Tea Blog - Learn All About Tea — Tea History

5 Key Takeaways from this Blog Post: 1. What Earl Grey Is: Earl Grey is a black tea flavored with bergamot, giving it a distinctive, sophisticated, and slightly citrusy taste that is often associated with British refinement. 2. Origins and Stories: Earl Grey tea is believed to be named after Charles Grey, the British prime minister in the 1830s, though the exact origin is uncertain. A popular (though likely untrue) story suggests Grey saved a Chinese man’s son, leading to the tea’s creation in gratitude. 3. Practical Purpose: According to the Grey family, the tea was originally blended to balance the...

Before your local Starbucks, coffee shop, tea house, and even quiet local diner got in on the chai tea craze, it was already culturally important to the people of India.   Chai tea, if you’ve managed to avoid it thus far, is a black tea (usually Ceylon), with any variety of spices added.  While the mixture of spices can vary wildly, most chais keep to a pallet of cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and pepper.  Some chais, such as our Vanilla Chai, also add sweeter flavor elements.  In spite of their spices, chais should generally come across as savory and sweet, rather...

You may have noticed, either or in our shop or online, small, odd-looking dishes, always with lids, and sometimes on saucers.  While these dishes can range from primitive and earthy to ornately decorated, they all seem to have one thing in common-- they intimidate tea novices.  Something about the traditional Chinese gai wan feels foreign, like you’re going to use it incorrectly, offend someone, and probably burn yourself in the process.  In this post, I’d like to ease those fears, and explain exactly how simple and not-at-all scary gai wans are.   Gaiwans can be used to both brew and...

Thousands of years ago. When tea started to become a popular drink, Chinese Buddhist monks discovered that drinking tea helped with their daily meditation. Meditation, they believed, was the source of all enlightenment.  If you have ever meditated, you've discovered that it is not easy. Your mind drifts off into distraction and perhaps you even start to nod off. You're not alone.  The ancient monks also encountered these barriers to nirvana.  A Solution Is Found The monks discovered that drinking tea helped them with their daily meditation. They discovered that tea packed a one-two punch of caffeine and L-Theanine. Although they lacked scientific proof,...