And I would add to these biblical words:

To everything a season to brew and for every tea, a purposeful water temperature and a time for steeping.

Season of Steeping – Time

As a general rule, the less the tea is processed, (see 3/20/2019 post) the less time the tea should steep for Western-style brewing.  But because there are so many ways to process tea, you should following the suggestions of the tea producer or ultimately rely on YOUR OWN TASTE!

Here is a chart to guide you in beginning your steep times. The more you brew teas, the more you will find the perfect steep time for each tea.

Of course, you have to be able to see the water heating to gage its temperature

Or – you could use a thermometer

Or – you could use a glass, self-heating teakettle. This is the way I like to go and this teakettle has everything I wanted

1. See through glass
2. Heats 16-60 oz. of water very quickly
3. Water temperature can be selected from 140 to boiling – no need for thermometer!
4. It signals with a beep when the water is the correct temperature
5. An added bonus is the base lights up with a different color for each water temperature! It is both practical and pretty and I use it every day.

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For your “Season of Tea” may you find that perfect time and purpose for every cup you sip.

all photos and charts by Robin Kolterman

There are two different ways to brew an oolong, the Asian or the Western style. The Asian- style uses a small, under 10 oz, unglazed teapot or a fully glazed Gaiwan (a lidded bowl without handles and a saucer). The biggest difference however, is the greater amount of tea leaf used to a smaller amount of water. Brewing time is shorter, but multiple steepings are made with the same leaves, changing the character of the tea each time.

For the Western-style of brewing, it is recommended to use 2 teaspoons of half balled- style tea per 6 oz of water or 1-2 Tablespoons of strip-style or leaf-style tea. (See yesterday’s post for a picture of balled or strip-style leaves).

The water temperature should be 180 to 200 degrees F. Since there are both light and dark oolongs, a general rule is, the darker the leaf, the hotter the water. Filtered or spring water is recommended

Rinse the tea: traditionally, oolong teas are rinsed first with hot water to begin opening up the leaves. To do this, add just enough water to cover the tea leaves and immediately discard the liquid. Then add additional hot water for the first steeping.

Steeping: Western-style steeping can be for 3-5 minutes depending on the leaf style. The tighter the leaf, the longer the steeping time. It is also a personal choice in taste. Start with a one minute steeping and taste every 30 seconds. However, do not let the leaves STEW in the hot water. You will not get a stronger tasting tea by steeping longer. The only way to get a stronger tea is to use more tea leaves. Western-style steeping may be able to get a second re-steeping but not the multiple times as with Asian-style preparation.

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If you are just starting out with on Oolong tea, try the Western-style of brewing first then venture on to the Asian-style.

Today is the first day of spring and my bees are busy buzzing in the maple trees bringing in the first of the pollen for the year. With the cold weather staying so long this year, the trees are blooming a month later than last year!!

As you know, all true teas come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis; it is the different processing steps of the tealeaf that make the different types of tea. Oolong is the most popular spelling in the west but it is also known as wulong, which means “black dragon.” Oolongs are grown primarily in China and Taiwan. A simple way to classify an Oolong is that its oxidation level is between a green and black tea but even within that gradient, there are many different, minute levels of processing.

I like this chart to help show the (minimal) processing steps of different teas. It is from Tony Gebely at https://www.worldoftea.org/tea-processing-chart/

If you are interested, here are the processing steps for an Oolong. Plucking: Three to five leaves of the tea plant are hand plucked, then the leaves are withered in the sun or in diffused light outdoors. A distinct step in the process of Oolongs is the bruising or rolling of the leaves to break the cell walls and initiate oxidation. This is done in a variety of ways depending on the intended final outcome. The leaves can be tumbled, shaken or even lightly rolled. The leaves are then left to wither, usually indoors this time, until the preferred amount of oxidation occurs. Oolongs are referred to as semi-oxidized teas but the greenest Oolongs are oxidized to around 5-10%  with the darker ones oxidized 80-90% which is oxidized almost as much as black teas. This is important to know when brewing an Oolong, which I will talk about another time.

The final step for the leaves is drying and roasting. As the leaves are rolled or kneaded, they clump together into a large mass. This is broken apart so the leaves can be easily dried. This is done in large commercial ovens or for smaller artisan production, a basket over hot coals slowly dries the leaves. This is called firing or first drying. Oolongs will usually go through a second drying also known as roasting. This roasting mellows the tea’s flavor and adds to the complexity of taste.  

St. Patrick’s Day “tea” is a little different than usual. We are enjoying chocolate chip mint ice cream with a bit of matcha decoration on top. Matcha is very popular these days for its many health benefits but what is Matcha?

