Almond Tea Latte

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 Irish Breakfast tea bags (or 8 teaspoons of loose Irish Breakfast tea)
• 4 cups (32 oz.) water
• 1 oz. almond syrup
• 1 cup Whole milk
• Ground nutmeg or chocolate

Directions:

Prepare a strong tea with 8 tea bags in 4 cups (32 oz.) boiling water. Steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags. Pour 5 oz. of hot tea into each tea cup, add almond syrup and stir. Steam whole milk and top tea with a little steamed milk. Garnish with whipped cream if desired and ground nutmeg or cinnamon.

Serves 6

Olivia Vidal
© 2009 - 2010
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

September Flavor of the Month

Apple Spice

Delightful fresh fruity apple character with delicious cinnamon notes. Make your own Gluwien by adding cinnamon and red wine.

Green Apple

New to our product line...this Green Apple Tea has a slightly sweet, slightly tart apple flavor that pairs up well with the sencha green tea base.

Earl Grey Rooibos

For the herbal tea drinker who has everything! A delicious Earl Grey and Rooibos combination.

Order yours!

Shop with Teaporia for all your necessi-Teas!

*At checkout please put my name, Olivia Vidal, in the comment section

Olivia Vidal
© 2009 - 2010
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

Tea Leaf Reading

The art of tea leaf reading is centuries old. While it's highly respected in the east, its popularity was lost in the west with the invention and use of the tea bag. As the use of loose leaf tea is on the rise again, tea leaf reading is regaining popularity.

Reading tea leaves has traditionally been practiced by the women in the family at gatherings of family and friends.

To see what your cup of tea has to say about the future, follow these simple steps:


1. Brew loose leaf tea in a pot and pour; unrestrained, into your cup.

2. Drink all but the last sip, leaving a teaspoon of tea and the leaves in your cup.

3. Swirl the tea and leaves three times counter clockwise.

4. Turn the cup over and place on the saucer. Wait for the tea to drain out.

5. Turn the cup right side up and examine the pattern of the leaves.

6. Leaves near the top deal with the near future, leaves on the bottom of the cup, the distant future. Leaves near the handle are said to relate to the home.

7. The formation of symbols in the leaves is used to tell the future. A few include:

• Triangle~inheritance
• Ladder~promotion
• Star~good luck
• Ring~marriage
• Tree~success, happiness
• Cow~prosperity
• Dog~a good friend
• Cat~treachery
• Umbrella~shelter

Have a little fun with a tea reading of your own at your next tea party.

Shop with Teaporia for all your necessi-Teas!

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

Oasis White Mango

Our Oasis Mango Loose Leaf White Tea is an oasis of tropical mango flavor. This sweet and fruity tea is the perfect pick me up.

Oasis Mango White Tea will remind you of eating a fresh, ripe mango just minutes after it'd been picked. The mellow notes of the natural white tea encompass the wave of mango flavor. Oasis Mango White Tea delivers a truly refreshing experience. 

Serve with slices of frozen mango or puree mango and mango nectar, pour into ice cube trays, and serve instead of ice. Absolutely fabulous!

Order yours!

Shop with Teaporia for all your necessi-Teas!

Olivia Vidal
© 2009 - 2010
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

June Flavor of the Month

Teas for the Month of June are

Pina Colada

This tea is reminiscent of a fresh Pina Colada. Hints of coconut and pineapple splash about in a velvety smooth cup of tea.

Oasis White Mango

Our Oasis Mango Loose Leaf White Tea is an oasis of tropical mango flavor. This sweet and fruity tea is the perfect pick me up.

Pineapple Tea Bags

Premium Quality Black Tea and Pineapple flavoring. Sweet and inviting. Comes to you in 12 bags.

Order yours!

Shop with Teaporia for all your necessi-Teas!

Olivia Vidal
© 2009 - 2010
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

Tea Tasting 101 - Part 1

Tea tasting can be as extensive and detailed as wine tasting. During tea tasting you are looking for 4 main factors - look, feel, smell, taste.

Today we are going to talk about look and feel starting with the dry leaf.

