From the mind of http://twitter.com/siptea I present to you the latest “Twitter Day”:
What will you drink today?
The Original Tea Time Tuesday:
Tuesday is the day to tweet #tea! Feel free to join in. Also, don’t forget to follow World of Tea!
How many of you have a kitchen cabinet dedicated to tea? How many of our cabinets are complete unorganized messes — tea in zip-lock bags, old tupperware containers, paper bags from the tea shop? It is time to get organized.
Most tea is vulnerable to 5 things which will gradually cause it to lose flavor and become stale:
There are some exceptions, Pu-Erh as well as some other high quality black teas will become better with age.
From Enjoying Tea:
“If you plan on not using your tea for a while, the best place to store it would be in double-lidded, airtight tin canisters or ceramic containers. Another very important rule to remember is to always keep tea at cool and dry places.
In general, black and oolong tea could be kept between 2-3 years under ideal conditions. Tea that is less oxidized has a shorter shelf time. Green and white tea could remain fresh for up to 2 years if stored properly.”
Aside from protecting your tea from the five elements above, it would be helpful to date your storage containers when you fill them with tea. While the time between picking and purchase is unknown, this will give you a ballpark idea of when a tea is nearing is death.
Karla and I recently installed a new tea shelf to hold all of our tea in our new apartment:
1. Wooden Tea Box
This box is a small replica of the larger boxes used to ship teas in India and Nepal.
2. Pu-Erh Bag
This is a cloth bag to store Pu-Erh cakes in that we picked up in Malaysia.
3. Glass Containers
This and the many other similar glass containers came from The Container Store, they run about $2-5 and are airtight.
4. Tea Tin
This is an airtight tea tin from China filled with Jasmine Tea.
5. Printed paper tea tin
This is a container from West Lake in China for Dragonwell teas.
6. Airtight Vacuum Container
This was a sample of a new airtight vacuum container we obtained from a Tea Show, we use it to store our Nepali Tulsi tea.
7. Tea Tin
This was another find in China, it came full of Silver Needle White Tea.
8. Paper tea tin
This is also another one from China, it came filled with Oolong.
9. Aluminum tea tin
This is a tea tin from Tea Gschwendner in Chicago.
10. Cardboard tea containers
These cardboard tea containers from Malaysia have airtight metal seals on top.
11. Wooden tea chest from india
This is a great wooden tea chest I purchased from India, we use it to store samples of different black teas from Darjeeling and Assam.
12. Tea tins
These are standard 100g tea tins I picked up from a tea shop in New Jersey.
13. Cinnamon bark container.
This container is made from cinnamon bark and has a strong cinnamon scent inside, this is a great way to store loose leaf masala tea as it adds to the spice.
As you can see, most of our tea storage items are the original containers that came with the tea inside, of course the best place to find these types of containers is in China and India, but here are some helpful tea storage solutions that can be found online:
- Tea Gschwendner http://www.teamerchants.com/Categories/3/StorageTins.aspx
- Enjoying Tea http://www.enjoyingtea.com/tea-storages.html
- Le Palais Gourmet http://bit.ly/4iiTE
- Upton Tea Imports http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/catalog.asp?begin=0&categoryID=84
- EBay http://www.ebay.com
We would love to hear about any great storage finds or tips, also, send in your tea storage area photos and I’ll post them up!
