Tea Blog - Learn All About Tea — Teas Around The World

Tea is remarkably prominent in Russian culture.  This is largely due to the fact that tea is hot, and Russia is cold.  Thus, tea there, as it is consumed in most places in the world, is consumed hot.  It was introduced to Russia in the mid-1600’s, but by the 1800’s, it was being imported in such large quantities that it became accessible to most Russians, rather than just the wealthy.  Some tea has been grown in Russia, but it isn’t exactly a thriving industry, because Russia is, again, cold. Russian teas tend to be known for their smoky flavor.  The...

The moment I started drinking tea, my mother immediately began calling me “the British child.”  I am of the opinion that, if you’re going to attach cultural stereotypes to things, you might as well do it correctly.  The first thing to know about British tea is that, if you’re drinking tea with biscuits in the afternoon, regardless of how fancy it is, it is not called high tea.  High tea was a meal which originated in the working class, when labor laws didn’t exist, and lunch breaks were therefore a luxury which most people did not have access to.  It...

It may seem like we named this tea “Moroccan Mint” because they both start with the letter M.  However, have you seen how difficult it is to spell Moroccan?  Anyone who has seen me struggle to spell the name of this tea in the shop knows for a fact that I cannot do it.  Were we just trying to find a word which alliterates with “mint”, we would have chosen “majestic” or something else which I can actually spell.  Moroccan Mint is called Moroccan Mint because Moroccan Mint tea is actually a real thing. For those who are unfamiliar with...

Do you have a favorite tea?  Something that you drink every day?  Something that people who really know you know is your tea?  A Lapsang Souchong to your Sherlock Holmes?  An Earl Grey to your Charles Grey?   If so, you may be interested in Yixing.  Yixing is a traditional porous Chinese clay, which has been used to make tea pots since the Song Dynasty.  The point of Western teaware, and ceramics in general, is that, when it is washed, all of the tea which was brewed in it is washed away.  Yixing absorbs some of the tea which is...