You can tell a lot about tea by the look and feel of the the dry leaves. Take a few tea leaves into the palm of your hand and gently press the leaves with your fingers. A fresh tea will be spring back and less likely to crumble than older teas. Gently press some dry leaves in your hand. Most new teas are a little springier and less likely to crumble than an older teas.

What you want to look for in a dry leaf is - springy, curly, neat, blackish, clean, and leafy.

What you do not want to find is - mushy, ragged, grey, dull, uneven, easily crumbled

When learning about tea it is best to start with a black tea in my opinion. It is a common tea we are all familiar with and you will notice the differences quicker.

Gather a group of your friends for an afternoon tea and hold your own tea tasting. Choose from a wide variety of teas from Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv.

If you live in the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area and would like a hosted tea tasting, contact Olivia at teatimewithliv@gmail.com to reserve your date.


Olivia Vidal
© 2009 - 2010
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

I-Pot

BEST SELLER.....I-Pots, a favorite choice in teapots. These large pots hold 40oz. and come in a variety of colors: caribbean blue, cocoa, candy pink, scarlet, sunflower, ocean blue, and stem green. This teapot also has an infuser making this a great teapot for your next get together or late night movie. Even better, its microwaveable! Remove the infuser and removable lid, fill with water, and microwave! Add 5-6 teaspoons of your favorite Teaporia loose tea and steep as recommended. Leave out the infuser to hold hot water and brew individual cups using Teaporia's teabag teas.

Order your I-pot in your favorite color and choose a delicious tea by visiting Teaporia.

Shop with Teaporia for all your necessi-Teas!

Olivia Vidal
© 2009 - 2010
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

Chamomile Tea

Very aromatic with a fruity tending floral flavor. Chamomile is often sipped for relief of ailments ranging from toothache to insomnia.

Chamomile is a daisy like flower for which is made into a tea after it has been dried.

Because chamomile does not come from tea leaves, it is an herbal tea. As an herbal tea chamomile is naturally decaffeinated.

Chamomile is best served with a slice of fresh lemon and honey.

Chamomile has several benefits including:

Revitalize tired, achy, or puffy eyes. Soak two tea bags in warm water and place them over your closed eyes for 20 minutes. The tannins in the tea act to reduce puffiness and soothe tired eyes. Cold chamomile works well on puffy eyes too.

Chamomile tea is a natural sleep aid. Have a hot cup of chamomile tea 30 minutes before bedtime.

Let chamomile tea steep, then place in a facial steamer. Your skin will appreciate it.

Enjoy a cup of chamomile made from either loose tea or teabags from Teaporia

Order yours!

Shop with Teaporia for all your necessi-Teas!

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

Tea Grades

Did you know orange pekoe tea is not a flavor but a grade? This is your common black tea in tea bags on store shelves.

The word comes from the Chinese word pek-ho which refers to the down-like white "hairs" on the leaf and also to the youngest leaf buds.

'Orange' which is often mistaken for the flavor is used as a term because of Holland's House of Orange, the royal family of the first European country to import tea and a name connected with high quality tea. This is not a definitive definition but a common accepted definition. An alternative definition is in reference to the copper color of a high-quality, oxidized leaf before drying, or the final bright orange color of the dried pekoes in the finished tea

Grading is done to indicate the size of the leaf and does not indicate its quality (which is determined primarily by taste). While it is true that in general grading - quality, the size of the leaf can play a role in determining the characteristics of the resulting tea.

Leaves of irregular sizes come into contact with water, they are going to infuse their flavor at varying rates. This means your tea is going to taste different each time you brew it. The grading system is in place to achieve some level of consistency in taste and appearance.

Here is a
Grade terminology

• Choppy - Tea that contains many leaves of various sizes.
• Fannings - Small particles of tea leaves used almost exclusively in tea bags A grade higher than Dust.
• Flowery - A large leaf, typically plucked in the second or third flush with an abundance of tips.
• Golden Flowery - Tea that includes very young tips or buds (usually golden in colour) that were picked early in the season.
• Tippy - Tea that includes an abundance of tips.

