Tea Blog

Pu-erh – An Aged Black Tea from China

March 2nd, 2010

Pu-erh, also known as an aged black tea, is one of the most highly prized teas in China famous for its unique medicinal value. The vast majority of Pu-erh is grown in Yunnan Province where tea was originally discovered by China’s Emperor Shen Nung over 5000 years ago.

This rare fine tea is fermented in an open air condition and purposely aged slowly to produce a deep and rich earthy taste. Like fine wines, the taste and quality of pu-erh improves as it ages, however, only the finely made and properly stored ones will improve and increase in value.

In China, all black teas are known as red teas, it is only pu-erh that is regarded as a black tea. Surprisingly enough, Puerh has a low caffeine level even though it has a dark and strong flavor, which is attributed to the aging process. There are two types of pu-erh, namely raw (green) pu-erh and ripen (cooked) pu-erh. Raw pu-erh is made from fresh leaves, withered and pan fried to prevent further oxidation, then compressed into a cake form to age without going through any further processing. Ripen pu-erh is composed of fresh leaf, fermented in a warm humid environment under a controlled condition, then dried and compressed into a cake form to age. Raw pu-erh and ripen pu-erh are often compressed but are also commonly sold at its maturity as aged loose leaf tea.

In China, it is believed that Pu-erh has more health properties than other teas. Some studies have shown that drinking pu-erh can help lower blood cholesterol, improve metabolism and reduce body fat.

Tea Blossom has a wide selection of black teas to choose from including imperial pu-erh (a cooked pu-erh aged over 15 years), pu-erh with chrysanthemum (a very popular pu-erh blend in Hong Kong) and an organic citrusy Pu-erh (a special blend of pu-erh for everyone!). These black teas are available at our store located in Scarsdale, New York and on our online store. Tea Blossom proudly serves the tea needs of New York’s Westchester tea drinkers including Scarsdale, Eastchester, Larchmont, Edgemont, New Rochelle, Yonkers, Bronxville, Rye, Hartsdale, White Plains, Irvington, Sleepy Hollow, Pleasantville and Dobbs Ferry.

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A Snowy day

February 26th, 2010

snowman

Welcome to Tea Blossom, we are open!

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Black tea helps artery dilation

February 25th, 2010

While black tea is still the most popular tea at Tea Blossom, a recent study was completed by doctors at the Boston University School of Medicine which found that drinking black tea has a significant effect on artery dilation. The ability of arteries to dilate, or expand, is important to the maintenance of normal blood pressure and blood circulation.

How can the consumption of black tea protect against heart disease? The researchers found that Black tea contains flavonoids, antioxidants linked to the reduction of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), the so-called bad cholesterol, in the blood. However, according to Dr. Vita, one probably has to keep drinking the tea to enjoy its benefits. “Flavonoids have a short life,” Vita says. “You need to continuously ingest these kinds of foods for effect.”

To learn details about the result of the studies, please click here which will take you to the journal of the American Heart Association website.

Tea Blossom has a wide selection of black teas to choose from with a variety of flavors so that you can enjoy the benefits of black loose leaf tea without getting bored. These black teas are available at our store located in Scarsdale, New York and on our online store. Tea Blossom proudly serves the tea needs of New York’s Westchester tea drinkers including Scarsdale, Larchmont, Bronxville, Rye, Hartsdale, New Rochelle, Edgemont, Eastchester, White Plains, Irvington, Sleepy Hollow, Yonkers, Ossining and Dobbs Ferry.

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What is Rooibos?

February 20th, 2010

Many people confuse herbal tisanes as tea, in fact, herbal tea does not come from the tea plant named Camellia sinensis. Herbal teas are really just an infusion of leaves, roots, bark, seeds or flowers of other plants. Herbal tea does not have the unique characteristics of tea and it is not linked to researches on the potential health benefits of traditional teas. However, many herbs have different healing properties for the human body (e.g. chamomile, peppermint, chrysanthemum etc) and many are widely used as an alternative medicine to cure diseases and other chronic ailments. For others, herbal tea is a relaxing beverage which helps to sooth and calm your body and mind.

