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Bodum glass tea pots

December 18th, 2010

Our regular, “go-to” tea pot is a double-walled glass Bodum tea pot. This is somewhat miraculous as I tend to break things and a glass teapot sounds like a bad idea. However, this teapot has been with us for over 4 years and is still going strong.

I find the steeping mechanism efficient and easy to use: a basket with a plunger to seal the tea at the bottom of the basket when steeping is complete.

But it’s actually the glass that I love the most. Tea is such a lovely liquid, and I have so very much enjoyed getting to admire it throughout (and after) the steeping process. The double-walled glass keeps the tea as hot as any tea pot I’ve owned, and keeps me from burning my fingers. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

You can purchase this fine tea pot from our store through Amazon: a bit expensive, but worth the investment.

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Enjoying Nilgiri tea from Corsley Estate

May 2nd, 2010

This week Cat and I have been drinking Corsley Estate TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe – one of the highest grades of Indian teas). Corsley Estate is nestled in the Blue Hills or Nilgiri district of southern India’s Tamil Nadu province.

This single-estate black tea is a classic Nilgiri tea with lemon notes and nice astringency with a light almost honey like sweetness. The liquor brews up with substantial body without being overwhelming and is very nice on its own without any additions. However, if you are so inclined, it could probably handle a splash of milk. Overall, a very pleasant and easy to enjoy cup of tea.

Posted in Appreciation, Black, Teas Tasted | No Comments »

The Capresso tea kettle stands the test of time

April 25th, 2010

Three years ago, Ben and I received an electric Capresso tea kettle from Ben’s mother, and we have completely fallen in love with this kettle. The Capresso kettle has consistently and quickly boiled water for us, without once threatening to burn the house down.

The glass design threw me a bit initially, but the water is enjoyable to watch and the kettle itself hasn’t broken nor have I burned myself. I was also not convinced by an electric kettle versus a stove top kettle. I have great fondness for stove top kettles (another day I will write up my favorite), but at least on our electric stove, it is definitely slower and presumably pulling more power.

The glass also allows us to easily monitor the water, and while I’m not particularly manic about having the perfect temperature of boiling water, I like knowing that I could have perfect fish eye water if I wanted.

There is now some slight discoloration to the metal bulb in the bottom of the kettle, but after three years of heavy use, I’d be concerned if the kettle didn’t show its age a bit. The efficiency and auto shutoff haven’t shown any signs of slacking.

We would definitely recommend this kettle to anyone considering an electric kettle.

Posted in Preparation | 1 Comment »

Kenilworth Estate and new tea coming our way

April 25th, 2010

Cat and I have been sampling and tasting a lot of new teas recently because we are hoping to start offering a select number of them to our visitors to buy and experience for themselves.

Spring is in the air here in Portland and we have been enjoying a very nice single estate Orange Pekoe Ceylon tea from Kenilworth Estate in Sri Lanka. The tea we brewed is light, but not insubstantial with hint of fruit. Very refreshing change of pace from some of the heavier infusions we have been brewing up. There was no need for milk or sugar with this tea, although we’re never one to judge if you need something extra with your tea.

We’re debating whether to carry this particular tea or not — if you want to have a taste, let us know. This is a tea we first stumbled across several years ago, and specifically noted as a preferred tea. I was delighted to find that we were still enjoying high quality tea from this estate.

Stay tuned to TBD Tea as we launch our store and bring you one step closer to enjoying fine single-estate loose leaf teas from round the world. As we get a bit closer, we’ll get a Twitter feed going with our daily tasting notes as we drink through a wide range of delicious teas.

Posted in Black, Ceylon, Teas Tasted | No Comments »

All In This Tea

March 8th, 2010

This past week, we watched the documentary “All In This Tea”, which follows David Lee Hoffman as he travels China’s tea producing provinces in search of fine tea. You can view “All in This Tea” online via Amazon.

I was impressed by the extent of the miscommunication between Hoffman and the industrial tea growers and exporters in China, especially considering he seemed more than willing to pay above market price to farmers for teas he selected. Finding quality tea was less a problem than convincing local authorities to allow him to purchase his selections direct from the farmers for export.

One of the major themes of the film involves Hoffman trying to convince Chinese tea manufacturers that production methods matter and that higher yield through use of modern fertilizers and insecticides have draw backs. The movie was filmed in 1997, so I am hopeful that getting truly wonderful organically produced teas exported from China is easier today than it was during the making of the film.

There is also great footage of tea being picked, and then transformed through oxidization, firing, and/or fermentation. The level of expertise to create truly great tea was made very clear. This would definitely be worth an entire documentary unto itself.

