You ain't decaffeinating at home

Have you noticed the evenings are colder now that September is here? Autumn starts on the 23rd of this month and already I can feel the chill in the air. The trees notice it too as the leaves are already colouring. Oh this is wonderful tea weather; I can sit down for tea in a golden afternoon, or have a hot cuppa late at night before I go to bed.

 Just because tea has a lower amount of caffeine doesn't mean that it won't keep you up late. My mother has had this happen a few times when she drank the Snowflake tea last holiday season.
Many of my decaf teas are also dessert teas. That is, teas which are rich in flavourings. These are perfect after-supper teas, which are far better for you than actual desserts. Unfortunately I have some dessert teas that have caffeine in them, which will keep me tossing for a little longer than I'd like.
These teas are usually from specialty shops or for limited time only, so there isn't much chance to get them in a decaffeinated state.
Oh, if only there was a way to turn caffeinated teas into decaffeinated teas!

So, how do the professionals do it? Commercial tea companies change regular tea into decaf in a few different ways: using CO2 (Carbon Dioxide), Methylene Chloride, or Ethyl Acetate.

Ethyl Acetate (a natural occurring solvent you find in glue and nail polish remover, but originates in fruits) is used in one method, but it takes out antioxidants and leaves a bit of a residue. Methylene Chloride also uses a type of solvent that the caffeine attaches itself to, but this solvent is a little more dangerous.

The Carbon Dioxide method, also known as effervescence. Mixes CO2 with water and tea, and the CO2 draws the caffeine out of the leaves. This has been the favoured method, and still pretty new in the decaffeination world.

Well that doesn't really help us here at home does it? Then again, you might have seen the hot water method around the internets? Where, if you put your tea bag in hot water for 1 – 3 minutes, the highly soluble (in hot water) caffeine will be sucked out of the tea leaves. Then you just dump the hot water, the caffeine goes along with it, and *poof* you have yourself a cup of newly decaffeinated tea. Sounds so wonderful that even I partook in the magical decaff myth.
Yes, I did just call it a myth.

You see, hot water will take out a large amount of caffeine from tea leaves, just not -your- tea leaves. Well, not unless you are using freshly picked tea leaves. That's right, before leaves are steamed (for green) or “fermented” (for black), the fresh leaves can have the caffeine boiled out. The myth, from what I can figure, came from the fact that there are privately owned tea companies in poorer districts of China, India and etc. These small businesses can't afford the price of the regular three decaff processes, either the materials, ingredients or facilities. So they boil the fresh green leaves and the caffeine is sucked out of the tea (caffeine is highly soluble in hot water.) Then they dump the first batch of water, and poof, decaf!
So why doesn't everyone use this super cheap method of decaffeination? Well, it removes a lot of the good stuff from tea, including the antioxidants. It also removes a lot of the taste, which would make it a very low quality tea. For the folks that don't have any other method, this will work. It just isn't the best.

Yet there has been so many online sites and articles claiming the hot water at home will work, there are still people saying it does do something.
So, will putting a tea bag in hot water, then throwing the water out do anything? Well yes, of course. It will get you a weaker tea.
It will also reduce the caffeine a TINY bit, but you'll have to put it in absolute boiling water, and leave it in there for a good 3-5 minutes. Not worth it. Just go out and buy yourself a good decaffeinated tea. I did, and it is Stash's Vanilla Nut Cream.


This tea is a super smooth dessert tea, and I think I know why: the vanilla. It seems all the teas that have Vanilla in it (Earl Grey Cream, Coconut Cream Banana, or Trader Joe's Cinnamon Vanilla Black tea) have been very smooth.
This tea also has vanilla and vanilla nut flavourings.
Yeah...I had to go take a look because I had no idea what the difference was. So far I've read in one place that vanilla nut is a vanilla and hazelnut mixture? I called Stash and inquired but they could only tell me it was an extract, and that's it. I'm waiting for someone in the know to call back, but I don't know if they will. I have found out that Stash uses the CO2 method to make decaf, which is the healthiest of the methods.
Update: They never called back. So I sent an email. They never emailed back. Perhaps they are ASHAMED of creating up some magical ingredient.
Update#2: They finally emailed me, and this is what they had to say :

"It's a flavor blend. All ingredients in the flavor blend are natural and there are no nuts or nut products in the flavor. They use other natural ingredients and are able to create a profile similar to a vanilla/hazelnut flavor profile without actually using anything that would have nut properties."

Well, so vanilla nut means it tastes like hazelnut, but doesn't have hazelnut in it.

Anyways, besides black tea, vanilla, and ?vanilla nut?, this drink also has sarsaparilla! Some might know this as the basis of root beer and I was very surprised to see this labelled. I didn't taste it at all, but it must be doing something good as this is one delicious tea.

So the next time you feel the nip in the evening air and you want something decadent to drink, I would recommend this tea, because hey, you probably have work early tomorrow morning.

