Steep It Loose — LIFESTYLE

THE EARL: Earl Grey is the most common tea in the Western world, after English Breakfast. Its distinctive flavor and fragrance come from oil of bergamot, a Mediterranean citrus fruit, and the base is a blend of teas, which traditionally hail from China, India and/or Sri Lanka. Today, you can find Earl Grey teas on green, white and even oolong tea bases. The origin of the tea’s name is presumed to come from Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, who as the British prime minister in the 1830’s was conferred a gift of this exquisite bergamot-scented tea at the conclusion...

           If the instructions on your tea package call for an infusion of 2 minutes and 30 seconds at 180F… why is that? Why not 1 minute, or 5 minutes? And what if we chop that infusion up into many little ones, like gongfu style… how is the first infusion different from the 10th? Of course, we might guess that a 1-minute infusion would be weak, and a 5-minute infusion too strong, and the 1st gongfu steep is more flavorful than the 10th, but how and why? Let’s talk about at what types of molecules are...

The Daily Tea | February 10, 2020  By The Daily Tea Team for The Daily Tea    The Daily Tea recently had the opportunity to chat with Maria Uspenski, founder and CEO of The Tea Spot. The Tea Spot is a leading producer of handcrafted whole leaf teas and creator of Steepware – the housewares tools that make loose tea easy.The company’s vision to modernize the loose leaf tea experience has held steadfast since the for-profit philanthropic company was founded by Uspenski in 2004, a cancer survivor drawn to the health benefits of leaf tea during her recovery.Uspenski is also the...

People with strong, positive social connections enjoy better health and immunity. The many tea-drinking ceremonies and histories from around the world remind us of tea’s important role as a social beverage. One-third of the world’s population enjoy it as a part of their everyday, often as the central beverage to social occasions. Tea is a great way to get social connections going. It encourages what one of our favorite tea muses refers to as "sparkling conversation." Feelings of gratitude are associated with lower stress levels and better health. Tea encourages reflection and reprieve. The amino acid L-Theanine is a powerful...