I am usually disparaging of teas that are blends of different varietals or tea leaves with non-tea ingredients added to them. They usually seem somehow deceptive and incoherent to me. Naturally there are exceptions, Russian Caravan and Earl Grey being two that I enjoy drinking. However, in complete contrast to that purist tendency, I also [...]
Sixteen or so years ago, I got a job at a place in Tempe, Arizona, known as the Coffee Plantation. This was a bit odd given that I didn’t (and don’t) drink coffee, but they decided that I would be an ideal person to be their retail tea specialist, a position which later advanced [...]
To be perfectly frank, I prepared and drank a cup of Green Tea Tropical out of obligation as it was sent to us by the nice people at Mighty Leaf Tea. It is very unlike anything I ever drink – tea or otherwise. It is fruity, not strongly caffeinated, with a wide range of dissimilar [...]
There is something particularly terrible about a centuries-old tradition within a culture leading to suffering among its people. One particularly poignant example of this is the rampant fluorosis among the Tibetan people resulting from the consumption of traditional Tibetan brick tea, also called “churned tea” or “butter tea.” The traditional Tibetan drink uses tea that [...]
The exploration of tisanes, herbal teas and assorted infusions of not-tea inspired me to write about some interesting examples.
Greek Mountain Shepherd’s Tea (tsai tou vounou) is the leaves and bud of the Sideritis syriaca L. plant. It is a pleasant, meadowy flavored brew, purported to have en enormous range as a medicinal tonic, including prevention [...]
A recent conversation about the word “tisane” led me toward a considerable amount of reading about the word’s origins and meanings and the suitability of the word for contemporary use. My position in the original discussion was that “tisane” was a word that properly identified an infusion of anything other than the leaves of the [...]
Before I had gained any exposure to gongfu cha, I remember seeing the pretty little Chinese teapots and wondering about their function. I suspected that they were purely ornamental, as they seemed too small to be of use. Now that I have a great deal more understanding of the world of tea I can appreciate [...]
