Itty Bitty Bao Zhong

It's time for another blog carnival! This is when I join my friends from the Association of Tea Bloggers to write posts on a common theme. The host for this month's carnival is the fabulous Gongfu Girl. (As I remind you regularly, if you're not reading her blog, you should be. She is absolutely one of my favorite tea bloggers.) As the host, she'll post the links to all of the responses to the month's theme on her site on June 1. Go check them out!

The topic for June: Choose a type of tea and talk about how you brew it.

It seems like such a simple question but I was absolutely at a loss of where to start. I drink such a diversity of teas that I wasn't sure which to choose. I started looking at my teaware for clues. I realized that I often change my brewing method and teaware to suit my mood and the demands of the day.

I decided that I really wanted to write about a tea that's been a favorite of mine for the past year or more -- Bao Zhong. Bao Zhong (or pouchong) is a very lightly oxidized oolong. It is close to a green tea, but sweeter and less vegetal. (I know, I'm supposed to ban that word from my vocabulary. OK, it tastes less like asparagus or green beans and more floral.) Some retailers liken the flavor and aroma to that of lilacs. This struck me as true and helped explain my adoration of this tea. Lilacs are my favorite flower -- I love their look, their amazing aroma, and the fact that they are only around for such a brief time. They feel like a gift we are given, but just for a moment. For me, bao zhong oolong has that same feeling that the beauty could slip away any moment.

This isn't a tea that I drink on a whim. This is a tea that I think about before I brew it. When it comes to mind it gives me a calm feeling, that I have discovered something special. It is as if I am about to experience it for the first time. It is for this reason that I like to make the moment special. I use a beautiful teapot I purchased from Zhong Guo Cha. I place the leaves gently in the upper chamber. I add water briefly and pour it off, allowing the leaves to expand slightly, readying themselves for the moment of brewing. I then add fresh water -- it holds just enough for a small cup. The leaves stand up and dance and swirl in the water as the beautiful tea essences seep into the liquid. The color builds and reveals itself. And then, it is ready.

I lift the chamber and press a small button on the top of the teapot, releasing the lovely tea into the glass pot. The scent is heavenly. I pour the tea into a cup and finally, sip.

The true beauty of this tea is that, at this point, I am not done. Not nearly. I have only begun. I add more water and steep again...and again...and again. Little sips, little cups, itty bitty moments of splendor. It is my itty bitty bao zhong experience and it is always amazing.

Why do we talk about health?

Some of you might have heard that a major tea company was recently slapped by the FDA for making health claims about their tea. They're not the first and I'm sure they won't be the last, especially now that the FDA has taken the position that claiming health benefits means that the company is promoting tea as a drug. I am not, however, going to take this blog post in the direction you might expect. Instead I'll say, I'm really tired of talking about tea and its purported health claims.

There, I said it. Send along your hate mail and I'll begin answering when I can.

Seriously, though, I really am. It is one of the top areas of discussion as soon as people hear that I'm interested in tea. They want to lose weight, lower their blood pressure, improve their teeth...you name it. You'll notice that it really isn't a topic I've talked about much in the blog and I generally only write about it if hired to do so.

It's not that I'm disinterested in health. Far from it. I was actually a biology major in college and then earned a Masters degree in public health. It's not even that I don't believe there could be health benefits. There are lots of studies out there that suggest there could be some positive effects, but we do have to keep in mind that many of these studies utilized tea extracts and not tea in the form most of us consume it.

Again, not really my point. So what is my point? My point is that I want to drink tea because I like the taste of tea. I like its connection to centuries of history. I like to think about where it was grown and all the people it took to bring it to my door. I like tea just for what it is. I don't need to grab onto these health claims that are largely unproven and have led to ridiculousness like green tea in my shampoo and hand lotions.

Some claim that we need to promote tea's health benefits in order to get people to drink it. I don't buy it. When is the last time Starbucks had to put a sign in their window that you should drink coffee because it gives you shinier hair and stronger fingernails. (These are not real health benefits of coffee. Do not go get a cup because I said this.) People drink coffee because they like the taste and/or because the industry has done an amazing job in convincing people that coffee is the perfect way to connect with others. You meet friends over coffee. You stop and grab a cup in the morning and then talk to everyone at work about how you really "needed a cup of coffee." You linger over coffee at the end of a meal.

It's time for tea folks to stop trying to get people to drink tea to be healthier. You don't see people gathering over plates of spinach. Let's get people to drink tea because it's warming and relaxing and satisfying and tasty.

And that makes me feel better.