Among many of the herbs, Rooibos, also known as “red tea”is from South Africa and has gained popularity in many countries. Rooibos is grown in a small area in the Cedarberg region of the western cape province. Rooibos is the only herb that undergoes a full fermentation process like black tea. During fermentation, the leaves of rooibos turn from green to a deep red color producing a sweet, slight nutty flavor with a reddish brown infusion. Rooibos is known for its naturally sweet flavor, high level of antixoidants and lack of caffeine. In South Africa, rooibos is usually prepared with milk and sugar. But Rooibos is usually served without milk or sugar in most other countries.

Today rooibos is one of the most popular herbs consumed in America. Many rooibos blends are created to meet different taste preferences. Tea Blossom offers a great selection of rooibos blends such as the ginger tangerine rooibos, plum cinnamon rooibos, organic passion fruit rooibos, organic citrus rooibos, cranberry orange rooibos, organic peppermint rooibos and organic rooibos. You sure will find a flavor that you will enjoy!

Rooibos is available both at Tea Blossom located in Scarsdale, New York and on our online tea store. Tea Blossom continues to serve the tea needs of the Westchester New York communities including Scarsdale, Bronxville, Eastchester, White Plains, Rye, Hartsdale, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Ardsley and Tarrytown

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What is Matcha

February 16th, 2010

Matcha is a Japanese powdered green tea that is used in the tea ceremony (also known as Chanoyu) in Japan. The Japanese tea ceremony is a highly ritualized, sophiscated and elaborate practice of preparing matcha. It emphasizes harmony, respect, purity and tranquility in a calm, peaceful setting and awareness of the nature.

Matcha has been rapidly growing its popularity in America, more people are intrigued by matcha’s high nutritional value and rich antioxidant content. The health benefits of matcha outweigh any other green tea because matcha is blended into the drink so actual tea leaves are consumed, so you are not just consuming nutrients from a brew. Matcha makes a great nutritious beverage for everyday consumption! It’s sugar free, high in fiber and rich in antioxidants and Chlorophyll.

High quality matcha is divided into two styles, they are thin (ousucha) and thick (okoicha). Thin Matcha is light, it is perfect for daily use and popular among those with less matcha experience. Thick matcha is higher quality than thin matcha because it comes from older trees (more than 30 years old). It’s concentrated and more expensive and is exclusively served in the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

High quality matcha comes from gyokuro which is shade grown weeks before the harvest and then steam-dried to prevent fermentation, this results in a vibrant and beautiful green color in the tea. Later stems and veins are removed from the leaves so the tea becomes very soft and fine before it is store-grounded . It takes one hour to grind approximately 30-40g of matcha and the final weight of matcha is approximately 1/10^thfrom the original harvest, which explains why matcha is so precious.

Click here to view a video of how a traditional tea ceremony is performed

Click here to view a video of a traditional way of preparing matcha

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What is oolong?

February 6th, 2010

Oolong, also known as “Wu long” in Chinese, is a separate category of tea that falls between green tea and black tea. Unlike the white, green or black teas, oolong is partially fermented during the process which can go anywhere from 15% to 85% of fermentation resulting in different types of oolong teas. The Majority of oolong teas are produced in China and Taiwan. Oolong tea is very popular in Asian countries and very well-loved among tea drinkers. As you may know, all types of teas (white, green, oolong and black) come from the same plant called Camellia Sinensis – a warm weather evergreen. How the tea leaves are processed and their level of contact with oxygen determines the resulting types of tea. During the fermentation process, tea leaves undergo natural chemical reactions and create distinctive colors, bodies and taste characteristics.

Among these 4 types of teas, oolong involves the most technical, skillful and experienced labor to process. Creating Oolong tea is considered a work of art because the amount of oxidation and different rolling methods directly impact the end result of the flavor, color and taste. Therefore, oolong is usually a priced tea and is greatly treasured in Asia because of its complex yet unique process.

