Tag Archives: tea culture

How to Easily Brew the Perfect Cup of Tea

Everybody has their own preference. Some like tea bags, some like high quality loose leaf tea, some are just somewhere in between. It is not up to me to convert you or decide for you what you find the best. My goal is to make you a little bit more curious and provide you with options for your tea journey.

The perfect cup of tea is the one you like the most. It is the one that hits the spot and has the right taste. The perfect cup will bring joy and a sense of gratification to your day. What could be better than to find an oasis of happiness in the middle of a stressful day. I talked a lot about taste in recent posts and tasting right takes a lot of practice. Bringing a little bit of mindfulness in the way you are making decisions when making your cup of tea can go a long way and ultimately lead to better tea enjoyment in the process.

The key components for the right cup of tea are:

1. The right water

2. A high quality loose leaf tea

3. The right brewing temperature

4. The right brewing time.

You can take this further to the top by selecting special brewing vehicles and a wonderful cup to enjoy the tea in, but I am trying to focus on the essentials. The key is that you create an experience that suits you best and connects with what you like. There is no perfect one-size-fits-all solution.

1. The right water

The quality of water is often overlooked. As a water sommelier this is one of my most important areas of education and also one of the most fascinating. You do not have to be a water sommelier to make a good cup of tea, but if you want to expand on your essential knowledge, I can highly recommend a Fine Water 101 course with The Fine Water Academy to learn the basics.

The best tea water has a ph level (check the label on the bottle) of around 7, and a super low TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), best below 50. (As long it is in the neighborhood of these numbers, you can select a water you like the best. I believe that selecting a wonderful water will only further add to the tea experience by adding a little piece of affordable luxury and will complement the high-quality tea. Remember, 95% of tea is water and a fine water will make such a big difference.

2. A high quality loose leaf tea

I often get the comment: “But this kind of tea is more expensive. Is it worth it?” Totally. The beauty of loose leaf tea is that you can re-steep the same leaves, while with a standard tea bag, you can normally only use once. If convenience is a priority, buy some empty loose leaf tea bags or pyramid teas. Try to research where the tea is coming from, which country, even which state or province. Try to learn more about the characteristics, what is the best way of brewing it, what are the intended flavors or aromas. Most high quality loose leaf tea is produced by experienced tea masters and they turn a leaf into a piece of art and into a wonderful taste.

Certainly there are limits and it’s the same with water or wine. There is the terroir and the conditions that will influence the characteristics of the tea leaf. The soil and the water running trough the ground will have an impact on the growth of the tea plant. A tea plant in the soil of China will be completely different than a tea in the soil of India. The beauty is that you have six types of tea to choose from and thousands of different kinds of tea. Even if you would drink a different tea every day for the rest of your life, you would not be able to experience them all. So pick something you like. If you give me a preferred taste you like, I can guide you in the right direction to fast track your search.

3. The right brewing temperature

Most teas are pretty forgiving. You can boil the water and pour it over the tea leaf and you get a decent cup of tea. Some high quality loose leaf teas are not so forgiving. Use the wrong temperature and the tea will turn bitter or weak. So using the right temperature is essential and the below picture can guide you in the right direction. You do not need a thermometer. Just use the fisheye method to ‘eye ball’ the right temperature. When you see bubbles on the bottom of the pot, it will tell you about the temperature of the water. Tiny bubbles (the size of shrimp eyes) will be a water temperature of about 160F, while the size of fish eyes will be about 180F).

4. The right brewing time

If you brew some teas too long, they become too bitter. Brew it for too short an amount of time and they become too weak. In the picture below you can see the right combination for a tea type. You might have to experiment a little bit to find just the right spot for your tastes.

Conclusion

Being mindful of these components will result in a better cup of tea, one that you never imagined. It is like flying business class for the first time and never wanting to go back to economy. Life is full of obstacles and challenges. Treat yourself to a nice cup of tea and great a little piece of happiness to brighten your day. Choose a favorite cup or mug to drink the tea to further elevate your experience.

If you know the background of the water you are brewing the tea in, the culture and terroir of the tea leaf, brew it at the right temperature and at the right time, I guarantee you that you will create something magical, something special to be remembered. And you can use this knowledge to bring joy to your friends and family. Nothing creates happiness more than a wonderfully brewed cup of tea, at least for me.