One, two, chai, chai, chai

Before I talk about chai, I wanted to give you an update on the book! You know the one. I mean THE book - "A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time." It is done. Totally and completely done. The edits have gone off to the publisher and it is 100% out of my hands. I got some lovely reviews from I respect very highly - Mary Lou Heiss (author of James Beard award-nominated "The Story of Tea"), Tracy Stern (Owner of SalonTea), tea master Shozo Sato, and Joseph Simrany (President of Tea USA/ Specialty Tea Institute.) I'll be updating the website soon and adding some exclusive content and photo slideshows. It can be pre-ordered through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through IndieBound (to pre-order through independent bookstores.) I hope to be setting up some readings, workshops, and other events once the book comes out in the Fall. Stay tuned! And, for now, I have started on the next book. More on that another day.

Chai! I love it. Have I mentioned that? A lot? Okay, here I say it again. I love chai. Over the years I've found some great ones. I've particularly come to love ones from Tavalon (Kama Chai Sutra), Indonique (Masala Chai), and Yogic Chai (Original Masala, Kuki Chai, Coconut Masala, Mint Masala). While there are other really nice ones out there, these are the ones I continually go back to.

It's nice to see that others agree. In March (sorry for the delay, Ricardo!), I got a note from our friends at Yogic Chai. Their Original Masala Chai was awarded 1st place in the Chai category at the 2011 North American Tea Championship! Not only were they awarded first place, but their score was the highest ever given for a chai in the competition. Others recognized in the category include a purveyor in my neck of the woods, MEM Imports of Somerville, MA as well as Malabar Trading Company. In other categories, I saw our friends from Rishi and Teas Etc. represented as well. Congratulations!

Yogic is offering samples of this award-winning tea for $1 on their website.

You can find information about the winners in all the categories here. I can see I have many more companies to check out soon!

I saw that my Original Masala Chai review was published in Feb. 2008. Just remember that I told you about how great Yogic is first. ;)

Book review: Scones and Bones

I'm sitting here, sipping a cup of jasmine green (Boston Tea Company), listening to "Shakespeare for Kids" with my four-year-old. A little "Midsummer Night's Dream" - I have to pause it about every 8 seconds to explain what's going on but she won't let me turn it off. In the meantime I wanted to try to get another post up before the baby wakes! (Nothing like having two teeth come in in a week to mess up a baby's sleep patterns!)

I wanted to mention before I get into the bulk of the post that I have an article in the current edition (May/June) of "Tea Time." It's a great magazine that is always full of great recipes. The cover of this one makes it worth the purchase anyway with a spectacular peaches and cream layer cake. My article talks about one of my favorite places - Clipper Merchant Tea House in Limerick, ME. (You'll recognize the first two images accompanying the article from my blog post.)

Now, as I mentioned in a past post I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Laura Childs' 12th book in the "Tea Shop Mystery" series, "Scones and Bones." (You might remember my previous reviews of "Death by Darjeeling" and the "Silver Needle Murder," "Oolong Dead," and "The Teaberry Strangler" and I had the chance to interview her in 2009.) I love Laura's books. They're uncomplicated reads with good characters. Some may discount these books as too "light," but I think there's absolutely a place for these types of books on my shelf. They're the kinds of books I turn to on a lazy day when I want to curl up with a blanket and a cup of tea. They're books that I read when other things are crowding my mind and I want to escape a bit. They're just plain fun. Plus, I commend Ms. Childs for bringing such attention to tea - to dedicating a big portion of her writing time to developing books that honor tea.

In "Scones and Bones" a skull cup, thought to be made from the skull of Blackbeard, was stolen at a Heritage Society event and an intern was killed in the process. And, of course, Theodosia, the owner of the Indigo Tea Shop was on the scene when the crime took place. (It's a little like Jane Marple in that way. We always say that if we're ever at a B&B or hotel and Jane Marple arrives, it's time to leave. (Yes, I know she's a fictional character. It's a joke.)) Theodosia and her friends discover that this skull cup is connected to other artifacts that could lead the way to Blackbeard's treasure. It's clear that the thief knows this as well and when Hailey (the tea shop's pastry chef) is kidnapped we wonder if Theodosia and her tea sommelier Drayton will solve the crime in time.

It's great to see Childs' characters take their places in the story. The neighborhood gossip Delaine and police detective Burt Tidwell add their usual color. And Theodosia is forced to make some big decisions about her on-and-off boyfriend Parker.

As usual, Childs ends the book with some yummy looking recipes. She already had me with the lemon scones but then to add a chai tiramisu, and lemon chess pie, and a cous cous salad? I'm in love.

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Next up -
Book reviews: A review of Cynthia Gold's "Culinary Tea" and Mary Lou Heiss's "The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook."
Tea: Another from Boston Tea Company and some new ones from Tiesta Teas and Karma Teas