To read Part 1 (About Taiwan), click here. Common Teas in Taiwan Now, let's check out some of the most common teas in Taiwan. When you start shopping for Taiwanese tea, you might run into teas like ginseng oolong, osmanthus oolong, or milk oolong. These are flavored or blended teas, with additional ingredients added to the tea. Let’s skip those for now, and go straight to the good stuff - the pure teas. While I still enjoy flavored teas once in a while, if you really want to get to know the tea, unflavored tea is the way to go! The most common type of Taiwanese tea is oolong, so it’s no surprise that 4 out of the 5 teas on this list are oolongs. However, Taiwanese teamakers are beginning to branch out more, so I’ve also included a Taiwanese black tea as well. I’m sure you’ll find something to like! 1. Baozhong Type: Green oolong (low oxidation) Common names: Baozhong, Pouchong, Wenshan …
