Over the rough course of many decades during which her country has seen a great deal of political turmoil and transformation, and during which she must have experienced a somewhat grueling agricultural subsistence lifestyle, she has outlasted even her official documentation. Although she does possess a Soviet-era passport which cites her birth as July 8th 1880, her birth certificate has been lost, resulting in some doubts as to the authenticity of the claim that she is truly the oldest living person today.

The woman, who lives with her 40-year-old grandson in an idyllic vine-covered country house in the mountains, retired from her job as a tea and corn picker in 1965, when she was 85, records say.

“I’ve always been healthy, and I’ve worked all my life — at home and at the farm,” said Khvichava, in a bright dress and headscarf, her withering lips rejuvenated by shiny red lipstick. Sitting in the chair and holding her cane, Khvichava spoke quietly through an interpreter since she never went to school to learn Georgian and speaks only the local language, Mingrelian.

- from an article on Yahoo.

To be fair, nothing I read about her indicated that Ms. Khvichava credited years of close contact with tea plants for her longevity. In at least one article, she suggested that it was due to imbibing vodka. (Additionally, the region she lives in is known for longevity, which undoubtedly plays a part.)

The tea industry in Georgia is an interesting one.  Most of today’s crop yield goes to Lipton and other large scale producers for export.   However, alongside the mass-export tea crops, there is also some small family-run orthodox-method specialty tea output, and the tea that it produces is well worth a taste if you can get your hands on some of it.

More information, from the description of one of Georgia’s wonderful teas, available from Nothing But Tea:

Georgia (ex USSR) has many tea growing villagers who manufacture their own tea by hand in their homes. The whole process is completely natural and performed by hand, in the typical white tea way. They pluck buds and tender tips from the bushes, wither them in a single layer over night. Next morning the leaf is hand rolled to curl it and get the fermentation going, and the tea is spread out to dry in the sun. Our roving teaman persuaded a venerable tea making lady in a village near Ozurgeti (in West Georgia) to part with a little of her tea. This unique tea is exclusive to Nothing But Tea, available nowhere else outside of Georgia and only in limited quantities.

The Georgians themselves drink tea, as do people in neighboring countries.  So some efforts are being made towards localizing sales of tea leaves grown in Georgia. This would, of course, benefit Georgian agriculture, which is still trying to recover from the 2008 conflict with Russia, which also damaged the Georgian wine industry.

For more information on agriculture and tea production in Georgia, read this article on Georgian Daily.

For some added flavor, here’s a photograph of Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (სვეტიცხოვლის საკათედრო ტაძარი), a Georgian Orthodox cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia, near the capital city of Tbilis. Its name translates into “the Living Pillar Cathedral.”

Filmmakers Phoebe Brown and Charlene Fisk of Unblinking Eye Films became supporters of the project and are now in the planning and funding stages of a film about it, featuring Christie and one of the young women beneficiaries, now making her way from the Buddhist orphanage where she grew up to university, thanks to the support of the project.

The goals of The Learning Tea are quite ambitious, but appear to be within the grasp of its founder. In addition to supporting the project through purchasing the teas directly, interested persons can support the film project through Kickstarter. An excerpt of the film’s description:

In the summer of 2009 Katrell went to India looking for tea. What she found in Darjeeling is the darker side of the region: a hub for trafficking girls into forced labor and child prostitution. Non-Governmental Organizations in the area estimate that between 7-10,000 girls are tracked annually to Indian brothels from Nepal which borders Darjeeling. Girls—some as young as 6 and 7— are frequently forced into prostitution. Not wanting to be consumer profiteer, Katrell came up with a plan: The Learning Tea.

Through the sale of Darjeeling tea from a Fair Trade tea plantation Katrell hopes to create a sustainable system that supports jobs in the community and funds higher education for girls. The question is—can this simple plan work?

Unblinking Eye Films–producer Phoebe Brown– will document Katrell’s return to India and introduce you to the young woman Katrell is sponsoring from orphanage to university. These girls—many of Nepalese origin—age out of a Buddhist run orphanage at 16 and face the grim realities for young women lacking opportunity and education: a life of forced prostitution, hard labor or servitude–too often under brutal conditions. The sexual enslavement of women is one of the most pressing issues of our time and the world’s eyes need to be opened to the possibility and importance of change.

