Ok, actually, this is a TEA CHEF update. The tea of the month was Rooibos. This is a South African Red Tea which is gaining popularity. So, the Tea Sippers ran to the kitchen and created a veritable Thanksgiving Day feast of recipes that all use Rooibos as an ingredient.
To see the results, click here: Rooibos tea recipes
To check out my concoction (and to place your vote for fav recipe) click: Red Tea Spice Rub
To learn more about Rooibos (and why not learn something interesting today), click here, or if you have a lot of time you can chose to click here or here.
NEXT MONTH's Tea Chef is PEPPERMINT!
November 27, 2005
November 22, 2005
What's Brewing?
Been going to an Herbal medicine making class on Tuesdays - and I love it! Can't wait to take the next class and this one isn't even helf finshed. So easy to create your own medicinal oils and tinctures. Love, love, love this class.
I visited a tea house/shop last week in Chinatown: review to follow
Coming soon: Tea Chef for November, Rooibos tea. Just finished cooking tonight and while I realize midnight is late to eat, I wanted to be sure to get my entry in this month, as I was NOT able to do so last month. Hey, I rarely cook. The fact that Adagio got me to spend time in my kitchen through the use of TEA is pretty cool.
Just working on promoting my group CitySippers (to join click the box located on the side) - our first official event is coming up in December -- you don't even have to be local to enjoy this event....so stay tuned for details and be sure to jon CitySippers for your chance to participate in the Great American Christmas 2005 Tea Swap.
I improved my rain tea. Remember how I really like Oolong when it's rainy out.
Add a touch of mint for that extra bit of uplift.
That's what's new with me....what's brewing with you?
I visited a tea house/shop last week in Chinatown: review to follow
Coming soon: Tea Chef for November, Rooibos tea. Just finished cooking tonight and while I realize midnight is late to eat, I wanted to be sure to get my entry in this month, as I was NOT able to do so last month. Hey, I rarely cook. The fact that Adagio got me to spend time in my kitchen through the use of TEA is pretty cool.
Just working on promoting my group CitySippers (to join click the box located on the side) - our first official event is coming up in December -- you don't even have to be local to enjoy this event....so stay tuned for details and be sure to jon CitySippers for your chance to participate in the Great American Christmas 2005 Tea Swap.
I improved my rain tea. Remember how I really like Oolong when it's rainy out.
Add a touch of mint for that extra bit of uplift.
That's what's new with me....what's brewing with you?
November 13, 2005
Mad pot! MAD POT!
I found this picture today and thought it was just hysterical.
This pots got legs! I can just imagine little tea cups running around the table trying to avoid the hot water....
This is truly a MAD pot.
November 12, 2005
Revolutionary
One of the great things about this country is that when people feel there has been an injustice, they have ways and means to revolt or to protest. Way before the 1960's, people were staging protests so that their voices would be heard. Back in the late 1700's there was a lot of economic and political struggle over tea.
Sure we all know about The Boston Tea Party (Dec. 16, 1773), but there are lesser-known incidents related to the American colonists revolting against the British that are receding into history and which shouldn’t be forgotten.
Did you know that when the British government imposed a tax on tea headed to the American colonies, the volume of tea smuggled from Holland increased dramatically? It's bizarre in today's world to imagine tea being "smuggled", but at that time, drinking tea was a part of daily life. It would be akin to someone smuggling gasoline in the country due to the preposterous taxes and prices that are imposed. Though I would think smuggling tea to be a much easier commodity to conceal.
Besides Boston, other port cities resisted the British. The was a "Tea Party" in Greenich, NJ on December 22, 1773, in which stocks of tea and tea chests lit up the market square. In late April 1774 the British ship LONDON was boarded in New York and the captain’s private stock of 18 tea chests were opened and dumped into the water.
In October 1775, 51 patriotic ladies got together in Edenton, N.C., to renounce tea drinking; they enjoyed dried raspberry leaves instead. They pledged not “to conform to the Pernicious custom of drinking tea, until such time as all acts which tend to enslave our native country shall be repealed…” This proclamation sent waves through English society when it was published in London.
These people were SERIOUS about their tea!
So, go brew yourself a pot of history.
Brew Proud.
Brew often.
Sure we all know about The Boston Tea Party (Dec. 16, 1773), but there are lesser-known incidents related to the American colonists revolting against the British that are receding into history and which shouldn’t be forgotten.