More tips and suggestions from Twitter:
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iheartparis888@WorldofTea Love to store my teas in those colorful origami-wrapped tins! |
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caleaceaiului@WorldofTea deppends . Some in the fridge, some here : http://twitpic.com/7u8×2. The big box has several #tea containers. |
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raretealady@WorldofTea dark and cool and absolutely air tight. |
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rubofthegreen@WorldofTea Good question. I’ve been saving my old tea tins, but have yet to figure a way to purge the aroma of the old tea from the tins. |
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ITO_EN@WorldofTea For tea storage keep it away from Light, Moisture, Heat and air. At our tea store we refrigerate all tea in airtight bags. |
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LePalaisGourmet@WorldofTea we do http://bit.ly/4iiTE we have canister galore…Tom Cruise just bought a few the other day |
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stefano_culi@WorldofTea I use air locked glass indonesian spice chests - perfect for any amount. |
lol. i reorganized mine last year. check it out. http://vtknitboy.blogspot.com/2008/08/tea-for-twoor-two-hundred.html
To me, finding a great tea is an adventure. I can’t always wander around the hills of Asia searching out tiny tea gardens, or wander the streets of Chongqing looking for that tiny tea shop that no tourist has ever set foot in. Because I cannot always do these things, I’ll go to great lengths to find little-known teas, to discover something that not many in the Western world has tried.
Some of my great finds have been on EBay and Twitter. I stumbled across Yunnan Sourcing a few years ago on Ebay, run by an American Expat — Scott Wilson. He searches out rare teas and sells them on his EBay store for reasonable prices - and ships directly from China. You cannot beat the selection, and the pride you feel after you receive your package from China, and try teas that you can’t get at the tea shop down the street, or from large online companies.
My other great tea resource I met through Twitter, my friend Daniel Hong has taught me much about Oolong and I recently purchased some teas from him. These teas included aged Oolongs, Rare TGY Oolongs, and some other Oolongs I hadn’t yet heard of. It is occurrences like these that really create the tea experience for me.
We cannot all travel through the tea producing regions of the world, some of us aren’t that into tea, while others are too busy or cannot afford such travel. I have had the opportunity to do these things, and I long for another. In the meantime, I like nothing more than to search out teas and have my own little adventures online. Nothing turns me off more than huge tea sellers online that offer everything under the sun, for much more money than is necessary. I’d love to one day travel again, to bring back some rare teas, and to sell them online and share my stories. One day this will happen. Please share with me any “armchair tea adventures” you’ve had in the comments, it will be great to hear them!
Have you ever heard of the tea name “Sifang Cha” ? which is not sold to public but only carefully reserved and share with good friends and lucky man.it’s a very personal tea. I’ve ever drinked that kind of tea from a Master once, the tea is so soft and so smooth, just like the cloud. I miss it everytime.
There are so many different teas around the world especially in China, just like a forest, it’s interesting to take a tea adventure, pls join Tony.
Thanks for the links, Tony. My friend just returned from China and sent me a barley tea. Super excited to try it, though I think it will be very similar to a Thai Iced Tea I had in Little Rock, AR, at Bangkok Thai Cuisine. Regardless, I agree. It’s always so fun to find a new, obscure tea that is completely unfamiliar on this side of the globe.
In pinyin, the term “Kung Fu” is written: gōngfu. The term really has nothing to do with martial arts, but refers to the possession of great skill. So in the world of tea, when we refer to the gong fu tea cermony, we are referring to a skillful way to prepare tea. When performing the gongfu tea ceremony there is no formal set of rules, procedures, or utensils — but there are some fundamental ideas that have grown into the tradition we now call the Gong Fu Tea Ceremony.
The first treatise on tea surfaced during the 8th century - it was Lu Yu’s “Classic of Tea,” the work described the manufacturing, brewing, and drinking of tea to great detail. He set forth these 8 guidelines for what man must do with tea:
Over the years the gongfu tea ceremony has become the essence of tea culture across China and Taiwan, each tea master skillfully preparing the tea in his/her own way. There is no right or wrong when it comes to your tea ceremony as long as you are slowing down, and enjoying the tea as it should be enjoyed. Join us these next few weeks as I break down the gongfu tea ceremony in its many forms.
Great post Tony.
It’s a good way to enjoy time with friends.
What kind of water do you use Tony? people said water is the mother of tea, but for now there are hard to find good water in city.
ultimate perfection! mmm - nice site tony!