In order to more fully appreciate the hundreds of teas available, here are 10 that will serve as guiding lights and points of comparison. As there can be distinction even between retailers’ teas, it is recommended that you try the same kind of tea from at least 2 different retailers or sources.

The list includes teas from the main 4 categories of tea: white, green, wulong (or oolong) and black.

1. Silver Needle: this white tea originated in China, although other countries are developing silver needles. Silver needle consists of the downy tips that are light green to silvery color.
2. Bai Mu Dan (sometimes Pai Mu Tan, White Peony): White Peony is the bridge between white and green teas. It includes more mature green leaves, silvery tips, and the stems that connect the two.
3. Dragonwell (or Long Jing, Long Ching): This Chinese green is pan-fired and shaped to give it a “grasshopper wing” shape. Fresh long jing has flavors reminiscent of steamed wild rice.
4. Sencha: A Japanese green. Sencha often resembles emerald green sewing needles. A good sencha, when prepared properly, delivers a creamy or brothy coating in the mouth and brings savory hints of seaweed and sweet spinach notes.
5. Li Shan: A Taiwanese oolong with fragrant floral scents. Li Shan usually consists of 2 leaves and a tender bud on a stem that is lovingly rolled into a compact ball resembling a small paper wad.
6. Tie Guan Yin (also Tie Quan Yin or Ti Kuan Yin): While the ali shan offers fragrant flower reminders, tie guan yin has a stronger roasted element with a rich woody or smoky touch. TGY resembles li shan in its paper-wad shape, but is distinguishable by its roasted smell and its browner colors compared to ali shan’s brighter green leaf.
7. Darjeeling 1st flush: While this Indian tea is usually classified as a black tea, it bears similarities to oolongs. 1st flushes deliver fruit notes of grape and some of the briskness of a black tea.
8. Golden Monkey comes from Southwest China, the suspected origin the tea plant. The name of this tea comes from the dried leaves that range from gold to a lighter brown. Golden monkey steeps to deliver a black tea liquid with malty, sometimes chocolate tastes.
9. Keemun: Keemun teas stand as shining examples of Chinese black teas. Several variations exist, most notably keemun mao feng and keemun hao ya, and they offer a range of aromas that extend from chocolate to peach/plum notes.
10. Puer (also pu’ erh): Puer is unique in its processing. While many teas depend on an oxidization process to develop flavor, puers rely on a bacterial process for fermentation (think wine or cheese). The result includes both sheng (i.e. raw) puer and shu (aged), the latter one known for earthy tastes and a dark, inky brew.

As you begin to taste these teas, don’t forget to make notes on the smells, textures and colors. A journal can help you immensely when you search for your perfect cup.

Guest post provided by Jason Walker of Walker Tea Review.  Jason’s site hosts online tea tastings and video tea reviews.

Of particular interest, accompanying these other Russian food and drink items was a selection of teas. The array was not huge, but it appeared to provide some valuable insight into what Russians in the United States would purchase in their attempts to recapture some of the flavor of Mother Russia. These particular teas were not the expensive, refined teas that members of the Russian aristocracy would have poured out of blue and white Lomonosov “Cobalt” teapots. These were teas of the proletariat – inexpensive and convenient, most of them manufactured by a company called “Czar Nikolas II.” Although I later found out that the company also sells one-pound bags of loose tea, this particular store only sells the company’s boxes of tea bags, in varieties very much geared to the Russian palate. Along with basic green and black teas, they sell “Valentine,” which is flavored with rose petals and safflower and a bergamot-scented tea similar to Earl Grey, and “Nostalgia,” which is Ceylon tea with the addition of black currant leaves and strawberry leaves.

To get an idea of a similar, but more extensive selection, take a look through the Russian teas available through Skazka Russian Food.

It might seem a little surprising that I’d be attracted to a tea that is both flavored with non-tea ingredients and, quelle horreur!, in tea bags, but my expectation was to investigate commonly available Russian teas, not to discover the most exquisite and sublime tea taste imaginable. Plus, I have no resistance whatsoever to items that fascinate me and also happen to bear the name of my favorite film – Nostalghia (Ностальгия), by the visionary director Andrei Tarkovsky – thus the compulsion was strong to buy a box of the Nostalgia tea, so I did.

