Hello, Teetotalers!
Is your regular tea making you bored now? Are you figuring out ways to make your tea more interesting? If yes, you’ve dropped by the right place. Today, we’re going to talk about tea blends with loose tea leaves and tea bags that even money can’t buy. But prior to that let us understand tea blending. Tea blending is balancing. It is an art, indeed. Blending tea with different flavours is like allowing yourself to be creative and imaginative. Teetotalers rejoice in figuring out the different blends in teas by sniffing the cup a couple of times. Don’t be shocked. Tea tasting is not a taboo, it has been a tradition. The story of tea blending is as old as the origination of tea itself. Did you know there is an ancient and famous book, The Classic of Tea, written by Lu Yu, from the Chinese Dynasty? The book is a classic piece of tea literature and describes various tea blends then. Lu Yu calls tea as the second most commercial beverage in the world after water. Do you also agree? This is a treasure book for all teetotalers.
Tea Blending is an Art! Agreed?
For many others, tea blending is merely enjoyment. People relish their time to brew and strain a cup of tea, playing with its flavours and aroma. There are many popular tea blends in the market today. Some of the oldest tea blends are the English Breakfast tea, Jasmine tea and Earl Grey tea. So, what comes to your mind when you hear tea blending? What is your personal favourite out of the two- Chocolate Mint or Apple Spice? Which appeals to you more? People add spices, juices, dry fruits, herbs etc. to the base tea for different flavourings. Spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and black pepper are the easiest to blend with tea. They are rich in natural oils and add a spicy flavour to the tea. Fruits like pineapple, apple and orange are easy to dry and can be used for tea blending at home. Herbs like mint, lemongrass and sage add a punchy flavour to tea. They also uplift the tea blend in a refreshing way. Dried flower petals of jasmine, rose and hibiscus, when soaked in water to remove their impurities, can also be added in tea blending. The petals of these flowers have antioxidants that make the tea more flavoursome and aromatic. Flavoured tea is a resultant of tea blending with loose tea leaves. You might be surprised to know that most of the black teas are also blended.
When you blend tea manually, it produces beautiful and unique flavours to taste. Most of the fruits and spices we talked about above are universal, implying, they mix well with any type of tea- Green tea, Black tea, and White tea etc. You can experiment and find your personal favourite with patience and practice. There are no rules for tea blending. You can simply mix the ingredients you like, crush them properly to add a unique flavour and enriching aroma and then let it settle. There is no rule for the quantities of the ingredients here. Venture out on a combination that appeals to you the most. Add ½ or 1 tablespoon of tea, depending upon how strong you want your drink to be and then filter it. Turn up your nose and smell the fragrance, add some sugar or honey if required. Sit back and relinquish your master tea blend.
In another book, ‘The Tea Book’ by Linda Gaylard, she mentions two methods of tea blending, namely, commercial blending and signature blending. Commercial blending involves 30-40 teas of different origins to create a consistent taste from season to season for commercial tea blending. Signature blending, on the other hand, involves the blending of several teas of different origins with dried fruits, spices, flowers, etc. She also specifies a few classic blends that most of us are familiar with such as Genmaicha, Monk’s blend, Rose Congou, Russian Caravan, etc. These classic blends have been served for over centuries and except Genmaicha, all can be served with milk. So my dear tea lovers, and all the others, there is a lot to explore in the tea industry if you dig deeper.
To understand tea blending better, let us see an example of Spicy Orange Black tea.
What will you need?
● 1 tablespoon of orange extract
● 1 cup of black tea
● 1 or ½ tablespoon of black pepper
● A handful of dried orange slices
● 1 tablespoon of crushed cardamom
This is a unique flavour of tea blending found in Southern France. You might wonder why not simply crush the orange and mix its juice in the tea blend but my dear teetotaler, the slices are more significant for their beauty than the flavour. Keep calm and follow the instructions.
What exactly do you have to do?
Dry the orange slices by cutting them into thin slices and lay them on a plate or a glass bowl and then heat them on a low temperature in the oven. You may turn them over once or twice and then cut them into triangular wedges or any shape you like. Keep the extracts in the glass jar and shake it well so as to distribute the liquid. Add the black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper and orange slices and let them settle and blend well. Leave it for a day or two to let the extract soak the tea and spices. Mix ½ cup of hot water, steep it for five minutes and cherish the flavour with some honey or cream or sugar.
Various Tea Blends Available at Teafloor-
Teafloor loves to serve you with the best tea blends. We strive for diverse varieties of teas blended with perfection because- chai ke binna life adhuri hai! Let us see a few most popular tea blends available at Teafloor.
Most of our Green teas are blended-
● Tulsi Green tea and Tulsi Ginger Green tea enhances metabolism and keeps the skin healthy.
● Mulethi Green tea helps to reduce lung infections.
● Mint Green tea is like youth nectar with a distinct taste.
● Jasmine Green tea cures allergy and detoxifies the body.
● Rose Green tea is a stress buster with an exotic aroma.
● Chamomile Green tea hydrates the body and helps in weight management
● Lavender Green tea for stress and uplift your mood.
Blended black teas at Teafloor-
● Peppermint Black tea helps to rejuvenate the body and mind.
● English Breakfast tea is, as the name suggests, the classic breakfast tea with many benefits.
● Earl Grey Black tea is a classic blend of three black teas with numerous health benefits.
Our CTC teas are also blended artistically-
● Cinnamon tea
● Cardamom tea
● Kadak Ginger tea
These spices are blended with tea having their own health benefits like helping in fighting infections and improving bone density.
Tea is sharing and tea is caring. Experiment with your tastes and celebrate being a teetotaler. Tell us what your favourite tea blends are. Share your chai time stories with us and get a chance to be featured in our blog section. Write to us on info@teafloor.com
You can also tag us on Instagram with your happy chai time photos.