Stay Thirsty!

How to Find Tea and Water Inspiration In Stunning Japan

With the holidays now behind us (☹ ) , it is time for me to reflect on the past few days and weeks. For me travel is always a journey of inspiration. Our Christmas trip this year brought us to Japan, a country that has such a deep tea culture. I had also been in Japan in 1993 and was looking forward to showing my family around.

The holiday period also gave me time to look forward to the new year and to think about where to take my sommelier experience. My goal in the tea and water world is to continue to inspire as many people as possible and to raise awareness and excitement for high quality tea and fine water. I want to continue working with the Myanmar hospitality industry to make an impact on raising awareness of fine water and learn more about high quality tea. I am in need of practical tea making experience and hope that 2019 will be the year I can work on a tea plantation. We have only reached the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the best water and tea experience.

My tea and water blog

From now on I will blend both industries into this one blog. My experience in the tea world can benefit the fine water industry. And my amazing experience learning about fine water will help to inspire the tea industry to use better quality water when brewing tea. I aim to further develop my skills to become a bridge ambassador between the water and tea industries and bring value to both. I do not want to have ‘just another tea and water blog’ but want to ‘oooh’ and ‘ahh’ you with my entries. Sometimes thinking about one industry helps me to understand the other one better. They are certainly not in isolation, but are linked to other areas and categories in the hospitality industry.

Tea in Japan is everywhere. It is firmly embedded in traditions, in the culture and for sure in any restaurant you will eat at. Japan produces and consumes 90% green tea. I was excited to find Japanese black tea at a shop on the bottom of Mt. Fuji together with amazing green teas.

It was great to experience the combination of tea as a drink and as a food. Two of my favorite things: freshly brewed Japanese green tea and green tea ice cream.

The first tea experience when we arrived in Tokyo was at the Hama Rikyu Gardens. We found ancient tea houses, some of them have been rebuilt with amazing materials and a passion for original details. A tea house in the gardens offered matcha tea with sweets. I had to think back to my first visit to Japan in 1993 and how we were privileged to experience a traditional tea ceremony. My wonderful tea educator, Donna Fellmann has studied the tea ceremony for decades. It is a world of tea rituals and procedures which work together to create the best experience for its guests.

For the kids there was a different kind of fun – tea cups in Disneyland!

I just love how readily tea is available in Japan. Everywhere there are vending machines dispensing ready to drink tea. I loved this matcha as a morning drink!

In the evening I would order Oolong tea in a restaurant, served in a wonderful tea pot and tiny tea cups. In the western world it is not common yet to drink tea together with a meal, it is rather a dessert option. I found it wonderful to pair my teas with the respective dish. An Oolong with a roasted and complex flavor pairs well with a meaty and hearty dish.

Find this print on Redbubble

While being inspired by the peace and tranquility of Japan, I was able to reflect on the fine water category as well. The hotel we stayed in had a water dispenser machine. It got me thinking that the relationship of people with water is impacted by such machine. We see wine as precious coming out of a fancy bottle. However we are used to water coming from a tap or a dispensing machine. 

How do we change this relationship? How to we make people feel more interested in fine water and the benefits it comes with? These are questions I will ponder more in 2019.

I will leave you with my wish that you spend 2019 a bit more mindful about water and tea and get inspired to try the best of the best for a little piece of affordable luxury.  

Stay Thirsty!

30 Minutes of Tea Liberation

I often reflect back to the beginning of my tea studies.

Here I was in my kitchen in Rome, Italy, holding a thermometer in one hand and a tea timer in the other hand, nervously anticipating the right mix to get the optimal brew.

Fast forward now to my kitchen in Yangon, Myanmar, were I grab some tea leaves and throw it into hot water to get a wonderful cup of tea.

In a way the past year has liberated me from following the instructions on the box and use scientific instruments to make tea.

However the one area where I never felt liberated is how I always experienced buying tea.

In most shops a nice tea salesperson would carefully open a tin box based on my request and would allow me to have a careful glimpse into the box. In good stores they might let me smell the tea from a safe distance.

