http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/index/ en alnedra.mofi@gmail.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-20T09:09:13+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/warm_milk/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/warm_milk/#When:09:09:13Z There is a particular hawker stall near my office which uses very good tea dust and a good brand of evaporated milk, and so their Teh-C (tea with evaporated milk) is very popular with my colleagues. I have tried and often failed to make a similarly good tasting Teh-C with Red Dust here in the office. Somehow, the fragrance of the milk either was not present or did not gel well with the tea. Today, I took out the last bit of evaporated milk from the office fridge and sniffed it. I could not tell if it was still ok, so I decided to put it in the microwave to warm it up. If it had soured, I would be able to smell it then. Fortunately it was still good, and I poured it into my tea. Amazingly this time the tea tasted very close to what the hawker stall made. I then recalled that the hawker stall (like most tea and coffee making stalls in Singapore) had a huge metal sink, almost a cabinet, constantly full of hot water, so that the stall owner can easily scoop up the required amount of water to make his orders. The evaporated milk tins were kept just above this sink, which meant that the evaporated milk was always kept warm. So a good idea for making fragrant Teh-C: warm your evaporated milk! Tea, Black 2010-03-20T09:09:13+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/stocking_tea/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/stocking_tea/#When:10:42:26Z In the West, there is the custom of drinking champagne out of ladies’ shoes (although it may be common on TV and in movies than real life); in Hong Kong, people drink tea that has been sieved through “silk stockings” (sī wà 丝袜). Unlike the Western custom though, the “stockings” aren’t real stockings; rather, they are long cloth (usually cotton) sieves which vaguely resemble silk stockings. And not just in shape; the infusion of tea through the sieves would render them a strong shade of brown, darkening with prolonged usage. Tea dust (such as Red Dust) is very fine and cannot be effectively filtered using normal metal or bamboo sieves. So the tea dust is packed into cotton sieves, and water poured into the sieve to infuse the tea dust. Tea dust has the advantage of infusing very rapidly, so the water does not need to steep to become very rich tea. Tea dust is also fairly easy to dispose of, as one can just invert the cloth sieve to dump most of it out, and what remains can be washed off the sieve in a sink. I’ve tried using the Aeropress to make tea from tea dust and it works quite fine, although I have to remember to use less tea dust since the water is pressed out more aggressively than a normal sieve. Normally the Aeropress is used for coffee, and does it well. I hate sourness in coffee and the coffee that is made with an Aeropress is famously low in acidity. It probably won’t work for tea leaves, but tea dust, being of a similar consistency and density to ground coffee beans, benefits from the pressure. Tea, Black 2009-02-20T10:42:26+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/close_enough/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/close_enough/#When:14:09:48Z My time in Thailand is coming to an end and I am running down my stocks of tea, but I have miscalculated how much tea I need and my stocks have run out three weeks too early. I made a trip down to the local supermarket and picked up the most expensive Chinese tea I could find (38baht or US$1.10, for 100g).  It is not wonderful, but it satisfies a craving.  The tea is dark and astringent, the fragrance weak and dusty; but somewhere lingering in the darkness, there is a glimmer of light, a hint of smoke.  It is like visiting the ruins of a great city: if you half close your eyes, you can almost see the glory it must once have been. I never liked Chinese tea as a child.  I found it a bitter, unpleasant drink and never understood why the older Chinese seemed to enjoy it so much.  It was not until 1996, when I first drank Chinese tea at the teahouse in Singapore, that my eyes were opened and I realised what a varied and exhilarating experience it could be.  In 1995, I would never have drunk, much less had a craving for this $1 tea, but in 2008, I am a tea addict and even this pale imitation will do.  This tea tastes truly awful, but it is recognisably a dark oolong tea from Fujian.  In the 18th century, the Indians were mystified by the behaviour of their colonial masters, who shipped bottled peas and sides of bacon many hundreds of miles to India, and seemed to eat them with so much relish.  I cannot imagine that the British were deluded into thinking that the hard, yellow pellets tasted anything like fresh peas, but…it was close enough. Tea, Wulong 2009-02-18T14:09:48+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/late_night_tea/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/late_night_tea/#When:12:49:31Z After attending a concert the other night at the Esplanade, my friend and I tried to avoid the post-concert rush by sitting down for tea somewhere. We came across the Cookie Museum, but were told that there were no more tables available at the rather small shop. Disappointed, we queued at a shop opposite, but a few minutes later, the waitress who had turned us away came rushing over to tell us a table had just been cleared, and were we still interested? We were, and took a nice window seat in the corner. The decor of the place was very roccoco, full of gilt, mirrors and heavily patterned fabric. The tea menu was quite impressive, with at least 2 or 3 dozen types of tea, including green and white tea. My friend ordered a Lady Grey, which she had not been able to obtain for quite a while. I ordered an infusion named Bed of Roses, which were pale rosbuds with marigold petals. The Lady