I was intrigued by the notion of the addition of currant and strawberry leaves to tea. These were two flavors I had not experienced before, but I didn’t think they’d be fruity or sweet. From what I already knew about Russian cuisine and the types of flavors that appeal to my palate, I expected this tea to be one I would like, in spite of it being so very different from the pure-leaf teas I drink the rest of the time and I was not disappointed. The non-tea taste is hard to describe. I can’t think of a more familiar flavor to use to describe what it tastes like by analogy. Imagining the flavors of currants and strawberries, but slightly pungent and bitter and without any sweetness, ought to provide an approximation of what this tea tastes like. It’s kind of hard to talk about it as tea since the dominant scents and flavors are not tea, but that’s to be expected. As one would expect, the Ceylon black tea in this tea would be pretty substandard on its own, but that’s not important. Why would anyone add weird dominant non-tea flavors to good tasting teas in the first place?

I don’t have any Russian grandmothers to ask whether they like this tea or not, but it certainly fits my definition of a very Russian character. Czar Nikolas II’s “Premium Nostalgia” tea tastes like Russian tea because it is made for consumption by Russians.

“I wanted to make a film about Russian nostalgia—about that state of mind peculiar to our nation which affects Russians who are far from their native land. I saw this almost as a patriotic duty in my understanding of the concept. I wanted the film to be about the fatal attachment of Russians to their national roots, their past, their culture, their native places, their families and friends; an attachment which they carry with them all their lives, regardless of where destiny may fling them. Russians are seldom able to adapt easily, to come to terms with a new way of life. The entire history of Russian emigration bears out the Western view that ‘Russians are bad emigrants’; everyone knows their tragic incapacity to be assimilated, the clumsy ineptitude of their efforts to adopt to an alien life-style. How could I have imagined, as I was making Nostalgia that the stifling sense of longing that fills the screen space of that film was to becone my lot for the rest of my life; that from now until the end of my days I would bear the painful malady within myself?”

- Andrei Tarkovsky, from his book “Sculpting in Time”

After doing some additional reading in preparation for writing about the tea, especially the passage by Tarkovsky above, I became aware of how appropriate it was for a Russian tea in an unassuming suburban grocery store in the United States to be called “Nostalgia.” The signs of an influx of Russian culture into the area are there, from older indicators like the two beautiful Russian Orthodox churches in Seattle, to more recent signs, like the ease of finding Russian language as an option in local ATMs. But there aren’t restaurants or neighborhoods or many of the more blatant signs visible here, so I only notice the signs when I seek to spot them. I have fantasies of a Russian teahouse opening up with a running loop of Eisenstein films in one room and Stravinsky playing in the background, with banks of bronze samovars holding teapots of Keemun perched on top, but until then I can console myself with strong cups of cheap Russian tea.

(The image above is a still from Nostalghia.)

Looking at the pictures I took of Tea Source’s Golden Spirals I’m tempted to describe the experience as a strange art project instead of a tea tasting, but the visuals are half or less of the story of this unusual tea. Tea Source’s description:

“This hand-tied display tea is made of long golden/brown tea leaves and brews up with a silky smooth, medium-bodied, sweet (rosy-like) flavor. Wonderful.”

I have an inherent distrust of “display teas,” but this tea is more than a mere novelty object. It brews into a very good tasting tea. As you can see by looking at the dry tea, the leaf is long and golden. It looks and tastes like it must be made from the leaves of a golden Dian Hong from Yunnan Province in China, although its origins are not identified on the packaging or on the company’s website.

As a tea drinker who really enjoys Yunnan Black teas, I was quite pleased to discover that this tea tastes quite similar to the loose leaf Yunnan gold teas that I like. It has that delicious burnt sugar taste that I enjoy with Yunnan Gold teas, although not to the extent that a very high-quality Yunnan Gold Tip would have. But it also has the added element of having been tied and twisted into a neat little cone-shaped bundle that emerges into a wet, brown, drowned flower-like thing as it absorbs hot water and transforms it into tea liquor.

At least one of the times that I drank this tea, I brewed it in a teapot that holds more than one cup of tea and chose not to decant it, so the second pour into my cup steeped considerably longer than the first. It did not have any bitterness or unpleasant strength in spite of the long steep, which was probably at least ten or fifteen minutes. It was a little more boldly flavored, but was still just as nice to drink.

