Limbering up and buckling down

Howdy again!

I hope that everyone out there had a fantastic holiday season! I spent most of mine lounging around my parents house, catching up on sleep from the past semester and working on several knitting projects.

But now I am back in school (and have been for almost 3 weeks) and trying to get back into the swing of everything. Hopefully I will be able to continue posting here this semester, since last semester I got distracted by many things, events, people, the beach... well... you get the point.

So here I am, another year has passed, and I'm trying to think of what my first non-iced tea should be for the year. I decided on trying out Adagio's Rooibos Vanilla Chai.

My usual desk set-up for reading...

Mmm snacks... mmm tea...-sigh- reading D:

Chai is something that i'm very fond of, having first had it many years ago. My dad would make it in a really large pan on the stovetop and then keep it in the fridge where I could pour myself a mug, microwave it, and enjoy as I wanted. Since then I've had many different kinds of chai, made many different ways.

Chai is, of course, the general name for tea. Most people are familiar with Masala Chai, or spiced tea, which comes traditionally from India. There Chai is boiled continuously to enhance the flavor, resulting in a strong, spicy blend. People state-side have more usually had Chai-Latte, where they've mixed chai-extract (or flavoring) with steamed milk and copious amounts of sugar to produce a very sweet, slightly spicy, and rich drink.

Spiced Chai seems to have grown out of the desire for India natives to drink tea, but not pay as much since it was taxed by the British. They would mix the tea with spices and then serve it British style, with milk and sugar, to help defray costs. While this angered many of the tea producers, this type of preparation became popular and outlived the British reign over India.

Spiced chai usually is made up of four major components. Tea, Sweetener, Spices, and Milk. The tea is usually a black tea, and is sometimes ground to help intensify its flavor. To the tea a sweetener, usually sugar, is added, along with a variety of spices. Commonly found chai spices are, Clove, Cinnamon, Ginger, Peppercorn, Anise, Cardamom, and Nutmeg. Many people tend to prefer to make their own blends instead of buying mixed Chai. This mixture is then boiled in a mixture of milk and water to create a delicious creamy, spicy, and soothing drink.

Recently there have been more people experimenting with chai, making it with green tea or rooibos instead of black tea, or adding in non-traditional spices such as vanilla, chocolate, etc. Some people enjoy the tea steeped as normal tea would be with only boiling water, others like to do this and then add milk and or sugar. Others prefer to make it the traditional way, boiling the mixture on the stovetop. Iced chai is also becoming popular, especially in milkshake-like blends.

I opted to make this in the traditional style, why mess with something that's perfect? I took 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup milk, added about 4 tsp of sugar, and a few tbsp of the chai mix and mixed them all in a pan, stirring every now and again on the stove until the liquid looked the right color, which took a little over 10 minutes, The result was slightly more than a cup of delicious, spicy, and interesting cup of chai.

The rooibos creates a different spicy taste than normal black tea. I'm not sure that it's better than traditional black tea, but it's not bad. The vanilla is delicious in this, and the other spices complement each other nicely. Its a good blend, not something that I would reach for everyday, but on a cold rainy day it sure does warm up the body and soul.

I would recommend trying this tea several ways and see what works for you! In my experience it gets spicier as it cools down, but you might find something different.

I prefer snacking while (studying and) drinking tea. On my plate above you can see a tea egg, sliced in half, cream cheese topped with raspberry preserves with crackers, and a small daifuku. mmm. I like the crackers and cream cheese best with chai, since the creamy and sweet works well with the creamy and sweet of the chai.

Happy Sipping!

No tea for 2 months?!

A recent comment on my last entry has reminded me that i do have things to do on the computer other than check my email, haha~ so where have i been, why haven't i updated in a few months?

In the middle of May I graduated from College! and then promptly moved home, visited my graduate school to hunt for apartments, and got prodded and poked by various doctors to update my medical history before heading off to Alabama to intern.

I was in Alabama most of June, and sadly internet-less everywhere i stayed. Many nights i would sit in a local coffee house to steal some wifi or would head over to the library. If nothing else i learned that internet is a big part of how i stay connected!

