There are some helpful resources available on the Internet to give you a lot of information about tea. Here are just a few of them.
The Usenet newsgroup, rec.food.drink.tea, available through Google Groups at http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.drink.tea, provides a wealth of information and conversation about tea suitable for all readers from beginners to seasoned tea aficionados.
A particularly useful element of rec.food.drink.tea is its frequently asked questions (FAQ). Here is a link to the FAQ: http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/faq.html.
Finally, Birger Nielsen publishes The Tea Page, another treasure house of information.
More to follow!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Pink Lady Apple Green Tea: Supporting Cancer Research
It’s time to push the envelope a bit. So far, I have been happy with my choices for the teas I have sampled in the “Manly Teas” series. To date, I have picked fairly “safe” teas—the kinds of teas that one might expect a guy to like. There’s nothing inherently wrong with such an approach, but it does tend to become predictable after a while. And predictable is boring. And I get bored very easily. So let’s not go there.
On Thursday, I savored a pleasing green tea with small bits of apple—really a joyful tea for the autumn. I delighted in the tea’s potent apple aroma before taking each sip and I am happy to report that, while the sweet aroma was powerful and unmistakable, the tea infusion held only a slight taste of apple. I was able to experience the flavor of the green tea itself very easily, even as the scent of the tea held my attention firmly and invited me to keep sipping the bright green infusion in my cup. The tea was mildly sweet, but the apple flavor accentuated the green tea, rather than overpowering it.
As I write this, we’re almost at the midpoint of autumn in the northern hemisphere. Here, in North America, fresh apples are plentiful now. Being able to drink this apple tea is a great way to celebrate the autumn.
I mentioned that it was time to push the envelope. The tea that I have described qualifies as a manly tea for its powerful aroma and bold, confident flavor. What is this tea called? It’s the Pink Lady Apple Green Tea from the Republic of Tea. Huh? What? Yes, you read that right, the Pink Lady Apple Green Tea.
Hey, what kind of manly tea has “Pink Lady” in its name? This one does. I’ve already talked about its aroma and flavor. This particular tea has some other manly qualities going for it: compassion and protection. It reflects what we men are at our best: caring men and protectors of others. For every tin of this tea it sells, The Republic of Tea donates $0.75 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to support prevention, treatment, and a cure for breast cancer.
This cancer is an issue that is close to me. Both of my grandmothers suffered from breast cancer late in their lives. My father’s mother passed away at a very young age due to breast cancer, before I even had the chance to meet her. For that reason, and to help eliminate the suffering of those women and men who suffer from breast cancer, I am eager to support this work and enjoy some good tea while I do my very small part to help. Yes, while they comprise only about 1% of breast cancer patients, men do develop this cancer and the Komen Foundation supports prevention in men and a cure for them, too.
As you can see, manly teas come in a wide variety of flavors, packages, and names. Don’t let your assumptions and notions fool you. Real men can and do drink many teas that might surprise you. Some of those teas just might have terms like “Pink Lady” in their names, but the teas are for men, too.
Give tea a try. I hope you will enjoy it in the best of health.
Do Real Men Drink Tea? Of Course, We Do!
Do real men drink green tea? That's a question Rich Ottum has posed. The answer, according to Robert K. Henderson and in somewhat more general terms, is a resounding "Yes!" Of course, you could have just asked me.
Lapsang Souchong
BBQ tea? I've recently tried a tea that tastes like it came right off the grill. It's called Lapsang Souchong. This is a black tea that is smoked over pine embers in the Fujian province of China. The process of preparing this tea gives it a very distinctive smoky taste that is unlike any other tea I've sampled.
The particular Lapsang Souchong I tried is this one from the Republic of Tea. The taste is bold and flavorful. The first thing I noticed was the strong smoky taste. Lurking "below" or "behind" that taste is the sweet flavor of black tea; somewhat hidden and subtle, but definitely present. Like all teas, this one can best be appreciated slowly and with full awareness.
In his "Manly" Tea List, Bret Wingert at Souvia(tm) likens Lapsang Souchong's taste to "single malt scotch or a fine cigar." That seems about right, but I'm sticking to my description of it as "barbecued tea" because that is what it tastes like. Just as with barbecued food, one can taste the underlying flavor, but he must first get past the smoky taste. However, the man who makes that effort will be rewarded with the flavor of a fine black tea, blanketed in the flavor and aroma of fire. Lapsang souchong is potent, for sure, but also quite pleasant!
