Hot tea in the tropics

The sun has finally arrived in my (cold) neck of the woods. Vancouver has simply had the coldest spring on record. Filled with rain and cold weather, it was a very depressing and discouraging season. So now that it has begun to warm up, and I can go running outside without two layers and a sweater, there is much rejoicing. But there is always a problem for me… with such warm weather, who wants to drink a hot cup of tea? It’s true that sometimes I can only have that hot cuppa early in the morning, or late into the evening (though sometimes caffeine has been known to keep me long awake.)


So would I partake in tea at the proper afternoon tea-time?
Goodness me no.

And yet……

I have heard of people who drink hot things in summer, and consume cold things in the winter. I’ve even sold ice cream bars in the dead of winter to people who are going outside to go play mini golf. They claim it is the best way to keep cool and warm, respectively. I was decidedly thinking it was a bunch of hooey, but more and more people came through swearing by it. Was it all hogwash, or did it have some merit in reality.
Perhaps there was some truth to the theory, because when you think about it the places hot beverages originate from tend to be very hot locations.

Coffee is produce in quite warm climates, and thought to originate in Ethiopia. Chocolate, and the chocolate drink that inevitable followed, were first consumed by the Mayans. Ancient Mayan pots with remnants point to Honduras as being another hot drink origin. Finally botanists suggesting tea first grew wild in Assam, India. Of course the drink was cultivated by the Chinese, and now there are the largest crops grown in India, Southern China and Sri Lanka. All of which are hot places.



So what are they doing drinking such hot beverages in these hot locations? Well I’ve read one theory that these places originally were quite rustic, and water was boiled to clear out organic contaminates. If you put your ingredients (tea leaves, coffee, or chocolate) inside to flavour the water, would you want to wait for it to cool down first? Still, I have my doubts. In some of the hottest places, the liquid would take its sweet time to cool, and would end up not cooling all that much. So, rather than decontamination, would people drink it hot to cool themselves down? Would it really work?



Theory would suggest that no, it can't. It would then suggest that yes, it can.
After hearing about the act of drinking a hot liquid on a hot day numerous of times, I decided to do a little research. There are lots of theories on why it would work – and why it wouldn't.
Some would say a cold drink is simply better, because your body puts its own heat into it.
Then I'd read hot drinks would work better because your body doesn’t have to heat the liquid up, therefore using less energy.
Cold drinks will cool you down through you core body.
Hot drinks will warm the body, to equal the heat you feel on your skin, and that would feel less intense.
The back and forth continued on.

But the best theory, the one that had some science to it, was that a hot drink heats up the core of your body. Your brain, which is hypersensitive to the temperature of your body’s core, reacts by putting the rest of your body into hyper self-cooling mode: mostly by sweating.
So the sweat helps cool your body, but it isn’t all that much better than cooling down your core via a cold drink instead.


So then, what will you do? Will you go the way of many South Americans and have their ice tea? I personally don’t like it because of the lack of sugar. The Canadian version I prefer, but to me it doesn’t even belong in the category of tea – the taste is so dissimilar. What about taking one of my hot teas with all the fixin’s and putting it into the fridge for later? Like an iced coffee? Well luckily for me I found a company willing to do that for me.


I saw this in a grocery store and had to buy it. It's made with tea extract and powdered milk.
It tastes awful.
Of course it does, and I was expecting it. But, more importantly, there was also a wrongness of the coldness. Ever distractedly drink from a mug of cold tea that you’d forgotten about while surfing the internet? It is gross and this is the same. The only tea beverage that could be cold and tasty would be Chai, and I have personally had very good frozen chai’s before.

It looks like a hot tea will be the only solution for my afternoon tea, but it can’t be just any tea. It has to be a summer inspired tea. Luckily for me, Murchie’s recently came out with a new tea called Coconut Cream Banana.

Coconut and banana are the main players, but it also has the smooth flavour of vanilla, and everything mixes so perfectly together. This doesn’t taste like artificial coconut that invades many of our baked culinary foods. It doesn’t taste like bad artificial banana you find in terrible hard candies. It tastes like you are in a hammock in the tropics, and someone just offered you a hot drink of paradise. It is by far my favourite tea I own at the moment, and I honestly had to keep from shouting “Day-O” between sips while drinking it. My mother can attest that I wasn’t always successful. My only complaint is that it is a very light tea : I have to let it steep quite a bit before it reached even a medium dark flavour and colour.



So if you are going to do something that feels completely unnatural – that is drink a hot beverage on a hot day—then at least find yourself a spectacular summer inspired tea. I obviously recommend this one, though I probably could drink Coconut Cream Banana tea on the sun and still be contented.

You can buy Murchie’s Coconut Cream Banana in store or online.
I don’t know if they will always carry it, as it could just be the fad of the season. It hasn’t gotten its own packaging yet, being sold only in bulk. Let’s hope it becomes a Murchie’s staple though.

You can find that Cold Earl Grey Boxed tea at grocery stores, though I found this one at T&T Supermarket. I don’t know why you’d want to, however.

