Tea art and Lovejoy's Tea Room in San Francisco

Hi tea lovers!


This weekend my boyfriend and I went to Lovejoy's Tea Room in San Francisco for a rare treat. I discovered the tea room online by accident a few weeks ago  and wanted to go, but noticed there were no open reservations for 3 weeks. We put our names in and the day finally arrived, we drove up to the city from the peninsula and got really lucky with the parking and walked right into a tea wonderland. Every space in the building was decorated with tea related items. I must have seen 300 teacups in that room. The decor was amazing, but the best was yet to come!!

I ordered vanilla lavender black tea and oh my goodness it was amazing. In fact, I can't stop thinking about it. As well as the tea I had the "savory tea" which includes two finger sandwiches and a scone with cream and jam, the good ole English way. My boyfriend was not impressed when I put cream on both sides. Apparently, in England you only put cream on one side, then jam on the other and you put the two halves together like a sandwich.

The sandwiches I ordered were probably the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life. I'm not exaggerating, either. I had coronation chicken- which is also a common British sandwich made of chicken in mild curry mayo. If you're American and reading this you probably just thought "gross." That's what I thought too, until I tried it when I was living in Wales and I became slightly obsessed. The combination of that, lettuce and soft bread is absolutely delicious!

I also had a salmon, cream cheese and caper finger sandwich and those were really excellent as well. My boyfriend had horseradish and roast beef and turkey with English mustard. I didn't try the turkey, but the roast beef and horseradish was pretty good.

After we came home from the tea room I felt really inspired so I decided to paint a tea pot. It turned out so well that I think I'm going to put it on my etsy store. After I painted this I decided that I wanted to do more tea related art in the future. What is something you'd like to be painted? Let me know what you think of my painting!! PS if you like the painting below, you can buy it Here!!

Introducing: The MIITO

Recently I came across this awesome product that could come to stores if we help them out on Kickstarter! I thought it was really awesome and I think you will like it too!

Yerba Mate tea, a guest post by Veronica C

Our favourite tea blogger Leah has asked me to write a guest post on mate, a south american infusion with roots that extend back to pre - colonial times. Being Uruguayan myself, that was a tall order.

Believe me, I've pondered a lot on what to focus this post about mate: its history, its chemistry, its benefits... but finally I've decided to write about what southern-bound visitors and infusion lovers won't easily read about: the very soul of mate.

Anyhow, some facts first.

To make mate you will first need yerba which translates "herb" to English, and this is where some misunderstandings begin. The word "herb" has some "illegal" connotations but in Spanish the word means just the dried leaves of a bush (Ilex paraguariensis) that grows in the heart of the continent. The production process include the industrial drying of the leaf that is then crushed and stationed for up to a year before being packaged to be consumed.

    Fresh yerba leaves

Infusion-ready product

Mate can be purchased on every retail corner of my country; In Argentina, Paraguay and southern Brazil, Bolivia and Chile. You can easily see there is a dimension on mate that goes beyond countries and nationalities, a common ground on people that share the same taste. It represents  the culture of whole continent.

Now imagine you live in the countryside, maybe as a Guarani native in pre colony times or a Gaucho in extensive cattle farms. When dawn breaks or dusk falls, the grassy hills surround you until the horizon and there is a sense of beauty but loneliness because this corner of the world has always been  sparsely populated.

This means, cows and dogs are keeping you company... not a very entertaining way to live.

So mate will be right there next to you, keeping you busy by the fire, preventing your feeling down and lonely. Scientists explain that the high caffeine level on the dry leaves keeps you away from depression and sleep (link here) but people like to say, the mate becomes your compañero (alas, in English, your soul mate).


The ceremony of mate:


Well, with the mate it is not exactly a japanese tea ceremony. The native Guaranis that began this tradition were rather simple people. Also the Spanish conquistadores and their descendants were rather tough people that would not invest too much time on it: after all it was supposed to be a way to sanitize water by filtering through layers of leaves.

Traditional mate should be drank out of a "calabaza" (dry pumpkin) like this one. It is fully recyclable and environmentally friendly.