Available in Safeway and other large grocery stores.

Accio Magical Black Tea

I've been running and listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks, as it is the only way I can convince myself to run. I am now near the end of the Order of the Phoenix, and I'm thinking Mrs. Rowling was not a big tea drinker – for tea isn't very much in the books at all. Just a quick mention here, and a quick mention there. I mean, if she can imagine up drinks called Butter Beer and Pumpkin Juice, there could have been some fantastical tea drink exclusive to the wizarding world. Anyways, here are the references to tea that I've found/listened to so far.

If you think about it, the most constant and enthusiastic tea drinker would be Rubius Hagrid. From the beginning, whenever the three Gryffindors students went to visit him, he'd put the copper kettle over the fire and serve some tea in mugs. He'd also pull out some hard as stone rock cake. But what kind of tea did he serve? It never says.

The next tea drinker would be Remus Lupin, as Harry got some during a afternoon with the Werewolf professor. He also boiled water in a kettle, and preferred to serve tea from bags rather than loose. It again never mentions what tea it was.

Professor Sybill Trewlaney served tea for lessons in her divination class, and the students had to decipher their futures from the tea leaves. Harry of course saw the grim, but as to what type of tea they drank, it never mentioned. You'd think the type of tea best for tea reading would be in their lesson plan. After trying my hand at tea reading, I found that PG Tips has the perfect size leaves.

Finally, the despicable Dolores Umbridge served tea to Harry that was supposed to be spiked with Veritaserum. She made his tea with milk and without sugar, but that's all you really know. Once again, there is no insight to the type of tea.


Now outside of the castle, in the village of Hogsmead, there is a teashop, or two – maybe. I say maybe because Harry and Cho Chang definitely went to one. At Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, one dreary valentines day, Harry was visually assaulted with tacky décor and heart confetti. More horrible than that is the fact that they both ordered coffee.
Now according to LEGO Harry Potter there is another tea shop, the Rosa Lee Teabag teashop. This tea shop is never mentioned in the books, and seems to be only a addition to the game – which I think is disappointing. I bet they aren't full of tacky décor and crammed tables with people making out.

So when I went down to Florida to spend the week at Disneyworld, we took a day to travel to Universal Studios where we wandered the streets of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I can tell you from personal experience that they regrettably did NOT have any shops labeled Madam Puddifoots or Rosa Lee. But they did make up for it by selling Butter Beer and Pumpkin Juice.
I bought a Butter Beer and consumed it on the spot. It was a creamy butterscotch drink, sweet and heavenly. I -still- think of it, and have looked for authentic recipes on the internet to make my own. It makes me think that if you found a black tea that contained vanilla and butterscotch or caramel flavourings, and make sure to add cream and sugar, you could make your own version of a Butter Beer tea.

As for pumpkin Juice, well I have been aching to drink some for awhile. Every morning Potter, Granger and the Weasleys had some, and it seemed like it was very tasty. But how could anything made with pumpkins be tasty? We've all make jack-o-lanterns and I am sure no one has ever thought that it would be a good idea to drink the goo you're scraping out. So when I saw it for sale in Hogsmead, I bought one and brought it home with me (I was too full of butter beer to drink it there.) The bottle is delightful, and the drink is delicious! Imagine drinking a pumpkin/apple pie. The ingredients are listed as apple juice, pumpkin puree, and apricot puree, with [pumpkin pie type] spices. Yes, it is good, and yes I wish I could buy cases off the internet.

Now when the summer season is over and people start looking forward to Thanksgiving and Halloween, a specialty tea called Stash's Decaf Pumpkin Spice makes its way to grocery store shelves. It is very much like drinking pumpkin pie, and with Harry Potter and Pumpkin Juice on the brain, I had to brew some before the autumn season. Thankfully I had some from last year and the expiry date was still fine. It is delicious, and if there was a Harry Potter tea, I think this is the closest.
If you want an even bigger treat, pour half a cup of boiling water into half a cup of apple cider (or just apple juice if you have it) and steep Stash's Pumpkin Tea until it is nice and dark (3-5 minutes.) To make sure the drink is really nice and hot, you might want to warm up the apple cider first. Just so you know, the acidic apple would curdle any milk, so this is a dariy-free tea if you do try it.


So, while the wizarding world didn't specifically have magical teas, I think these two tea substitutes make up for that horrible gaping hole.

Caramel/butterscotch, Vanilla tea anyone? I know Bigelow has a flavour like this, maybe I'll pick one up.

Pumpkin spice is only available during the September-ish to Decemberish, but don't quote me on that. Luckily, when the time comes, it is available in most grocery stores -- just keep a look out for it! Or, of course, you can just buy it online!