WillKat Royal Tea

I have a lot (tea-wise) to thank the British for:

The first thank you would be for a specific British person: the Duchess of Bedford, Anna Russell. In the early 1800's, there was a breakfast, and a dinner that usually happened past 7:00pm. A new meal called a luncheon was created, but many felt their stomachs grumble before dinner time came around. The luncheon was a light meal, and the Duchess Anna Russell often complained of hunger pains. Not wanting to disturb the servants who were busy preparing her a hearty dinner, she decided she would take tea at around 3:00pm. Originally she only had buttered bread with her tea, but it slowly grew into a more lavish and ritualized event with scones and tasty sandwiches. She enjoyed this tea time so much, she started inviting her friends (one of which was Her Majesty Queen Victoria) to join her. And whatever the Queen did, the upper class did. And whatever the upper class did, everyone else would follow suit. Thank you, dear Duchess, for creating the afternoon high tea.


Next would be a thank you for Her Majesty the Queen, who wakes every morning at 7:30am to have her tea which is brought to her by a chambermaid. It is usually Earl Grey, and is always made with Malvern Water. In fact, she always makes her tea with Malvern water, no matter where she is in the world -- she brings her own if she has to. For most, tea time is around 3:00pm, but I've read that the Queen takes her tea at 5:00pm --and she insists on pouring the tea herself. Most of this information is just hearsay, and unverified. But everyone loves a little mystery! In fact, it caused me to ponder a question: what brand or type of tea does Queen Elizabeth II drink? Well, it isn’t explicitly said, but there are some clues.


She, along with her husband His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and their son His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales, have the ability to assign Royal Warrants.

Ever heard of these? I hadn't either.
Now a warrant, in one of its definitions is: Something that provides assurance or confirmation; a guarantee or proof.
So, if your trade business has a branch in England, sells high quality items, is all around excellent, and has supplied such goods to one of these three royals for a minimum of 5 years, they can bestow this warrant to you. Basically they are telling all others that your business is first class. Once you have this warrant, you can use their logo on your product/stationary/building, boast about it to your competitors, and join the Royal Warrant Holder's Association. The association's website actually has a list of the members, and you can check out what companies the royals are fond of.


I know only one of their preferred tea companies, Twining's! They are so popular with the royals, the Queen gave her warrant in 1955 and Prince Charles gave his own in 1993!

Two other teas were also listed of which I hadn't heard anything about. Forthum & Mason was given a warrant in 1996 by Prince Charles, and the other company, Darvilles of Windsor, was given their warrant in 1969 by the Queen. I haven't heard even a whisper about them, but because royalty likes them, it makes me inclined to want to try them.

Other than their tea, the royals favour certain “fishmongers,” “cheesemongers,” tobasco sauce companies, carriage builders, and Coca Cola.
Thank you, your Majesty, for doing your part to make Twinings popular, so they could make their way to my neck of the woods.


And speaking of Royals, I must say thank you to the WillKat (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.)
For those of you who aren't aware, WillKat is the couple name of Prince William and Kate (Catherine) Middleton – much like TomKat is Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes'. Now because of the imminent royal wedding, there are more British activities happening all over the world. And of course, the one British activity I had to partake in was high tea.
Most of the Fairmont hotels I've noticed are doing special things for the month of April, and I got to have high tea at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

I've done the high tea at the Empress Hotel when I was younger, but never the Vancouver Hotel. It was an experience all in its own, though it was quite pricy. We chose the Versailles Lavender Earl Grey tea, which is just ridiculous really -- drinking tea with a French name at a high tea celebrating a British couple. Now I usually like lavender in tea, and expected to like this tea as well. Instead I actually found the lavender didn't mix entirely well with the citrus bergamot oil. I suppose it serves me right.

The sandwiches were dainty, but only two were worthwhile. The curry egg sandwiches were good, and I don't typically like curry. I could have eaten more than one, but alas, you only get one. The brie and ham croissant was good, but rich enough that I could only eat one. Good thing you only get one. The other sandwiches, a salmon and a cucumber, I had to make effort to eat. Who comes up with a cucumber and watercress sandwich! I am sure it must have been some practical joke that sadly caught on. At least the scones were light and fluffy, the way that scones should be. Oh yes, do not fool yourselves; anything that resembles a paper weight is not a scone. The other deserts were very, very sweet, and I am glad they put strawberry slices to cut through the sugar. Seriously.


What I loved most was the presentation of everything at and around the table. The seats were Queen Ann chairs (I actually knew that before writing this) and the tablecloth was white,fresh, and actually cloth. The tea was served in the same set that the Empress uses (the one the Queen once drank from and then Empress declared forever more that that was the only set they would serve on) which is a shame really. In the gift lobby the Fairmont has their own tea set commemorating the marriage of WillKat. It is gold patterned, and a lot more appropriate than the slightly garish purple and blue set.