There is a wide variety of oolong flavors which vary according to the degree of oxidation and rolling methods. In general, a light or green oolong is a lightly fermented tea which produces a mild flowery taste with a pale green infusion, for example Jade Oolong. A medium body finish oolong is a semi-fermented tea that yields an invigorating flavor with a sweet aftertaste such as Iron Goddess of Mercy and Water Sprite. A strong or dark oolong is a highly fermented tea like the Oriental Beauty and Red Hood (also known as Dai Hao Pao in Chinese), these teas have a strong aromatic flavor with a delicate lingering taste and they produce a deep amber brew. So if you are a white tea or green tea drinker, you are likely to enjoy the light oolong and if you are a black tea drinker, you are likely to enjoy a medium or dark oolong. Go visit your local tea shop and try a oolong tea, you will be blown away by its variety and distinctive flavor!

Tea Blossom located in Scarsdale, New York proudly satisfies the needs of the tea drinking communities of Westchester county including White Plains, Rye, Larchmont, Bronxville and Hartsdale.

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How to prepare green tea properly without tasting the bitterness

February 5th, 2010

If you don’t like green tea because of its bitter taste, you probably did not brew it correctly. A good cup of green tea should taste more sweet than bitter. Green tea contains a lot of antioxidants, and some components attribute to the bitterness and some components attribute to the sweetness. Therefore, in order to bring out the sweetness and suppress the bitterness of your green tea, you need to know how these components work when interacting with the water temperature and the steeping time.

Water temperature is extremely important for making a good cup of green tea. The water temperature usually falls between 165 F and 175 F. The reason green tea requires a lower water temperature is because hot water will quickly extract caffeine and catechin and these two components will bring out the bitterness of the tea whereas theanine and amino acid are pretty stable components in any water temperature which yield the sweetness of the tea. As such, you need to adjust the water temperature to control the bitterness to ensure it will not overpower the sweet taste.

Steeping time is another major factor that makes your green tea tastes bitter. Normally japanese green teas do not need to steep more than 1-2 minutes and chinese green tea do not need to steep more than 2-3 minutes. The longer you let your tea infuse in the water, the more caffeine and catechin will be extracted from the tea leaves, hence your green tea will taste strong and bitter.

In short, water temperature and steeping time goes hand in hand when preparing green tea. If you are using the right temperature but steeping the tea longer than the instruction, you will end up with a bitter taste and vice versa.

One final note, not all the green teas use a low water temperature. For example, the japanese green teas like Genmaicha, Hojicha and kukicha or the Chinese green teas like gunpowder and Chun Mee, require a higher temperature because these teas are made to enjoy the aroma as much as possible, so a higher water temperature is required to extract a full aroma.

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How to decaffeinate your tea at home

January 30th, 2010

Everyday a new tea blend or flavor is created and there are many varieties and selections to choose from. You certainly do not want to miss out on the opportunity to try them only because they are not decaffeinated.

The decaffeinated teas you get from supermarkets or groceries are being chemically-processed to extract the caffeine which impacts the flavor and quality of tea. Also, your choices of tea are so limited due to higher cost of production and packaging.

Now you can overcome this dilemma by decaffeinating your tea at home – that’s right! Do it yourself (DIY)! Since caffeine dissolves in water instantly, you can extract the caffeine from your tea naturally. First put the tea leaves in a teapot, pour hot water over the tea leaves and ensure all the tea leaves are covered in the water. Then discard the water by pouring it out immediately from the teapot. Do not let your tea steep or sit in the water as this will lose a lot of flavor from the tea. This simple “Pour-in, Pour-out” process allows the water to wash the caffeine away and reduces up to 80 – 90% of the caffeine from the tea. It’s done organically and best of all, you are no longer limited in your choices of teas!

Tea Blossom has over 90 different loose leaf teas including a great wide variety of flavored blends! So why not pick your favorite tea and “DIY” to decaffeinate it at home and try some of our new teas blends!

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Tea Blog

Pu-erh – An Aged Black Tea from China

A Snowy day

Black tea helps artery dilation

What is Rooibos?

What is Matcha

What is oolong?

How to prepare green tea properly without tasting the bitterness

How to decaffeinate your tea at home

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