Welcome
HARMONY, PEACE, REJUVINATION - THAT'S TEA!
A dose of bliss with every sip!
WELCOME TO TAZA DE TEA!
Tea Shop
Sip, shop, and have fun here!
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About Taza de Tea
Hola! My name is Amy and I’ve created this site to learn and shop all things Tea. Do you know what the #2 beverage of choice in the world is, next to water (water is #1, of course)? It’s not coffee; it’s Tea! So, here’s to Taza de Tea (spanglish for ‘cup of tea’)! I’ll be sharing all things tea, including tea deals, and hopefully interacting with all of my soon-to-be Taza de Tea fans. If you’re already a tea drinker than this site will just add to your delight. However, if you are not yet a tea drinker, then give it a try; become a part of the tea society. You will soon find out that it’s an enjoyable and relaxing adventure.
You may or may not know this but tea is way more than something you drink:
· It’s a lifestyle, a way to relax and soothe your soul
· It’s a world all its own that you will surely want to be a part of
· It’s a healthier alternative to coffee without having to say goodbye to that much needed jolt of caffeine
So what do you say? Isn’t it time we replace that daily cup of coffee with a blissful cup of tea? Come join me; together, we can make tea the new coffee. Let’s sip, shop, and have fun together!
If you have any questions, comments, ideas or concerns please feel free to contact me on my Tea Talk section below and let me know what’s on your mind.
Tea Brewing
The “how to” on tea brewing: ever wonder how to properly brew your next cup of tea or if you have been brewing your favorite drink the right way?? There’s not much science to tea brewing; it’s pretty simple, really. However, there are some guidelines you should be aware of and follow to yield the perfect cup every time. So, here are a few tips…
There are different temperatures and steep times for tea and they should be followed as accurately as possible to acquire the best taste for the type of tea you decide to brew.
Below I have listed some guidelines based on the different types of tea you may brew but please keep in mind that these are just approximations:
· Black Tea – this is the strongest variety of tea and should be steeped in boiling water for 4-6 minutes.
· Oolong Tea – this tea falls in between black tea and green tea and should be steeped in water that is 190 degrees farenheit for 5-8 minutes.
· Green Tea – should be handled gently and steeped in water that is between 150 & 160 degrees farenheit for 2-4 minutes. It is very important that this tea be steeped no longer than 4 minutes because it will alter the true taste of green tea.
· White Tea – like green tea, this tea is very delicate and should also be handled gently and steeped in water that is 180 degrees farenheit for 4-6 minutes.
· Rooibos Tea – a very hardy tea and should be brewed just like black tea (see above).
· Herbal Tea – most can be steeped in boiling water for 5 minutes, however, there really isn’t an accurate guide because there are so many different infusions with herbal tea. Some of the best cups will be achieved through trial and error.
**Handy dandy note:
Don’t have a thermometer? You can tell approximately what temperature water has reached by watching the bubbles as it begins to heat. Small bubbles will float to the top when the water is between 160 & 170 degrees farenheit; a string of bubbles will begin to show from the bottom of the pot or kettle when the water is between 180 & 190 degrees farenheit; and soon after this, water will reach its full boiling point.
Tea Health
Tea or coffee? Which is better for you? They both do different things for different people but fact is that tea is much better for you. Tea has way more antioxidants (such as: flavonoids, catechins, and tannins) than coffee; it also has less caffeine. Black tea has half the caffeine that is found in one cup of coffee and has lots of antioxidants. The teas that have even less caffeine and even more antioxidants are Green tea, Oolong tea, and White tea. White tea has been shown to contain the highest amounts of antioxidants and therefore is the best source of antioxidants in the world. So, for all of you health conscious socialites, a cuppa tea is the way to go. Also, there are way more varieties of tea than there are of coffee, which lends itself to many intriguing options. It gets pretty exciting when you start to discover all the possiblities, especially with loose leaf teas. Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world next to water and is the #1 social beverage; it is by far the best choice when you just want to sit back, relax and unwind: solo or with friends (whatever floats your boat).
Tea is and has been known to provide many health benefits, some of which are:
· Healthier immune system
· Lower high blood pressure
· Lower high cholesterol
· Increase levels of thermogenesis (which may trigger weight loss)
· Prevent and destroy many tumors and cancer cells
· Aid in reducing the bacteria in your mouth that cause plaque
· Destroy free radicals to provide younger looking skin
· Delay Alzheimer’s Disease
In order to obtain the maximum health benefits that tea has to offer, it is highly recommended that you brew your tea from whole loose leaves rather than tea bags. By using the loose leaves you also acquire the truest flavor of tea far more superior to bagged tea. I can tell you that I, myself, have learned a lot about this recently through research and visiting tea shops. The world of loose leaf tea is phenomenal and the health benefits seem to be endless. It’s no wonder Asian countries swear by this!