The calabaza is filled 2/3ds with yerba and boiling water is poured on it. After it has soaked the yerba expands to almost fill the container and you are ready to sip the infusion through a metal straw.

Burning hot, bitter tasting, aromatic, earthy flavour filling your mouth and nostrills.

And your soul.


Different ways to drink mate:


In Uruguay: people go to public places carrying thermos and mates. You can pick out a uruguayan person in a huge crowd, because of this feature. Here are two pictures I took at the beach at the same time, notice most people sipping mate.

By the way, this is Punta del Este, a posh resort

In Argentina: drinking mate is more home-oriented. Hot water is poured out of a kettle, because it would be sipped more or less in a hurry before leaving for  work. Also, sugar is usually is mixed with yerba, something other southeners deride for being "childish".

Alone: already discussed this on the country side, but mate has found it's way to the urban environment and for instance is sipped by students trying to prevent falling asleep while cramming for tomorrow's exams.

In a group of people: well, I know this will seem disgusting to many of you, but good manners involve sipping the mate and passing it on to the person next to you. A total stranger or your closest friend or partner, whomever. Again, the high caffeine level will prompt lively conversation, jokes... you know, we latin americans like to talk a lot. And loud. Mate is defined as the beverage of friendship.

Mate cocido "cooked mate": For the rest of the world who does not want to get involved into the dry pumpkin, thermo and metal straw thing, you can drink it as an infusion. Bitter, earthy, very scant colour, it's not your usual camomile or your favorite tisane

Hope this posts brings to you a different approach to mate, but if you are looking for the traditional one, like Wikipedia here you can find it. Hasta pronto amigos!!

Gifts for Tea Lovers

Iced Tea: Recipes for Spring!

10 Teas for 10 moods! An infographic

Tg Tea- a review of green tea

Hello fellow tea lovers! I recently met Hua and Sophia of Tg on Twitter and they offered to send some of their new products from their startup business. I was excited, because a lot of tea that I'm typically sent is black tea and a green tea company is a nice change of pace. That's exactly  why Hua and Sophia created their business, one day they went to a grocery store because they were thirsty, but didn't see anything that was refreshing as well as low calorie in the way of soft drinks. In the hot tea aisle of the food store, they were not impressed with the selection of green tea, either. None of it comes from the source. So Sophia and Hua teamed up with a great idea; to make low calorie iced tea as well as hot tea to the streets of Great Britain. If you look at the photo below, the packaging is quite artsy. The packaging of the tea is influenced by London street art.

Since Tg (pronounced Tea-G) is a start up business, I told Sophia and Hua that in my post about their tea, I'd try and get the word out in addition to the tea review. They're simply two tea lovers that took their passion for tea and put it into a bottle. Quite literally! When they got their packaging art and bottle art printed, they took to the streets to take some photographs. Here's one of my favorites:

Okay, let's get to the review. So the Tg I will be reviewing first is the Green Tea with Jujube and Osmanthus. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd never heard of Osmanthus the flower until I was sent some of this tea. I looked it up and it's a flower that's native to Asia and has a ton of health benefits. Most notably is: it relieves stomach pain, promotes lung health, moisturizes your skin, helps keep you hydrated as well as removes toxins from your body. In China, many people will put a handful of these beautiful leaves into a pot of boiling water to infuse with their tea. Here's what they look like in the wild:

I've heard of Jujube before, but I couldn't really figure out where from. It's a red date that adds sweetness to the green tea and it has many antioxidants. You can see the tea leaves, Osmanthus and Jujube in the actual teabags:

There's a healthy amount of tea in the pyramid tea bag. I'd say about 4 grams of tea. It's really important not to pour just boiled water over green tea, you need to wait a few minutes for the water to cool down. I'd suggest 2-3 minutes, or it can ruin the taste of the tea. Then, pour the hot water over the teabag and steep for about 3 minutes. Look how beautiful this is-mid steep:

Fully steeped it's even better/ The colors of the Osmanthus, green tea leaves and Jujube make a pretty sight:

I tried this tea with and without sugar. It tastes refreshing, earthy and crisp, but if you add sugar it really brings the flavor of the Jujube out as well as the tea. If I'm in a refreshing hot tea kind of mood, something that just truly goes down smooth and simple, I won't add any sugar. However if I'm in a mood where I want something sweet, I'll add sugar and it tastes really good.