I finally returned home near the end of June and although the internet here has a mind of it's own i have been slowly getting back into doing everything i used to do. Buying a Wii although has rather drained my time and i find it addicting in all the right ways! Now that my roommate and I have finally settled on an apartment and filled out all the paperwork for it, i have less worries and can shift some time around to finally get in a few tea-things.

That said i've not ordered any new tea and while there has been the few instances of me rummaging through my boxes of college things to find a tea that i had a craving for, i've mostly been stuck with lipton, and fast food tea. Which has led me to actually find most fast-food teas drinkable. I've also found that Atlanta has very few loose tea stores. Which is rather sad.

I'm hoping that once i finally settle into my new apartment I will be able to then focus on actually getting all my tea together and then hopefully finding some new teas. I'll also be closer to the Only American Tea Plantation, which i hope to visit sometime soon.

So to finally answer the question from Jason. I do love green teas! and more specifically japanese greens. However due to a variety of things, mostly a lack of funds to buy and ship tea, and the timing to have fresh tea. I just haven't gotten around to reviewing many Japanese Greens. I have reviewed the very tasty and sadly seasonal Sakura Sencha from Den's as well as their Genmaicha and Bancha. All very tasty teas that i always try to keep on the shelf. I have researched getting into Matcha, but unless i save my tea budget for a few months i'm afraid that i'll not get into it anytime soon. I was planning on staying in the know about this past spring's new Senchas but i decided to wait for reviews from others since my tea budget is rather small. This pause caused me to get off track most of the summer. Finally i haven't really focused a lot on greens, despite my love for them, because there a lot of other people that have focused on greens. I like to try teas of a variety of styles because there are some great gems out there that might not be the typical loose leaf but are delicious none-the-less! Hopefully when I have something that resembles a real job i'll be able to try more teas. I hope that you and the rest of my 'viewers' stay tuned for that :)

I might not post as often as i should this month but I hope to start posting more regularly in August! I hope that everyone else out there is having a great summer!

Celebration 3-- St. Patricks Day!

A merry morn to ye lads and lasses!

I hope that ya'll have had a great St. Patrick's Day! Hopefully you're wearing green as not to be pinched!

While that delicious looking cake is not green, it was delicious and spring-y! To celebrate spring, spring break (which i'm currently on :3), St. Patty's Day etc, my mother and i ventured forth today in search of a north GA teahouse called Crabapple Tea Room & Bakery.

We went for lunch, and we got quite a lot! While I did not peruse their loose-leaf tea menu, instead opting for some of their iced peach tea, i did find their lunch offerings to be plentiful and delicious! My mother had one soup of the day, a tomato bisque, while i had the other, chicken noodle. Both were hot, steamy, and chock full of vegetables. The chicken noodle reminded me of the soup that my grandmother makes with the chicken stock left over from making chicken salad. it was really comforting and delicious!

For our entrees My mother had the quiche of the day, a bacon cheddar deal, while i tried their three different 'salads' tuna, chicken, and egg salads on top of greens. The quiche did not disappoint, and the salads were rather fantastic. The tuna salad was better than any other i've had and the egg salad had pimentos i believe, which added a different swing from the usual egg salad that i've had. The chicken salad was different, but good. It had chunks of apples and raisins mixed in among the chunks of chicken.

For dessert My mother chose their brownie, which was easily as big as my hand, while i decided upon the hummingbird cake. Oooohhh the hummingbird cake. That is what you see at the top of this post. The strawberry, coconut, cream cheese frosted goodness. After soup, salads and multiple glasses of iced tea i wasn't able to finish the entire slice of cake. Words are not enough to describe the goodness that is this cake.

Also, along with both the soup and entree came cherry-chip scones, which were light and sweet, smaller than the normal scone ( they were about the size of a half dollar) they were the perfect sweet treat.

While we were two of the four total visitors in the tea-room on this gorgeous day we were served promptly, our glasses were kept full, and we were even given cups to take the rest of our tea with us! This is definitely a place i will visit again, and when i do i hope to better peruse their tea-menu and their pastry selection!

