Black Tea:
Protects Against Heart Disease
Packed with antioxidant polyphenols to destroy harmful free radicals and boost your body’s resistance to infection, black tea also has about half the caffeine of fresh coffee.
Earl Grey:
Good Digestive Aid
The bergamot oil with which Earl Grey is flavored comes from a type of orange that is thought to help digestion because it stimulates production of stomach enzymes, helping to break down food.
Green Tea:
Immune Boosting
Because green tea is rolled and dried rather than fermented, like black tea is, it retains more nutrients and has a higher antioxidant immune-boosting, anti-aging effect. Research has found that green tea can help prevent a whole range of diseases, including diabetes and cancer of the stomach, prostate, and lungs. It can also help reduce cholesterol levels and appears to give more effective protection against Alzheimer’s than black tea.
Pu-erh Tea:
Energizing
Pu-erh tea is thought to help lower cholesterol, blood sugar, clear the mind, and aid digestion.
Redbush Tea:
Great for Skin
Made from a South African tea bush, redbush, or rooibos, is one of the healthiest teas around. It is the only naturally caffeine-free black tea. It is richer in antioxidants than black tea, can help promote healthy skin and ease eczema, and can help prevent diseases including cancer. It has also been used to calm the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and reduce muscle cramps, and it has anti-inflammatory properties.
White Tea:
Reducing Cancer Risk
Whereas black tea is made from tea leaves, white tea is made from only the buds of the tea bush. This gives it even greater health benefits than green tea. It tastes like a slightly milder version of black tea and can be drunk with or without milk.
Herbal Teas:
Healing and Soothing
Herbal teas have a wide range of health benefits. Mint tea, for example, stimulates production of digestive juices and can ease the discomfort of irritable bowel syndrome and aid digestion. Clean-tasting chamomile tea can help soothe the nerves and relax the muscles, so is a good nighttime drink. Elderflower tea is said to help alleviate symptoms of allergies and is often recommended to people with hay fever. Herbal teas are caffeine free. Peppermint tea aids digestion; studies have shown that it has an antispasmodic effect on the digestive system. Ginger tea beats nausea, and raspberry leaf tea is great for late pregnancy.
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Botanically, the tea we drink is of the genus camellia and the species sinesis. This temperamental plant, which is greatly affected by variations of soil, elevation, and climate, originated in Central Asia and can be separated into three basic types: black, green, and oolong. The process used to prepare the leaves establishes the tea's classification, while oxidation determines its color, body, and flavor. With black teas, the leaves are withered, rolled, sifted, and fermented, delivering a hearty flavor and rich amber color. Black teas, which account for approximately ninety percent of U.S. tea consumption, include such favorites as Orange Pekoe, English Breakfast, and Darjeeling. To produce green teas, the leaves are fired shortly after harvesting to prevent fermentation, yielding a greenish gold color and a delicate taste. Recent studies have shown that this tea can help reduce the risk of cancer. With oolong teas, the leaves are withered, rolled, twisted, and semi-fermented, producing a color and flavor that falls between that of black and green teas. Although herbal teas are designated as teas, they are not comprised of any tea leaves. Instead, these herbal teas contain peels, grasses, berries, leaves, flowers, and flavorings from a variety of plants.
Tea today is a symbol of healthy living, serenity, and an open hand. From young lovers rendezvousing to pass affections to businesspersons congregating to collaborate efforts, from a family gathering to discuss their day to old friends reuniting to exchange memories, tea can be found between them. Unquestionably, today's ubiquitous cup of tea continues to be an event maker. That event: bringing each of us closer together.
Essentials of Tea
Black Teas
Robust, full bodied, and bold
Such characteristics describe the taste and appeal of black tea. When brewed, black tea typically yields a hearty, amber cup.
Types of Black Teas:
Doomni Estate, Golden - Tipped Assam:
Abundance of rare golden tips creates a lighter, more fragrant version of the traditional hearty Assam from the Doomni Estate.
Noted: Very Malty.
Kopili Estate Special Assam:
Bold but very drinkable, this unique Assam is bursting with rich, round flavor.
Noted: In a class by itself, this tea is highly recommended.
Darjeeling Estate, Golden Tipped:
Prized first flush tea grown at over 6000 feet. Exquisite floral aroma and pugnent nutty taste.
Noted: Abundant golden tips.
Namring Estate Darjeeling:
First flush from the renouned Namring Estate in Darjeeling, India.
Noted: Beautiful flavor with a delicate, flowery finish.
Kenilworth Estate Ceylon:
From one of the most famous tea gardens in Sri Lanka. Long attractive leaves, exquisite flavor and subtle body.
Noted: Excellent afternoon tea.
Ceylon Breakfast:
An ultra smooth version of English Breakfast with a beautiful golden color in the cup.
China Keemun:
The burgundy of teas from Anhui Province in China. Full bodied with a light toasty taste.
Noted: A Classic.
Pu - erh:
Recognized in the Orient for its medicinal properties. Red liquor with unique, slightly earthy taste.
