Here at T Ching, we are proud to begin featuring these delightful and informative videos by Diane Walden of Cal Teas. We decided to start from the beginning, so up next is this advice about buying tea. Plus some bonus information about storing tea in tins.
What you should know before you buy loose tea! Plus how to make fantastic shaken iced tea at home..using accessories you already have at home! And find out why we never package our tea in tins…and it’s a good reason…
Had this happen? When you go into some tea stores, it seems like you walk out buying at least twice as much as you ever intended, because the salesperson has scooped more tea into your container than you intended to buy.
Or, what about intimidation? You don’t know as much as the salesperson seems to know about tea, so you feel that whatever they sell you must be the best idea. Then you get home and find out it wasn’t.
Then, there’s the ‘you’ll need one of these’ pitches to buy an expensive pot or device to steep your new purchase in. But, we’ve found after over a decade in the tea business, that the simplest, most effective, and best way to brew loose tea at home is with a stainless steel insulated travel tumbler, which you probably already have. This keeps your water at just the right temperature while the tea is steeping, and you pour it through a strainer right into your cup. No big clean-up hassles, just knock out the tea leaves from the travel tumbler, and rinse it out before reusing. The stainless steel retains no traces from one type of tea to another, which can spoil the distinctive flavor of each.
In this video, the tips are simple and will help you feel confident next time you purchase tea.