Crabapple is located off a main thoroughfare of the town in which it resides, but it's a quiet place, the building in which it resides is an old house, from which it seems they have retained many features, including the wooden floors and windows. The shop offers not only delicious treats and beverages, but also a rather good selection of European style tea-ware, candles, and other goods. It has both indoor and outdoor seating it looked like, although here in the Atlanta area people seem to think that it's still cold when it's in the 60's.

I'd really enjoy visiting this place on a Saturday for their high-tea. perhaps i can rally a few more people next time to come with me. I'm sure the lure of delicious desserts and pleasant engaging wait-staff would be more than enough for most :3

if you're looking for a lunch get-away, a delicious place to give in to the cravings of your sweet-tooth, or just a nice place to have lunch and relax i'd highly recommend this tea-room!

Lament of the Leaves

I always look forward to packages arriving. I almost always get them with tracking so i can watch over them from my computer, urging them to arrive faster and somehow thinking that i have so effect on them.

I had seen that TeaCuppa had a promotion with $5 off an order if placed in Jan. so i placed an order with them, and excitedly awaited the arrival of some new Oolongs. After a rather intense myth exam i took a nap, and woke up to find that my tea had been delivered! there was much rejoicing. I skipped down to the mail room, attracting many looks of amusement. I received the package and hopped back to my to my room, and using my scissors carefully cut the large bubble envelope. peeking in i saw the first thing that set my alarm bells ringing.

there was tea on the inside envelope. i flipped the package over, "inspected by customs" tape. i took out the second envelope, finding it slashed open, revealing the padded envelope inside. there was loose tea falling out of the package. i was not a happy camper. i took out the third padded envelope to find my tea inside of this one. Two of my 50g packages had been slashed open, presumably when they opened it to make sure it wasn't some sort of drug delivery apparently. while i do not have a scale, over 2 tablespoons of rolled oolong was lost in this brutal attack upon my post. I was, and still am rather distraught over this.

While i will be writing letters to teacuppa, customs, and DHL to alert them to this destruction and loss of property that they have had a part in i felt the need to also express my grief over the loss of good oolong.

The pictures that follow might not be appropriate for tea lovers. The grusome scene that they hold are almost too much.

Step 4: Pursuit of Tea

For the past couple weeks I have been wanting to try Matcha on it's own. Perhaps it's been longer than that though, since it is one of the main things that i think of when i think about Japan. Regardless of the time frame however, i've been searching for Matcha Starter Kit. Why do you need a kit, you might ponder. Matcha is different from other loose leaf teas.

Matcha is actually a very finely ground powdered leaf. To prepare it you whisk the powdered tea with water. So you need a few specialty items in order to properly enjoy matcha.

1.- You must have the Tea.
2.- A chasen, or bamboo whisk
3.- A bowl, preferably a Chawan, or Tea-Bowl
4.- A Tea Scoop or Chasaku

Many places offer such packages, and so that others may avoid the amount of searching that i went through i shall recount the places as well as the items that they offer and their price before shipping.

Matcha Source---Basic Kit $54---With bowl $75
30g of Organic Matcha, 100 prong whisk, a chasaku, and a tea sifter-- if you choose to get a bowl you have a choice of two
----Seems a bit expensive and i'm not really into organic...

In Pursuit of Tea---Basic Kit $56--Deluxe Kit $95
20g of Thin Grade Matcha, a small whisk, a ceramic bowl--The deluxe kit includes a nicer bowl, better whisk, a whisk stand (to protect the tines) and a Chasaku.
----Still expensive

The Tea Smith---Basic Kit $54.95
"premium grade" Matcha, 'Authentic' whisk, 'handmade' bowl and 'delicate' chasaku.
----Not enough detail in the description to make me want to even consider this as an option.

Yuuki-cha---Basic Kit $30
100 prong whisk, choice between 4 different bowls, and choice between two different chasaku. There is also a travel kit for the same price that gives you a transportable whisk and chasaku as well as a choice between two travel bowls. all of it comes in a nice little bag.
----Getting to choose my own tea would be nice.

