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In the past decade, I have seen many tea trends become popular. About fifteen years ago, I had seen bubble tea take over my metro area (I live in Los Angeles) by storm and it still has a strong following today. Just recently, I have been seeing matcha green tea all over. Not just coffee shops selling it but now shops are beginning to incorporate it into food. At first it was in desserts but now it has taken on a new form in hamburger buns or even sauces!
The hardest part is choosing which type of matcha you want to try. You can always take advantage of our Matcha sampler. Try them all at once or try them one by one. Here are our matchas:
Japanese Izu Matcha: This is our most popular of our Tea Store Matchas. This blend is made with pure luxury sencha tea and Gyokuro leaves. It’s perfect for use during a Japanese tea
ceremony at home (for the perfect kit, click here: https://www.englishteastore.com/matcha-tea-starter-kit.html) This is the matcha to use if you want matcha flavor in nearly all of your food. This is not just for plain tea and lattes, but you can add matcha to your pancakes, incorporate into a cheesecake, or blend into a smoothie. It’s very versatile!
Peppermint Matcha: The same matcha but infused with cool peppermint!
Bengal Club Chai Matcha: Much like our chai teas, this amazing matcha is blended with fresh Malabar spices to give you a peppery and saucy finish.
Kenya White Rhino: This is a green and white tea blend grown all the way from Kenya, made with young tea leaves. Nice and powdery, it would give your food and drinks a wonderfully warm a mossy note of grass and and slight floral undertones of oolong. This is named after the Kenyan White Rhino although the White Rhino is technically gray!
Our tea samplers are 1 ounces each or you can choose 2 or 8 ounces. It’s always worth it to try just a little bit of everything.
If matcha follows the way of its friend bubble tea, it will have a good lasting impact on the tea world. If you add matcha into your favorite foods and drinks, let us know! We would love to hear about it and see the pictures!
-CD
Christmas time is a favorite for many, meaning yummy food, delicious drinks, and of course, gifts! I find that tea can be a delicious drink and a gift rolled into one because it’s warm, cozy, and it’s something that can b
e given or received. I have given and received tea for Christmas and it’s always been quickly opened up and brewed so we could sample the never-before-tasted tea. This holiday season, English Tea Store has some new holiday flavors that will keep you from ripping these open before giving them away (or saving them until brewing for Christmas)!
Swiss Hot Chocolate Black Tea – This is a surprising blend of Ceylon tea grown in Sri Lanka mixed with cocoa beans and white chamomile petals for a nice floral lift. You can’t even tell this is a tea! Add a splash of milk for a creamy effect.
Vienna Egg Nog – For those who are fans of egg nog, this is a real treat! This is another Sri Lankan grown Ceylon tea but with delightful hints of ginger, cinnamon, and caramel. Try with or without milk!
Peppermint Matcha Green Tea – Our delicate matcha powder but with a refreshing peppermint flavor. This matcha powder can be drank in its simple form brewed with hot water or you can make Peppermint Matcha Green Tea Lattes oreven in desserts such as cheesecake. Be creative!
Whether you give these teas as a gift or buy them for yourself, be sure to share with a friend or a loved one. After all, it is the season of giving and one of the best parts of tea is being able to share it with someone.
Have a Merry Christmas!
-CD
Here we go again! We’re back in the summer months and that means warmer weather and colder tea. Roughly 80 percent of Americans take their tea iced and sweetened. Surprisingly, the British still take their tea hot! This is possibly due to tradition and the weather difference. American summer is much more hot and humid than British summers can be.
One of the most popular types of iced tea in the US is sweet tea, which is more predominant in the Southern states but has become more popular in Western and Northern states like California and Oregon. And I myself being raised in an American family, they all take their tea iced and sweet. Other people take their iced tea flavored with a bit of lemon, peach, or raspberries for a nice hint of fruit flavor.
In the coming weeks, I will show you how to take your iced tea to the next level. This means more ways than just having your tea iced the plain old way! You’ll learn how to brew the tea differently and even enjoy your iced tea in a different form. A whole new form? That’s right! You can cool off in more ways than one with tea this summer. This June is going to be the best for iced tea! Stay tuned!
And don’t forget National Iced Tea Day on June 10th! Be sure to celebrate with a refreshing glass of iced tea, however you like it.
For more information on iced tea, visit my post from June 2015: https://blog.englishteastore.com/2015/06/10/national-iced-tea-day/
-CD
Quick Blurb: Sencha is Japan’s most popular type of tea.
Sencha is traditionally a Japanese green tea that is made from leaves of the Japanese tea bush. In recent years, Sencha teas have been known to be produced in China, South Korea, and other countries. In 1740, a Kyoto tea master named Soen Nagatani developed the method of steam processing green leaf resulting in a superb, fresh flavorful cup.
