Made with tea poured over a bowl of cooked rice, ochazuke is Japan's underrated gift to tea-infused cuisine, since it really brings out the flavor of the tea! Learn how to make this cozy, tea-forward favorite with a range of Japanese green teas. If pouring good tea over rice sounds a little odd at first, don't worry. I felt the same way when I first heard about ochazuke. It's a traditional Japanese tea rice dish that's made by pouring tea over plain white rice, kind of like a porridge (but better!). And while I know that "lunch" isn't exactly the first thing we're thinking of when we brew up a batch of tea, hear me out on this one. Because of all the tea-infused recipes I've ever tried, ochazuke is king. I've tried lots of tea recipes, but no other tea dish actually highlights the tea as much as ochazuke. It actually matters what kind of tea you use here, and yes, you'll actually taste it in the final product -- and isn't that great news when a tea recipe actually …
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Below are all our handy guides, articles, and experiments about tea. Explore tea & tea culture, and learn about tea brewing and service.
Choices in Cha Xi: Takeaways from Cha Xi Challenge 2020
In May 2020, we hosted a 2 week challenge to explore the concept of Cha Xi, or "tea play" - the art of designing a beautiful and practical tea session. Here's what we saw after over 100 tea sessions! Cha Xi Challenge OverviewDate: May 2 - May 16 (15 days)Theme: Create at least 3 Cha Xi, with notes about tea, teaware, and thought process usedParticipants: 35Completions: 24 (68.57%)Total # of Cha Xi: 105 SessionsHere's a fun little breakdown of the challenge by date. Were you an early finisher, or were you one of the people (like me!) who crammed all your sessions towards the end? The day with the most entries was the last day, May 16 (17 sessions), followed by May 14 (16 sessions). This graph is similar to the previous two challenges in that we see a steady rate of entries in Week 1, then a lull starting Week 2 before a race to finish. Tea Types Used For the Cha Xi Challenge, the most popular tea was oolong with 26.3% of the entries, followed closely by green tea …
Data from the Pu’erh Love Challenge (after almost 300 pu’erhs!)
In April 2020, we launched a 2 week challenge to explore as much pu'erh as humanly possible -- and in the process, we saw some interesting trends in our drinking habits. Here's what we found. Ask a bunch of hardcore tea folk to drink pu'erh for two weeks, and you get a LOT of pu'erh. 287, to be exact. We analyzed the data (see "Methodology" below for the details on that) to see if we could learn something about some age-old pu'erh debates. What's better: sheng or shou? Does pu'erh age really matter? Our sessions had some things to say about all that... - Pu'erh Types As many of you know, there are two types of pu'erh: sheng (raw) and shou (raw). In a nutshell, sheng pu'erh tend to be more bright, vibrant, and mineral tasting, especially when young, since they ferment slowly over time. Shou pu'erh, on the other hand, undergo an accelerated fermentation and have more of those smooth, earthy and almost-soil like flavors. They are two very different teas that happen to …
The Pu’erh Love Challenge
I know what you might be thinking. “Pu’erh Love”? Really, Rie? Why does our cool new challenge gotta sound like some cheesy tea brand? Oh trust me, it sounds REALLY cheesy to me too. (Ito En's oh-so-trendy matcha LOVE brand comes to mind. Up next: Shou on the Go™, the pu’erh for the busy modern tea lover.) But honestly, there’s no better name for this thing than Pu'erh Love, because: If you love pu’erh, this is going to be your favorite 2 weeks ever. If you don’t love pu’erh, well, there’s the challenge. It's no secret that pu'erh can be a bit intimidating to get into, and even more intimidating once you discover how much more there is to learn. But to take on any tea, all we gotta do is taste. And whether you're a pu'erh newbie or a hardcore pu head who's already elbows deep, that's what I'm going to ask you to do for the next two weeks: from April 1 to April 15, drink as much pu'erh as you possibly can and taste, listen, and learn. How To …
The Green Tea Drink Down Challenge: Data & Takeaways from 120+ Tea Sessions
In March 2020, we drank some old green teas and learned some things from more than 120 tea sessions. Here’s what happened. In late February, I noticed that a lot of green teas were popping up on the Tea Curious Discord. Two of our tea friends in particular, Tyler (HakunaMaatallah) and Henrique (HenriquePaschoal), gave me the heads up. They pointed out that last year's green teas would be coming up on a year soon, so it was high time to drink the, with the new spring harvest greens coming and all. I'd been away from home the last few springs, so I'd totally forgotten about all that. And that got me wondering: How many green teas did I have left in my tea stash? I had Steven check. Crrrrringe. I knew it was gonna be a lot. A few years back, I'd gone on a massive green tea buying spree in an attempt to learn more about Chinese greens, only to suddenly be away from home a lot and not really drinking down any of them. So my guess was around 70, maybe 80 green teas. …
New Ways To Understand Tea & Health [2019 Edition]
Tea has a mighty reputation as a healthy drink, but is there science to back up those claims? In this article, learn about the latest research on tea and health, including some new ways to understand how tea affects the body, as presented at the 2019 UC Davis Global Tea Initiative. As far as drinks go, tea is always seen as the healthy option. If you're a tea drinker, you've probably had family members ask what teas to drink to solve this problem and that. They've seen all the miraculous teas on the market. Weight loss teas. "Detox" teas. Lose-20-lbs-and-also-cure-cancer teas. Tea's been put on a pedestal for all sorts of curative properties, but what research do we have to back those claims? While tea isn't the magical cure-all that the market wants it to be, science is definitely finding links between tea and better health. So far, we've found that L-theanine, an amino acid found only in tea, is linked with better mental performance, while catechins, one of the most …