Just a note: I am aware that in the UK that when tea is offered, you assume it is just plain black tea. A selection of flavoured black tea isn't expected, and you just say whether you like milk or sugar. This tea ritual is not what I wish was different in the Harry Potter books. It's just, if pumpkin juice and butter beer are the norm, why can't a fantastical tea also be the norm? When so many other foods and drinks are given a make-over, it is a shame that tea was kept the same. I understand that it might be unsettling for some if the long tradition of black tea was changed, but it's still a disappointment we didn't get a crazy Wizarding World specialty tea too.

Caffinated coffee & tea rivalry

Okay, I really didn’t want to get into this. But I think, as a tea drinker, you need to know. In the great rivalry between coffee and tea, the coffee drinkers always had one strong advantage over us tea drinkers: caffeine.
Coffee has more and tea has less.

And now here is the reason I really didn’t want to get into this: science.

Oh, now, don’t look at me like that you guys. I like science, and I like biology. But I don’t like writing about scientific things loaded with scientific jargon. So with that in mind, I will try to do the explaining as painlessly and as simply as possible. If you want to go in depth in what I am talking about, please go google your heart out.
Now, if you want to know the numbers, decaffeinated coffee has 5mg of caffeine, black tea has 40mg, your regular cup-of-joe is 80-90mg, and the espresso is a whopping 160mg of caffeine. That might be the reason why many Canadians, Americans, Australians, and Europeans grab a cup of coffee in the morning, rather a good cuppa brew.

Of course, we tea drinkers have an ace in the sleeve: Caffeine from tea lasts longer than coffee’s.


Tea, as well as containing caffeine, has antioxidants. Most people know about antioxidants because of TV and products in grocery stores, and we also know that it is good for us --score one for tea! The reason our AWAKE (the term I’ve named for the wakeful state caffeine puts us in) lasts longer, is because the antioxidants actually slows our absorption of caffeine. This means tea wakes us up gradually to the AWAKE peak, and then slowly drops the caffeine level so it doesn’t leave us jittery.
Coffee BAM hits you, and then HAHA SUCKER it’s gone and you’re shaking from the sudden departure.
But even the amount of caffeine in our black tea also isn’t a sure thing. There are variables, you see?

Oxidized tea (that’s regular ol’ black tea to you) has a higher level of caffeine then green, white and oolong. Why? Fermenting changes the molecular structure of the leaf, and it causes the caffeine to be easily leaked out into hot water. There is also the steep time to consider. You steep black much longer than green or white, and that give the caffeine more time to diffuse. And the hotter the water, the better the caffeine is dissolved. Plus which part of the plant you use also dictates how much caffeine there is. The tips of the plants have more concentration, and the older leaves have less. So something like PG Tips will have more caffeine.

Yet the fact still remains that the level of caffeine is higher for coffee than tea.
If you want to be very VERY awake, it looks like tea might just not do it for you.

But hold on just a minute!
You didn’t think tea companies are going to let coffee take the lead without a fight.
There is a new caffeinated player on the field, and when added to tea, it makes a strong contender for your morning wake up drink: Yerba Mate! It has been the South American choice of drink for some time now, and they used to drink it out of a gourd with a hole filled straw. It is a little woodsy, and a little bitter if you put it straight into boiling water instead of just hot. Well, when I saw the new Celestial Seasonings tea called MORNING THUNDER (snicker) that had mate in it, I had to try it.


The morning after I purchased it, I made my mother and I a cup of tea. Well, we each took a sip, and made a face. Then I said “BLEH.” She seconded it.
Sorry Mate fans, but I did not like it. Even with three sugars, it was bitter and woodsy. It was bitter even after I made sure to not put it in boiling water, and only let it steep under a minute. It was BLEH. I could perhaps see the mate being successful if it was a ghost ingredient -- that is, if it wasn’t the only other flavour other than the black tea. But I am pretty sure I’d always pick out that woodsy taste and put my cup down saying “bleh.” The extra caffeine just isn’t enticing enough to make me drink it.



But on the other hand, I wasn’t completely sad that I didn’t like the mate. When filtering through the internet for information on it, I found some pretty scary facts about it. Scientific testing has really only started, and there isn’t any hard evidence, but there has been some links between people who drink more than a litre of Mate a day and cancer. I think there was a 60% higher chance of getting mouth, throat and stomach cancer, and that’s just plain frightening. People who smoke and drink tons of Mate are at an even higher risk. I bought the mate knowing the risk, not because I was reckless, but because I was just having a cup of tea that had some of the stuff in it. Nothing would entice me to drink litres of it daily.

As for the rivalry, there was a girl I knew, and she never ate any sugar. When she did come across something that was even a tiny bit sweet to me, she’d taste the sweetness acutely. I’m going on a limb here, and will say perhaps it is the same with tea. If you only ever drink black tea, perhaps that’s just what your body needs to get the wakeful feeling you need? It certainly does the job for me, and a cup of tea has been known, against her wishes, to keep my mother up until the wee hours of the morning.

If you would like to try this tea, look in your local grocery store. If you have a taste for bitter and woodsy, this might be your tea. Not mine though.

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.