Whole leaf grades

The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea (in ascending order) are:

• OP - Orange Pekoe - Main grade in tea production. Can consist of long wiry leaf without tips.
• OP sup - Orange Pekoe Superior - Primarily from Indonesia. Similar to OP.
• F OP - Flowery Orange Pekoe - High-quality tea with a long leaf and few tips. Considered the second grade in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh teas, but the first grade in China
• F OP1 - Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves - As above but with only the highest quality leaves in the F.O.P classification
• GF OP1 - Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves- Higher proportion of tip than FOP Top grade in Milima and Marinyn regions; Uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling.
• TGF OP - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Tea with the highest proportion of tip; Main grade in Darjeeling and Assam.
• TGF OP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - As above, but with only the highest quality leave in the T.G.F.O.P classification
• FTGF OP - Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Highest quality grade. Often hand processed and produced at only the best plantations. Roughly one quarter tips.

Broken leaf grades

• BT - Broken Tea - Usually a black, open, fleshy leaf that is very bulky. Classification used in Sumatra, Sri Lanka, and some parts of Southern India.
• BP - Broken Pekoe- Most common broken pekoe grade. From Indonesia, Ceylon, and Southern India.
• BPS - Broken Pekoe Souchong - Term for broken pekoe in Assam and Darjeeling.
• FP - Flowery Pekoe - High-quality pekoe. Usually coarser with a fleshier, broken leaf. Produced in Ceylon and Southern India, as well as in some parts of Kenya.
• BOP - Broken Orange Pekoe - Main broken grade. Prevalent in Ceylon, Southern India, Java, and China.
• F BOP - Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe - Coarser and broken with some tips. From Assam, Ceylon, Indonesia, China, and Bangladesh. In South America coarser, black broken.
• F BOP F - Finest Broken Orange Pekoe Flowery - The finest broken orange pekoe. Higher proportion of tips. Mainly from Ceylon's "low districts".
• G BOP - Golden Broken Orange Pekoe - Second grade tea with uneven leaves and few tips.
• GF BOP1 - Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1 - As above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the GFBOP classification.
• TGF BOP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1 - High-quality leaves with a high proportion of tips. Finest broken First Grade Leaves in Darjeeling and some parts of Assam.

Fannings grades

• PF - Pekoe Fannings
  
• OF - Orange Fannings - From Northern India and some parts of Africa and South America.
• FOF - Flowery Orange Fannings - Common in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh. Some leaf sizes come close to the smaller broken grades.
• GFOF - Golden Flowery Orange Fannings- Finest grade in Darjeeling for tea bag production.
• TGFOF - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Fannings.
• BOPF - Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings - Main grade in Ceylon, Indonesia, Southern India, Kenya, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and China. Black-leaf tea with few added ingredients, uniform particle size, and no tips.

Dust grades

• D1 - Dust 1 - From Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Africa, South America, and Southern India.
• PD - Pekoe Dust
• PD1 - Pekoe Dust 1 - Mainly produced in India.

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

What is a tea strainer?

A tea strainer is a type of strainer that is placed over or in a teacup to catch tea leaves.

A common misuse is placing the loose tea leaves in the strainer and pouring boiling water over. This will not brew your cup of tea properly no matter how hot the water is.

When tea is brewed in the traditional manner in a teapot, the tea leaves are not contained in teabags, but rather are free floating in the water as they steep. Since the tea leaves themselves can be unpleasant tasting, you want to filter them out with a tea strainer. Strainers usually fit into the top of the cup to catch the leaves as the tea is poured into the cup.

Teaporia offers 2 great mesh strainers - Empress Tea Strainer and the Teapot Shaped Tea Strainer for only $5.99. Visit Teaporia to order your strainer

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

Loose Tea vs Tea Bags

If your idea of a good cup of tea starts with plain tea bags from the grocery store, you are likely missing out on a great tea experience.

If you are buying from a quality tea merchant such as Teaporia you can get quality tea in a teabag. For this comparison we are discussing common teas found on grocery store shelves.