I suppose the gold set might have been too delicate, but it really is a shame. Meanwhile the Versailles tea was served in a silver teapot, with a little handle cozy to keep the heat from burning your hand. The loose leaf tea was settled in a little metal basket at the top of the teapot, and once the first cup was poured, they were no longer in contact with the water – thus the steeping halted. Clever!


The sugar was the coarse raw sugar that doesn’t clump up when ignorant tea guests use their wet teaspoons to scoop it up -- you know who you are. I was worried about the lack of sugar utensils until I saw the sugar; very clever of Fairmont! Even if there were tea utensils, regular sugar would have been subjected to a wet teaspoon eventually. One odd thing was that the only visual clue of the upcoming wedding was a rather stalkeresque shrine. It composed of a pillow with their picture on it, fake pearls, plastic tiaras/crowns, and it all rested upon another Queen Ann chair. This sat next to a fake white tiered wedding cake. Right. Still, I had a memorable time that wouldn’t have been available if Prince William wasn’t getting married. The atmosphere was fantastic, and the service friendly-- even if I was in jeans. There might never be another opportunity to have tea in dedication of Prince William's wedding, so I am very glad I could partake in this wonderful experience.
So thank you WillKat, for getting hitched, and causing the world to partake in enjoyable British activities.


Finally, thank you to the rest of the British commoners (that includes you, Kate Middleton!) for loving black tea. First as a green tea, fresh from the Orient, then as the black tea as I know and love – theirs is a love affair of tea that continues on today. Now there is a plethora of black tea in the market, and many of the best (I think) are from Britain. In fact, I have just recently discovered a new black tea called PG Tips.


The company started in the dirty 1930's and claims to be England’s number one tea. And if that’s the case, this is probably the favourite tea of a certain soon-to-be princess. Or at least the probability is there. Made only of black tea, this is a smooth tea that no other non-flavoured black tea has so far matched – even Murchie’s Afternoon Blend. The PG Tips I have is made of very fine tea leaves in teabags – not the greatest quality. It steeps really quickly, so I have to watch it close to make sure it doesn’t go from smooth to tart. I have seen loose leaf PG Tips, so there are better qualities available. When I want something a little different from Twining’s, this is the tea I reach for. And these days I have been grabbing it more often than not.

Cheers to the happy couple!


Twinings can be bought at most grocers or online.
PG Tips can be found at some grocery stores and specialty imported UK goods stores. I found mine in Cost Cutters!
Fortnum & Mason can be bought online but for a pretty penny. This might be found elsewhere though. I have heard Williams-Sonoma carries it, and I am looking into it at the moment.
Darvilles of Windsor is also available online, and they are also pricy to buy direct from England.
Looks like I'll have to just wait untilI go to England to try these teas!

Reading into Tasseography

Nothing, for me, is better than a good book and a cup of tea. I am sure countless others feel the same way. Perhaps it all came from the 18th century, where afternoon tea was life, and most mainstream classics were conceived. Indeed, I've just read a book declaring Jane Austen was the most avid tea drinker.


As you might have guessed, I love tea. What you might have not known, is I also love books. So much so, I've made it my career. No, no, I don't write books. I don't have the strongest writing ability, and even weaker grammar and spelling skills. I work in the land of books, the most wondrous library! Academic mind you, which makes finding books on tea sandwiches a little tricky. And since I've been in the library, I've notice the link between books and tea even more obviously.


When I was in Nikaido, browsing the glorious shelves of tea, a black current caught my eye. Nikaido's Blackcurrant Librarian's blend went home with me that day, and the librarian in me greatly approves.


So I drink teas that reference libraries. I drink tea when reading books. Hmm, if only I could go one step further. What else that has to do with tea, and reading could I possibly do?
Oh I know, Tea Readings!

For those who don't have a crazy old great aunt/mother/elderly matron friend who offers tea readings (and those awful ribbon candy), tea reading is a very old fortune telling method that uses pictures to predict future events. And for the sticklers out there, the alphabet can appear in the leaves, so technically it is reading.
As I have read a total of 2 (two) books about tea reading, I'm going to call myself a mock expert on it all. Right.

The scientific name, even though it isn't based on science, is tasseography, and it seems to have originated in the UK. The believed origin is due to the first book of tasseography being written by a Highland Seer. There isn't a publishing date on the book, so who knows how old it is.

Note:
The actual tea reading can be very accurate, and very deep and ritualistic. Pah. I'm not into that. I wanted to do it on a lark, and keep it lighthearted and fun. For goodness sakes, we are looking at squiggly pictures in tea blobs. For all the die-hards out there, who read and scoff at my approach, go read entrails or something. I'm going to go play pictionary with my tea!


The first thing you need to do a tea reading, is to find a loose leaf tea. Cutting open a tea bag doesn't work. Most of what is in the teabags is powder, and that will float around in your cup. You would likely also ingest at least two thirds of it. You also can't have your typical tea blends. The leaves will be better quality and therefore will be bigger. If you do a reading on this, all you are going to see is pictures of leaves. Perhaps a tree. But mostly leaves -- tea leaves.
You need an in-between. Not too large, not too small. I thought I found the solution with Nikaido's Librarian blend, but even their leaves were a little too large. I shall keep my eyes open for something better. Meanwhile, it was the Blackcurrant blend that I used.