Ippodo---Basic Kit $41.50~abt (3,800 Yen)
20g of their matcha, Whisk, Chasaku, bowl, and teacloth.
----They are known for their green tea, but shipping would increase the price.

O-Cha---Build a Kit $53.84-$175--You choose the items that you want and get 10% off
30g of tea (5 to choose from), whisk (2 to choose from), a Chasaku, a tea-bowl (8 to choose from), you can also choose an accesory (such as a whisk stand) and extra matcha and get 10% off on those items as well.
----I like being able to choose the bowl and tea, they are also known for their green tea, but still pricey

Hibiki-an--- Basic Kit $105-- Soheki Kit $174
40g of their superior grade matcha, whisk, chasaku, their most basic bowl, a whisk stand. The Soheki kit includes a nicer bowl, a higer grade matcha, and a matcha sifter
----expensive like whoa. But nice kit. Known for their green teas.

Koyama-en---Eco-set $63 (5,775 Yen)
20g of Yugen Matcha, Bowl, whisk, chasaku, towel.
----Pricey, and harder to order...

Maiko--- Matcha for Two $105 (9,450 Yen)
40g of Matcha, 2 bowls, whisk, chasaku.
----Known for their wide selection of green teas, but i don't need two bowls

Den's Tea---$50-$73
The Travel kit is the cheapest, it comes with small whisk and collapsible Chasaku, as well as a crystalline clear bowl and 20 g of matcha. all of it in a travel bag. the other sets include the same items only with different bowls, a full sized whisk, and full sized chasaku.
----I've ordered with them before, they're known for green teas, and shipping would be free.

From looking at these places i've narrowed the choices down to Yuuki-cha, Den's tea, Ippodo, and O-cha. I'm still weighing the options but i'll let ya'll know what i end up with :3

Step3: Turning yourself over to the Tea

The first cup moistens my lips and throat.
The second cup breaks my loneliness.
The third cup searches my barren entrail but to find therein some thousand volumes of odd ideographs.
The fourth cup raises a slight perspiration - all the wrongs of life pass out through my pores.
At the fifth cup I am purified.
The sixth cup calls me to the realms of the immortals.
The seventh cup - ah, but I could take no more!
I only feel the breath of the cool wind that raises in my sleeves.
Where is Elysium? Let me ride on this sweet breeze and waft away thither.
~Lu Tung, "Tea-Drinking"

As i take my first sips of tea this morning while watching the sun rise, i wonder about many things. While many of these have to do with school and other such things, I also wonder about how all these different kinds of teas can come from one plant.

The Camellia Sinensis is the plant responsible for every version of tea that we now drink. Well, there are the tisanes, the non-tea teas. Tisanes are Herbal teas and teas such as Rooibos. But every other tea, White to Black, are made from one, singular plant. Isn't that amazing? That the possibilities for one plant can be so numerous. It's quite a thing to think about.

When you also take into account that the different teas have such a range of taste and flavor. Their shapes and sizes are consistent, yet different and original. The Camellia Sinensis is grown in a wide variety of places, and each place produces teas that are the same but have their own unique qualities.

The bushes are grown in different shapes and areas, in different types of soils and by different plants as well. But also the way that us human's process the tea leaves adds a whole other element to the tea leaves and tea that is drunk around the world by billions of people everyday.

It brings to mind an idea that is used in Taoism (i believe, it's been awhile since i took my eastern religions class). Heaven, Earth, Human. While they attribute this saying to reincarnation and karma, i believe that it works well for tea too. The heaven element is the rain and sun that helps the plant to grow. If there is a drought then the tea too will be affected. The earth element is the earth in which the plant is grown. It lends it's nutrients and provides a place for the tea to live and perhaps thrive. The Human element is the processing of the tea, the refining of the raw material. All of these things work together to create a Superior Beverage of Choice.

A lot to think about when you sit down to enjoy a nice brew.

While i don't think that i'll be wafting away to Elysium anytime soon, i do think that i shall have another cup of tea before turning again to my studies.