Matcha is a true tea from the Camilla sinensis plant that is shade-grown and processed differently than traditional green teas. With the sun exposure highly controlled, the chlorophyll content increases giving it the rich green color. The shade also alters the chemical make-up and flavor of the plant. The leaves for matcha are only hand harvested in spring from the bud and first three leaves. This short harvest window is one of the reasons it can be so expensive.

Shortly after the leaves are picked, they are heated briefly with stem to halt the oxidation process. After being  laid flat to dry, the leaves are stone ground to produce a smooth green tea powder. It is this powder that is whisked until frothy into hot water, not steep as with traditional tea. Since the whole leaf is consumed with each sip of tea, the caffeine content of matcha (25 to 70 mg) is higher than even black tea (14-61 mg) but less than coffee (85-200 mg).

There are two grades of matcha, ceremonial and culinary. The ceremonial matcha is very expensive and is used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The culinary type is less expensive but still higher priced than most other teas. It has a much more vegetal palate but its bold taste goes well in foods and other beverages like lattes. HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY!

This morning we are enjoying “Queen of Hearts” from my favorite tea shop, The London Tea Room in St. Louis, Mo. It is a blended, flavored back tea that is very pleasant in scent and taste. It was originally blended to give tribute to the Lewis Carroll novels. This tea is reminiscent of the shops famous, “Naughty Vicar”  tea but a bit smoother. To my palate, it has a floral, perhaps rose note. The description for the tea says “blackcurrant” but I am unfamiliar with that taste so I will go with subtle rose.

My Bee skep teapot collection includes a single serve cup and teapot along with a sugar and milk pitcher and a large cookie jar. Although I do use them occasionally, it is really more of a novelty set.

Spring is almost here! My bees were flying yesterday since we finally receive a warm sunny day. However, we’re all back inside today with the rain. While making my tea this morning, I noticed that I had not changed my tea tray panel. I use this little tea tray whenever I want to take my pot, teacup and other tea paraphernalia to my bedroom or out to my “Summer Sweet Spot” (more on that later). To make this tray, I started with an unfinished, purchased one from Hobby Lobby. I felt it was a little flimsy, so I reinforced it with a piece of 1/4 inch plywood that just fit up into the recess on the bottom of the tray. I finished all sides of the tray with stain and varnish. For the decorative panels, I fused two different fabrics together with fusible webbing. I made two of these panels giving me four different looks. I then had a piece of 1/8 inch clear glass cut to fit the top inside of the tray. Both fabric panels fit under the glass and when I want to change the look, I simply pop the glass out and turn the panel I want to present to the top. I have a different one for each season of the year. This was a fun project to complete and is very practical and useful for me.

Ginger is a natural to go along with turmeric. It is also an anti-inflammatory and has its only list of health benefits including digestion aid.

I can’t say this is one of my favorite tisanes. I have found that I prefer a milk based recipe called Pot-of-Gold, which would be a perfect drink to serve for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration coming up!  The recipe that follows is for a dry spice mixture but today I made the same recipe with fresh ground and grated ingredients and a turmeric extract. Turmeric powder only contains about 3% by weight of curcumin so it would be very difficult to get enough curcumin through diet alone. The extract gives 1000 mg. I also used fresh ginger root and grated Ceylon cinnamon, which may have better health benefits than the common cassia cinnamon. 

Add spices to milk and heat in microwave until steaming or on stove stirring constantly. Add honey and turmeric extract if using. Strain milk if you used fresh ingredients. Froth with a foamer or whisk. Serve hot.

On my recent visit to the Spice Merchant in Wichita, Ks., I acquired a new tea, Catnip. Actually I should not say tea but tisane since all true teas come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Catnip is from the mint family. It has a history of being used to treat a number of ailments including insomnia, anxiety, headaches, nervousness, anxiety, cramping and gas. Even though there is not much scientific research on its medicinal uses, it has much anecdotal evidence for the treatment of arthritis, coughs, fevers and viruses.

I am mainly interested in its relaxation and sedative effects for a bedtime tea. Like valerian, a commonly used herbal sedative, it contains nepetalactone. However, since it is also a diuretic, I will be sure not to drink too much before bedtime!

To brew, I used 1 T of the dried leaves with boiling water and steeped for 10 plus minutes as is usually done with herbal tisanes. The flavor is not one of my favorites, being somewhat “woodsy” tasting. I added a bit of lemon juice and honey and it is pleasant enough. My kitty certainly enjoyed his cup of tea.

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