So, a funny thing happened on the way to this post; I don’t have my own computer…..again. That means limited access to photos, so please excuse me if I can’t find all the pictures I would like to have for this subject.
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Week 4: January 24-30
“Whom have you met because of something related to tea? Share something about this person and how your relationship began and blossomed.”

The hardest part, for me, about this question is trying to keep the answer from getting too big. I’ve met many lovely women in recent years at least partly because of a love for tea. Where shall I begin?

Back in the summer of 2007 I joined a little swap called the Knit One, Tea Two swap. That decision turned out to be a really good one for so many reasons. First, it was fun. Second, I got a fantastic swap package from my sender. Third, I met a bunch of lovely ladies who all like knitting and tea.
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Channon was one of the gals who were hosting the swap. We’ve been buddies ever since. We started our friendship because we liked tea and knitting. Then we discovered a common love for books, dogs,history, and all manner of other things. I even got to meet Chan in person in September of 2008 when I was visiting the East for a young friend’s wedding.

I also met Hilary because of tea, although this time the medium was not a swap, but rather through the Cuppa Tea group on Ravelry. Again, love of tea was only the beginning of our relationship.

I mustn’t forget Ellen, either. We met through the Gracious Hospital-i-tea blog-a-thon. Ellen is a lovely lady who really knows how to create a beautiful home environment, find great bargains, and takes amazing and beautiful photographs, too.

I’m sure there are too many ladies out there in cyber-space with whom I share a love of tea to mention, but I would like to give a shout out to Monica and Grace, whom I did not meet because of tea, but who’s shared love of tea has made our friendships blossom!

The borrowed computer and I are not getting along very well at all. I’ll try for links and photos later. For now, here’s Mr Linky, so you can share, too.

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Sorry for being late to my own party here! I’ve been too busy this weekend to be able to get my Week Four post (with the Mr Linky ) up in a timely manner. I will do everything in my power to have it posted by 1 pm PST on Monday, January 25. Thanks for your patience.

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Wow. I can hardly believe we’re at the last week of Hot Tea month already. I’ve had a great time reading your ideas for what a Tea House should be. I did notice one pariticular re-occurring theme: comfortable seating. I wonder why most tea houses lack this simple nicety?

Anyway…and without further ado

Week 4: January 24-30
Whom have you met because of something related to tea? Share something about this person and how your relationship began and blossomed.

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Week Three: January 17th-23rd
If I could have my own Tea House this is how I would run things…..

Even though I chose this topic, I’m still having a difficult time coming up with an answer. I know what I like, but I realize that a business is not run just for the pleasure of the owner! But, since we’re just dreaming here…

My tearoom would feature comfortable seating, never small, hard, round-bottomed chairs which make the back-side sore and the sipper cross. I envision some corner sets, with pretty fabric covering the chairs and short (padded) benches. Tables will not be crowded together, nor will there be so many nick-knacks about that one feels over-whelmed by all the ‘stuff’.
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A little house, or cottage, with a sweet front yard garden of flowers, enclosed by a white picket fence, on a not-too-busy street would be the ideal location for this oasis from reality. I don’t want it to be too proper or stuffy, but I do desire things to be more pleasant and restful than our everyday lives generally offer. I even imagine a fireplace or stove in at least one of the rooms, for a warm, cosy place to gather for a nice, hot cuppa on a cold winter’s day.

All of the tea served will be the highest quality loose tea and the water will always be perfectly heated! (Pet peave, luke-warm tea, ugh!) Th teas will be available in bulk, both to sniff and to purchase for home, if desired. All food-stuffs will be made fresh, on the premises, daily. No Bisquick scones here!! Real Devonshire cream, lemon curd, and fruit preserves will accompany the baked goods. You’ll have your choice of High Tea, Low Tea, or cream Tea, and large and small parties will be welcome, of course.

I’d like to have a little gift shop in the front of the house, with pretty and useful tea things for sale. Cups and saucers, pots, and cosies will all be featured along with books, trivets, and various other accessories. On nice days, tea may be served in the garden for a few lucky guests. Flies, mosquitoes, and ants will not be invited!