Not Just Fluff: A Guide to Silver Needle White Tea
Silver Needle's fuzzy, beautiful buds make it one of China's most iconic teas! But like many other big names, there are lots of myths that surround it. In this article we'll dive deep into Silver Needle white tea (a.k.a. Bai Hao Yin Zhen) and learn how to brew, choose, and compare different styles of Silver Needle. Silver Needle Also known as: Silver Needle white tea, 白毫銀針 "Bai Hao Yin Zhen" (Chinese, lit. "white pekoe silver needles") General flavor profile: Flavor is on the light side but with lots of potential complexity: it can have fruity, floral, herbal, grassy, and hay-like notes. The texture is light to medium, which can read as being "crisp" or juicy and satisfying in the right contexts! Smooth and elegant. Energetic -- this stuff wakes us up! Where it's from: Originally China, but Silver Needle-style teas are now found globally, we most often see them from Kenya, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam - Here's why I'm so big on Silver Needle: it was …
Where to Drink: One Day in Seattle
Tea lover visiting Seattle? You’re in luck. Seattle may be famous for its coffee, but it's also got a kickass tea scene that's one of the best in the country. In this post, enjoy a one-day tour through some of my favorite tea spots in Seattle. When it comes to good tea shops, most of us would be happy to have just one or two in town - but not Seattle. The city has about a dozen seriously good tea shops, many of them in the same neighborhood! It's a good thing there are so many, because tea shops are kinda like ramen shops. When you have just one ramen shop in town, that poor store has to cater to everyone. Odds are, the ramen will be decent, but not fantastic. But when you have a whole bunch of ramen shops in one place - or tea shops, in this case - the magic starts to happen. You get a healthy competition that allows each shop to develop its own unique style, serving up the stuff they truly know and care about. Seattle's like that - a city full of specialized tea shops, …
Tea Design: How To Create Beautiful & Practical Tea Sessions
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 are in harmony, we can …
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 just …
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 drinking an …
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 Ceylon was producing …
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 brewed in …
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 measurement of how much …
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 getting into tea, I was …
Bitter Be Gone! 4 Ways To Fix Bitter Green Tea
“Why is my green tea so bitter?" "I want to like green tea, but every time I make it, it’s tastes so bitter.” “Green tea tastes terrible, but I just push through it because it’s healthy.” “I love the tea they serve at Chinese restaurants, but I can't make it the same way at home." Ever had a green tea that tasted more like overcooked spinach, or worse? You're not alone. Green tea should taste good. Full stop. There's no reason why anyone should have to fight through these experiences when a cup of tea should be a comfort, not a chance to guillotine your taste buds. 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 …
Tiny Island, Big Tea Game: The Guide to Taiwanese Tea
Taiwan is one of the world's most famous tea growing regions, and with friendly yet flavorful teas like Oriental Beauty and high mountain oolong, it's a place you don't want to miss in your tea study and collection. It's no secret: here at Tea Curious, we freaking LOVE Taiwan and its teas. The first tea I really fell in love with was a Taiwanese oolong (and not just in lust, a la Silver Needle), and 10+ years has only served to grow my love for this incredible tea region. I've since visited Taiwan 5 times over the last few years to study tea, and while I'm still no expert in the subject, here's everything you need to know to start exploring this kickass origin. Taiwan 101: What Makes Taiwan So Special?Geography & TerroirTea CultureCommon Teas in Taiwan What Makes Taiwanese Tea Special? To understand the tea, first you need to understand the place. But for some reason, Taiwan is a place that often flies under the radar of both tourists and tea lovers. Not …
The Joy of Serving Tea
There aren’t many things in life that I love more than good tea, except perhaps having good tea with good company. There’s so much magic in a cup of tea. What tea is it, and where is it from? Isn’t it amazing that it’s from so far away? What kind of soil did it grow in, what air did it breathe? Does it taste like the misty, high mountain forest that surrounds the tea garden? I wonder about the stories behind the tea, too. The hands of the teamaker, knowing exactly what to do with each little batch of tea. Or maybe not, because even teamasters still make mistakes. (Tea is always trying to teach us something.) Late nights, waiting for bitter leaves to transform into something sweet. While yesterday’s leaves are still finishing up, the tea pickers head out to pluck more tea. Tea leaves don’t look like much, at first. How can these humble leaves end up tasting like honey, peaches, and jasmine? Or sweet and rich, it almost tastes like candy? Or like rocks, incense, or the smell …
A Quick Guide to the 5 Tea Types
Need a quick, simple reference for the main types of tea? In this Quick Guide to the 5 Tea Types, get to know the 5 most common types of tea with illustrations, flavor notes, and helpful bits of information. Just remember that this is generalized info about each tea. Look out for future posts that dive deeper into each type. White tea Young, tender buds or leaves are plucked and dried. The most simple and pure crafting style. Soft, sweet, grainy, herbaceous, spicy There is a common misconception that white tea has the least caffeine of all tea types. This is not true. Caffeine levels vary wildly from tea to tea. Another misconception is that white tea must be drunk fresh. Actually, white tea can be aged, and is sometimes even pressed into bricks for aging in China. Finally, contrary to popular believe, white tea can handle boiling water, if it is good quality. Green tea Young, tender leaves are pan-fired or steamed, to preserve their fresh …
