Steep This - Quick Tea Musings

Loose Leaf Tea is better

2008-02-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

Why would anyone go about doing all the work for loose leaf tea when lots of companies are bagging the tea for you? Well, in short, loose leaf tea is better for you in almost every way.

Loose leaf tea retains it's flavour much more than bagged tea. This is because the process to get to bagging can be flavour reducing and the quality simply isn't there. It is very easy to put a lower grade tea in a bag as a bag masks any imperfections in the tea and therefore the quality doesn't have to be as stringent. In loose tea the product is readily exposed and there is no way to mask the tea or use a lesser quality tea as it would be obvious immediately.

To add to that, loose leaf tea usually has a shorter shelf life as it is unprocessed. This means that the tea will have more flavour as the tea was picked more recently. On top of that, most loose leaf tea sellers have a 6-8 month shelf life for their tea, who knows how long the bagged tea has been sitting at the company or on the grocery store shelves, it could be months if not years.

Another key benefit of loose leaf tea is you can moderate the amount of tea you'd like for you and your guests. With bagged tea the only moderation you can have is adding an extra bag for more people, but that hardly seems reasonable or accurate. For instance, if a bag is good for one person, and 2 bags is good for two people, how many are needed for a dozen people?

For these reasons, along with the experience of having better tea, InspiredInfusions.com only sells loose leaf tea. We're picky, we're proud of it, and we like it.

- I only write for as long as it takes to steep my tea, so that's all for now.

Cheers

Matcha secrets

2008-02-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

Izu Matcha is by far one of the best selling teas in our lineup. This increase has only been in the past year as more and more people become aware of the secrets of the Matcha tea.
Matcha, (pronounced Ma-cha) is a Japanese tea that is served and created differently than all other teas. Matcha leaevs are ground up into a fine powder and it is that powder that is placed directly into the cup. The process is exactly the same as what you'd do with a hot chocolate powder and how you'd place that in a warm cup of milk.
The key benefits of this are that tea is high in antioxidants, but by actually consuming the leaves (all be it they are shredded to a fine powder) you actually absorb a much higher percentage of minerals and antioxidants than through the regular steeping process.
Matcha and it's health benefits have made it the drink of choice for coffee chains around the world as their 'healthy alternative'. This is true, it is healthier than coffee, but it is best served naturally, not placed in a late, as the high amount of milk, etc will negate any positve effect the Matcha possesses.
Regardless, this gem of a drink is unique, different, and has been drunk since the days of the great Samurai swordsman of Japan (it was, in fact, their drink of choice)

- I only write for as long as it takes to steep my tea, so that's all for now.

Cheers

New Years Tea

2007-12-27T10:32:00.000-08:00

As readers of this blog know. I get a lot of questions, and I really don't focus my blog on my thoughts so much as anwering people's questions. Recently I had someone ask me about what would go well with a new year's meal. Well, since there is no traditional new year's meal, it's very hard to answer this, though I will do my best.
My recommendation is almost always drink a strong black tea in the winter time. The strong teas give you some kick and have pronounced flavours. no one wants a subtle flavour in the cold, you want to be able to taste what you're eating and drinking.
If you are, however, going with something like lobster for New Years (which is what I always do), then, despite what I just said, I would recommend a tea with a little more subtle flavours such as an Oolong or a white tea such as Pai Mu Tan. Both will have distinctive flavours, but not overpowering, so as to offer a suitable parallel to the subtle but distinctive tastes.
As with any food or drink nuance, tea has basic principles that should be followed, but as expected, there are many exceptions to every rule, as seen by my example above.

- I only write for as long as it takes to steep my tea, so that's all for now.

Cheers

Why are you only online? Why don't we have a retail store?

2007-12-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

I've been asked again and again where our location is and why we don't have a retail store. I understand people's needs & demands, I understand that you want to be able to see, to sniff, to see the products before you buy. I understand that yet I'm still not willing to open up a store. Why am I so stubborn? Because I like you, that's why. Our tea is imported from the best tea sources around the world and we keep it vacuum sealed until it is ordered. This means that your tea is more fresh and keeps it's moisture as opposed to sitting out on retail shelves for weeks or maybe months. Some tea shops have large tins full of tea, I'm sure they don't sell it all out within a week, so that tea gets dryer by the day. Not only that but it also gets full of dust and air as well as customers sniffing and breathing on it. If that's the type of tea you want, then by all means hit the stores. Here's where we differ. We buy premium tea from premium buyers, and instead of covering the cost of shelf space in a retail environment as well as staffing etc, we have a small staff and no retail costs (displays, signs, rents, etc), this enables us to sell our higher quality teas at comparable costs to the mediocre quality tea usually sold in tea stores. See, I told you I liked you, I'm giving you better quality tea and I'm saving you money.

- I only write for as long as it takes to steep my tea, so that's all for now.

Cheers

Chocolate Rooibos - Why it's fantastic

2007-12-04T08:05:00.001-08:00

This morning I was feeling festive and decided to have myself a chocolate rooibos tea. The joy of this tea isn't so much in it's flavour, as both chocolate and rooibos are much weaker then typical tea flavours, but in it's aromas. Chocolate is an excellent addition to any tea, because as the hot water is added, it melts the chocolate and the steam releases the chocolate smell all around. Some people may be offended by food smells, but I've never met anyone that was offended by the smell of dark chocolate. So, if you're in the festive mood like I was, grab yourself a chocolate rooibos, have a few sips, and enjoy the smell. Not only is it festive, but it has almost no calories, and at this time of the year, that's probably the only thing around that doesn't.

- I only write for as long as it takes to steep my tea in the morning, so that's all for now.

Cheers

Earl Grey - Why is it so popular?

2007-11-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was a little boy I can remember Earl Grey tea, yes, growing up with a European family might have had a bit of an effect, but even the non-euros new about Earl Grey tea. Why is it so popular? There is no real answer to that, but I think that Earl Grey has a lot of similar parallels to Grey Poupon. Yes, there are hundreds of types of Dijon mustard, but again, the one name seems to stick out. Perhaps it is because both of these are somewhat more exotic than standard fare. In the case of Earl Grey, yes, it's a black tea, but it has a little bit of an exotic edge to it. It has bergamot oil in it (a member of the citrus family) and this unique smell and flavour not only give the Earl Grey a unique taste, but allow it to be distinctive yet not to different. Bergamot oil is not used for much other than tea, so this makes it rare yet relatively common(if the two can conincide for the same product). This seems to be part of the recipe for famous products; being different and unique, but not so much so that you lose your popularity. So, in my opinion, bergamot oil is what makes Earl Grey so popular.

- I only write for as long as it takes to steep my tea in the morning, so that's all for now.

Cheers

Rooibos Hype

2007-11-26T07:24:00.000-08:00

I always get people asking what Rooibos tea is and why it's more pricey. I think the problem is that there is not enough teaching on where tea comes from and what qualifies for tea. Rooibos is actually a south african term meaning 'red bush'. This tea isn't like conventional tea at all except that the preparation process is the same. Basically, from a very lay point of view, Rooibos is ground up leaves of the 'red bush'. The tea itself is actually caffeine free and is often used as a base for flavored teas. Many teas that have subtle flavors are placed with Rooibos as the flavor of the tea is weak so the subtle flavored spices/additions won't be masked. An example that we sell is Bora Bora Mango Rooibos, where the mango is not very strong in flavor and would be masked in a black or green tea, but in the rooibos it works beautifully.

- I only write for as long as it takes to steep my tea in the morning, so that's all for now.

Cheers