Next you have to pick the teapot. You want one that has NO STRAINER.
I laughed when I read that. I thought, well, duh.
Of course, only after I made my tea and was attempting to pour a cup did I notice a lack of tea leaves. My Alice teapot had a built in strainer. Oy.
I mean, what are the odds?
Instead of redoing everything in a new pot, I just scooped a teaspoon of leaves from the pot and dumped it into my cup. Problem solved.
I suppose if you do have a strainer, it isn't the end of the tea reading.
Next is the teacup. Go traditionally British here. You know, the wide mouth with the smaller bottom? Of course you know. It's the quintessential teacup. Do make sure the bottom isn't too petite, as it needs to have the surface area to show your destiny!


Okay, drink your tea the way you like it. Milk? Sugar? Go ahead! Makes no difference! Once you have about a teaspoon of tea left in the bottom. Stop drinking, and check a mirror for any tea leaves in your teeth.
Now, if you want to be ritualistic, turn the teacup counter-clockwise three times using only your left hand. Then turn the cup upside down onto your saucer and let the tea drain away for about 30 seconds. Then turn another three times. You should be thinking of a question as you do these actions.

If you don't want to be ritualistic, swish the tea a bit, and then turn it upside down on your saucer. Wait the same time, and poof, you're done. I didn't have a saucer with my set, so I just set it over the drain in the sink. Worked fine. I also forgot to think of a question.


And then, turning the handle towards myself, I looked inside.

Now inside the tea cup is a map. Positions mean things. The closer a picture is to the rim, the sooner it will happen. The closer a picture is to the bottom, the longer it will take. If the picture is near handle, it means it will be a personal thing. On the opposite end, the picture concerns someone you aren't really familiar with. In both cases, the middle of the two means the middle of the two descriptions. You can get even more technical, such as using the cup as a 12 month calendar or a clock, but a novice like me was fine enough for this simple guideline.

I turned over my cup, turned the handle towards myself, and saw a decent amount of tea leaves inside. There can be lots of leaves, or very little, neither of which means you drained your teacup incorrectly. It is just how the cookie crumbles. I looked into the cup, and then saw a symbol I instantly recognized. JUMPING JEHOSAPHET, IT WAS THE GRIM!



Ha ha, no. Not really. Any Harry Potter fans would recognize that scene from the Prisoner of Azkaban movie. My teacup was much tamer, though I stared at it in bewilderment for a little bit of time.


First I thought it I couldn't see any discerning pictures because the tea leaves were too big. All I could see was a blob. A blob with stilts and windows? Hmmmm. I kid you not, I flipped through the books for quite sometime looking for tiki hut meanings. Apparently the UK Seers didn't think the Tiki huts were common enough to include in their symbolism lists. And then, I thought perhaps I should turn it around. So I did, and peered at it some more. Perhaps it was my straining to turn a blob into something, anything, that a picture did finally appear: A Ship!


Can you see it? It is the front of the bow. Like a steamer ship? Okay, hold on, I'll outline it.
Okay, how about now?

See, it sort of looks like this type of ship:


And you know what? Ships mean a good trip somewhere, and that is surprisingly accurate. This May I am heading off to Disneyworld (good thing too, I was running low on a certain tea) and Disney is always a good trip. Unless you end up in 30ºc weather and running a high fever, and you refuse to take it easy because you are on vacation. *cough* There is also a letter H in there, which is the first letter of the plane company were are starting our trip with. I thought that one next to the ship might be a flag, but the symbolism didn't make sense. It could be a weird pistol, but those aren't good signs, so I decided it wasn't. The other leaves looked like blobs, and that's okay. They just mean nothing major is going to happen otherwise

So, my thoughts? Well, maybe I mentally superimposed the symbol onto the tea blob, or maybe not. I didn't take it very seriously, but as a divination tool, I don't think it typically should be. I mean, you drink tea with your friends, and try to find symbols in each others cup. If things turn out to be true, then is it coincidence? Lucky guesses? Who knows, and that's what makes it fun to do. But most importantly, if you are going to do a reading, you might as well make the tea worth while.



My blackcurrant tea was delicious as ever, the fruitiness mingling with the earthy tea perfectly. Nothing like a good blackcurrant, and this definitely is one of the best I ever had. The fruit had a bit more of a starring role than the tea, and it also didn't curdle any milk or cream. It also had a refined taste afterward. I once had a blackcurrant that had an aftertaste similar to the taste you get from the air after taking a weed-wacker to an acre of meadow weeds. Ick. Anyone who is a fan of blackcurrant (most British people I find) will love this tea.

The Librarian's Blend Tea is available at Nikaido in Steveston B.C. which is technically in Richmond.