There are some excellent bagged teas out there, made up of whole tea leaves. Quality tea merchants often carry bags as well as loose. For this discussion we are talking about generic teas found on grocery store shelves.

The main difference between loose teas and bagged teas is the size of the leaves. That's what effects the cup of tea you drink. Tea leaves contain chemicals and essential oils, which are the basis for the flavor of tea. When the tea leaves are broken up into smaller pieces, these oils can evaporate, leaving a dull and tasteless tea. Typical tea bags are filled with the smallest pieces of broken leaves, called fannings. Loose teas are typically whole leaves or at least large pieces of leaves.

On top of the leaf size, there is also the space factor. Tea leaves need space to swell, expand and unfurl. Good water circulation around the leaves is important, which doesn't typically happen in a cramped little tea bag.

Typical tea bags often sit in warehouses and store shelves for an unspecified about of time. You may get a stale tea because of this. If you have never tried loose tea, you may not even know there is a difference.

Even if you prefer a simple cup of black tea, try your tea loose instead of in bags. If you enjoy a change now and again, you can get a wide variety of teas in bags from a quality merchant such as Teaporia, but there are many more to choose from if you shop for loose tea.

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

Loose Tea On The Go

Even loose tea lovers can have the convenience of single serve teabags without sacrificing any quality.

The T-Sac size 1 is for making a single serving of tea. There is a gusseted bottom to allow the tea to expand and release all of its flavor. The T-sac is unbleached and chlorine free.

The rule of thumb for determining how much tea to use when making a cup is to use 1 teaspoon for every 6 to 8 oz. cup. Of course you can add more or less depending on how strong you enjoy your tea. Place a teaspoonfull of your favorite loose tea from Teaporia in a t-sac and brew as you would normally. Tea leaves can be reused for more infusions, you just need to reuse the t-sac a second or third time.

This is a great way to take your tea with you on the go. Create as many as you need for the

Order your t-sacs and favorite tea at Teaporia.

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

November Flavor of the Month

November has 4 delicious flavors to enjoy this month.


Cranberry (teabags only): SEASONAL - The fruity flavor of the season. Delicious as an after dinner tea spiced with a cinnamon stick!


Cranberry-Orange (loose tea & teabags): SEASONAL - The fruity and piquant nature of cranberry combined with the intense flavor of orange creates an amazing taste sensation. Add 1 or 2 cloves in your teapot or use clove honey for a wonderful flavor.



Chocolate Mint (teabags only): If you love hot cocoa, give this tasty tea a try! So much flavor, so few calories! Add a touch of half and half for a smooth and rich taste.


Pumpkin Spice (loose tea only): Notes of cinnamon and pumpkin abound. A cup is like the "nip" in the air during northern autumns. Try condensed milk with your next cup for a fabulous cold weather treat.

Visit Teaporia to purchase these and other great flavors this month brought to you by Tea Time with Liv

Proper Steeping

Suggested ratio is one teaspoon of leaves per cup of water. However, the light and voluminous teas will taste best with twice that amount.

To steep your tea:

Use boiling water when preparing black, dark oolong and herbal teas.

Use cooler water (under the boiling point) when steeping green, light oolong and white teas.

Steeping time is:

3-5 minutes for most black teas

5-7 minutes for dark oolong, herbal, rooibos and white teas

3 minutes for green and light oolong teas

DO NOT over-steep or your tea will taste bitter.

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
Teaporia by Tea Time with Liv

Mesh Pincer Spoon

Loose tea does not have to be intimidating. A simple infuser such as a mesh pincer spoon make tea brewing easy.

A mesh pincer spoon allows loose tea leaves to fully expand for a great cup of tea. Ideally suited for use in teapot, teacup, or pitcher.

Just add 1 tablespoon of loose tea and steep as directed. Works best for single cups but can brew up to 24oz of tea.

Save used tea leaves and use again. Because loose tea is higher quality tea you can brew more than once up to 3 times total. Black teas work best when infusing multiple times.

You can order a pincer spoon and other tea accessories at Teaporia