Cup 4--Moroccan Mint

No, that is not shredded spinach, that is Moroccan Mint tea. This blend of gunpowder green and spearmint teas is light and refreshing. A good pick-me-up any time of the day, it's low in caffeine and leaves you with a minty aftertaste.

While my Moroccan Mint came from Teavana, Argo teas has a very similar Moroccan Mist. While i don't have any Mist to compare to the Mint, i believe that i like the Mist better. Adagio has some blends that may stack up to this as well.

Mint tea is actually served in Morocco fairly commonly. Although they tend to add a lot of sugar to theirs, i'm rather partial to it un-adultered. Morocco is one of the biggest importers of tea, and the first importer of green tea from China. Tea was first introduced in Morocco in the 18th century, and it has served as a meal time beverage ever since. They have an entire tea-culture that has been built up over the past couple hundred years that focuses entirely on the making and serving of green tea with mint and sugar.

After rinsing the tea twice, they combine the tea and water and let it steep before adding in the mint and sugar. They mix the steeped tea, mint and sugar in a large teapot that has a rather long spout. They then pour the tea from great heights into small glasses to create a foam on the top of the tea. They then pour the tea back into the pot, and pour again. They may repeat this process of pouring and returning around 4-7 more times before serving up the tea. This pouring from heights helps to mix the sugar and the tea together.

Looking over some videos and recipes it seems like when served up traditionally this tea is very sweet. In the video the host puts in 3.5 'bricks' of sugar, the recipes that i looked up called for anywhere from 2 tablespoons of sugar to a 1/4 of a cup of sugar!! for a single pot of tea! That seems rather outrageous to me, however i'm not a big sweet tea fan.

No matter if you make this tea traditionally or your own way, it's a good way to start the day, quench your midday thirst, or even wash down dinner.

Kind-Green Tea
Brew Time-1 minute
Water Temp-175*
Color-pale yellow to honey
Fragrance- minty
Taste-minty and slightly bitter
Best during- Anytime!
Style- Loose
Price per oz- $2.25
Place bought- Teavana
Overall- refreshing

Cup 3--Jasmine #12

I received my order from Adagio Monday and one of the first teas that i tried was their Jasmine #12. This incredibly fragrant tea is really relaxing.

As you can (hopefully) see from the picture, this tea is similar to the Black Dragon Pearls with it's ball shape, but these are much smaller than the BDP. They unfurl while brewing and release a great aroma and show off the three individual leaves and stems that make up the balls. The yellow liquor that this tea produces smells like jasmine, and has a faint flowery taste. This is the perfect tea to chillax with. Curl up with a movie or a good book, have a few cups of tea and slowly drift off to sleep. I steeped mine 3 times, the first time for the 5 minutes suggested, the second for a few minutes, and then the third for about 5 minutes. I was mostly watching for color more than time.I've found that with this tea you can expect 2 or 3 good infusions with the same leaves, pretty good staying power for a Oolong.

"WAIT!!!" you say, "STOP EVERYTHING! what in the world is this Oolong?!"

Oolong is a traditionally Chinese tea that is a 'tweener. It's not a black, but it's not a green either. Oolong typically has multiple steps for it's production. First they wilt the leaves to partly remove the moisture. To do this they either sun or air dry the leaves. After this they cool the leaves down before they gently toss the leaves so that the edges of the leaves bruise. When the leaf edges are bruised it creates more surface contact for oxidation. This cooling and then tossing will usually be repeated multiple times. After this they stir-fry the leaves in a large pan over high heat in order to stop the oxidation. Then they roll the leaves into strands or nuggets before they dehydrate the leaves by roasting them over low heat. This roasting can be repeated at varying temperatures to produce different flavors. After the leaves have been roasted then all there is left to do is grade them and then package them up.

Jasmine #12 might look like mottled rodent droppings, but it tastes great, smells amazing, and is a perfect way to de-stress after a long day of class or work.

Kind-Oolong Tea
Brew Time-4 minutes
Water Temp-185*
Color-Light Yellow to Honey
Fragrance- Sweet, flowery
Taste-Floral, slightly sweet
Best during- Late Afternoon and Evening
Style- Loose
Price per oz- $5.00
Place bought- Adaigo
Overall- it's like eating flowers, in a good way!