Grey was impressive, the black tea a soft background to the lavender and bergamot. In successive infusions, though, the bergamot began to get stronger, and the lavender weaker, so by about the third pot, it became rather like a lowgrade Earl Grey. But kudos for the tea lasting even 2 steepings, which is fairly good for black tea. The Bed of Roses was a bit more disappointing, but I was not expecting much from a flower infusion. The rose was fairly strong in the first infusion, subsequent steepings became very weak. We also sampled a white tea named Peony Garden and a green tea named Lotus Garden. We were very taken with the Peony Garden, although they scalded the white tea with water that was too hot. The fragrance of the Peony was noticeable but still delicate enough to allow the innate fragrance of the white tea to come through. The Lotus Garden was less impressive, as the flower scent (definitely not lotus) was too strong, almost artificial. Still, I could tell that the green tea base was good, although overpowered by other fragrances. I am definitely going back to try some of the other teas, and perhaps even the cookies, of which they had a mindboggling variety. Tea, Black, Green, White 2008-12-15T12:49:31+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/presents/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/presents/#When:02:06:57Z My dear friend es el queso found some lovely green tuocha, and sent a pack to me. I have yet to try them, as I would like to brew them properly in the teahouse. Here are a couple of pictures of the tuocha, wrapped in rice paper and sealed in an airtight packet. Also he has sent cute little mini-cards of his blog, What I Had For Dinner Tonight, made by Moo.com. The back of the packet has short instructions on how to make the tea. Tea, Pu'er 2008-11-20T02:06:57+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/thai_tea/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/thai_tea/#When:09:15:01Z On a recent trip to Bangkok, I came across a small tea outlet which boasted wulong teas grown in Thailand. Intrigued, I looked at their teas. They had a few wulongs, namely Gaoshan and Tiekuanyin, and the usual jasmine green tea, along with a few other varieties. The salesgirl was earnest and helpful but not very experienced in making tea. Her attempt at brewing Tiekuanyin using a Piao-Yi cup was a little off, using water that had been boiling for a fairly long time and letting the tea leaves steep too long. My learned friend 醉茶士 was also there, and swore that the Tiekuanyin smelled strongly of nicotine! I hesitantly agreed, as there was an odd scent to the tea which I couldn’t quite identify. It did have a resemblance to the sweet, musky smell of tobacco, although not as strong or pervasive. I learned to my surprise that the Tiekuanyin was grown in Chiang Rai, as were the other teas, including the Gaoshan. More tea plantations are always good, even if they’re not in China or Taiwan (or given the burgeoning Chinese economy giving rise to very wealthy Chinese on the mainland who can afford to pay top dollar for tea leaves, especially if they are not in China), so I bought a tin of Tiekuanyin. To be honest, I was not expecting very much for the price, which was around 8% of what I usually pay for a top-grade Tiekuanyin. It is a pleasant enough tea, with a good golden colour and fairly recognizable scent. Unfortunately the tea leaves are only good for one, or at most 2 steepings. Nonetheless, it is still better, in terms of taste and fragrance, than the teas available in supermarkets, even though their price range is similar. Should I go to Bangkok again, I will be sure to drop in at that tea outlet again, and perhaps that affable and helpful salesgirl will be better practiced by then. Tea, Wulong 2008-11-13T09:15:01+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/red_dust/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/red_dust/#When:04:13:39Z The teahouse I frequent brings in red tea* dust for making bubble tea. Usually it is quite fragrant, smelling faintly of vanilla and honey. But this particular batch is superbly fragrant, so much so that the scent permeated the entire store-room and then half the shop before the manager sealed the dust into individual bags. The tea it makes is also strongly fragrant, and very rich. I brought a few 1/2 kilogram (a bit more than a pound) bags to my office and they were eagerly snapped up. I brought more and they too disappeared, until I put my foot down on the very last pack, which was to be left for office functions. Being tea dust, the red tea can only be used once before it loses almost all of its fragrance and taste. Price-wise, it costs twice as much as the usual red tea dust I see in supermarkets. But in terms of taste, fragrance and strength, it is far better. I need less than half of the tea dust to make the same amount of tea, so it is very economical too. I am definitely buying another tin when next the teahouse re-stocks. Being humble tea dust, there is no name attached to it. If packaged nicely though, I think it would be fairly popular, although not appropriate for the teahouse, which prides itself on offering only high-grade tea leaves. 