Thanks for that entry, Tony. I know that formally Kung fu wushu is the martial art we often think of, wushu literally meaning “martial art.” Guess that makes kung fu wushu mean “possessing great martial art skill,” which I never knew. Thanks! Excited to see what you bring forward these next few weeks. I would love to practice gong fu. 
We’ve all said it, “chai tea” — the greatest redundancy in the world of tea. In the Hindi language, “chai” means “tea”, so saying “chai tea” is the same as saying “tea tea.” Just think about that the next time you are in a coffeeshop and hear someone order a “chai tea latte” — whatever that is. Granted the popularized form of “chai tea” in America is syrup or powder based anyway - so calling what most drink in America “masala chai” would be a bastardization. Masala refers to a mixture of spices; in masala chai, usually cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and black pepper. Thus “masala chai” means “spice tea.” While on the subject of masala chai, here are some guidelines to make great masala chai from loose leaf:
1. Prepare a 3:1 mixture of milk to water (some recipes call for a 1:1 ratio).
2. Add masala chai to the mixture and heat for 15 minutes.
3. Add sugar to taste, start with adding 1.5 teaspoons for each cup of liquid used.
Thank you, Tony! It bothers me so much when people ask for Chai Tea or say they have to go to the ATM machine, or better yet, PIN number. I was going to talk about this in episode 7 of my show. Thanks for clearing it up for people. I’ll have to reference you! Technically, this sort of redundancy is referred to as a pleonasm–i.e., using more words than necessary to express an idea. It is more specifically and ironically referred to as RAS (Redundant Acronym Syndrome) syndrome. Clever. Thanks again!
[...] eyeing this for 3 years and I just gave in. This is a liquid concentrate of “chai” masala [heh, see recent post by WorldOfTea], made for Oregon Chai it contains an already [...]
So I’ve spent a lot of time researching Oolong lately, reading books, websites, and talking with tea farmers in China. I have the beginnings of an Oolong Tea Chart. I’ve received a lot of help from Daniel Hong on the project as well, be sure to check out his blog and follow him on Twitter, he works for a tea farm in Anxi, China.
Click on the image above to download the beginnings of the chart. If anyone has anything to add or change, please comment on this post and it will be added and you will be given credit. Once it is complete, I hope to webify the chart and host it on the site.
Awesome effort! The only oolong I know that you don’t have is Phoenix (I don’t know where it fits though). http://www.teasmith.co.uk stock it, so you could ask them.
It’s my honor to work with you, Tony you did a great job. let’s keep moving on.
In 1883, Edward Money published this great work on the state of the tea industry in India. He goes into the different regions of India, how to set up a tea garden, grow the tea, harvest the tea, process the tea. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know!
Here are some photo excerpts:
The best part about this is that it is available for download for free @ Archive.org: http://www.archive.org/details/manufacturetea00monerich
Enjoy!
Thanks Tony, I would like to download the book and take a tour of Indian tea.
Honestly I’ve not drinked Indian black tea yet though I’ve drinked Lapsang Souchong, I like drink it with milk.
Hey Man, love the info and I will be reading your posts!
India has a rich tea culture, still the world’s largest tea producer — tea has become an important part of everyday life for most Indians. Masala Chai shops can be found on any street-corner, on the back of bicycles, and in many cases, the chaiwallah (”one who serves chai”) will come to you — as is the case while riding the Indian Railways. Many times, chai can be purchased in India for about 5 rupees - equivalent to just less than a dime (USD). Here are a few shots from my recent trip to India:
Wow! Great pictures and information. So excited to see more about different tea cultures!
[...] Tony added an interesting post today on Tea Culture in India: Photos | World of TeaHere’s a small readingIndia has a rich tea culture, still the world’s largest tea producer — tea has become an important part of everyday life for most Indians. Masala Chai shops can be found on any street-corner, on the back of bicycles, and in many cases, … [...]
Wow! Great pictures and information. So excited to see more about different tea cultures!
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can’t wait to see your next post!