There are many articles in magazines and newsletters that I have come across that talk about the possibility of Green tea preventing cancers such as lung, breast, and prostate or that because of the high levels of Catechins (one of the antioxidants found in tea) the size and number of tumors are reduced as well as stopping the growth of cancer cells – White tea has been claimed to be more effective at this due to its high levels of antioxidants, that one cup of tea a day can help lower the risk of getting skin cancer, and that Oolong tea has been shown to have fat burning properties, which in turn helps people to lose weight. One study showed that if women consumed 2 cups of tea daily it may reduce the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Herbal tea, properly known as “tisane,” does not have the health promoting properties that the other teas provide because it is not really tea. It is derived from the infusion of various herbs, flowers, and roots and does not come from the tea bush Camellia Sinensis. However, it is known to promote other benefits such as: relaxation and calming effects. Also, the popular South African Tea – Rooibos Tea (aka red tea) falls within the tisane category, as it too is not derived from the Camellia bush.
– To achieve better health benefits, it is important to drink tea from high quality loose leaves rather than bagged tea.
– White tea has more antioxidants than any of the other types of tea.
– Studies have shown that tea drinkers maintain lower blood pressure.
– Tea may protect one against cancer caused by smoking.
– Decaffeinated tea may not have the same health benefits as natural tea possibly because it loses some of its polyphenols (antioxidants) through the decaffeinating process, though this is not yet known with 100% certainty.
Did you know that there are approximately 40mg of caffeine in one cup of tea versus 85mg found in one cup of coffee? Interesting fact, huh? The bottom line is that if you are looking for a tasty, healthy beverage that can offer you many health benefits as an added bonus, look no further. Grab a cuppa tea and enjoy! You can’t go wrong with this captivating drink.
Tea Types
Tea is an aromatic beverage made from leaves, leaf buds, and stems of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. There are many different types of tea. However, there are four basic types and they are: Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, and White Tea. They are all made from the same tea bush but are processed differently. Another common type is Pu-erh Tea, which is a double-fermented black tea. Herbal Tea is also very popular but you might find it interesting to know that it is not real tea. It is basically an infusion of fruits and herbs that contain nothing from the tea plant. It is usually made of fresh flowers, dried flowers, seeds and roots. These are not to be confused with Flavored Teas, which are real teas that have had other plants added to them in their preparation to create the different flavors.
For those of you who are not too fond of that strong brewed tea flavor, a flavored tea (if you like caffeine) or an herbal tea (caffeine-free) is the choice for you. There is also Red Tea (Rooibos Tea); it originates in South Africa and is very popular over there. It has a sweet and slightly nutty flavor and is reddish brown in color. Last but not least there is Yellow Tea, which is a special tea processed in a similar fashion as green tea but dried slowly allowing the damp leaves to sit and yellow. Yellow tea smells different than green and white tea, is sometimes confused with black tea, and is very yellow-green in color. Make sure you check out my other pages to learn about tea brewing and health benefits too.
- Black Tea - Black Tea is more oxidized and contains more caffeine than the other varieties of tea. It also has a stronger flavor. In Asian cultures black tea is known as “crimson tea” and unlike green tea which loses its flavor within one year, black tea retains it flavor for several years. The term “black tea” is also used as an expression for a cup of tea without milk similar to “black coffee” (a cup of coffee without milk/cream). In addition, it is very common for black tea to be mixed and blended with other types of plants to create different drinks, such as: Earl Grey – black tea with bergamot (a small fragrant citrus fruit) oil, English Breakfast – mixed to go perfect with milk and sugar, and Irish Breakfast – different types of black tea blended together. Black tea is currently the most popular type of tea in the USA and is mainly enjoyed as iced tea.
- Green Tea - Green Tea is the least processed tea and is made strictly from the tea plant Camellia sinensis. It originates in China but has become really popular all throughout Asia. There are many varieties of green tea that are created by the different ways they are grown, processed, and harvested. There are many health benefits tied to green tea, which is why frequent green tea drinkers may have a decreased chance of heart disease and certain types of cancer, as well as lowering cholesterol levels. It has also been linked to weight loss management and has been used as a traditional medicine in Asian countries. Additionally, it contains approximately one third the caffeine content of coffee.
- Oolong Tea - Oolong Tea is a traditional Chinese tea that is semi-oxidized, falling somewhere in between black tea and green tea. It does not have the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea nor the grassy vegetal taste of green tea. It is a strong tea and has a bitterness that leaves behind a sweet aftertaste. Oolong tea is processed in two ways: either by rolling it into long curly leaves or by pressing it into ball-like forms. It is usually classified by its floral or fruity aroma and its melon taste and aftertaste.