The books I read were:
Reading Tea Leaves /by a highland seer Or read it free online!
Tea cup reading : A quick and easy guide to tasseography /Sasha Fenton

The Greys of pomp and hogwash

Hello everyone, I have a special treat for this blog post. I have found someone who says he know the truth about the mysterious origins of the world’s arguably first flavored tea: Earl Grey.
Mr. Chinwester has been privileged to written records that have been passed down through generations by notable and wealthy ancestors. He won’t lend them to me, of course, said I would get the pages dirty. Wouldn’t even let me –see- the books, said I’d still get them dirty. Indeed. But if he has at long last the truth about the origins, then we shall all have to suffer for information I suppose.

Now, before I get to him, let me tell you that Earl Grey tea was probably created around the early 1800’s, but no one knows for sure. How it came about, and who created it has long been debated by old tea manufacturing companies. The tea itself hasn’t suffered from the mystery; it is one of the most popular tea blends of the world.
It is the tea that I drink every morning when I wake up, without any pomp or ceremony. No teapot, just a mug with two lumps of sugar popped in, and a teabag of Twinings'. Even Captain Jean–Luc Picard favoured this tea most of all. As long as it was hot, of course. And now, to tell us fully about the tea, and at long last the true history, is uh, the enthusiastic (and pompous) Mr. Chinwester:



Ah why hello little commoners! Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Fitzwilliam Ronald Chinwester the first. I was asked by the owner of this blog to give my knowledge on something I know very many things about. I assure you that this is not a rare occurrence and my mind over flows with thoughts of many, many important things. Indeed, they very often have to be very shallow to be able to all fit in my head, I have so many.

Right right, onto the important subject (only slightly more important than of myself) of my disclosure: Earl Grey Tea. Why yes! The glorious tea of a ladies’ luncheon! Of the afternoon sort where crumpets and scones are eaten with decided vigor! The tea I daintily drink from rare and expensive porcelain while I wait on the moors –with rifle in hand of course- for a hind to cross my path! Ah, don’t be off put by my wealth my good reader. Not all of us can have our tea served to us in items made in far off exotic lands. Mine, I must boast, were made in the wondrous land of china!
Earl Grey is only Earl Grey when a black tea base is made with a squishy little citrus fruit called the Bergamot. The bergamot fruit isn't exactly edible, but the skin, or rather, the rind is the prize. It has long been used as an additive for tea and perfume. In fact, if you lean in and take a whiff, why yes, don’t I smell lovely?

Earl Grey tea was named after an actual person, you know, Charles Grey. My wealthy ancestor actually chatted to him about the weather once. It’s true! Now the Earl wasn’t the original Earl Grey at all, but rather the second. Now I can tell you personally that being a first, like myself, is much more prestigious than anything a second has to offer. And when I have a lady to finally wed me, and produce a Fitzwilliam Ronald Chinwester the second, I shall make a point to remind him about it daily.
Ah herm hm. Right, the tea. The Earl Grey was a good chap, was even the prime minister of the United Kingdom at some point in his life. I am sure he did many fine things, like abolish slavery and such. But what he did most spectacularly was the single handed rescue a poor drowning Mandarin man from a river while he was in China. Oh yes, a fine swimmer he was, swam the River Thames every chance he could. He would swim right under the ice in the winter, and hold him breath during the summer when the heat made the sewage smell uncomfortable strong. The Chinese fellow was so thankful, rightfully so, that he presented the Earl with the recipe that has now become known as Earl Grey Tea! Oh, just a moment.

Hmm.
I have just been told by the mistress of this blog that I have said a fallacy. Apparently, Lord Grey has never stepped foot in China. Well, a man -was- rescued, and if not by him then one of them men in his employment.
What, apparently, black tea in China wasn’t as popular as it became in jolly old England, and therefore wouldn’t have made a suitable gift?
And the Chinese didn’t use the Bergamot fruit for flavourings?
Really now, you are just picking apart my story for sport.
Harumph. My story is perfectly possible. I’m the one with the passed down records that most assuredly indeed exist. You don’t have any such privilege to prove otherwise.

Well, perhaps Howick hall, the resident of our brave Earl, had terrible tasting water due the high amounts of lime. Back then nothing could be done, and a Chinese man - I bet you it was the same drowning man!- was brought in to see if he could make a tea that wasn’t ruined by the water. He picked a black tea base, and blended it with the citrus fruit rind. It proved to be spectacular, and the Lady Grey began serving it in London. It was a political family mind you, and therefore all the people who mattered started drinking this new tea. They enjoyed it so much (and I would think lime-less water would have improved it ten fold) they requested it be sold. Twinings' got it -oh how I do love Twinings'!- and the rest is history. It is, after all, all noted down my records.


Lady Mary Elizabeth Grey has her own tea but I dare think it wasn’t -her- who came up with it. Women aren’t capable to do such things as thinking...
Madam! Did you just assult me? I dare say I didn’t just deserve to be. Imagine, attacking a guest! Harumph! Now if you don't mind, I still have some concrete history to tell.
It was probably the company Twinings' -oh I do love Twinings'!- who came up with that brilliant ‘Lady Grey’ marketing idea. It is a lovely tea made with another bitter fruit, lemon seville orange.


