I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to start cooking more with tea. I found this simple recipe to use as an example of how to effectively infuse other liquids with tea leaves to create a tea liquor.

Chamomile Vinaigrette

Ingredients
1 tsp (rounded) Egyptian Chamomile Leaves
1/4 Cup White Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Organic Honey
1/2 tsp Chopped Thyme
1/2 tsp Minced Shallots
Salt & Pepper
1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Place tea and vinegar in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. The leaves will infuse the vinegar with their flavor.

Let simmer 1 minute and remove from heat.

Strain liquor; make sure to press the leaves to remove and remaining liquid.

Combine Tea-infused Vinegar, Honey, Thyme, Shallots, Salt and Pepper.

Slowly add Olive Oil while whisking to keep emulsification from separating.

Splash on a salad and enjoy! I’d recommend something with baby greens and lots of tomatoes – quick before these end-of-season tomatoes are all gone!

I like to cook. No. I love to cook. It’s my hobby and my passion. I’m always scouring through magazines and books, looking for that new interesting recipe that will impress my friends. It doesn’t matter much to me if the recipe is complicated or simple; what I’m looking for is something a little bit different. Often this is something as subtle as adding basil to a curry or as dramatic as pairing quinoa with mango. Recently I’ve been experimenting with tea leaves and I’ve found the results to be very exciting.

Before I start getting into recipes that involve tea leaves (which will comprise my next post or two) I want to take a minute to discuss the best way to utilize tea leaves in cooking. These are very simple guidelines that, if followed, will make for delicious results.

Recipes will call for tea to be used in cooking in one of two ways: processed leaves or liquor.

First and foremost, as with any ingredients, freshness is key. You’ll want to use fresh tea leaves – NOT BAGGED! I’ve already written at length about the evils of bagged tea but in this case the reason is that tea bags are full of fannings, or tea dust, which loses flavor fast. Since the whole point of using tea is to enhance flavor, you’ll want to start with tea leaves that still have, well, a lot of flavor. So put down that box, and pick up a teaspoon of Moroccan Mint.

Likewise, it’s best to use freshly brewed tea, made with fresh water and not the cold leftover tea that’s been sitting on your desk for a day (blah). Remember that you can infuse other liquids with tea; you don’t have to only use water. If, for example, a recipe calls for milk or juice or stock, you can always steep loose-leaf tea in the liquid just as you would with water. Just make sure you bring the milk or juice to just under a boil before you add the tea.

Finally, and this again goes with keeping flavors fresh, if a recipe calls for you to grind tea, do so in small batches. Don’t take you entire supply of Classic Black and pulverize it, or you’ll find it’s lost its flavor by the next time you want to use it.

For cleaning your processor between grindings, you can either use a brush, or grind a tablespoon of raw rice to powder in order to remove any residual flavors.

These are my guidelines for cooking with tea. Follow them and your results can be just divine. And I promise, recipes will be posted soon!

As I try to shed a couple of extra pounds, I have found the secret weapon to curbing my cravings. The story of how I happened upon it began today when the tea was being freshly blended at the Art of Tea facility. The process created an amazing aroma that filled my senses. Immediately, I knew I needed a taste. The delicate scent emanating from the tea was like no other tea I have ever experienced. But it wasn’t until the tea was brewed that I was able to connect that heavenly smell to a sweet treat: a cross between a breakfast pastry and a cinnamon bun.

So there it is. My newfound secret weapon to soothing my sweet tooth is the amazing Cinnamon Fig tea. This is particularly perfect as we are nearing Halloween and Thanksgiving and tempting treats abound. It’s truly a treat with no trick involved! Other amazing seasonal teas that double as a treat for my sweet tooth are Caramelized Pear and Pumpkin Pie. Put these teas together and you practically have an entire holiday meal!

The English translation of Ti Kwan Yin is “Iron Goddess of Mercy”. I think the translation of our TKY - Green should be “all day tea”. That’s what I like to call it. It is one of those teas consisting of leaves I can enjoy steeping over and over again throughout the day. In fact for me, the beauty begins to really show on the second and third steepings. This estate is high in elevation and partially shaded. The plants enjoy cool crisp air with a decent amount of humidity. At harvest the leaves are sorted and then gently basket tossed to break the skins and begin the oxidation. The oxidation process is not long, so the tea retains a subtle fresh green flavor. I am told this is really where the name comes from, but I think it’s all marketing hype.

When you drink it, you defiantly know that it is an oolong. It produces flavors of good toasted herbs and pine nuts, and great texture of fig or apricot. A light vegetal flavor of beans and bell peppers rounds out the mouth. Across the palate this tea is very soft and mellows with each additional steeping. Make this one an “all day tea” and you will be pleased with the changes in your cup.

While perusing the Art of Tea catalogue, I came across an unfamiliar abbreviation: FTC. I was curious. FTC? It reminded me of that flower purveyor that sells online but I was pretty sure it was unrelated. I let it go. It wasn’t until I was researching the benefits of organic agriculture that I again stumbled across the letters, though this time I had context and a definition.

FTC: Fair Trade Certified

But this raised another question: just what exactly does it mean to be certified Fair Trade. I’d heard the expression bandied about a lot, usually in connection to globalization or protest against globalization, but I never really grasped its meaning. So off to Wikipedia I skipped, and found the answer to be better than I even imagined.

Here’s the definition according to Fine (an informal association of four of the main Trade Networks):

Fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, which seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers - especially in the South. Fair trade organizations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.

One of the tenets of Fair Trade supporters is that the way production, especially agriculture, works when exporting from developing nations to industrialized nations, is fundamentally unfair for the producers. Because the Dollar and the Euro are so powerful, these trade deals can actually keep producers from being able to raise their prices and subsequently, their living conditions. So instead of keeping these workers down, fair trade encourages buyers to pay more for the product with the understanding that this increase will return to the workers in the form of improved housing and working conditions. In order to receive Fair Trade Certification, producers must prove that their workers are not being abused, that there is gender equality, and that there is transparency built into their system of production.

Fundamentally, just because we could buy tea for cheaper doesn’t mean that we should. If you consider the implicit costs in cheap goods, you soon realize that it may not be worth the savings. Take, for example, the cost to the environment of cheap fertilizers that allow for a greater yield but spoil the drinking water down stream. Is that worth an additional savings of ten cents?

And what of the individual harvesting of tea? Is it really worth a savings if we know that the people who provide the product we enjoy can barely afford to keep food on the table for their own families? At what point do we look at where our products come from with the same ethical view that we do production in our own country? As we become increasingly aware of our impact, not only on the environment, but also on the lives of those whose products we so readily consume, it’s is imperative that we begin to ask ourselves these kinds of questions.

Like the organic and biodynamic movements, Fair Trade is catching on. Art of Tea purchases Fair Trade tea whenever possible. Right now we have FTC BioDynamic Breakfast Tea and Herbal Earl Grey (with FTC roobios) available online. Even more varieties are available through our catalogue, and we’re always happy to help you with a selection if you contact our office.