Tea Room

29/03/2022

MATCHA
Matcha is a specific type of green tea that is popular in Japan and has growing popularity in the West. It's made by whisking powdered green tea leaves in hot water, rather than letting the leaves infuse with the water and then removing them before you consume the drink.
As you consume the whole leaves, you consume 100% of the caffeine contained in the tea! There's approximately 70mg of caffeine in 1 scoop (2g in weight) of matcha powder.

27/03/2022

25/03/2022

OOLONG TEA
Oolong tea is a little trickier to calculate when it comes to the amount of caffeine per cup. Oolong can be made from a wide variety of tea leaves with a huge spectrum of flavors. Lightly oxidised oolong can have grassy flavors like a green tea, while a heavily oxidised oolong will taste more like black tea.
As for the caffeine, it ranges from 15mg to 55mg - the average is roughly 37mg of caffeine.

20/03/2022

Does tea contain caffeine?
Yes, because all tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, it all contains (roughly) the same amount of caffeine. The biggest determining factors of how much caffeine will be in your cup is how much leaf you use, how hot you steep it, and how long you steep it.
“Herbal teas” are not from the Camellia sinensis plant and because of this the vast majority of them are caffeine free. These include chamomile, rooibos, ginger, hibiscus, fruit tisanes, and other non-camellia sinensis beverages that are steeped similar to tea.

18/03/2022

HOW TO PREPARE THE PERFECT CUP
Start with Fresh Water
You can use tap water (depending on how strong the chlorine levels are in your area), but a better option might be a charcoal filtration system like Brita.
Warm your Teapot
When you pour hot water into a cold teapot, the teapot ends up absorbing most of the heat and cools your tea down too quickly.
Warm your teapot by pouring a few inches of hot water into the bottom, swirl it around for a few seconds, dump it back out and make your tea like normal.
This also helps prevent cracking and crazing (those fine spider lines) that can appear when hot water shocks a cold teapot.
Use the Correct Amount of Tea
The general rule is 1 tea bag (2 – 2.5 g of tea) for every 6 – 8 oz cup.
If you like your tea stronger, always increase the amount of tea but don’t increase the steeping time or you’ll end up with a bitter brew.
Cover Your Tea while it Steeps
Flavour is a combination of two sensory perceptions – taste and aroma.
Taste is around 75% smell so you need to contain all those volatile aroma compounds during steeping by keeping your cup covered. Then remember to breathe in all that deliciousness before you take your first sip!
Steeping Time & Temperature are Key
Put the kettle to the metal. Each tea type requires a different water temperature and steeping time to deliver the most flavourful cup.
For white, green and lightly oxidized oolongs (these are closer to green teas), you never want to pour boiling water over the delicate leaves or you’ll scald them and create a bitter taste. Instead, boil the water and then wait 2 – 3 minutes before pouring.
For all tea types, make sure you follow the recommended steeping times. The longer your tea steeps, the more bitter tannins and caffeine are released in the cup.
Using the wrong steeping time & water temperature is why so many people think green tea is too bitter…because they’ve been making it all wrong!

16/03/2022

DON’T SQUEEZE YOUR BAG
I’m sure you’ve been guilty of committing tea bag assault at some point.
You know what I’m talking about. It’s like a scene from Law & Order. You’re trying to squeeze every last drop of goodness out of your tea bag, so you strangle it tightly with its own string.
Or, you use your spoon to smash it with all your might against the side of the cup.
On the show they call that blunt force trauma…and it’s a felony.
What you’re actually doing is squeezing bitter tannins back into your cup. Not good. Instead, remove it gently and lovingly from your cup. Be kind to your bag.
A WOMAN IS LIKE A TEA BAG. YOU CAN’T TELL HOW STRONG SHE IS UNTIL YOU PUT HER IN HOT WATER.
Here’s a few other tea bag tips:
Choose a pyramid shaped tea bag so there’s room for the whole tea leaves to completely unfurl and plump up during steeping. This obviously won’t happen if you’re drinking typical supermarket bags filled with tea dust as opposed to premium whole leaf tea.
Make sure your tea bag is made from a plant-based material so it’s 100% biodegradable & compostable.
No bleached paper, staples or plastic thank you!!

16/03/2022

IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT PLANT, ’BOUT THAT PLANT, ’BOUT THAT PLANT.
Sorry to put that Meghan Trainor ditty in your head, but the very first thing you need to know is that all types of tea come from the same plant – Camellia Sinensis.
Whatever tea is in your cup (White, Green, Oolong, Black or Pu-erh), it all starts out the same way as a freshly plucked tea leaf and is then transformed into a category based on how it’s processed, and the amount of oxidation (air) it’s exposed to.
Think about what happens when you bite into an apple. That first bite reveals bright white flesh and the longer it’s exposed to air, the darker it becomes. That’s basically how white tea becomes black tea!
NEXT TO WATER, TEA IS THE MOST WIDELY CONSUMED BEVERAGE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.
Fun Fact: Herbal tea is technically not a tea because it doesn’t come from the tea plant, Camellia Sinensis. It’s an infusion of leaves, roots, bark, seeds, fruits or flowers. Herbal teas (also called Tisanes) are naturally caffeine free.