Let's move onto the Iced Tea! So they sent me three of them, one with Ginseng, one with Ginseng and Jujube and finally one with Ginseng and Mandarin. Of the three, the iced tea with Mandarin was my favorite. There's something so refreshing about iced tea with a citrus fruit added to it. They only have 30 calories a bottle, so it's sweet, but not overly sweet like how Lipton Iced Tea is. The benefit of green iced tea is that it not only hydrates you, but is proven to be better for you than black iced tea, because of all the antioxidants in green tea. Here's a photo of the tea I drank today on my dining room table:

If you like green tea, you'll love their hot tea and their iced tea. If you've never had green tea, I'd suggest giving Tg a try. It's good to support local businesses. Great job, Sophia and Hua, I'd give your tea 5/5, it's the best green tea I've ever had. Get yours here!

Easter Tea Party Ideas

First, for a great tea party you need tea-ware, of course. What it looks like is up to you. I personally would go with something like this (click the photo to go to the website):

Next, you'll need some snacks to eat when you're sipping your tea. Traditionally at a tea party you have savory and sweet treats. Let's begin with an Easter themed savory treat!

I found this blog called FOODjimoto where a few years back the blogger made this eggcelent (ha, get it?) recipe for deviled easter eggs. The above photo is hers. Please check out the recipe.


Let's move onto the sweet tea party treat. What goes better with tea, than cake? Nothing! I found these adorable chick cupcakes that would be the perfect treat to accompany a cup of tea on Easter Sunday.

Chirp, chirp! They're adorable. Visit the blog Bird on a Cake here to get the recipe.  I hope you have a happy and healthy Easter Sunday and for those of you who are Jewish and celebrate Passover, a happy and healthy Passover seder. 

Leah

Matcha Kit Kat Review

Today I decided I would have a Japanese theme on my blog. First off, I'm reviewing a matcha green tea flavored Kit Kat and I also try a strawberry Kit Kit flown all the way in from Japan. Due to the Matcha craze, I thought my readers would be interested in whether or not it's worth it to indulge in a chocolate that is Matcha infused. Later on I'll be reviewing a Japanese tea that was sent to me from Tea Leaf Plus that is also all the way from Japan; traditional tea enjoyed for centuries!  I'll show you the lovely packaging of the Kit Kat to begin.

Despite the fact this little guy (it's a mini sized Kit Kat) is from Japan, there's still English on the wrapper. Nice touch, Kit Kat. Okay, enough of me enjoying the wrapper-it is a nice wrapper though, isn't it?

I took it out of the wrapper and I was really excited. I haven't had my cup of Matcha yet for the #Matcha14daychallenge so I was craving that heavenly matcha taste. Please ignore the slightest piece of nail polish that's on my thumb. It was a lovely pink color and now I need to repaint them. So I took a bite and...

Sorry to dissapoint you, but these Matcha Kit Kats were not the cat's meow. In fact, they didn't really taste of anything, they just had that normal crunchy texture. I guess if you're into texture and not into flavor with texture, they might be your thing. Or, if you're throwing a St. Patrick's Day party and you're looking for green items to spice up your party. However, if you're looking for candy that tastes like Matcha-well, don't go for these. I'd rate these a sad 1.5/5 stars. They get 1.5 stars because texturally they were sound and the packaging was nice, but the flavor just wasn't there.
For fun I also ordered some Strawberry Kit Kats from Japan. They kind of tasted of strawberry banana though, so unless you're into that sort of thing, I'd advise against it. This is coming from someone who loves strawberries, too!

Tune in later for my tea review!

