Author Archives: manwithamug

New Series: Tea Reflections – White Tea

I’ve talked about tea culture, tea water and some of my personal memories. Now I would like to share with you my personal tea reflections, what are my personal favorites and which teas I would recommend exploring.

Many of the books I have read present this by the six tea types: white, green, yellow, oolong, black and dark tea. Each of these categories is a world in its own. In a series of blogs I would like to share with you my insights, reflections and special moments with each.

32799254_m For me tea is so much more than just a beverage. It is the opportunity to connect with people. The diversity of this world makes us like different things, have different tastes and perspectives. Once I experienced the entire range it gave me the ability to find something a specific person can enjoy.

I learned not only to make teas I personally like but to prepare tea that will make other people happy and that matches the specific taste desires of others.

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The company that ignited my tea passion

Now this is not an attempt of hidden product placement, it is more an attempt to pay tribute and respect to the one tea company which ignited my tea passion and put me onto the road I am on right now (no worries – I am not getting any commission for writing this…).

8998416_teabag The company I am referring to is tea retailer Twinings. When I was living in Germany, I was well before the point when I started my tea journey. Yes I admit, I was a tea bag dunker and certainly the shelves of supermarkets are full of all kinds of tea bag boxes. It was convenient and quick and I did not have anything to compare it to anyway as back then there was no ‘ loose leaf aisle’ for high quality teas.

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Do You Hear the Tea? Tea and Sound.

Tasting tea is primarily based on three sensory elements: how we experience the tea on our taste buds and in our mouths, how the aroma enters our nose and how we experience the tea visually with our eyes. Rinse and Repeat.

During my studies one additional element came to my mind, which we seem to take for granted: sound. Most of you will say: what kind of nonsense, you cannot hear tea, tea does not speak to us.

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Why Tea Eggs and Easter Are Not a Good Combo – Tasting Notes

Getting a good cup of tea can be achieved in many ways. Dipping a tea bag into hot water or using a tea egg are certainly practical ways to make tea (although not the most recommended from my side).

But there are so many other ways to get to the finish line. As part of my studies I focused on different angles and techniques. I would like to share with you three of these angles – Cold brew, Multiple infusions and the type of container to use. I am sharing with you some of the tasting notes, and as my teacher would say: “Tasting is the tea professional’s most valuable skill!”

I am using the same water, filtered water using a Brita filter. The tasting notes describe every single element of the tasting , the leaves in different condition, the tea liquor, the aromas and the flavors. It’s very hard to find the right words, but you can choose descriptions you are most comfortable with.

Experiment 1 – Cold brew

21704741_mug2 Cold brewing tea is becoming more and more popular in recent years, most of all during the summer months. I really enjoy using this method as it brings out the amino acids and sweet tastes.

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How to Make Water Your Secret Weapon and Make Your Best Tea Ever

I would like to introduce you to the most basic ingredient of tea, often underestimated and most of the time unappreciated – Water, H2O.

It is a crucial element, 95 percent of the liquor and can have a major impact on the quality of the tea we will be drinking.

For that I would like to share an essay I prepared for one of my classes and give you a bit of background on the terminology of professional tea tasting.

I had a lot of fun with this assignment and it shook my core foundation when thinking about tea. I am currently developing a method of pairing waters with certain types of teas to achieve the best desirable outcome.

I also have some great ideas on how to present tea on a tea menu (How about: A 2014 Margrets Hope Spring Flush Darjeeling brewed in fresh Tuscan Spring Water and served in an Yixing clay bowl– Doesn’t that sound nice?)

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Meet an Amazing Infusion: Neavita’s Peach and Mint

Infusions are relatively new to me. When I was a kid, everything was tea to me. When I would get sick, tea was the cure. I had a cough and a few minutes later I was given tea with mostly herbal ingredients. I got the flu, I got some Chamomile. I had a stomach pain, I would get some Melissa. It would always be served with some lemon or honey in it and was quite comforting.

Neavita’s Peach and Mint

In Germany, tea (or so I thought) is sold in pharmacies. I saw tea always as a medicine and closely linked to health benefits. In the US you don’t see this so much and tea is mostly sold in supermarkets in tea bags but is not so closely linked to health benefits.

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Our Tea Ceremony – Bamboo and Yixing

This tea ceremony has been enjoyed by my wife Kristen and I. The kids are sleeping peacefully. The ceremony is dedicated to peace and harmony.

It starts off by creating an atmosphere of calm and peace. The sun has gone down and I am lighting a green tea incense and a tea candle held by a Buddha. The wonderful smell of the tea incense fills the air and the candle light reveals the stage: a large bamboo tray.

The actors are already here: my new Yixing tea pot, a smelling cup and a few drinking cups to serve the tea. As with all of my tea ceremonies, they are happy to be out of their Chinese silk boxes and participate in this ceremony.

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A Special Tea for my Yixing Tea Pot.

When I decided to get my first Yixing tea pot, I wanted to be a purist and dedicate it to only one special tea. Inspired by a famous watch commercial my mantra is: “You don’t own a Yixing tea pot, you merely look after it for the next generation.”

My goal is to turn this into a generational piece for my kids. I had to think long and hard about which tea to choose. I wanted it to be a tea where I know as much as possible about it, down to the individual farmer who made it.

My favorite tea My pick finally went for a Chinese Oolong tea, Huang Zhi Xiang Dan Cong (Gardenia Dan Cong). I truly enjoy Dan Cong teas, the tea of ‘many tastes’ and I have tasted several varieties over the years. There are 12 main varieties of Dan Cong teas with different aromas and such beautiful names like Honey Orchid, Ginger Flower, Almond, Gardenia and Magnolia.

I picked a tea that is complex, has an interesting aroma and flavor profile and it will be interesting to see how the flavor profile develops over time (and hopefully generations) while using the same Yixing tea pot. I am fascinated by the mystery and the depth of Chinese Oolong teas. I have a similar passion for Wuyi Shan Oolongs.

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Do You Know Where Your Tea Comes From? A Crash Course

Let’s Start With Some Tea Basics: My visit to Limuru, Kenya

Limuru Tea

What better way to introduce tea to you is then to show you. I had the tremendous opportunity a few weeks ago to visit the Limuru region just north of Nairobi, Kenya. My goal was to visit the Maraba tea factory, which specialized in CTC (Crush Tear Curl) Black Tea production. It’s basically what you find in tea bags and blends.

Even though tea bag tea is not my favorite, I got inspired by tea legend Mr. James Norwood Pratt, who said that we cannot snub tea bags and tea bag drinkers as a large number of people around the world use tea bags. They like it and it is convenient. I believe that describing this type of tea processing is a good starting point many of you are familiar with and we can only go up from here. In the coming months I will show you WHY loose leaf tea is better and tastier.

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Master of the Art and Science of Tea: Join Me On My Journey

This post is a continuation of “Why Do You Like Tea So Much?” -My Backstory and Life As a Tea Specialist (And Why My Wife Wants to Kill Me).

I often get asked the question: Why do you like tea so much? I can best sum it up by looking at my tea past, present and future.

Future

What will be next? My dream remains to attend my graduation ceremony at the World Tea Academy at the biggest event – the World Tea Expo! It will be held in June this year in Las Vegas and we hope to actually make it there.

Join me on my journey to become a Tea Master. (Image from http://storynory.com)

My educational journey will continue. I am also a member of the International Tea Masters Association (ITMA) and hope to become a Tea Master one day. Wish me luck and I am sure you will read all about it here on the blog.

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