The second infusion was lighter in flavor, but almost as good, and the color of the liquor was not significantly lighter. The third infusion was completely unexciting in taste and color, which is what I expected. The soggy anemone of tea held together throughout. This is a very nice tea, to watch and to drink, and very convenient if measuring spoons or tea scales seem like way too much work.0

“It was the British, with their love of black tea, who inspired the invention of Keemum in a country that produced mostly green tea. An instant success in 1874, it is today considered a highly-prized tea in its native China. Our Panda #1 is a first rate specimen. Like a fine wine, it has hints of oak and a lovely burgundy depth, and when properly stored will take on a deeper, more mellow character.”

Indeed, black teas were not produced in Anhui Province until the mid 1870s, so this is not a tea with a terribly long history. Qimen teas were originally developed for the export market and they are often used in the blends sold as English Breakfast Tea today. I am sure that there was less growth in this particular varietal than might have happened if the trade with Britain had not collapsed near the end of the 19th century. In line with its history, Keemun Panda tastes to me like a tea cultivated for a more Western palate. It’s a very pretty red color and it is worthy of a second steeping, and even a third, depending on your personal preferences.

As I was concentrating on the flavor of the cup of Qimen that I was drinking I recognized something subtle in the taste of it that initially reminded me Russian blends, like a Russian Caravan, but not smoky. Then I remembered that Lapsong Souchong and Qimen are grown in the same region of China, Anhui Province. So I think I can reasonably say that the distinct note is the terroir of the area.

Edit: I can’t remember where I got the idea that Lapsang Souchong was produced in Anhui province, but I was mistaken. It is produced in Fujian Province.

Incidentally, the spelling of this tea’s name as “keemum” is one of the more unusual ones and even less common than “keemun.” “Qimen” is the standard Pinyin spelling.

There is some good additional information on the renowned congou Qimen tea called Panda #1 on the Hina’s Tea site. Note: the tea is not currently available on DAVIDsTEA’s website.

Bai Ling Gong Fu, grown on Tai Mu Mountain in Fujian Province, is one of only two black teas that Canton Tea Co carries. I interpret this as an indication that they consider it rather special, knowing that it can hold its own alongside their oolong teas, which are generally expected to exhibit a greater degree of subtlety and refinement than any black tea.

Canton Tea Co’s description:

“This soft red tea is made from only tender buds, which are shaped into tight and elegant strips. The leaves have fine orangy-yellow hairs hence its nickname – Ju Hong (clementine red). The ‘Hao Xiang’ (bud’s aroma) is fresh and sweet with a hint of creamy caramel and the liquor is golden red with a smooth texture and a long, soft, mellow aftertaste.”

Note: in China, the fully oxidized teas we call “black” are more commonly called “red” (hong).

One thing notable about the dry leaf of Bai Ling Gong Fu is that it has long, slender and very curled leaves with brilliant golden highlights and it has a fine layer of light brown dust on the leaves. This dust left a fine residue in the strainer as the tea was poured through it each time. The dry leaf had a nice sweet scent, promising a nice liquor.

As I anticipated, based on the look and scent of the dry leaf, the brewed tea had a wonderfully complex flavor. The taste varied quite a bit across the four infusions. At times I found it reminiscent of wood charcoal and creme brulee, and, most prominently, orange peel and burnt sugar. This dark, bity richness was quite wonderful alongside the tea’s interesting slick, coating mouthfeel.

While I imagine that this tea would still be good if brewed with a method other than gongfu cha, I do not think that it would display its best qualities. I suspect that a lot of the tea’s finer character would be undetectable if it were made in a large teapot, typical black-tea style. Overall, drinking it was quite a nice experience each time, and in addition to the pleasurable taste of the tea, it’s quite a gorgeous shade of brilliant orange.

Ice it. Almost everyone is familiar with the deliciousness of iced tea, as it’s a quintessential summer beverage. You don’t have to use the classic black tea, however, as green and white teas can make equally as tasty iced tea. Experiment with tea types to find the perfect blend for your tastes.

Add fruit. Summer is a time when many fruits are at their peak so why not take advantage and use them to flavor your tea? Raspberries, blueberries and even oranges can add a lot to tea and make it feel super summer ready.

Sweeten it. For those with a sweet tooth, summer can be the perfect excuse to sweeten up your tea more than usual. Try out a great southern iced tea recipe for a much sweeter take on the usually bitter taste of tea.

Combine it with other beverages. Tea doesn’t have to go it alone when you’re searching for a great summer beverage. Flavor your tea with lemonade, pomegranate juice or a variety of other juices for a refreshing and healthy twist on regular tea.