Leah

Leah's Tea Recommendations: Loose Leaf and Bagged Tea

Today I decided to make a little list of teas that I recommend to the readers of the UK and US. On the first image, you'll find the best places to acquire loose leaf tea, which is the highest quality of tea. The second graphic depicts the best bagged tea you can find in The UK or the US. Many people on Twitter have asked me recommendations on what brands they can trust, well here they are.

A couple exceptions should be noted. Lipton is on my graphic, but only for bagged tea. Their loose leaf tea is not good at all. Tiny tiny pieces and not a very good taste. However, their bagged tea here in the UK is quite nice and in the US if you're looking for something as simple as black tea gets, it's a great option. I hope you enjoy these graphics as much as I did making them. If you see a brand and want further recommendations on what kind of tea you'd like in that certain brand, comment below or tweet me (click the bird on the side bar) and I'll happily help you find a delicious tea.

Current tea I'm drinking: Twinings' (bagged) vanilla black tea. Oh so good! Below the graphics see the little note I've left for people interested in a tea exchange.

If anyone is interested in exchanging tea, I'm looking to do that. I think it would be fun to trade tea from anywhere in the world. If you're interested, click whichever contact link best suits you on the right. I'm in the UK, but I would be willing to ship to other countries!

PS- many tea companies I have listed are on my Amazon store. I have one for the UK and one for the US. Check them out!

Go to Leah's Tea Store US

Go To Leah's Tea Store UK

Leah

Tea of the day: oolong

Today I will be talking about my personal favorite kind of tea: oolong. I tried oolong for the first time a few weeks ago and fell in love. But what's so great about it, really? Well, for starters let me talk about the number one reason I drink oolong daily...

The taste! It's very light and flowery with a tiny citrus endnote. Well, that's my take on it. It's reminiscent of a green tea kind of taste, but with a way more delicious after taste. I'm not a huge fan of green tea, actually. However oolong is made from the same plant as green tea and black tea, what's different is the processing.

Health benefits are a big reason some people drink tea, but there's a lot of research to still be done and let's face it-I'm no doctor. However there is one study I've found about oolong and it took place in Japan. The study showed that drinking oolong tea can help rid the body of inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema. Along with that study, I've found that drinking tea is good for you strictly because it helps with hydration. A lot of people don't drink enough water per day and tea is water treated with tea. So drink more tea and you will become more hydrated.

When it comes to oolong, less is more. This, unsteeped:

Becomes this, after steeping:

Steeping: oolong can be steeped more than once, so that can save you money. Just take the leaves out and let them sit on a plate or somewhere dry and use them again. Just know that if steeping a second time, it won't have as much caffeine as the first steeping. Also, it is noteworthy that when it comes to oolong teas, they get better as you steep them. So the second, third or fourth time you brew oolong, it will taste even better each time. When making oolong you shouldn't use water that has been boiled, but water that is just about to become boiled. So if you have a kettle, make sure it's hot but not entirely boiling. Sometimes I'll let it boil and then just let it cool for a few minutes. Then you can steep it from 3-10 minutes. If you're particular about the taste, try it every 30 seconds and stop steeping once you're satisfied with the taste!

Beauty: I love the shade of oolong tea and the beautiful leaves. The leaves look small and clustered before they come in contact with hot water, but it's fun to watch them grow in size as they steep. The leaves are considerably bigger than those of black tea, for example. A lot of times you'll see the leaves on a mini branch, even. See below, the beautiful coloring of oolong:

So why not give oolong a try? As soon as I did, I couldn't stop drinking it. It's not an unhealthy tea to drink! Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, sugar is never necessary in oolong. However, some people add sugar to all teas. Whatever floats your boat! Or should I say, floats your tea leaves! Oh wow, that was a bad joke.

Happy Friday,

Leah

Carne Griffiths: Interview with the man who uses tea instead of paint

From embroidery designer to innovative, highly recognized artist, Carne Griffiths is no stranger to blazing his own path in the world of art. Join me as I get a small glimpse into Carne's life as an artist.

See below: his work "Fall" and following that, the interview

Leah: How do you use tea to make art? What inspired you to use tea, coffee and alcohol in addition to ink?