And finally, at least one room of my little dream tea house will be “male friendly”. I enjoy going to tea with my husband, as does at least one of my friend’s with her husband, and I think it would be nice if they didn’t always have to put up with Victorian frills and such all of the time. In keeping with this concept, in addition to more traditional fare of afternoon teas,(cucumber sandwiches and the like) I’d like to have some slightly heartier choices available for lunches, not just for men, but for busy, hungry women, too.
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Week Three: January 17th-23rd
Our topic for week three of the blog-a-thon is:

“If I could have my own Tea House this is how I would run things…..”

I can hardly wait to see what you all have to say about that! HAPPY SIPPING.

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Last week I promised, “Next week, I’ll expound on what makes tea black, green, or white.”

So here I am, and I promise to do my best not to disappoint.

As I explained last week, true tea is made from the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. So what is it that they do to those leaves to create so many different “colors” and types of tea? First, we must take into account the three major types (or varietals) of tea plants:

The China – Small leaves and generally thrives at higher altitudes.

The India (or Assam) – Larger leaves and generally thrives at lower altitudes.

The Hybrid – Kind of in-between the Chinese and Indian.

Once a type of leaf is chosen, then the amount of processing determines the “color” of the finished product. The two main types of processing are fermentation(oxidation) and drying. There are also differences in how the leaf is handled. Some are torn and crushed, or bruised, while others are not. All of these things affect the flavor of the tea as well as how dark they look both before and after steeping.

White tea: Wilted and unoxidized
In order to prevent oxidation, white teas are immediately fired or steamed after letting them wither (air dry) for a period of time. There is no rolling, breaking, or bruising of any kind.

Green tea: Unwilted and unoxidized
The leaves are often left to dry overnight before steaming or pan frying. This is done in order to neutralize the enzymes thus preventing oxidation.

Oolong: Wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized
After being left to dry for 8- 24 hours, the leaves are tossed in baskets in order to bruise the edges of the leaves. This bruising only causes the leaves to partially oxidize because only a portion of the enzymes are exposed to air.

Next, the leaves are steamed in order to neutralize the enzymes and stop any oxidation. Oolong tea can have varying degrees of oxidation. Some are closer to black teas, and some are closer to green.

Black tea: Wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized
After a drying period of up to 24 hours the leaves are rolled in order to crack up the surface so that oxygen will react with the enzymes and begin the oxidation process. The leaves are left to completely oxidize, thus turning the leaves to a deep black color.

All of the different types of tea are given a final drying and afterwards sorted for grading .

I gleaned some of this information from Wikipedia.org and drew some from the 2BaSnob blog.

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Tell us about your favorite teas. Do you prefer black, green, white, red, or “herbal”? Do you like added flavors such as fruit, flowers, vanilla, chocolate, or spices, or are you a “purist”?
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If you know me at all, you have a pretty good idea of my answer to this week’s question. LOL…I guess I have pretty strong preferences when it comes to my tea.

My go-to tea is black, and most likely “pure”. In the morning I reach for my stronger teas, like Irish or Scottish Breakfast, PG TIPS, or Oestfresian Tea. Just a nice blend (or not) of black teas. I’m ok with straight Ceylon or Assam, too!
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*Week Two: January 10th-16th
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At other times, there are a few flavored black tea which make me a happy camper. I like a good Blueberry, or Black Current, or Apricot tea. (hint, look at my Adagio Signatures Blends on the ScrabbleQueen page) I also enjoy a nice Rose tea or my long-standing bagged-tea favorite, Bigelow’s Constant Comment. Yum…Orange and spice is very nice in a black tea!
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The others…Some green teas are okay, as are some herbals (not properly tea!) but in general I am picky about flavorings. Greens that are too “vegetal” won’t do. I don’t want to feel as if I’m drinking steeped grass! I din’t prefer the Red tea that I tried. Too astringent, and again, not really tea. Picky me!
Never chocolate flavored, nor vanilla. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t work for me. That’s across the board, for all “colors” of tea. I’ve tried plenty, please don’t offer to send me your favorite.
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Oh, one more. I like Oolong teas! LOL…altho it’s possible I like some better than others. This is the one type of tea that I will always serve and drink “un-tainted” by milk or sugar. My, “oh this tastes like going to Chinese” tea.
Oops, forgot another one…I do like Darjeelings, they’re just not my favs. And Earl Grey? You keep it, really…..(the one in the photo lives at my house, but NOT for me)

So, I fessed up, now it’s YOUR turn! Go write up your tea preferences and them come back and link up with Mr Linky so all can enjoy your contrbution to our little party.

