As the weather in the northern hemisphere warms up for the Spring, you might wish to delight in your tea al fresco.

The weather has been delicious! Not too hot or cold, and (at least here) it’s been slightly breezy, so flying insects are kept at bay.

This picture is from the blog of MarshalN, who said, “What was nice though was to drink outside at all — listen to birds, watching the deer walk by, etc. It’s just not the same.”

Art by Sarah Jane Studios

It may also be a wonderful time to invite over some friends (or friends of your children’s) and host a springtime tea party. Try a rich Assam alongside some lemon custard desserts (add dark chocolate shavings to yours to bring out the sweet flavour in your tea).

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World Tea Expo: May 30 - June 1, 2008
Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV

If you are a tea lover, you might want to attend the World Tea Expo 2008. There will be several workshops, including “Tea & Chocolate,” “Blending” skill workshop, “Brewing/Serving” skill workshop, and “The Way of Tea.”

There will also be a showing of “The Meaning of Tea” one night, and a networking convention another night.

Conferences like, “Converting the coffee culture,” “Conducting a successful tea tasting,” “This isn’t your grandma’s tea room,” and geographic location-focused tea tastings are also on the schedule.

It sounds like an amazing event! Please go if you can, learn a lot about tea, and come back and tell me about it (and make me insanely jealous that I didn’t get to go).

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CNN posted a Top 10 list today for ways to boost your energy during the midday slump, and guess who made the cut! White tea, coming in at position 5! Alicia Potter writes,

Bag a new brew

Boost your energy with white tea, which has a delicate flavor that requires little sweetening. “Of all the teas, white tea goes through the least processing,” says Iman Hakim, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona in Tucson and a leading researcher on the benefits of tea. As a result, white tea has the highest concentration of L-theanine, an amino acid that, according to recent research, stimulates alpha brain waves to boost alertness while producing a calming effect. And because a cup of white tea contains less caffeine (15 milligrams) than other teas (up to 50 mg) and coffee (120 mg), it’s more hydrating, another key for sustaining energy.

How fantastic is that? White tea will give you an energy boost without the negative effects of too much caffiene.

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You might think “they’re both tea, so I’ll get the conveniently packaged tea bag.” But then, you’d be wrong.

While they ARE both technically tea, the tea bags you pick up in the grocery store are vastly inferior to the quality you’d find in loose leaf teas. Some tea companies do produce high-quality tea bags that are filled with whole tea leaves, but that is the exception rather than the rule. So here’s a little rundown about the differences between the two:

• Loose Leaf Tea - Generally whole leaves/buds or at least large pieces. This keeps the oils that make your aromatic treat safe until it’s time to brew
• Tea Bags - Filled with “fannings” or the smallest parts of tea leaves that are left after all the good stuff is taken. Oils are allowed to escape, the tea becomes stale, and this results in a weak cuppa

• Loose Leaf Tea - Can be properly brewed by allowing water to circulate all around the leaves, and by giving the leaves room to swell
• Tea Bags - Tea is cramped. There is little room for the leaves (or fannings as it were) to expand.

• Loose Leaf Tea - Has been around for over 5000 years and is “tried and true”
• Tea bags - Were invented at the beginning of the 20th century

I know what you’re thinking… “I’m too busy for this loose leaf stuff. Tea bags are too convenient to give up!” Well, calm down! Loose leaf tea is really simple to steep, even one cup at a time. If you can’t get away from the bag idea though, there are options for you.

This reusable handmade tea bag can be filled with your favorite loose leaf teas, for the convenience of bag-brewing, but the flavor of “real” tea. The bag is also roomy enough to allow the tea leaves to expand as they take on water.

Or for a disposable alternative, you can fill these unbleached bags with your tea and seal the end with the heat from your iron. Drop them in your cup for a quick and easy cup of tea.

So treat yourself to high-quality loose leaf teas rather than those dusty stale tea bags, and let me know if you’re glad I told you to make the switch.

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I love these tea rings.

From XS M L, via one of my favourite blogs, Designer’s Block.

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 This “drop stop tea strainer” will let you steep your tea for just the right amount of time, hung over the side of your cup or mug. When your tea is ready, just remove the strainer and the little “spoon” section will save your tablecloth from drips.

If you prefer the stirring aspect of making tea, you might want to try out the tea stick. Fill the chamber with your loose tea, swirl it in your cup to steep, and simply flush the stick out with clean water to rinse when you’re finished.

These teastick gems are similar to the tea stick above, but they come in fantastically fun colours.

Or if you prefer regular “tea ball” infusers, why not try a decorative version, such as this hand-beaded one?

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What is white tea?

White tea is the least processed variety of tea. Most varieties of white tea are produced simply by withering and drying the immature leaves.

What makes it so special?

Leaves used in making white tea must be plucked shortly before the buds fully open. If the buds are plucked before they begin to open at all, they are used in making silver needle, the finest white tea there is. If the buds have begun to slightly open, with two small leaves, they are used in making white peony tea, which is also a high quality tea. Small, immature leaves may also be used to make other kinds of white tea, but you’ll find the two mentioned here are the most aromatic and delicate.

