March 28, 2024
How to Brew the perfect cup of tea: Some things to keep in mind when brewing your tea: The quality of your water is extremely important! If you have any reason to doubt the purity of your tap water, we suggest that you use spring water. When tea brews the leaves will double in size – so make sure that you are using an infuser or filter that will allow the water to circulate around the leaves. Green, white and oolong teas prefer cooler water temperatures. We have recommended temperatures below. If you do not have a thermometer we recommend that you acquire one to insure that your tea does not become bitter from a hotter temperature. Black Tea Hot tea is best made by warming a teapot […]
March 28, 2024
The following information is a quick overview of the intricate process that creates high quality teas. Tea plantings begin from propagation (cutting or transplanted root branches) and clonal leaf cuttings. The new plants are raised in a nursery and are transplanted when they reach an average height of 6-8 inches, which takes roughly 6 months. These new tea bushes remain untouched for 2 years and obtain a height of 5-6 feet. At that time they are sheared down to a foot and pruned weekly to keep them at waist height (perfect for picking). These new bushes will not produce a commercial yield for 3-5 years depending on the growing conditions. Once the bushes have reached maturity tea processing begins. The process of creating teas depends exclusively on the […]
March 28, 2024
Decaffeinated Tea Information Co2 process: Super critical carbon dioxide (co2) uses highly pressurized carbon dioxide, the gas that adds bubbles to mineral water, to dissolve caffeine from tea leaves. At pressure of 250-350 times atmospheric pressure, co2 takes on the density of a liquid and the viscosity of a gas, which makes an efficient solvent. In its pressurized state, co2 is pumped into a sealed chamber containing tea, where it is allowed to circulate to remove the caffeine. From there it is pumped into a washing vessel where water or activated charcoal is used to separate the caffeine from the co2. The purified co2 is recirculated into the pressurized chamber. This process is repeated until the appropriate amount of caffeine has been removed. The major advantages are that […]
March 28, 2024
TEA BASICS Everything you need to know to begin your journey into the wonderful world of tea! The word tea comes from the Chinese local Amoy dialect word t’e (pronounced “tay”). In Cantonese it became ch’a (pronounced “chah”) Legend places the introduction of tea drinking to the reign of Emperor Shen Nung about 2737 BC. The first history book (and handbook) of tea was written in 780 AD, called The Ch’a Ching, by Lu Yu. The most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water, tea can be served hot or iced at any time and for any occasion. In the late 1700’s the United States protested high taxes and staged many protests (like the Boston Tea Party). This resulted in tea losing popularity in the US […]
May 3, 2021
I was a New Tea Drinker When I began working at Simpson & Vail I was a new tea drinker and my knowledge of tea began and ended at the instant iced sweet “tea” mix you buy from the grocery store. Do they even still make that? Needless to say my knowledge on the subject was just about none. Now, I am nowhere near an expert, but I’ve had the privilege of tasting a variety of teas from around the world and even been able to create a whole collection of tea blends (National Park Tea Collection). It still fascinates me how much there is to learn about tea and how much dedication goes into the process of loose tea! Here are a few simple tips I wish […]