I dare say Lady Grey wasn’t as lovely as her tea, or the Earl wouldn’t have been so randy for the Duchess of Devonshire. Still, there isn’t a tea called the Duchess of Devonshire, now is there. Then there is the Earl’s ‘questionable’ brother who was found with a duke, and thus became the inspiration of Earl Grey Cream. Just a little vanilla is added in this blend to make it smooth and creamy. Scrumptious!

What are you implying? I did not just make that last part up, Earl Grey Cream absolutely has vanilla flavourings. I also take high offense at you trying to negatively portray my character. Me a liar? How dare you. I do believe I am done here, for I no longer will subject to your lies and indiscretions!

Good day!

..........................

Well, sorry about that everyone. That’s what I get for trying to invite an ‘expert’ to talk. Obviously the mystery of origins is still there, and might never be solved. Still, no matter what your preference, there is a Earl Grey to suit your tastes. You can have more black tea and a little bergamot for a slight citrus flavour, or a lot of bergamot mixed into the tea for a stronger citrus flavour. Stash’s Earl Grey is very strong for the bergamot flavouring, while Twinings' in more mild in that sense. You can have actual rind in your tea in a high quality tea, or just artificial flavourings in a inexpensive tea. I will have the Earl Grey Cream from the Metropolitan Tea company for a treat, for there are few rivals for a tea as smooth as that one is. I am partial to the Metropolitan tea company's Earl Grey Cream, as I found other companies put too much bergamot and that clashes dreadfully with the vanilla. Lady Grey, I sometimes swap for my normal Earl Grey. It is fruitier and lighter, and seems to suit a cheery, sunny morning beautifully.

I do have one ominous “Beware” though. If you drink more than four liters of Earl Grey in one day, and do this daily, some negative symptoms can occur. The bergamot can, in high doses, cause muscle cramps. It can also have the same effect as grapefruits, slowing the absorption of estrogen and decreasing the effectiveness of birth control pills. But you have to be drinking a very large amount of Earl Grey daily for this to happen.
Earl grey is found in many pantries, and will always be my number one must have tea.
Twinings' can be found in nearly all grocery stores, and the Metropolitan Tea company is only in select tea supplier stores.

'Empressing' the locals

One summer morning in 2004, my mother woke me up and told me we were going to go to the Victoria area on Vancouver Island for an overnight stay.
It was a glorious trip, and we spent time in all the must see places: Buchardt Gardens, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, the Provincial Parliament building, the now gone Royal London Wax Museum, and the Royal B.C. Museum. That was actually the whole reason we were going – to see the Eternal Egypt exhibit. But most spectacular was the icon of Victoria. As the Big Ben is London, the Eiffel tower is Paris, the statue of liberty is New York, the Empress hotel is most definitely Victoria. And what else is the Empress hotel known for other than their overnight accommodations? Well, their high tea of course!

My mother and I diligently went and had tea every Monday at a local tea house. Since we were in Victoria on a Monday, we decided that high tea – even at $50 a person- was a must do. The décor was beautiful, and even though I was wearing a Harley Davidson shirt (what was I thinking?) we were treated very well. The high tea, on the other hand, was lacking. A very pricy bill got you soggy pastries, tasteless sandwiches, and very simple fair. As my mother liked to say afterwards, we weren’t “Empressed.”

What was delicious, however, was the tea. Simply called "Empress Tea," it was signature blend unique to the hotel -- of course we bought a tin of it to take home. It didn’t have any added flavours or ingredients outside of regular tea. What was special was that they blended different tea together from different regions, and even different countries. It was complex, subtle, and smooth. It is more than a little amazing that the exact same plant could taste so differently from one spot to the next. It is -the- quintessentially perfect afternoon tea.
After we got home, we savored our little tin of tea, and were sorely sad to see it finally empty. It wasn’t as if we would be going over the water anytime soon to replenish our Empress Tea stock.


But then, a few years later, I stumbled upon a delightful store called Murchie’s (the same store that I later found the lovely Lavender tea). To my surprise, and of course delight, I found that Murchie's sold the official Empress Tea blend. It turns out that the Empress (a historical hotel built in 1908) used Murchie’s (a local company established in 1894) as its tea supplier and tea blender. I promptly bought a box, and rejoiced that the Empress tea was only a wee bit of a drive away. I drank it all, bought some more, drank it all, and bought some more again. And then something odd happened. I went to buy another box of Empress Tea, but there was no such sign of the tea in the entire store of Murchie’s. I looked, became concerned, and finally flagged down a staff member to inquire about the tea. The Empress tea was no longer called the Empress tea. It is now known as Murchie’s Afternoon Blend. I grabbed the newly named tea and bought it. So relieved I was, that it didn’t occur to me to ask why – at least not until I was enjoying a cup of the brew at home. Still, no matter what the name was, I thought it the same great tea I had come to know and love.