Nice Photos, Looking forward to more!
Let’s examine the steeping of tea in its simplest form for a moment: when we steep tea, we are making a drink from the leaves of a plant. We take into account the type of tea leaves we are using and the way they were processed along with the water temperature and steeping time.
Too many times we end up drinking what Heidi Kyser from TChing [http://www.tching.com/index.php/2009/03/12/down-with-brew-waste/] calls “brew-waste.” This is “when a server ruins a perfectly good tea by brewing it at the wrong temperature, for the wrong amount of time, and/or using the wrong kind of equipment.” And if we haven’t been educated properly, we may be creating brew-waste ourselves.
Some of us have moved on from these simple and quick methods of steeping to using conventional Chinese techniques, while some of us have just graduated from tea-bags and are ready to jump into the world of loose-leaf tea. This article is for those people that are ready to give up tea-bags and small infusers and really experience awesome tea. For the purpose of this article, I am assuming that you are using loose-leaf tea for a free flow steep which you will then strain, or are using a large infuser.
Key Factors: Tea Type, Water Temperature, Steeping Time
Each type of tea has an ideal steeping method, water temperature, and steeping time. Arranged from light to dark the main teas are: white, green, oolong, black, and pu-erh. Each of these teas prefers a certain temperature and steeping time.
Different processing methods leave us with tea leaves of different sizes. A tea leaf that has been broken into tiny bits [see left image] will have a greater surface area and will brew darker and faster than a tea leaf that has been slightly withered and dried [see right image].
The following chart is a simplified guide to water temperature for steeping. Be sure to experiment between the limits:
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Type of Tea |
Steeping Temperature |
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White |
165F |
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Green Tea |
170-185F |
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Oolong Tea |
180-190F |
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Black Tea |
Rolling Boil |
|
Pu-erh Tea |
Rolling Boil |
If you don’t have a thermometer, you can use Lu Yu’s (wrote the first book on tea) method monitoring water temperature:
160-180F - Fish Eyes: when tiny bubbles begin to float on the surface of the water.
180-190F - String of Pearls: when strings of bubbles connect the bottom of the kettle to the surface.
190-210F - Turbulent Waters: a rolling boil.
For an even simpler method of temperature control, the Food Network’s Alton Brown recommends that for black teas, walk the tea to the kettle (this gives us straight boiling water). For teas that require temperatures below boiling, walk the kettle to the tea (this gives the water a chance to cool down a bit).
Steeping times vary depending on the size of the tea leaves we are using as said earlier. So the bottom limit of steeping time would more or less be a broken, or unrolled loose-leaf, the upper limit being a full-leaf or rolled leaf tea. Furthermore, if the leaves we are using can produce multiple brews, the steeping time will need to be increased for each consecutive brew as we draw more flavor out of the leaves. So always begin at the lower limit and work your way up:
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Type of Tea |
Steeping Time |
|
White |
4-8 minutes |
|
Green Tea |
2-3 minutes |
|
Oolong Tea |
1-8 minutes |
|
Black Tea |
3-5 minutes |
|
Pu-erh Tea |
3-5 minutes |
So you may already know these things. The purpose of this site and my writings is to provide a base understanding of tea and steeping methods and then delve into the more complex topics. The tea ceremony is all about the appreciation of tea, and whether your “ceremony” is a quick 3-minute brew before work, or a complex Gong Fu ceremony, don’t forget to appreciate your tea!
I typically stick with black tea in the morning since I don’t have to worry about temperatures etc. I get the water boiling and into my cup and let it steep for 5 minutes and then I’m out the door. I don’t think everyone drinks tea for the “ceremony” of it though I do recognize the importance of the ceremony, I’m just not sure its for me.
Great post! I’m a big fan of tables, so this was right up my alley haha, but a good guide to lookup offhand!
What about Rooibos tea? What water temperature and for how long should it steep?