There are many tales on how Oolong Tea was discovered, one of which is that a man named Wu Liang, Wu Long, or Oolong discovered it by accident when he was distracted by a deer after a long hard day of tea picking and by the time he remembered about the tea he had just picked, it had already began to oxidize. Interesting, huh?
- White Tea - White Tea is an un-oxidized, uncured tea and it is dried in a quick fashion. It usually consists of buds and young tea leaves, which are known to have low caffeine levels. For this reason, white tea is considered to have less caffeine than green tea. There are several varieties of white tea as is true with green tea, and some studies show that white tea contains more anti-viral and anti-bacterial qualities than green tea. White Tea is not only processed differently but also grown differently and harvested much earlier than the other types, before the leaves are fully open. Do you know why it’s called White Tea? It’s because the buds are still covered by fine silver-like white hairs. Also, this brew is known for its delicate, slightly sweet flavor and because of its low caffeine content it makes the best choice for those tea lovers trying to reduce their caffeine intake.
Teology
The story told about how tea came about is that a Chinese emperor who lived five thousand years ago was boiling water and a strong wind blew the leaves of a nearby tea bush into his tea pot. These leaves turned the water into a rich color and gave it a very pleasant aroma. With caution, the emperor then tasted his new drink and that is how tea drinking was born in China.
Loose Leaf Tea or Bagged Tea?
When it comes to high quality tea, you will mostly find that in whole loose leaf teas. However, there are some bagged teas that are made with high quality loose leaves. Most of what you will find in your neighborhood grocery store is a plain low quality tea. The reason for this is that most of them are made up of broken tea leaves, which affects the ending result of a great tasting cup of tea. Loose tea leaves contain chemicals and oils that are essential to produce the delightful true flavor of tea. When these leaves are broken up into tiny pieces, aka fannings, (as you will find in most tea bags) they lose these essential components and therefore produce a dull and tasteless cup of tea. Typically, loose teas are made up of whole leaves or at least larger pieces and therefore yield a much better tasting cup of tea.
In addition to the size of the leaf, space is another important factor. Tea leaves need space to swell up and expand with a good circulation of water around them. This is hard to achieve when the leaves are cramped up into the very small space of a tea bag. You will get a much superior quality tea from loose leaves.
Treat yourself and try getting your tea loose next time. There is a wide variety of bagged teas that you can get but there are far more choices when you shop for loose leaf teas. A finer cup of tea is just a small steep away. Happy Tea Drinking!
Teaspresso
A shot of espresso anyone? Red Espresso that is. Do you know what a Red Espresso is? It is Roobios tea (aka red tea) finely ground and brewed just like coffee in any espresso machine, french press, or drip coffee maker. It’s naturally caffeine-free and contains 5x’s more antioxidants than green tea and 10x’s more than regular roobios tea. It was discovered by a farmer in South Africa (Carl Pretorius), who after having excessive amounts of espresso shots daily decided there had to be a healthier alternative to fulfill that craving. It is another way to enjoy tea and partake in more of the café culture. So, with that said, will that be a single or a double shot for you?
Many different drinks can be made with red espresso, much like with coffee and in this new world they are called “red drinks.”
You can have one of the following:
· Red Espresso – single or double shot, straight
· Red Americano – topped with hot water
· Red Cappucino – topped with steamed & foamed milk, swirl of honey & dusted with cinnamon
· Red Machiato – marked with a touch of foamed milk
· Red Latte – enveloped with steamed milk & capped with a thin layer of foam, topped with honey & cinnamon
· Red Symphony – mixed with hot white chocolate, topped with steamed milk, whipped cream, honey & cinnamon
· Filter Red – prepared like conventional coffee in a french press or drip coffee maker
· Fresh Red – poured over clear fruit juice and ice, garnished with fresh mint & slice of lemon
· Red Shake – blended with vanilla ice cream
· Red Frappe – blended with cold milk & crushed ice, garnished with whipped cream and swirl of honey
· Iced Red – poured over ice water, flavored with one squirt of peach, pomegranate, lemon, or berry syrup, garnished with mint, lemon, or strawberry
· Iced Red Latte – poured over ice, topped with cold milk, honey & cinnamon
· Long Island Red – poured over ice in glass filled with 2/3 cola, spiked with a squeeze of lemon juice
· Ginger Red – red cappucino with a shot of ginger syrup
· Vanilla Red Latte – red latte topped with vanilla syrup & cinnamon
· Red Dragon – shaken over ice, spiced with ginger liqueur, spiked with a squeeze of lime juice & honey
· Red Hot Shot – poured over condensed milk & capped with foamed milk
Or be creative with a:
· MUYO Red – make up your own red drink. Use your imagination and have fun!
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Tea Talk
Have a Question or Suggestion?
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Taza de Tea