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Week Two: January 10th-16th

Tell us about your favorite teas. Do you prefer black, green, white, red, or “herbal”? Do you like added flavors such as fruit, flowers, vanilla, chocolate, or spices, or are you a “purist”?

Remember to use the Mr. Linky to link up your post Sunday, or whenever you post it!

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While we’re waiting for the next subject in the blog-a-thon, I thought it might be fun to post a little tea info for your edification.

First, tea is properly from the Camellia sinensis plant. This would include all black, green, and white teas. Rooibos, or Red tea is from an entirely different plant, the Aspalathus linearis. Herbal teas, or tisanes, are made from various herbs, flowers, fruits, or any combination there-of.

Some of the most frequently asked questions I hear concerning tea have to do with it’s caffeine content. How does it compare to coffee? Which has more/less caffeine, black or green? Does white tea have any caffeine?
So, in an attempt to answer a few of these pressing queries, here follows a few tid-bits of information.

*All “real” teas contain caffeine unless they have been de-caffeinated! And de-caf actually contains some caffeine, just very, very little.

*Black tea has about 1/2 the caffeine of coffee. Not espresso, just regular coffee.

* Green tea varies quite a bit, but generally has less caffeine than black.

*White tea is often listed as having the least amount of caffeine.

*Rooibos (red tea) has no caffeine.

*Herbal teas/tisanes may or may not have caffeine, depending upon the ingredients! Many people incorrectly assume all herbals are caffeine free. Mate is an example of an herbal which has caffeine.

There are a few factors other than color/type which affect the amount of caffeine in your cup. One is the cut of the tea used. Generally speaking, the smaller the bits the tea leaf is cut into, the more quickly it releases caffeine into the hot water. Secondly, how much tea is used, and how long it steeped affect the amount of caffeine released. The temperature of the water may also be a factor here. Hotter water releases the caffeine more quickly than cooler water does.

Can I de-caffeinate my own tea by pouring out the water after 30 seconds and then adding fresh water and steeping for the usual amount of time? NO! Research shows that it would take 20 minutes of steeping for enough caffeine to be released from the leaves to render them “de-caffeinated”. A common wives tale, found on tea-sites everywhere.

Which brings me to my last tid-bit for today; much of this information regarding caffeine content is not accepted by all sources as being true! In my research I found plenty of contradictory information. One site has this chart posted…it is possible it is more accurate than other charts….but who knows?

*A Department of Nutritional Services report provides the following ranges of caffeine content for a cup of tea made with loose leaves:

Black Tea: 23 – 110 mg
Oolong Tea: 12 – 55 mg
Green Tea: 8 – 36 mg
White Tea: 6 – 25 mg

Next week, I’ll expound on what makes tea black, green, or white. Till then, happy sipping!

Week One: January 3rd-9th“Tea as a mood lifter: How does tea improve your day? What is your favorite time for a nice, hot cuppa?”

Tea. It gets my day going, it calms and soothes me in the evening, and it makes a great pick-me-up in the afternoon when I’m dragging. What time of day isn’t good for a nice, hot cuppa?
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That being said, I’ll try to address how tea can “lift” my mood. In the morning or afternoon, perhaps it is the caffeine that makes tea my faithful friend. I believe, however, that is only a portion of the truth. The simple act of sitting down with a hot cuppa, whether alone or with others, helps me to rest and re-focus. After that, I can more happily get on with the day.
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Needless to say, if I am able to combine my cuppa with some time with friends or family, my mood is improved by the sweet fellowship we share along with our tea and goodies. Goodies aren’t an essential ingredient, but they are nice!
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Okay, now it’s YOUR turn to share!
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