Carne: I incorporated the use of tea and other liquids into my work in 2010/11, it was an accidental occurrence at first but developed into something that I pursued and actually helped with my handling of colour. The addition of tea is normally thrown from a brush onto the page - I work with freshly brewed tea and the energy and direction of application is of primary importance - I tend not to 'paint' with the tea as this disturbs the delicate patterns that the tea makes when mixing with the inks on the page.

Leah: What inspires your work?


Carne: My work is inspired mostly by nature.  I left a 12 year career as an embroidery designer initially to undertake an exploratory year of painting - this lead to where I am now.  So the influence of embroidery design and nature's part in this is quite evident in most of the pieces that I make.


Leah: Is using natural ingredients such as coffee, tea and alcohol related to the chemicals in acrylics and oil paints and not wanting to get ill?


Carne: I actually ingest quite a lot of the materials I work with now, so although it wasn't a reaction to chemicals in paint - it would certainly be a problem if I returned to any chemical materials.. it has become such a habit to remove liquids from the brush by mouth that I'd be in for a nasty shock if I turned to oil painting.


Leah: Do you drink tea as well? If so, what kind do you prefer?


Carne: I do drink tea and coffee while working - coffee for the high energy boost but I like to drink tea when working for long periods on detailed work - it helps keep a level of work and reduces the up and down spikes that result from too much coffee!  I enjoy wrapped teas, and specialist teas - I have a beautiful clear glass teapot that was a present from my wife - the whole ceremony of making a cup of tea is important but I also like the fact that it is an everyday occurrence and can be taken in stride with the work.

Leah: What is your favourite work so far that you've done in 2015?


Carne: I think my favourite painting so far this year is the Tempest.  It is also one of the most recent works I have completed - it involved a wider spectrum of colours and the use of a number of teas both loose leaf and tea bag!


Carne's work, The Tempest is below:

To see Carne's website click here

To find Carne on Facebook click here

Here's one of my favourites of Carne's work: Flower of Life

Leah

Breakfast Tea

Typically in the morning is when you want your stronger, more robust tea. My first cup of tea for the day is always black tea, mainly because it has a lot of caffeine and it wakes me up a bit like coffee would do. When I was younger I would always go for English Breakfast in the morning. English Breakfast tea is also found in most of the lower-end teabag market in stores. For example Tetley, or Lipton are variants of English Breakfast, but it is important to note that these are lower quality and are much weaker teas.

What exactly is English Breakfast tea anyways? I would describe it as a full bodied, rich tea that is typically a blend of several different teas. These teas are usually from India and Africa. Most English Breakfast tea, including the kind found in teabags, is usually a blend of Assam, Ceylon and Kenyan tea. As seen above in the photo, if you're looking for a good blend of English Breakfast, I would suggest Twinings. It's a good price for great tea. Buy in the US or the UK. The only issue with the Twinings tea is that it has small leaves, so if you're a teabag user it isn't a problem, however if you drink loose tea then you will need a relatively fine strainer.

There are also variants of English Breakfast teas, such as Irish Breakfast and Scottish breakfast. Since trying Irish Breakfast recently last year, it has been my go to cup of morning tea. It is stronger than English Breakfast because it has more Assam in it and can be described as malty. With any breakfast tea you have to be careful, because if you brew it for longer than 5 minutes, it can be too strong to drink and neither milk nor sugar can save it. As seen above, Adagio make my favorite kind of Irish Breakfast tea. It's delicious. You can find it here for the UK or here for the US. 

Also a choice to bear in mind is Scottish Breakfast, although I've never had it myself. It's the strongest of the three breakfast teas, because it was made back when Scotland's water was soft, which means the water lacks the natural elements typically found in water after it goes through the ground, such as magnesium and calcium. In some Scottish Breakfast teas, you can detect a hint of smokiness. I have yet to find any true reason as to why the Scottish Breakfast tastes stronger, but if I had to guess I would say more Assam and less Ceylon, since Assam tea is very strong and caffeinated and Ceylon is a very weak black tea.

My boyfriend got me this for Valentine's Day. Thought you might enjoy it too!

Leah