Time passed, and my mother traveled back to Victoria and bought a package of the official tea the Empress sold (they packaged it in a box rather than a tin) for souvenir's sake. Curious,I did a taste comparison and both tea tasted the same. On examination, however, the tea leaves were a little larger than my Murchie’s blend. It was visually different, but still the exact same blend of tea. Eventually we had once again run out of our dear tea, and once again the tiny pilgrimage was made to pick up Murchie’s afternoon blend. This time however, I was determined to ask some questions. To appreciate the answers, however, it's best to know a little bit about the Empress hotel:

It was built a bloomin’ long time ago, and through most of its existence was owned by CPR. Canadian Pacific Railway was doing well, and building hotels for the guests that used its rail. Yes, the railroad didn’t extend to Victoria, but they also had nice ships (not unlike ferries, but also not unlike little floating hotels either) that would transport people to Seattle, Alaska, ect. Business boomed, then wilted (WW1) and then boomed, and then wilted (WW2) and then only slowly came back around, with many ups and downs in between. The Empress was actually considered for demolition in the mid 60’s, but outcries and the pointing out (rightfully) that it was an iconic landmark caused it to get a cosmetic refurbishment (called operation Tea Cup) instead. Thankfully in 1989 they smartened up and did a true refurbishment that renewed its original grandeur and glory. A year before that, however, the hotel division of CPR was beginning to change. It bought out a large competitor, and began buying small hotels, and luxury hotels in international locations. They became Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts. The year 1999 had them buying the San Francisco Company called Fairmont hotel, and they decided in 2001 that they should call all their large luxury hotels the Fairmont hotel. So technically, the Empress hotel I knew was always the Fairmont Empress hotel. Okay, in 2006, Fairmont jumped into bed with a large LA hotel company called Colony Capital, and remains that way today. But what does that mean for the tea?


Well. The Empress hotel is no longer just a Canadian hotel; it is a half American one. I would suppose that after the merger, the American side wondered why the Empress should spend money with Murchies’s when they could get their tea blended elsewhere for much cheaper. All that truly mattered was that the blend was the same, the guests would know no different. Pfft, way to support your local community. Murchie’s really got the short stick of this agreement. Not only was the Empress no longer their client, but they were no longer even allowed to use the name for the signature blend. Such a treatment despite having who knows how long of a working relationship with each other, though I would assume it would be right at the Hotel’s beginning -- nearly a hundred years ago. From what I heard, they did try to fight back legally. But after spending quite a bit of money, and the cases going nowhere, Murchie’s dropped the suit and limped back home defeated. Which is why you now have Murchie’s Afternoon Blend, which in my humble opinion, tastes significantly better than the Empress blend of tea.

Here is a quote taken directly from the Empress Tea Box.

This blend of seasonal quality was specially created for afternoon tea at the Empress. The Assam component (2nd flush June production) gives a thick malty and full bodied character; the Kenya component (Kiambu region, January productions) gives floral-like flavour and golden coppery infusions; the South Indian Component (Nilgiri mountains, January production) gives superb fruity and sprightly flavour with a lovely finish; the Ceylon (Dimbula Region, January production) gives an airy almost piquant flavour that opens the blend; and the China (Anhui province, April production) gives a burgundy depth with light oaky notes. Truly one of the world's great teas!

You can purchase the Empress tea at the Empress Hotel, or email them at Shop@fairmont.com.
You can purchase Murchie's Afternoon blend in any Murchie's locations, or online.

The Tea enthusiast at Disney

What does a tea lover do at a Disney Resort? Well, that depends on what side of the country you’re on. One side has a great selection of tea to drink, and one, frankly, does not.

Now I am not talking about the horrid drink they call iced tea. I can’t drink that stuff (I need cream and sugar, remember?) I am talking about the “wake up in the morning and drinking a hot tea with milk and sugar” tea. Granted, it is often so blasted hot in either park that you don’t typically -want- to drink a hot beverage. But tea is perfect in the morning, and afternoon tea is fine in an air conditioned building.

Let’s start off with Disneyland in beautiful Anaheim, California. There are about three places to have tea in the park in the morning. One is Riverbelle Terrace, where the dinning is over the counter. You can have tea, but it’s Tetley.
Now I am no fan of Tetley, mostly because of the physical tea. Look at it, it’s all powdery. One might as well drink instant tea. The brew is also nothing to rave about.
Fine, how about the gorgeous Carnation Café? They are a sit down restaurant, and I absolutely love going there. The food, service, and atmosphere are great. The coffee, from what I’ve heard, is also delicious. The tea? It’s Tetley. It is actually a little amusing, because when you request hot tea, they bring out the works. Milk and a slice of lemon, and honey are brought out just in case. So why does Disney serve the cheapest tea they can purchase?
The last place you can go is to the Blue Ribbon bakery on Mainstreet, where all sorts of specialty coffees are available. But tea? Well you can have hot tea, for about three bucks. And it’s also Tetley. And that is really it for breakfast in Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom. Lesson to be learned? Bring your own tea to Disneyland.
I am starting to think Mickey mouse must not be a big tea drinker.