红尘 (hóng chén Red Dust) is a metaphorical term for the physical or corporeal world. For something that is 俗 (sú which can mean corporeal but also low-class or tacky), and yet yields such lovely fragrance, I think that would be a most appropriate name. *In English parlance, what we in Chinese call “red tea” should be “black tea” and I usually defer to that term. However, in this situation, the tea dust is really a deep maroon; moreoever, calling it black tea dust would ruin the significance of the name I picked Tea, Black 2008-11-11T04:13:39+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/savour/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/savour/#When:14:38:00Z Green tea has more recently become popular in the West because of its high anti-oxidant content (polyphenols), which is reputed to protect against a variety of ills, including heart disease and cancer. To this end, many supermarkets now stock at least a few varieties of green tea. Most green teas sold in the West are heavily flavoured with fruit or flower, largely with the intention of masking the smell of the tea. If you are used to drinking black tea, then the savoury, meaty taste of green tea is startling and may put you off. Chinese green tea and Japanese green tea are different beasts. They are similar in that heat is applied very early in processing to stop enzymes from breaking down the phenolic compounds in tea (the all-important anti-oxidant bit). In Chinese tea, the heat is applied in a hot metal pan (much like a wok), which removes some of the colour and imparts a savoury fragrance very reminiscent of meat (which comes from pyrazines and pyrroles). In Japanese tea, the heat is applied as steam, which preserves much of the grassy taste of the leaves, allows it to retain a fresh green colour even when dried, and is also responsible for the distinctive seaweed flavour of Japanese green tea (dimethyl sulphide). Tea contains a unique amino acid called theanine, which is able to cross into the brain and produce feelings of relaxation and improve cognition. Some of it breaks down to glutamic acid, which is a flavour enhancer. Tea also contains guanosine monophosphate and inosine monophosphate, which are both flavour enhancers as well, and serve to further intensify the savoury taste of green tea. Lu K, Gray M, Oliver C, Liley D, Harrison B, Bartholomeusz C, Phan K, Nathan P (2004). “The acute effects of L-theanine in comparison with alprazolam on anticipatory anxiety in humans”. Hum Psychopharmacol 19 (7): 457–65. doi:10.1002/hup.611. PMID 15378679. Haskell CF, Kennedy DO, Milne AL, Wesnes KA, Scholey AB (2008). “The effects of l-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood”. Biol Psychol 77 (2): 113–22. Tea, Green 2008-07-18T14:38:00+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/tea_good_or_bad/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/tea_good_or_bad/#When:15:24:00Z I realise that I sometimes sound like an elitist, talking about good and lousy tea. But to be honest, I drink almost any kind of tea in a pinch. I’m not adverse to dunking a Lipton teabag on occasion and I buy bottled ready-made tea (preferably unsweetened though) when on the run. Given that Singapore is such a hot and humid country, I don’t turn up my nose at cold teas, such as honey sweetened iced green tea or iced lemon tea. I think the most important thing about tea is that you have to enjoy it. It doesn’t have to cost a bomb, or come from an organic plantation high up in the mountains that harvests only 4 times a year. It’s nice to be able to get my hands on a really excellent batch of tea leaves and I don’t begrudge the expense of buying rare and great leaves from small plantations. But at the end of the day, it’s all about a love for tea. I will drink almost any kind of tea at least once. I’ve bought wulong and green tea at 2 dollars per pack and they were definitely very drinkable. However, no matter what kind of tea leaves are used, I do demand that the tea is made properly. I abhor tea that has been steeped for much too long, or if the leaves are still used well after all flavour has been wrung out of them. Even for something as humble as coffeeshop (or kopitiam in Singapore parlance) tea, made from red tea powder, there is a way to make a great cup. My favourite is Teh-C (explained in an earlier entry), and to make it well, you have to start with a fresh batch of tea powder packed into a long cotton sieve. The water has to be hot, and the generous portion of evaporated milk to be poured in smoothly while vigorously stirring the tea, until a little froth builds up. One of the small stalls near my home does it very well and I don’t hesitate to pay the extra 10 cents she charges over the other stalls for her Teh-C. In fact, I usually buy at least 6 to 10 cups to bring to the office, where my colleagues eagerly dole out the creamy, chocolate-brown liquid into their mugs. Tea, Black, Tea Related 2008-07-15T15:24:00+00:00 http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/teabags/ http://www.leavesofjade.com/index.php/tea_blog/teabags/#When:14:15:04Z Tea ought not to be infused too long in hot water, and ought therefore to be removed after the appropriate amount of time has passed. For this reason, convenient infusers such as tea balls (a spherical stainless steel mesh for containing tea) and other metal infusers were popular in the 19th century and early 20th century. In 1904, Thomas Sullivan, a New York tea merchant, began sending his customers samples of tea in small hand-sewn silk bags, some of whom mistakenly assumed that the entire bag ought to be immersed in hot water instead of first removing the leaves to be used in the usual manner. Following complaints that the weave of the silk was too fine, Mr Sullivan began issuing (cheaper) bags made of gauze instead. Thus was born the tea bag. While tea bags were popular in the US before the war, the British were far less enthusiastic, and tea bags were only introduced to Britain in 1953 by Tetley’s (the Yorkshire tea merchants).  The convenience of the tea bag is its main selling point, and today, more than 95% of all tea sold in Britain is sold in bags. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with tea bags per se. The main complaints are that bags which are too small do not allow the leaves inside to expand (an easily rectified problem), or that paper alters the taste of the tea (Teapigs use plastic mesh instead). However, the cardinal sin of tea bags is really that they permit manufacturers to sell to Joe Public enormous quantities of vile cheap tea powder (or “warehouse sweepings”, also known as cut-tear-curl tea), where the leaf fragments are too small to use in a tea pot and would otherwise be unusable and unsalable. Tea, Tea Related 2008-07-09T14:15:04+00:00