Get Up and Go! A blend I made for Matt.

I said in an earlier post that I have nothing against tea that isn't "tea" or tea blended with things other than tea.  Although I rarely drink blended tea myself that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it once in a while!  This is the first time I blended some tea to package up.  Usually if I do I stick whatever it is in the pot with the tea right before brewing.  This time I had to make sure everything was completely dry and evenly mixed.  

I named the blend "Get Up and Go!" as it consists of yerba mate, which contains much more caffeine and theobromine than tea made from c. sinensis, ginseng oolong, known to be invigorating, homemade candied ginger, and dried orange peels.  I added little of the last two ingredients as I wanted their contribution to the flavor to be subtle compared to the yerba and ginseng, though I thought their flavor would pair nicely with the overarching character of the blend.  

Japanese black tea.

My friend Chase recently gave me some Japanese grown black tea.  This was my first time trying it and I was very excited because of how much I enjoy other Japanese teas.  

Here is the Japanese black tea(right), next to some broken leaf Assam(left).  

The leaves are similar in size and shape, however the Japanese tea lacks almost any scent at all.  If anything it smelled like dry ground.  

I used my kyusu because it's a Japan grown tea.

I expected to have an astringent vegetal black tea, that would share at least some qualities with sencha as this tea most likely comes from Yabukita (the cultivar or breed of tea tree that 80% of all Japanese tea comes from).  This tea met none of my expectations and left me at a loss for why it tasted the way it did.  

It wasn't malty like an Assam is or vegaetal like sencha is.  The only word I can describe it with is earthy.  It was earthy to the point of shu puerh.  It had no fishy taste which was a plus, but it was earthy to the point of not being pleasurable to drink.  I will try more Japanese black teas in the future as this is probably an exception rather than a rule.  

Cheers!

Mickey

Tea as a whole

I've always enjoyed tea.  I used to drink tea from teabags.  Things simply labelled "green tea" or "Ceylon Tea".  Not because I had no appreciation, but because I had no idea how deep and complex a thing tea is.  Tea is not only a drink.  Tea is a pastime, a tradition, a culture, a way of life, a connection to one other, and a drink. Tea can put us in touch with deep transcendental values that are worth much more than, caffeine value, health benefits, and weight loss.  

Last fall I stumbled upon Teavana.  I was fascinated by whole leaves and these new teas I had no idea existed.  At that point I didn't even know what oolong was.  I wasn't however, fascinated with the prices.  They were prohibitive and I didn't end up purchasing anything.  

I went home, started reading and interest turned into obsession.  I would devour every scrap of information I could get and ordered loads of samples of unblended tea from adagio.  I couldn't get enough! I started searching for a local tea shop to fuel my new found addiction.  I found Tea Harbor and discovered how good Chinese tea can get!  Then I discovered The Green Teaist where I learned about Japanese tea.  

Now I get most of my tea from specialty websites because I'm always searching for something new and unusual or just really good tea.  That's not to say that non-specialty shops don't have good tea, or that good tea is limited to the exclusive or rare.  In fact I wouldn't consider tea an exclusive thing whatsoever! Many people obsess over this saying that "True tea only comes from the camellia sinensis,".  I say as long as it's steeped in water, and you enjoy it, it's tea!  I'll add that I like to say that coffee is arguably a type of tea, however heretical it may be.

The tea was good by the way!  It was Tie Guan Yin from Tea Harbor!  I think it's not oxidized enough, closer to baozong style than Tie Guan Yin.  Great none the less!

How To Make a Matcha Latte Just Like a Cafe Latte

Recently I posted this matcha latte recipe to r/tea and I'd like to post it here but with some new pics, cheaper gear, and some bright green latte art!

To make a matcha latte you'll need a few things.  First and most importantly you need a matcha whisk or chasen, this is the essential tool for matcha. There is an inexpensive one at Den's Tea, you should order their sampler too while you're there.  If you must, Teavana also has one for 13$, but den's come highly recommended.  Other things you'll need are, cheap-but-not-nasty matcha, a flat bowl with steep sides, and anything that can froth hot milk. The one in this pic (middle right) is from ikea for $2.50.  You need a steamer if you want to make latte art so that is what was used this time.

You need to make matcha for this.  I will do an in depth post on matcha later, but for now this video by Thirsty For is an excellent guide for making matcha.  

Measure out 2g or one full teaspoon.  I'm usually generous with this because a matcha latte is a treat, so I don't hold back.

Time to whisk! 

Now for the milk.  I use whole milk because, like I said, matcha latte is a treat.  But if you want to use skim it froths up even better than whole.  Unsweetened soy milk compliments this well; I would steer clear of almond milk for this one (even though it's so yummy!).  If you want sugar now is the time to add it.  

Now that the milk is hot and foamy you can pour it over your matcha, in a separate glass or in the whisking vessel.  

Enjoy your delicious matcha latte!  

Another yummy drink is a Duke of Earl!  To make this switch the matcha with a super strong shot of Earl Grey.  To make the shot preheat a shot glass with boiling water, dump the water out, add enough Earl grey for a small pot of tea, add more boiling water, stir and steep for 5 min and you have a shot of Earl grey!

Too much coffee

I've never gotten jittery or a buzz or from any kind of tea, though I firmly believe that I function better after some tea.  Not because of the caffeine or Theanine, but because tea makes me happier.  No matter if I'm awfully upset or elated, tea makes everything better.  I love coffee, but I can definitely feel the effects of caffeine after a delicious pour over, or french press.. or two.  Not so much with espresso but that's a topic for another time.  Whenever I have too much coffee and it's late I get this weird feeling where I can feel my body is tired, but my mind is alert and very focused.  I normally love the feeling I get after a few well-made cups, but when I need to sleep it can make doing so very difficult. When that happens I turn to some of the heavily roasted, low grade oolong I have that has very sleepy cha qi or I go for some sleepytime by celestial seasonings.  I normally don't like bagged tea, but I haven't been able to find a good enough loose leaf blend like sleepytime.  Anyway a cup or two of either one of those really helps sooth my mind and calm me down.  Sleepytime can be found in almost any grocery store and is only a few bucks.  

Sleep tight!
Mickey

So many things!

I have so many things to write about since I am already so deep in the world of tea and coffee.  Many of the things I want to post about are small things that I've already experienced: a certain tea, company, recipe,  or item.  I'll try to give you a quick one paragraph post with a picture whenever I feel inspired to write about these small things.  There are somethings however, that I have a lot of thoughts on.  When it comes to these things I'll update you once a week with an in depth post about whatever it may be.  I'll do a post things like my thoughts on tea as a whole, my job at Hansa Coffee, or an in depth recipe.  Lets make that day Sunday.  So you'll be getting an in depth post every sunday and little posts whenever.

Until then, cheers!

Mickey

Me, You, Coffee, and Tea

I'm a young person in love with any kind of hot beverage. In Fall this coming year I will begin my career at Kendall Collage in Chicago for my Bachelor of Hospitality, specializing in beverage management. I'm inspired by flavor, color, culture, tradition, and people, so naturally, I gravitate towards tea more than anything else. Although, I currently work at the third wave coffee shop Hansa Coffee where I have learned a great deal about opening and running a small business and moved once step closer to my dream of opening up a tea and coffee shop. 

In this blog, I'll share my thoughts on tea and coffee with you -- the traditions that involve them, new ways of using them or preparing them, businesses that supply them, recipes that involve them, and most importantly the people I meet in the process and the things I learn from them. My hope is to teach and demonstrate to you that not only can you have great tea and coffee at home, you can also have cultural, traditional, inventive and unique experiences, and do so on a 17-year-old's budget.