Celebration 1-- Happy (Chinese) New Year!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Today marks the opening of the new year for the Chinese. This year is the year of the Ox!

How, Ox-citing! ;D

It marks the beginning of the year 4707 (or 4706, or 4646 depending on when you think Emperor Huangdi reigned). The calendar that this is based off of was originally created by Emperor Huangdi. A combined lunar and solar calendar, it requires precise astronomical calculations to be taken in order for the calendar to be created.

While I won't get into the calculations that are rather confusing, I will take this chance to explain Chinese New Years a bit.

The New Years is originally a festival for the spring. It takes place after the harvest has been taking in and before the farmers plant in the spring. New Years for them is actually called "Spring Festival" people outside of China refer to it as the "Lunar New Year" or "Chinese New Year".

Emperor Huangdi is considered to be the ancestor of the Han Chinese. Huangdi is actually one of the "5 emperors" who were around before the Xia Dynasty, the first dynasty of China to be recorded historically. Yet, there is not much evidence that the Xia dynasty actually existed. Ignoring the whole historical debate, Huangdi is seen as a morally perfect emperor. Also known as the Yellow Emperor, the Chinese have historically pointed to him and his sons as the forebearers of the noble families of the first three dynasties (Xia, Sheng, & Zhou) as well as the progenitors of all Han.

Needless to say Huangdi is a rather important person in Chinese history. Other than his bringing together of tribes to form China, He also is a deity of Taoists, and is credited with not only inventing the calendar as well as ordering the creation of Chinese characters, thus the language being called 'hanyu' or Han-language while the characters are called 'hanzi' or han-characters.

The Spring Festival is a major event, it brings families and friends together. People gather to celebrate, to eat, to dance, and to remember their history and heritage. A fifteen day long celebration after the new year consists of many visits to friends and neighbors, much eating of symbolic dishes and overall jubilation.

But where does tea fit in...

In some regions of China Tea is the first thing to be consumed in the new year. After you take a drink you should say "life will be happy". Traditionally the Tea is also served with Lotus seeds, to signify "you will give birth to a boy", Sticky rice flour cakes, to signify "you will be promoted to a high position", and/or Filled sticky rice balls, to signify that all the family members will live in harmony and be reunited.

So have a cup of tea today, preferably some red tea (that's black tea to us British-tea minded folk) , hopefully the color red will scare away the 'Nian'. Who knows, maybe having a glass will help fulfill what the Ox stands for and this year will be prosperous for you, through fortitude and hard work!

Boil 1-- Tea Eggs

Ooo, pretty! (i do have my artsy-fartsy moments!) As you can see above Tea also goes well with eggs!

Tea Eggs are an Asian treat, sold by vendors in the streets in certain parts of China and Taiwan. They are relatively easy to make, taste better (i think at least) than regular eggs, and are aesthetically pleasing (whipping out that GRE studying ;D).

To make a tea eggs all you have to do is make hard boiled eggs, then crack the shells, try not to tear the membrane that separates the shell from the egg itself though. If you break the membrane then more liquid will seep in staining whole areas instead of just where the crack is, still tasty, not as pretty.

After you've given each egg a good whack or two, boil it a second time in salty tea. put in a few dashes of salt and some black tea. Other people like to add in soy sauce, spices, etc but these things are optional. I let mine simmer for an hour or so, but depending on how dark your tea is for these, and how long you let them sit in the tea mixture will determine how dark your eggs become.

I wouldn't use super-high quality tea for this, simply because the tea is undrinkable when you're done cooking the eggs (unless you LIKE salty tea...). But instead i would suggest using tea-bags, it's a good use for all those packages of tea that have been liberated from their hotels. I haven't tried using any other tea other than black tea, but i don't see why you couldn't use other kinds. But since other teas are lighter in color you might have to let them sit in the tea longer to get a dark enough pattern.

It's not essential that you keep them in hot water, other people seem to have done the same with regular boiled eggs and then let them sit in the mixture while in the refrigerator. whatever floats you boat! and if it doesn't work, well it's still a tasty snack :3

Step 2:Embracing your problem

So i've admitted i have a problem.

