Tuesday, July 29, 2014

TAKE MEASURE OF YOUR TEA

There are a number of considerations when pursuing the perfect cup of tea. Some are out of our control such as water quality or, quelle horreur, second rate motel tea bags!

As tea drinkers, one of the things we can control when making loose leaf tea, is the amount of tea we use. Each tea has a range in which it produces the optimum taste. For a lighter taste, you want to use use the minimum amount of tea, but still enough for optimal flavour. For a stronger taste it's better to use slight more tea but not so much as to produce a bitter flavour. I like this range method as it takes into account people's personal preferences.


The following guide highlights a good starting point for how much tea leaf to use with various teas. When trying new teas, start with a lighter flavour and work your way to a stronger flavor over subsequent brewings.

Measurement Guidelines for 250ml (standard NZ cup size)

BLACK TEA

Light Flavour: 1 teaspoons, or about 3 grams of tea per 250ml of water.

Strong Flavour: 1.5 Teaspoons, or 5 grams of tea per 250ml of water.

Light Flavour: 1 level teaspoon, or about 2 grams of tea per 250ml of water.
Strong Flavour: 1 heaped teaspoon, or 4 grams of tea per 250ml of water.
Light Flavour: 1 teaspoon, or about 2 grams of per 250ml of water.
Strong Flavour: 2 teaspoons, or 4 grams of tea per 250ml of water.
Light Flavour: 2 teaspoons, or about 3.5 grams of tea per 25ml of water.
Strong Flavour: 2.5-3 teaspoons, or 5-6 grams of tea per 250ml of water.
Light Flavour: 1.5 teaspoons, or about 3.5 grams of tea per 250ml of water.
Strong Flavour: 2 - 2.5 teaspoons, or 5-6 grams of tea per 250ml of water.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

For All The Tea In China - a good read

For All The Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History, written by Sarah Rose.  This is the dramatic story of one of the greatest acts of corporate espionage ever committed. Sarah Rose recounts the fascinating, unlikely circumstances surrounding a turning point in economic history. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the British East India Company faced the loss of its monopoly on the extremely lucrative tea trade with China, forcing it to make the drastic decision of sending Scottish botanist Robert Fortune to steal the crop from deep within China and bring it back to British plantations in India. Fortune's danger filled odyssey is magnificently recounted and reads like adventure fiction.

For those who like a good read in the company of a nice cuppa, this is it.
Tea recommendations to accompany this book:  A lovely malty Assam 'Mokalbari' or perhaps a light First Flush Darjeeling 'Jungpana'