White tea is also high in nutrients due to its low amounts of processing. It is also low in caffeine.
What kinds of white tea are there?

White Peony Tea - Pai Mu Tan, also known as Bai Mu Dan or White Peony tea, comes from Fujian province in China.

Silver needle -Yun Shan Yin Zhen tea (or Jun Shan Yin Zhen) is one of China’s finest teas, indeed one of China’s 10 Famous Teas. The name means Silver Needle of the Gentle Mountain.

What does white tea taste like?

White tea has a delicate, almost floral flavour. It is quite aromatic, and must be properly brewed to retain its light taste.

So, how do I brew it properly?

Use cool, filtered water to start. Bring the water to a boil, then let it cool for several minutes before adding your white tea to steep. Temperatures that are too hot will cook the leaves rather than steeping them, leaving you with a bitter cuppa. The proper temperature will be between 50 and 85 degrees Celsius. Different sources say to steep the tea for vastly different lengths of time. Some say to only steep Silver Needle for 45 seconds, while others swear that “the longer the better.” Truly, steeping time is a matter of personal taste, but the water quality and temperature are the most important factors in making sure you enjoy your tea.

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Did you ever think that just by having a spot of tea with your friends, you could help save lives?

10 million children die before their fifth birthday every year. That’s as many as one child per three seconds. In the worst countries, like Sierra Leone in Africa, the rates of survival are so drastically low that one in four children do not make the age of five.

The shocking reality behind these figures is that most of these children are dying of causes that are preventable by staggeringly simple treatments. Two of the three main child killers are malaria and diarrhoea, when we know that rehydration salts and mosquito nets – items that cost just a few pounds – would keep these children alive.

If these figures move you to take action, you can host one of the world’s most important tea parties. Save the Children week (27^th April – 3^rd May) is the perfect time to make a difference, so start planning now!

The funds raised will go towards Save the Children’s largest ever campaign to show how simple it is to save a child’s life.

Here’s how the money will make a real and lasting difference:

• 80p will buy a cup of tea and one day’s supply of a micronutrient peanut butter that helps keep malnourished children alive
  

• £5.50 will buy a cream tea and 50 sachets of salts to rehydrate very weak children
  

• £40 will buy eight books of raffle tickets and 10 water filters to help families in dire need of clean drinking water

Join Save the Children to make a difference now. Information about how to host your tea-pot-ty fundraiser party can be found on their website. If you don’t have the time to host a party, you may choose to make a donation instead.

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You love to steep and sip your tea, whether in the morning, afternoon, or evening, but have you ever wondered what plant or plants compose your delightful treat? Or have you wondered how the different varieties differ? Look no further. Answers are here!

What plant does tea come from?

Camellia sinensis is the “tea plant” from which all true teas originate. “Herbal teas” are really infusions of herbs, and not true tea, so for now we’ll ignore those. Sinensis means “Chinese,” and camellia is a genus of flowering plants that grow wild in China and Japan. The young leaves are used to create the loose teas with which we are familiar.

Does that mean all tea is the same?

Certainly not! While all tea comes from the same species of plant, there are a few varieties of the Camellia sinensis.

• C. sinensis var. assamica is found in the Assam region of India. This large-leafed tree can grow to be 6 - 20 metres tall, but in tea gardens it is kept to around 1 metre in height. Tea produced from this plant is strong, aromatic, and sometimes earthy in flavour.
• C. sinensis var. sinensis (the Chinese variety) is found in south-east China. This is the “original tea plant” and has been used for steeping for over 3000 years. This plant is a multi-stemmed bush produces small leaves that result in a slightly flowery infusion.
• C. sinensis var. parvifolia is a Cambodian variety which grows as a small multi-stemmed tree with middle-sized leaves. It is referred to as an Assam-Chinese hybrid.

Besides the botanical differences within the species, teas also vary depending on the methods of drying, oxidizing, and heating that are used to prepare them. There are four main methods for creating teas, with many small variations within each method.

• White teas do not undergo any oxidization (sometimes referred to as fermentation). The leaves are simply withered and dried.
• Green teas are withered and then allowed to oxidize for a very short time before they are heat-treated and dried.
• Oolong teas are withered and bruised, allowed to oxidize for a short time, then heat-treated and dried.
  
• Black teas are withered, cut or rolled, then allowed to fully oxidize before being heat-treated and dried.

Generally, if a tea is more oxidized, it contains more caffeine and a stronger flavour. Less oxidized teas are more delicate and light in flavour.

More about the specific varieties will be posted later. For now, I hope you’ve gained a little insight into the delicious beverage you so enjoy!

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Cakes! For many, an almost erotic accompaniment to tea. A favourite of mine is the Irish Tea Cake.

Ain’t they just the prettiest looking cakes? Click here for the much sought after recipe.

As the divine Delia Smith puts it, ‘there’s no better way to spend a leisurely afternoon than with tea and cakes!’ We couldn’t agree more, and can’t recommend Delia’s cake recipes enough.

And finally…Not quite a duck-rabbit test. Do you see a duck or a rabbit?

Do you see tea? Or cake?