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How to Let Go of Your Tea Bag

(and explore a new dimension…)

Many people around the world who love tea every day engage in the same ritual.

Grab a tea bag from a box, drop it into a cup and pour hot water over it. Wait until there is some uniform color appearing in the cup and pour some more ingredients into it like sugar, milk or a slice of lemon. Then take a sip and hope that this mixture will not be terrible.

Or sit in a plane and after the meal service the flight attendant will come around announcing the arrival of the tea (or coffee) to be poured into your little plastic cup.

And many of us who are attending a conference or workshop, grab a teabag from a ‘selection’ box and hope for the best.

This is the daily reality, mostly in the western world, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is a beverage you made for yourself, you like it, it comforts you, and so of course that’s good for you.

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My new favorite tea companies – the present (Part 2/2)

In the last blog post I shared my favorite tea companies from my European life when I lived in Rome, Italy.

Of course, I still enjoy visiting these stores whenever I have the chance to travel to Europe.

Asian tea culture is very different however. On top of that, Myanmar has it’s own specific quirks and environment which makes buying tea very different than in Europe.

 

tea

 

For starters, online purchases are much more complicated, but also not needed as much in Myanmar because good quality tea is everywhere. Continue reading

5 Ways Myanmar’s Tea Culture is Unique and Exciting

My Tea Life in Myanmar – One Year In

It is hard to believe that I have now been living almost one year in Myanmar. Time is really flying by! While my life at the moment is mostly focused on my mission with the World Food Programme and the well being of my family, I did experience pockets of tea life over the past year.

I know my blog has not been very active this past year, but that is about to change. Seeing the World Tea Expo happening in Las Vegas I felt a renewed commitment to be a more active part of the tea community. My passion for tea is as strong as ever and I need to share some of my observations more frequently.

Here are my Top 5 observations one year into my tea life in Myanmar:

green tea
1.) Tea is everywhere and a big part of life. I started taking it for granted that with every corner you turn, tea is part of the culture in so many aspects.This goes beyond the tea as a classic drink, but tea as part of food, cosmetics and sweets. I slowly built a life where tea is an essential part of it. I wake up in the morning and shower with green tea shower gel. I make it a special moment of my morning to pick a special tea for the day, which I will sip at work over and over. (More on this in a separate blog post.) I eat a wonderful pickled tea leaf salad and munch on green tea chocolate sticks and have a green tea desert for dinner. So many choices and little moments of  tea joy in the day.

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green tea

Wondrous Medicinal Benefits of Green Tea

Elizabeth Heck is an herbalist, writer and educator. She is the founding spirit behind Botanical Home Remedies which offers herbal home remedies courses and educational articles.

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The value of drinking green tea goes far beyond flavor alone. I absolutely enjoy the soothing comfort of a tasty warm cup of tea, but green tea is so much more than an enjoyable drink.

As an herbalist and cancer survivor, I have long respected and relied on this plant beverage for its exceptional healing properties. After all, green tea’s recognition for valuable heath benefits has been known throughout history.

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A Trip to a Yangon Supermarket – A Closer Look at the Tea Aisle

A few weeks ago, while on vacation in the US, I went to an ordinary supermarket, curious what the regular consumer can expect when in the mood for tea.

I was a bit disappointed to see convenience ruling over quality. Rows of teabags of all sorts, not that there is something wrong with it, but it would be nice to give the regular consumer some choice; an avenue to explore towards new heights and infinite better quality.

In all fairness it is getting a bit better when compared to years ago as some loose leaf tea has found their way to the shelves. However it’s still a far cry away from the wonderful complexity and taste wonderland that is the loose leaf tea world.

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Establishing my new life in Myanmar

After a few weeMYRks of broadcast silence I am finally back behind the keyboard to continue my blog from Yangon, Myanmar.

You might think I lost interest or have achieved everything I wanted with this blog, but quite the opposite is true.

In the past weeks I had to set priorities as the move from Rome, Italy to Yangon, Myanmar, which is quite substantial. My focus was on settling the family into a new house, getting the kids used to a school routine and have a successful start into my new assignment as the Head of Finance and Administration for the World Food Programme in Myanmar.

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