When Sencha is brewed it has a vibrant yellow color and light aroma. The taste can be described as both bitter and sweet – making this tea a very unique experience.
Health Benefits:
- Fights against free radicals in the body
- Antioxidants can aid in preventing coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis
- Absorbs extra cholesterol in the body
- Can control blood sugar levels
- Beneficial to the immune system
- Helps aid osteoporosis
- Burns calories and can help during weight loss
- Helps retain youthful skin and reduce wrinkles by hydrating
- Repairs damaged or inflamed skin
- Natural relief for sore throat or cough
- Tea extract can be used for aromatherapy
Caffeine Content: LOW
This tea contains natural caffeine found in the L.Camellia Sinensis family. A cup of green tea steeped in boiled water for 5 minutes will contain between 22-29 milligrams of caffeine. An equal sized cup of coffee will contains 80-100 milligrams of caffeine. Caffeine quickly becomes soluble in very hot water. If you want to reduce the caffeine level in this tea, briefly rinse the tea leaves in extremely hot water. The caffeine content will reduce 25-50% – this may have a minor effect on the taste of the tea.
Antioxidant Content: 7.5 -9.99% polyphenols by dry weight. The longer you steep your tea the more polyphenols will be extracted. Polyphenol percentages may fluctuate with lot, grade of tea, testing method, temperature of water, and freshness of tea. More antioxidants are extracted from tea the longer it is brewed. The more that the tea is used the greater the antioxidant benefits.
During the month of June, try Sencha Japanese Green Tea at 15% off the original price! It’s available in loose leaf or bags.
Is it grey, or is it green? Our second Tea of the Month for May is both! Enjoy 15% off the forever favorite
made fresh with bergamot and green tea. Bergamot is a small citrus orange that blossoms in winter.
Tea was originally flavoured with bergamot to imitate the more expensive types of Chinese tea. This practice dates back to the 1820’s in the UK. In 1837 there is a record of a lawsuit against a tea maker who was found to have supplied tea “artificially scented, and, drugged with bergamot in this country.”
The Earl Grey blend, or “Earl Grey’s Mixture,” is assumed to be named after The 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830s and author of the Reform Bill of 1832. Lord Grey reputedly received a gift, probably a diplomatic perquisite, of tea flavoured with bergamot oil. The English Tea Store is one of few who takes this original Earl Grey blend and surprises you with a base of green tea.
Editor’s note – I love the word perquisite – so much nicer than today’s “perk.”
Our first February tea of the month is ceylon green. Imported from Sri Lanka, our Ceylon Green is characterized as smooth and subtle. According to wikipedia, tea production is one of the main sources of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka. Originally known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka is an island country in the Indian Ocean. Great Britain occupied the coastal areas during the Napoleonic Wars to prevent France gaining control. In 1972 Ceylon’s name was changed to Sri Lanka when it became a republic. Currently, tea accounts for 2% of Sri Lanka’s GDP, generating roughly $700 million annually to the economy of Sri Lanka. It employs, directly or indirectly over 1 million people. Sri Lanka is the world’s fourth largest producer of tea. With all of these amazing stats, Ceylon Green is still one of the unsung heroes. Most of Sri Lanka’s tea exported is black, and green tea is typically imported from Asian countries.
Ceylon in tea refers to a location, not a type of leaf. Ceylon Green tea is prepared from the fresh leaves of the tea plant, unlike Ceylon Black, which is made from the aged stems and leaves. Ceylon Green is often described as “full bodied and pungent, with a malty or nutty flavor.” Whether you go with that or “smooth and subtle,” you will get 15% off if you purchase it now! I have no doubt our readers will weigh in with their own adjectives.
~Your Editor
One thing I love the smell of in the morning, is blueberries. Blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, and now blueberry tea. Recently I tried out the English Tea Store’s Blueberry Green and it’s one of my new go-to teas – refreshing enough to wake me up but also somewhat calming. Good for a weekend morning where you can relax. I gave this tea to my dad, one of the most wound-up people in the world and HE enjoyed it!
This tea is good either sweetened or unsweetened, hot or iced. The smell is very heavenly and pairs well with breakfast, but of course you can also have it whenever you feel like it. A wonderful tea time drink, it pairs well with a delicious blueberry scone or scone with blueberry jam (I’m going crazy with blueberries here).
If you’re not much of a blueberry fan as I am, you can always go for plain green tea or even our bolder green tea with ceylon. Ceylon is a black tea and helps add smoothness. Both teas are very good choices for a relaxing morning or a tea time.