Did you know that when the British government imposed a tax on tea headed to the American colonies, the volume of tea smuggled from Holland increased dramatically? It's bizarre in today's world to imagine tea being "smuggled", but at that time, drinking tea was a part of daily life. It would be akin to someone smuggling gasoline in the country due to the preposterous taxes and prices that are imposed. Though I would think smuggling tea to be a much easier commodity to conceal.
Besides Boston, other port cities resisted the British. The was a "Tea Party" in Greenich, NJ on December 22, 1773, in which stocks of tea and tea chests lit up the market square. In late April 1774 the British ship LONDON was boarded in New York and the captain’s private stock of 18 tea chests were opened and dumped into the water.
In October 1775, 51 patriotic ladies got together in Edenton, N.C., to renounce tea drinking; they enjoyed dried raspberry leaves instead. They pledged not “to conform to the Pernicious custom of drinking tea, until such time as all acts which tend to enslave our native country shall be repealed…” This proclamation sent waves through English society when it was published in London.
These people were SERIOUS about their tea!
So, go brew yourself a pot of history.
Brew Proud.
Brew often.
November 11, 2005
Tea ReMix
I love working on a new blend.
I feel like a DJ creating a new track.
First you select a base tea - the basis of the blend, the back beat, if you will. Then you add the other samples (other tea, herbs, flavorings, honeys, fruits) at different levels, volumes and intensities - these tastes are mixed together, creating a whole new taste. There's times that you have to rework the blend, take a cut out, replace it with a different leaf. Reworking it til it comes out the way you want it to taste. Working on synergy, flavor and aromatic quality.
Sometimes I throw on a chill track, a relaxing blend that ushers in the zen. Sometimes the blend is live and opens up your senses, gets you going.
DJ MAD POTS - Mixing funky blends for a new groove sensation.
I feel like a DJ creating a new track.
First you select a base tea - the basis of the blend, the back beat, if you will. Then you add the other samples (other tea, herbs, flavorings, honeys, fruits) at different levels, volumes and intensities - these tastes are mixed together, creating a whole new taste. There's times that you have to rework the blend, take a cut out, replace it with a different leaf. Reworking it til it comes out the way you want it to taste. Working on synergy, flavor and aromatic quality.
Sometimes I throw on a chill track, a relaxing blend that ushers in the zen. Sometimes the blend is live and opens up your senses, gets you going.
DJ MAD POTS - Mixing funky blends for a new groove sensation.
November 03, 2005
Spotlight: Cha-An Tea House, NYC
CHA-AN: A little jewel in the East Village on 9th Street between Bowery and 2nd Avenue.
I have passed this place without ever even noticing it. A small sandwich sign and awning in a sea of other larger signs mark its place -- a place well earned. As you ascend the narrow flight of stairs, you ascend to a higher place indeed. This Asian tea house will give you an authentic experience of tea as it was meant to be be served and enjoyed. High quality teas served in proper tea ware. Soft lighting and bamboo decor match the calming effects of the tea.
TEA TASTED: Yellow Tea
Taste: Vegetal
A wonderful Fall tea that is reminicent of yellow leaves and yellow squash. This type of tea was popular at one time, but faded from view due as green tea became more popular and easier to make. It is starting to enjoy a resurgence in the tea world.
The way it is processed allows for more steeps than a green tea. Once picked, 60% is dried and kept overnight. Half of the remaining tea is dried, and then the final 20%. The leaf oxidizes slightly during this process.
I have passed this place without ever even noticing it. A small sandwich sign and awning in a sea of other larger signs mark its place -- a place well earned. As you ascend the narrow flight of stairs, you ascend to a higher place indeed. This Asian tea house will give you an authentic experience of tea as it was meant to be be served and enjoyed. High quality teas served in proper tea ware. Soft lighting and bamboo decor match the calming effects of the tea.
TEA TASTED: Yellow Tea
Taste: Vegetal
A wonderful Fall tea that is reminicent of yellow leaves and yellow squash. This type of tea was popular at one time, but faded from view due as green tea became more popular and easier to make. It is starting to enjoy a resurgence in the tea world.
The way it is processed allows for more steeps than a green tea. Once picked, 60% is dried and kept overnight. Half of the remaining tea is dried, and then the final 20%. The leaf oxidizes slightly during this process.
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