Organic Golden Yunnan
I'm continuing my search for manly teas. Since I have recently renewed my friendship with tea, I have been savoring a variety of teas and other infused beverages that are not teas in the true sense. I'm having a lot of fun with my quest and am delighting my taste buds at the same time. It's great to be able to sample so many varieties of a beverage that has so many health benefits. As I started this odyssey a few weeks ago, I didn't really have any expectations; I simply plunged myself into the tea world and began experimenting. This series of updates on the manly teas shares some of the highlights of my adventures.
One of the teas that I really like is the Golden Yunnan black tea. My friend Michaeljohn recommended this tea to me and I have been enjoying it. The Golden Yunnan I have is from Rishi Tea and it's an organic black tea. According to the can containing this tea, these tea leaves come from the Yunnan province in China. This is also a fair trade certified tea. Therefore, I'm happy to know that it's providing a better life for Yunnan's ethnic minority families and offering fair prices, direct trade, community development, education, and environmental stewardship.
I've also learned that the trees that produce this tea were planted by the people's ancestors in 696 A.D.
Here's a link to some information about the tea itself.
http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/product.php?productid=5031&cat=1&page=1
For more information about the fair trade certification, both generally and with respect to this tea in particular, see these sites:
http://www.rishi-tea.com/travelogue/Fair_Trade_Organic_Tea/index.php
(this one features an engaging slide show about the area in which the tea is grown)
The can also tells us that the Golden Yunnan is "robust, smooth and malty with a sweet caramel finish." The tea lives up to the statement on the can. I have found that this tea has a strong, firm flavor and utterly qualifies as a manly tea for that reason alone. You probably have noticed that I still have not defined any objective criteria for what I consider to be a manly tea. I may do that at some point. For now, I'm having too much fun enjoying the teas to become too analytical about them.
However, in addition to the bold flavor of the tea, one thing helps me believe fairly strongly that this particular Yunnan black tea is a manly tea. That is the fact that the tea is supporting people and helping them improve their lives. Thus, I believe that this tea expresses one of the best qualities of manhood: strength that allows us to be kind and compassionate to others. I'll have more to say about various teas and manliness in general, but for now I hope you'll enjoy a nice hot cup of tea. Thanks.
Scope of Sampling; Bret Wingert's "'Manly' Tea List"
My search for manly teas continues. I am enjoying my search as my taste buds try a variety of teas. I'm sampling black tea, green tea, white tea, and red tea. I'm also tasting a few other beverages that, while not technically teas (because they are not made from the Camellia sinensis plant), are infused drinks that taste good and have health benefits of their own. These latter libations include, but are not necessarily limited to, rooibos, mate, and various herbal teas.
I've also discovered that I am neither the first nor the only man who has looked for manly teas. Bret Wingert, Vice President of Souvia Tea in Phoenix, Arizona, is an avid drinker of green tea and has written a short guide that he calls "The 'manly' Tea List." I'm eager to try some of his recommendations. Here's a link to Mr. Wingert's list.
http://www.souvia.com/files/062.02_Tea_for_men_article.pdf
I hope you will enjoy it. In the meantime, my quest for manly teas goes on, enlightened and encouraged by these suggestions.
Getting Started: Rediscovering Tea
I'll post more about this soon, but I am renewing my love for one of life's great pleasures: a fine cup of tea. My enjoyment of tea goes back to the days when I was a wee lad and my brother and I used to visit my great-grandfather. Great-granddad always gave us some herbata (the Polish word for tea) and it was always enjoyable.
During my college years, I drank a lot of tea, too. After that, I still enjoyed tea, but did not drink it so often. There was no particular reason for reducing my consumption, I just moved away from tea for a while.
Lately, I've been rediscovering my liking for this amazing beverage. It seems that every week, I read something new about the health benefits of tea. There are a wide variety of teas available and one can choose from black, green, and white teas, not to mention the herbal teas (which are really not tea in the true sense, since they don't derive from the Camellia sinensis plant, but which can confer many health benefits of their own).
For now, I am on a mission to identify teas that are manly--bold, strong, robust teas with lots of flavor. Obviously, individual tastes will differ, but I want to encourage other men to drink this life-giving beverage. Real men do drink tea.
For starters, here's one that I've just discovered. Check it out. Because of its support for prostate cancer research, this tea can be an elixir for men (and women will probably enjoy the taste, too).
http://www.republicoftea.com/pages/mankind.asp
Drink up and enjoy.
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