Tea bags are a product of convenience; they are easy, cheap, and clean. But if you’ve only ever drank tea that was a product of a tea-bag, you are missing out. Tea-bags used to only be filled with dust and fannings which are all the little pieces leftover from different processing methods. Through the years, tea companies have been putting higher and higher quality tea in bags. But no matter how nice the tea, or how innovative the bag is (see nylon bag below), they fail for one fundamental reason: tea leaves must be allowed to flow freely within the brewing vessel. Tea leaves expand while brewing, and being stuffed in a bag only allows them to expand a small amount.
 Tea bag before steeping |
 Same tea bag after steeping |
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The same rules apply for tea balls and fancy tea infusers: if the tea cannot flow freely in the steeping vessel, you are not enjoying the tea at its full potential. |
We’ve seen how much the high quality black tea expanded in the above tea bag image, now lets take a look at what happens to loose leaf oolong when it is allowed to flow freely in a glass tea-cup.
 Teaspoon of oolong before steeping |
 Same teaspoon after steeping |
If the leaves are able to flow freely, we allow for more of the leaves to be in contact with water-and the more contact the leaves have with the water - the better chance we have to extract the full flavor of the tea.
If the above oolong leaves were stuck in a bag or in an infuser, they would not have the chance to expand the way they do when allowed to flow freely. Steeping tea doesn’t have to be difficult, achieving great tea can be simple if you have the right equipment.
What the Twitterverse had to say about Tea Bags:
I didn’t realize the leaves had to expand so much! What about mesh strainers that you pop into the mug, such as http://www.teazonline.com/servlet/the-237/tea-basket-infuser-strainer/Detail
Are these OK?
This is off-topic, perhaps, but the pics don’t zoom properly in firefox when I increase the font.
Back on topic: I totally agree, and would not go back to teabags after using a pot and later on a coffee press to make loose leaf tea.
I agree with you, Tony.
What kind of Oolong tea you brew in this post? It looks like strange. Is it a good tea?
Besides, Tony I like your reviews.
@Tony
‘Wong Chin Kooi’='Huang Jin Gui’ I think.
I’m wondering why so many people like Huang Jin Gui except Chinese. Maybe it’s because of its strong flavor. The most famous origin of Huang Jin Gui is Hu Qiu town of Anxi County, China.
I am not fond of stand-alone tea infusers or teabags myself. I certainly would never use one, even out of “convenience” with, say, an oolong or a nice Yunnan Gold, when I know that the leaves are going to really expand.
I do take the position, however, that tea drinking is important, and that sometimes convenience trumps tea-geekery. As such, I endorse the use of teabags with appropriate teas if circumstances require it.
While I personally don’t use teabags, I do however think they have their place. You can get many quality teas in bagged form. I say convenience sometimes trumps tradition. I went from drinking standard bagged teas to quality bagged teas to loose leaf teas.
Hey Tony,
Do you know Richard w/ Two Leaves & a bud. Also a tea man. Do you know of the IHA Tradeshow in Chicago..was there 2 weeks ago.
Many tea related products & new ideas. Could be great for your products next year.
I used to exhibit @ this show as well.
JonMcClellan (Jonathon McClellan): Make that a fired up and rowdy crowd at the Austin tea party!!! #tea party.
Chromedaffodils (w): Shocking video of NY Democrats sitting through the Pledge of Allegiance http://bit.ly/WZMwj#tcot#tea party
siptea (siptea.biz): @siptea: @spectagirl, @tranquiltea, @LAteaGirl, @LindseyatVeeTea how does 3:30 on Tuesday sound? @ Algabar on La Brea. #LA#tea#tweetup
KOSMOSNET (Teodora Stanev): Live Video Stream of America’s Tea Party - soon http://bit.ly/ZdpNV#Tea Party
TeaBoat (TeaTalk): Walking around bare foot drinking an iced Tiki Nui from @leafpeddler. #summer#tea
Watch the announcement video here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1734048