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Tea 101 - About Tea

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  • Gulma and Mohorgung Tea Estate, Terai
    February 23, 2022

    Conventional Tea Farming Practices

    In our last blog post we talked about why we prefer organic methods of growing tea. This time we look into the common practices in tea gardens where tea is grown using "conventional" methods. Conventional farming is a term applied to agriculture where synthetic chemicals are used for crop management.
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  • Caterpillar in Puttabong Tea Estate for Organic Tea
    February 15, 2022

    Why Organic Tea?

    We prefer organic teas over conventional teas because of the positive impact it has on the ecology. The taste of the tea is even better, especially when you learn all the good that organic tea farming can bring. In place...

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  • Location matters for a tea garden
    September 19, 2019

    Location matters for a tea garden

    The quality of fine tea is dependent on many qualities, with sunlight, soil content, and elevation drastically effecting the finished product. A lesser known factor, however, is the direction a hill slopes while growing tea.
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  • cup of tea with caffeine
    March 31, 2015

    Can caffeine be rinsed from tea?

    Turns out a quick rinse only makes a negligible difference in reducing caffeine from tea.

    A quick rinse of the tea leaf once before making a cup can reduce the caffeine content of the tea. True or false?

    If you are a caffeine-sensitive person who loves tea, you might often have been offered this work-around -  rinse the leaves for a quick 30 seconds, and only then use the leaf to make your cup.

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  • Gong Fu Cha
    July 20, 2014

    Gong Fu Cha and using Yixing Zisha Tea Pot

    Gong Fu Cha

    I've put this video together mainly for our customers who have seen me serve tea using our Yixing tea pots and bought the pots to try at home. I have tried to keep it simple - just showing you the basic steps for multiple steeping of tea, a style known as Gong Fu cha in China and Taiwan. The term "Gong Fu" - same as Kung Fu, which many of us are familiar with - means anything that is coducted with great effort or skill. "Cha" is tea in Chinese.
    Oolongs and puerh teas are best brewed in this method. However, we have also tried Darjeeling with fairly pleasing results. Actually,  if you have the patience you might be able to brew any kind of tea using this method! Remember this is a matter of "great effort".

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  • Photo of Queen Mary
    May 23, 2014

    Queen Mary's Secret Stash of Tea

    Photo of Queen Mary

    So which tea did Queen Mary (1867-1953) so prize that she had to keep it locked in a cupboard?

    According to James Norwood Pratt, pioneer of the current tea wave in the USA, it was "a fine Darjeeling with a pronounced muscatel flavor." This was the Queen Mary Tea Twinings sold as the personal choice of the late Queen Mary, he adds, in his book The Tea Lovers' Treasury.

    A bit of internet "research" showed that Twinings had launched this tea in 1916 and discontinued it only in 2007, after over 91 years! It is amazing the brand lasted so long. But we amuse ourselves with the thought that they could have given it 10 more years and let it retire at a more auspicious and grand 100 years! That is if they had to drop this tea from their stable.

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  • Photo of tea in teacup
    December 10, 2013

    Selecting Good Tea

    Selecting good tea can sometimes be daunting. But there are a few things that can be kept in mind which will guide you in your selection.     Tea Bloom: Did you know that a halo is bestowed upon good tea?...

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