That problem being, i have too much tea. Yet at the same time it's nice to have a good selection! It's not that i've wasted money buying this tea, instead i've invested in a multi-beverage choice.

While researching (or procrastinating) i tripped upon Adagio Teas. At Adagio they not only sell tea and tea accessories but you can also create your own blends of tea for yourself and others to purchase. In addition they also sport their very own tea community! You can chat it up, look up tea parlors near where you live (and they're ranked!) members are also able to post up their blogs, and read a monthly newsletter from tea experts and aficionados.

Of course this discovery prompted me to buy more tea.

:D

Through teachat i've also located some other online tea retailers (some even have real brick and mortar building in states surrounding me!) who i've started to eyeball. It's interesting to note the price difference in Adagio and Teavana. At Adagio you're able to buy a 'sample' size with is about 1oz of tea, this translates into about 10 servings of tea. these one oz samples are really very affordable and offer a very easy way to try a tea to know if you will like it or not. It's a nice change from teavana where you're discouraged from buying a cup of tea, and instead urged to buy a 2oz "sample" of loose tea, which, in the case of the black dragon pearls, can cost you $15. Ouch.

Price seems to not always reflect on the quality of tea that you'll recieve. While I have not yet recieved shipment from Adagio (it's supposed to come tomorrow though :3) from the online community i beleive that i can expect some rather good teas! and since none of the samples that i bought were over $5/oz, and it looks like very few actually are on adagio, the price seems to be right. While i do enjoy going into a store, smelling the tea, watching them measure it out, and even chatting up other shoppers, i think that i might have to stay away from teavana in the future, if only because their teas are a bit overpriced. "how unfair!" you might say, but let us look at the price differences using a common Gunpowder Green Tea.

At Teavana Gunpowder Green Tea is $2.25/oz no matter how much you buy. At Adagio it's $2.00/oz, but when you buy more it also becomes cheaper per oz, eventually reaching $1.00/oz if you buy an entire pound. That can become a large difference. An especially nice extra is that Adagio also packages their samples, 4oz, 6oz, and 12oz measures in TINS, the price of which isn't in addition to your price. They also have a nice promotion where older members can send $5 gift certs to people that have not yet shopped with Adagio, and who doesn't like free stuff? (this is also in addition to the free tin of the zodiac blend i received and the free tin of the tea of the month. lots of goodies! let me know if you want one!)

Tins are important for tea storage for many reasons. Air and Light both can affect tea. Since most tea is best when consumed within a year of it's production, airtight, opaque containers are important to keep tea at it's best quality for the longest amount of time. while bags can do the job, tins are preferable, especially when you take into account the fact that you can reuse them over and over.

an enlightening tea-escapade if you ask me :3

in other news, according to a British newspaper 3 cups of tea a day can cut breast cancer risk by 1/3, all this according to a survey done in a cancer center in FL. Although this only applies to women under 50, it's an interesting statement, especially given that the health benefits, or detriments, of tea has yet to be fully explored.

Step 1: Admitting you have a problem...

After a rather normal winter break, i returned to college, unpacked, re-organized my belongings and stared in wonder.

I had entirely too much tea.

Boxes, bags, envelopes, and canisters of tea. While most was old, leftovers that i dug out of my desk and brought back to my room after work last semester, much of it was also new. Over the break i had found a chain loose-tea store called Teavana. I then proceeded to blow a sizable amount on loose tea (their prices are for each 2oz, which is the smallest amount you can buy)

While i was sure at the time of purchase that i would positively be able to use everything that i bought (a full pound of tea combined) after looking over what i already i had i was a bit worried. So I decided that each day i would strive to have at least one cup of tea each day. While doing so i figured why not post up some info about the teas i have, tea in general, and maybe even how i deal with my addiction to buying, and drinking tea.

Spurred on by a good friend's blog about cheese, i hope that we can encourage each other on to post at least once a week :) While i am no expert tea taster, i will do my best to fully explain each tea. Hopefully it will help me to keep better track of my tea, tea purchases, and tea intake.