Kongfu Black Tea:
Smooth, full bodied tea with dark leaves ad golden tips.
Noted: An excellent breakfast cup with rich, mellow flavor with a slightly smokey finish.
Green Teas
Green Tea has a delicate yet distinctive taste, and can be almost colorless in the cup to pale green or golden. Some green teas have a vegetal taste that is highly desired by green tea lovers.
Types of Green Teas
Gyokuro Asahi Pearl Dew:
Finest green tea from Japan. Plucked from only first flush leaves.
Noted: This tea has a delicate sweetness with rich intense flavor.
Darjeeling Green:
Very rare tea, lighter and more delicate than Darjeeling black tea with distinct green tea flavor notes and a light golden color.
Earl Green:
Blend of top quality green teas scented with fragrant bergamot.
Noted: All the goodness of green tea with the distinctive flavor of Earl Grey.
Royal Candlestick:
An extra delight for the tea connoisseur. A golden calendula flower 'blooms' when boiling water is added to each small hand tied bundle of this tea.
Wild Green:
This tea is harvested from wild tea trees in the mountains of China.
Noted: Translucent in the cup, its medium bodied in flavor witha lingering hint of smokiness and a slight astringency.
Lucky Flower:
This smooth Chinese green tea is hand tied into delicate flower petals that retain their unique shape when infused.
Noted: This green tea is a very pale liquor, yet full green tea flavor.
Curled Dragon Silvertip:
Chinese tea valued for its beautiful appearace. It's young, tender tips are hand rolled into a round, twisted shape.
Noted: Delicate fragrance with a smooth flavor and sweet finish.
Jasmine Yin Hao:
Tea enriched with jasmine flowers has been a favorite since the Sung dynasty.
Noted: The finest of the 19 grades of this celebrated Chinese scented tea.
Emerald Goddess:
Deep green hand twisted leaves produce a sophisticated full bodied cup with flavor notes that grow more dramatic with each cup.
Noted: This green tea is complex and rewarding.
Dragonwell Special Grade:
China's most famous green tea. Named after a benevolent dragon in Chinese mythology.
Noted: Flat green leaf yields a light, sweet tea with classic flavor and bouquet.
Oolong & White Tea
While many people are familiar with black and green tea, they may not know as much about Oolong and White teas. Oolong tea is between black and green tea in color and taste. China and Taiwan are the main producers of Oolong tea. White tea typically has a lighter, more delicate taste than other teas. White tea is the least processed.
Oolong Tea:
Oolong tea should be brewed with water between 160 ~ 180 degrees for 3 - 5 minutes.
Some Oolongs can be infused multiple times.
White Tea:
Brew White tea with water reaching the first hint of steam, around 150 ~ 170 degrees.
Steep for approximately 2 minutes, although some may be steeped longer.
As with any tea, brewing times vary according to personal preference.
Tea Trivia
The Truth About Herbal Tea
Herbal teas do not come from the camellia sinensis bush and therefore are not ''true'' teas. Herbal teas are made of grasses like lemongrass, barks like cinnamon, fruits like orange peel, flowers like chamomile and hibiscus, and many other botanicals. Flavored blends start with Premium teas that are combined with spices and natural flavor extracts from around the world.
Chinese Tea Bricks
Centuries ago the inventive Chinese pressed dust from tea into bricks to use as tea money for trading with Mongolia and Tibet. The tea bricks were even scored so they could be easily broken to make change.
Tea Facts
True teas are made from the dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, first cultivated in China and found growing wild in India. Tea leaves are harvested and processed into four types of tea, ~ Black, Green, Oolong or White. Black tea is withered, fully oxidized and dried. It yields a hearty, amber colored brew. Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It has a more delicate taste and is a pale green tea in color. Oolong is a cross between Black and Green tea in color and taste. White tea is the least processed. Flavored blends start with premium teas that are combined with spices and natural flavor extracts from around the world.
Herbal teas contain no true tea leaves but are created from an international collection of herbs and spices such as Moroccan rosebuds, Oregon mint, tropical hibiscus, cinnamon from Indonesia, to name a few. These all natural botanical ingredients are combined to create exciting flavors and aromas in a rainbow of colors from pale yellow to deep red. Each type of herbal tea has its very own unique taste and aroma.
Robust, full bodied, and bold
Such characteristics describe the taste and appeal of black tea. When brewed, black tea typically yields a hearty, amber cup.
Types of Black Teas:
Doomni Estate, Golden - Tipped Assam:
Abundance of rare golden tips creates a lighter, more fragrant version of the traditional hearty Assam from the Doomni Estate.
Noted: Very Malty.
Kopili Estate Special Assam:
Bold but very drinkable, this unique Assam is bursting with rich, round flavor.
Noted: In a class by itself, this tea is highly recommended.
Darjeeling Estate, Golden Tipped:
Prized first flush tea grown at over 6000 feet. Exquisite floral aroma and pugnent nutty taste.