There were a few other elements of the film I also quite enjoyed. The film showed off Hoffman’s huge collection of Pu-Er teas, which come in amazing varieties. He has a huge aging cave dedicated to these bricks of tea.

On a completely different note, I found it fascinating to listen to the flamboyant James Norwood Pratt, having only read his books. He waxed eloquent about the joys of fine tea at a filmed tea class, and I could definitely see his ties to wine tastings I have endured.

Finally, one other highlight of the film is the discussion of Robert Fortune’s exploits in China. He smuggled tea plants and growing technology out of China in 1843 to feed the growing British demand for tea through upstart Indian plantations. The documentary includes footage of the areas Fortune explored, and also some intriguing photos of Fortune traveling in traditional Chinese clothing and in a sedan chair.

While not a transcendental film, All In This Tea is definitely worth viewing by anyone who enjoys tea. Besides a documentary about the process of creating tea, I’m also ready to watch an entire documentary about Winnie Yu of Teance, who contributed some of the most enjoyable explanations of the appeal of tea.

IMDb entry http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1015968/

This movie can be purchased from Amazon.com: All In This Tea
OR
Viewed online at Amazon.com for $1.99 (pretty cool!): All In This Tea

Posted in Appreciation, Tea Books & Movies | No Comments »

Dark Tea — Dark Mystery

March 1st, 2010

One of our tea suppliers often tosses in samples of new teas he is considering offering in the future. With our most recent order came a small tea cake labeled Dark Rose, a dark tea. I have not had this product or even this variety of tea before. This is definitely a fermented tea, but not as earthy and complex as Pu-Er’s or Toucha that I have been trying recently. It was much smoother.

I am a little concerned that I did not properly prepare it. The directions that came included called for a very short steep of only one minute in boiling water in the cup. I followed the directions and got a very thin liquor which was sweet, but wonder if the tea cake should have been broken up more so the leaves could expand fully or given it a longer steeping time. If anyone is familiar with dark tea preparation please post a comment. As I have time to research dark teas further, I will elaborate on what I find.

Posted in Dark Tea, Preparation, Teas Tasted | No Comments »

A new tea toy: Tovolo tea infuser

February 15th, 2010

Well, what is it exactly? It looks like a cross between a fat marker and a syringe, but no, it’s a tea infuser that holds several infusions worth of loose leaf tea. Cat bought me this unique looking tea infuser this past week from Tovolo (http://tovolo.com/prod/tea/teago.htm). First, you load the tea into the basket and infuse the tea. Then, you depress the end pushing all the liquor out of the infuser into the cup. Once, you have most of the liquid out you can cap the end so there’s no mess. All in all, it’s almost as convenient as a tea bag, but with loose leaf tea instead.

I was a little concerned that the infuser would not contain the liquid remaining in the infuser very well, but even when I inverted the infuser it did not leak. The only other trick is getting your tea in and out of the infuser basket, which is very narrow, but this is a common issue I see with most infusers.

Cat also notes that the packaging is excessive for such a small product. Otherwise, a very interesting and well thought out design.

This product is available through Amazon.com: Tovolo Tea Press Tea Infuser

Posted in Preparation | 1 Comment »

Steeping in sweet Keemun

February 8th, 2010

I have been drinking Keemun (Qimen) teas a lot recently. It is hard to believe that this variety of China Black teas are not often consumed by the Chinese. All the stranger because as I learned from my copy of the New Tea Lover’s Treasury that is on of China’s Ten Most Famous Teas. I guess this is good for those of us living in the west because there is more for export.

The sample that Cat and I have been drinking this week is wonderful with bright flavors. I love watching the leaves slowly unfurl in the infuser imparting the liquor with a deep amber color. The aroma is quite something too like toasted bread with an almost honeyed sweetness. Our tea seller tells us that Keemun was one of the original bases for some of the original English breakfast blends. Blending is fine, but this sample stands up all on its own.

Posted in Black, Teas Tasted | No Comments »

Darjeeling from Singtom Estate’s 2nd Flush

January 25th, 2010

It has been a while since my last post (almost three years), but fortunately only several hours since my last pot of tea. Interesting years, full of changes and adventures big and small, but tea has made an appearance in most of the intervening episodes.

Recently, I have been on a kick of drinking unflavored black teas, sometimes blends, but tonight a cup of Singtom Estate’s 2nd Flush is keeping me company. This Darjeeling is just a little astringent and substantially more robust than a typical Darjeeling; delicious. Mostly, it seems I have been returning to the flavors and blends that are most familiar. I image this is not uncommon on cold winter nights to seek out enduring comforts.

Anyhow, put the pot back on the boil. I am looking forward to actively exploring more of tea and tea culture with you.

Posted in Appreciation | No Comments »

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