Now Disneyworld? Oh ho ho ho! That’s a different story. Despite being so bloody hot and muggy in Florida, their tea selection is so much better. First, if you are in the Animal Kingdom, you can head down to the Royal Anandapur Tea Company.


You can have hot tea – but it's usually blistering hot in Animal Kingdom. So while you have a great selection of hot, you can have the cold too. I once had an Iced Masala Chai there, and I have never again had its equal. Highly recommended. How about a high tea? Well, at the Grand Floridian, at the Garden View Lounge, they pull out all the stops for their high tea. I haven’t been yet, but it is a must do for my next trip down.

As for buying tea, well you have a few options. In Disneyworld, specifically, you can head over to England in Epcot and buy some Twinning’s tea (yum) in all sorts of British staple flavours. You could also head over to Downtown Disney where the Spice & Tea Exchange just opened last November. Located in Mickey’s Pantry, it looks like you can blend your own teas! *squee* Oh hum, pardon me. Though, you might not have to since they have over 40 blends available. Still, who knows how many of those are black tea.

Now, in both Disneyworld and Disneyland, there are teas available to buy in most large or culinary specific shops. There are some assorted teas, but my favourite is Disney Wonderland Tea, The Mad Tea Party Blend. Every time I’ve been to a resort, I have always made sure to stock up in case I was low. I don’t think I ever want to be without this tea on hand. You would rightly assume this is a tasty tea, eh?


It contains Indian Black Teas, Safflowers, Calendula Petals, Ginger Bits, Apricot Bits, Peach and Apricot Flavors. The main star I would have to say would be the Apricot/Peach. Unlike the weird peach tea I wrote about earlier, the safflowers and calendula balance the citrus. It means this drink is complex and smooth enough that it ends up working beautifully. The tin is also fun and in character of the Alice in Wonderland characters. Here is the Mad Hatter's guide to make Tea:

How to make Hot Tea
(a.k.a Uncold Tea)
by the Mad Hatter

Start at the beginning (and when you come to the end...stop). Use 1 teaspoon per 8oz of water and steep for 3 to 4 minutes (we recommend your clock be two days slow). Move down the table and get a clean cup.

This is a great summer drink, and I can’t figure out why Disneyland doesn’t serve this tea instead of the icky Tetley tea.

Disney used to sell this tea online, but it looks absent for the moment. Surely they will sell it once again! If you don't mind getting a whole bunch of teas that include the Mad Tea Party Blend, you can get the Alice in Wonderland Tea 6 pk.
Meanwhile, if you go to a Disney resort, you can pick one up in store!

Don't drink the bath water

Well, I planned on writing about this tea in late spring/early summer. But with the weather being so piddly out there, I am positively aching for spring. I know it is only the third day of February, but the groundhog did promise an early spring, and darn-it, I want it now! I want the warmth, I want the sunshine, but most of all, I want the flowers! In fact, my impatience for flowers to grow is why I am drinking Lavender Black Tea by Murchies at the moment.

Now I love this tea, but I think it might be a required taste. When most people think of lavender, they think of aromatherapy candles and bath salts. I let a coworker take a whiff of my tea, and she said it smelled like bath water (she must be a fan of the lavender bath products) and would not give it a chance. What most people don't realize is lavender is also a herb with a wonderful taste -- actually it tastes very much like it smells.

I first became acquainted with lavender as a herb when I tried some lavender jelly on toast. I had assumed it would be foul but goodness was it ever delicious! This piqued my curiosity, and I went looking for more lavender food. It appeared in many recipes, and I even tried my hand at making some lavender lemon cake. It turned out very mild, but tasty.
Disclaimer: make absolutely sure no pesticides have been used on your garden picked lavender if you plan on using your or other people’s lavender as an herb.

You can use lavender in your bath, you can use it in your food, and for the herbal drinkers out there you can add it to hot water to make a natural tisane. Apparently lavender has a whole bunch of health benefits as well: it helps with insomnia, stomach aches, and anxiety. Way back in the olden days when bathing was rare and optional, people used to put lavender blossoms around the house to mask the scent of unpleasant body odors. Hiding smells with this natural perfume was so common that eventually when the Victorians gave bouquets of lavender to someone, it told the receiver that they weren’t trusted. It asked, “What are you hiding under the scent of lavender” in the language of flowers.

So when I was visiting Murchies, (a great tea company that started in 1894 in British Columbia) and saw they carried Lavender black tea, I simply had to buy it. And as I have stated, I love this tea. There is a good solid black tea base, and it is countered perfectly with lavender. It’s certainly not overpowering -- just a perfect balance of the two. It is one of those things that you have to try to decide if you like it. And yes, while I suppose it does smell a little like a lavender infused bath, unless you put milk and sugar in your bath, it’s not going to taste like one.

So be adventurous and try –anything- with lavender in it to see if this tea might be right for you. Better yet, just try this tea!

Available at Murchies in store, or online.