Noted: Abundant golden tips.
Namring Estate Darjeeling:
First flush from the renouned Namring Estate in Darjeeling, India.
Noted: Beautiful flavor with a delicate, flowery finish.
Kenilworth Estate Ceylon:
From one of the most famous tea gardens in Sri Lanka. Long attractive leaves, exquisite flavor and subtle body.
Noted: Excellent afternoon tea.
Ceylon Breakfast:
An ultra smooth version of English Breakfast with a beautiful golden color in the cup.
China Keemun:
The burgundy of teas from Anhui Province in China. Full bodied with a light toasty taste.
Noted: A Classic.
Pu - erh:
Recognized in the Orient for its medicinal properties. Red liquor with unique, slightly earthy taste.
Kongfu Black Tea:
Smooth, full bodied tea with dark leaves ad golden tips.
Noted: An excellent breakfast cup with rich, mellow flavor with a slightly smokey finish.
Green Teas
Green Tea has a delicate yet distinctive taste, and can be almost colorless in the cup to pale green or golden. Some green teas have a vegetal taste that is highly desired by green tea lovers.
Types of Green Teas
Gyokuro Asahi Pearl Dew:
Finest green tea from Japan. Plucked from only first flush leaves.
Noted: This tea has a delicate sweetness with rich intense flavor.
Darjeeling Green:
Very rare tea, lighter and more delicate than Darjeeling black tea with distinct green tea flavor notes and a light golden color.
Earl Green:
Blend of top quality green teas scented with fragrant bergamot.
Noted: All the goodness of green tea with the distinctive flavor of Earl Grey.
Royal Candlestick:
An extra delight for the tea connoisseur. A golden calendula flower 'blooms' when boiling water is added to each small hand tied bundle of this tea.
Wild Green:
This tea is harvested from wild tea trees in the mountains of China.
Noted: Translucent in the cup, its medium bodied in flavor witha lingering hint of smokiness and a slight astringency.
Lucky Flower:
This smooth Chinese green tea is hand tied into delicate flower petals that retain their unique shape when infused.
Noted: This green tea is a very pale liquor, yet full green tea flavor.
Curled Dragon Silvertip:
Chinese tea valued for its beautiful appearace. It's young, tender tips are hand rolled into a round, twisted shape.
Noted: Delicate fragrance with a smooth flavor and sweet finish.
Jasmine Yin Hao:
Tea enriched with jasmine flowers has been a favorite since the Sung dynasty.
Noted: The finest of the 19 grades of this celebrated Chinese scented tea.
Emerald Goddess:
Deep green hand twisted leaves produce a sophisticated full bodied cup with flavor notes that grow more dramatic with each cup.
Noted: This green tea is complex and rewarding.
Dragonwell Special Grade:
China's most famous green tea. Named after a benevolent dragon in Chinese mythology.
Noted: Flat green leaf yields a light, sweet tea with classic flavor and bouquet.
Oolong & White Tea
While many people are familiar with black and green tea, they may not know as much about Oolong and White teas. Oolong tea is between black and green tea in color and taste. China and Taiwan are the main producers of Oolong tea. White tea typically has a lighter, more delicate taste than other teas. White tea is the least processed.
Oolong Tea:
Oolong tea should be brewed with water between 160 ~ 180 degrees for 3 - 5 minutes.
Some Oolongs can be infused multiple times.
White Tea:
Brew White tea with water reaching the first hint of steam, around 150 ~ 170 degrees.
Steep for approximately 2 minutes, although some may be steeped longer.
As with any tea, brewing times vary according to personal preference.
Tea Trivia
The Truth About Herbal Tea
Herbal teas do not come from the camellia sinensis bush and therefore are not ''true'' teas. Herbal teas are made of grasses like lemongrass, barks like cinnamon, fruits like orange peel, flowers like chamomile and hibiscus, and many other botanicals. Flavored blends start with Premium teas that are combined with spices and natural flavor extracts from around the world.
Chinese Tea Bricks
Centuries ago the inventive Chinese pressed dust from tea into bricks to use as tea money for trading with Mongolia and Tibet. The tea bricks were even scored so they could be easily broken to make change.
Tea Facts
True teas are made from the dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, first cultivated in China and found growing wild in India. Tea leaves are harvested and processed into four types of tea, ~ Black, Green, Oolong or White. Black tea is withered, fully oxidized and dried. It yields a hearty, amber colored brew. Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It has a more delicate taste and is a pale green tea in color. Oolong is a cross between Black and Green tea in color and taste. White tea is the least processed. Flavored blends start with premium teas that are combined with spices and natural flavor extracts from around the world.
Herbal teas contain no true tea leaves but are created from an international collection of herbs and spices such as Moroccan rosebuds, Oregon mint, tropical hibiscus, cinnamon from Indonesia, to name a few. These all natural botanical ingredients are combined to create exciting flavors and aromas in a rainbow of colors from pale yellow to deep red. Each type of herbal tea has its very own unique taste and aroma.