Make a punch. Whether you choose to add alcohol or not is up to you, but tea can be a great addition to many summer-friendly punches. Mixed with fruit, juices and sparkling water, tea can bring a lot of life to the party.

Use it to flavor other foods. Like sorbet? Wouldn’t tea sorbet be even better? There are many summery recipes that use tea as a flavoring agent. From duck to cheesecake, there are tons of recipes out there that can let you have your tea and eat it too.

Some tea enthusiasts claim that tea can actually help prevent sunburn and be healthier for you than water. Whether these are true claims or not, there’s no reason to skip out on tea when the temperatures climb.

This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the nursing degree. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com.

Despite being a little different from what I expected, the Yunnan Golden Tips was a very good tea, one that I enjoyed drinking each time that I made it. It is a reliable, basic everyday tea, good for mustering up enough energy to make it through a long day of work. The tea has enough flavor to be interesting, without the harsh astringency of some other varieties of black tea. It has a very comfortable taste and does not need anything added to it.

Narienteas’ packaging also identifies the Yunnan Golden Tips as “Dian Hong” which means “Yunnan Red,” a descriptor of where it’s from and what type of tea it is. “Dian” is the older name for Yunnan (more precisely it refers to the Dian Kingdom, an ancient civilization in the area that is now Yunnan Province), and in China the teas we usually call “black” are called “red,” which is “hong” in Mandarin. I have had other teas labeled “Dian Hong” which, to the best of what I can remember, tasted identical to narienteas’ Yunnan Golden Tips.

Like it will with most Chinese black teas of respectable quality, a second steeping of Yunnan Golden Tips produces a good tasting cup of tea. Beyond that it’s not really worth brewing unless you like your tea a little weak and flat.

narienteas’ description:

“Yunnan Golden Tips is a beautiful Yunnan black tea with tippy, golden colored leaves. Brews a rich aromatic cup with a delicious spice tone.”

Brewing this tea is straightforward: use filtered or spring water brought to a full boil, steep in a porcelain, ceramic or glass teapot for 3-5 minutes depending on your personal preference, pour into a glass cup and drink in the sunshine.

One benefit of obtaining better information is dismantling my biases, and this was no exception. I discovered that this particular piece of tea ware is more distinctive in its materials and design than I had thought, plus it has an interesting history that I had known nothing about. I also discovered that it brews an excellent pot of tea. I now have a 6-cup Brown Betty that I enjoy using for the same types of tea that are typical of English tea consumption: Ceylon, Darjeeling, Assam, Earl Grey, etc. The teapot is also a more solid and attractive object than I had thought it was, never having handled or used one until recently.

One thing that I spent a little time puzzling over was that brewing in the Brown Betty is optimal with the loose tea leaf directly in the pot, but this presents a quandary of how to halt the steeping process when the tea is ready. Of course one would not want to allow the leaves to over-steep as the tea is consumed, and generally the entire contents would not be distributed into cups right off, so the logical solution would be to decant the tea into a different pot for serving. I haven’t been able to determine whether this is accurate, but I suspect that perhaps in English homes where there are formal tea sets, like those made by Wedgwood or Limoges, the fine china teapots would be used for serving, but not for brewing. The proletarian Brown Betty would be used to steep the tea but would be left back in the kitchen after the tea was poured into a fancier teapot.

However, in spite of its plainer appearance the Brown Betty is also very good at keeping tea nicely warm after steeping and it pours exceptionally well, so there are practical advantages to using it for serving the tea. In an attempt to resolve this, I performed one experiment where I strained the tea into an alternate container and then back into the Brown Betty after the leaves were rinsed out, but the method was very awkward and impractical and had a high risk of burnt fingers. The best solution I could come up with was to use two same-sized Brown Betty teapots. After steeping, the tea can be strained into the second pre-warmed pot which can then be used for serving the tea. I am sure that this is unconventional, but it seems to be an ideal solution, particularly since the cost of a second Brown Betty is not prohibitive.

This is just the beginning of my post on The English Tea Blog (which has little or no overlap of content with this one):

“Despite its humble appearance and role as default teapot in so many English cupboards, the Brown Betty is a much more interesting piece of tea ware than one might assume. The ancestral forms of the Brown Betty came into production and use in England near the close of the seventeenth century, when craftsmen began using the unique red clay found in the Bradell Woods area of Stoke-on-Trent to fashion into teapots.”

Read the rest on The Taste of English Tea Blog.