~CD
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
© Ragne Kabanova | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Earlier this month we presented our first tea of the month for January, Buckingham Palace Garden Party. Our other tea is the China Jasmine Green tea. The description on our website is very brief: “The China Jasmine tea blend from English Tea Store is a green tea with a surprising body with the captivating character of jasmine.” The ingredients are simply green tea and jasmine petals. But like all teas, this one too has a story.
Jasmine tea is said to be the oldest aromatic tea, and is used for soothing and relaxing. Green tea is typically used as the base for the flower addition, though black and white can also be used. There is an inherent, subtle sweetness to this tea brought by the jasmine. As early as 200BC, this tea blend traveled from Persia, through India, to China, where ours is still grown today. Vietnam also produces a bit of this tea.
© Arnon Ayal | Dreamstime Stock Photos
The jasmine flower is best grown in the higher elevations of the mountains. The tea leaf is picked and harvested when it is ready, and stored until the jasmine flowers are ready in late summer. The jasmine is picked early in the day, when the flowers are closed. Towards nightfall, they open and release their scent. It is at this time that the tea is flavored: the tea leaves are either layered with the harvested jasmine flowers, or mixed together. Over the course of four hours, the scent of the jasmine is absorbed into the tea. This process can be repeated a few times, depending on the tea, before the blend is dried and packaged.
Jasmine tea is a welcoming tea, often served to guests upon arrival. We welcome 2015 with this aromatic blend.
~Your Editor
© Phil Date | Dreamstime Stock Photos
January brings fresh beginnings and with it, many new resolutions. There are the typical “lose ten pounds,” “make time for family” and other very worthwhile goals. But many of us choose to try new things, or master a hobby or skill. The English Tea Store brings you teas of the month, which is a featured selection offered at a discount. In January it is Buckingham Palace and China Jasmine Green teas. In the spirit of learning and trying new things, we will be exploring the monthly teas in depth here. Today we will look at the Buckingham Palace.
The Buckingham Palace Garden Party tea loose leaf blend is a delicate medium tea with a hint of Earl Grey and Jasmine. This is a lighter afternoon tea.
At least three times each summer, the Queen holds a garden party at Buckingham Palace, as well as one in Edinburgh. Queen Victoria began this tradition in 1860 with what was called “breakfast” but was actually served mid-day. Back then, she hosted two of these events a year; in the fifties the third was added. Originally a prestigious debutante rite of passage, they now include honorees recognized for service. From 4-6PM, the over-30,000 guests are invited to stroll the grounds while royalty mingles through a series of laned walking paths. Each royal family member takes a different path so guests never know whom they will run into. The beginning and end of the event is marked by the National Anthem. According to the British Monarchy website, even though the event lasts only two hours, a staggering number of sandwiches, slices of cake, and cups of tea are served by over 400 waitstaff. Over 27,000 cups of tea are served from long buffet tables.
The tea that is served is a delicious Palace medley of five teas: Ceylon Early Grey, Jasmine, Assam, Dimbula Ceylon, and Ceylon East of Rift. The intriguing hints of high-grown pure Ceylon Earl Grey blend effortlessly with the soft jasmine from Fujian Province. Couple this with malty Assam (from the estate of Borengajuli), flavory Dimbula Ceylon (from Hatton), and golden cup East of Rift Kenya (from Kambaa and Kagwe); and you have one of the most flavorful teas to come from the British Isles. The flavours present themselves at separate times in the drinking of the tea so no two cups are ever the same.
Buckingham Palace Garden Party tea is available from ETS in either bag or loose leaf.
~Your Editor
Tea is the new wine! Pairing tea with various foods is similar to pairing with wine. Usually people serve white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat. There is a misguided perception that the color of the wine and food determine how the two are paired together. It is all about providing a flavor adventure for the palate.
Green tea is lightly oxidized forming a perfect pair with foods such as seafood, salads, and fruit. It is ideal to go with foods customarily served with white wine including scallops and lobster. Chinese green teas such jasmine and dragonwell have a bold flavor and aroma making them an ideal match for salads and chicken dishes.
Black tea is completely oxidized giving it its rich and full-bodied flavor. It pairs well with foods normally served with red wine including meats, curries, and pastries. Black tea is an excellent complement to chocolate candy. There are several types of black teas including flavored black tea, Assam, lapsang souchong and blackcurrant.
Oolong tea is a cross between black and green tea. Lightly oxidized oolong tea pairs perfectly with foods routinely served with white wine. Medium to dark oxidized oolong teas form an ideal pair with foods that are usually served with red wine such as Chinese, Thai, and grilled foods.
While tea is sometimes regaled as the new wine, there are two significant advantages to switching beverages. A person does not take the chance of intoxication and a perfect alternative for those who do not drink wine. Let us not forget there is an extensive variety of tea. Brew a cup of tea with a meal and enjoy.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
A classic post originally published 02.10.2009
