Archive for December, 2009
Wondering what’s happening in the Fair Trade Certified tea estates that supply Arbor Teas with its exceptional organic teas? Here is an update on the Singampatti Oothu Estate which supplies Arbor Teas with an organic, Fair Trade Certified black tea that is full-bodied, smooth, and subtly sweet with light to medium astringency. It is one of our favorites!
The Oothu Singampatti Tea Estates cover the rolling hills of Tirunelveli in the Nilgiris district of southern India. The group of estates are surrounded by the tropical evergreen forests of the Kalakkad and Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. Situated at the southern end of the Western Ghat mountain range, the Oothu Tea Garden is surrounded on all sides by rainforest that hosts a rich diversity of unique wildlife. Jungle corridors among the tea fields have been carefully preserved in order to maintain this rare natural ecosystem. A pioneer in sustainable tea production, Oothu was the first tea garden in India to adopt biodynamic principles and among the first in the country to become certified organic. Fair Trade Certified since 1995, Oothu Singampatti continues to make a significant social impact on the community
The Fair Trade price has enabled workers at Singampatti Group to establish various programs, including:
1) Education — The Oothu Singampatti Estates provide scholarships, focusing on deserving children and those from the most impoverished families within the organization.
2) Health — Health programs, implemented with Fair Trade revenue, contribute to primary care and also allow for specialized treatment that was previously unavailable to estate families. Additionally, life insurance now covers all workers and their families, and funeral expenses are provided.
“Fair Trade has reduced my burden by providing me the finances, which help me put my son in special care. I am thankful to the consumers who pay the extra premium, which reaches people like me and makes a difference.” — Sita, Oothu worker with a son diagnosed with cerebral palsy
December 30 2009 | Fair Trade and Sustainability | No Comments »
Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, is credited with the origination of afternoon tea in the early 1800s in Great Britian. In Anna’s day, lunch was served at noon, with dinner often put off until well into the evening. As the story goes, Anna decided that a light meal over tea in the late afternoon would be the perfect solution to her between-meal hunger pangs. Given Anna’s social stature, the concept took off among the upper class, proving to be an excellent social venue. The term “high tea” is actually owed to England’s working class, who transformed the afternoon tea into their primary evening meal, serving much heartier fare such as meats, cakes, bread and pies. “High” tea is a reference to the table the working class sat at while taking their tea – tall in comparison to the low, delicate tables at which the gentry took their lighter, more formal tea. Queen Victoria introduced the English to the Russian custom of adding lemon to their tea after visiting one of her daughters in Russia – before that, the English took only milk with their tea.
Try Arbor Teas’ Afternoon Blend Black Tea to have your own Afternoon Tea!
December 20 2009 | Tea Terms | 1 Comment »
Imagine buttery sweet combined with salt and smoke. These are the flavor components that form quite possibly the most divine confection to come from my kitchen to date. Boutique caramels, flavored salts and smoked anything are all making headlines as current food trends. Here I combine them together into one sweet indulgence. The smoke flavor is easily achieved using Arbor Teas Organic Lapsang Souchong Black Tea. If you need a holiday gift to delight your favorite foodie, this recipe might just be the perfect treat! Be sure to make enough to treat yourself as well, though. Passing a small test batch around Arbor Teas friends and staff garnered rave reviews but also generated a bit of competition as to who would keep the extras. If you know you have a propensity for hoarding, I suggest doubling the recipe. Happy holidays! Hope you enjoy this Cooking with Tea Recipe from the Kitchen of Olivia!
Smoky Lapsang Souchong Caramels
Adapted from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich
- makes 40 (1-inch) caramels –
2 TBS organic lapsang souchong black tea
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup Lyle’s golden syrup
1 cup sugar
rounded ¼ tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1½ TBS unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened
Smoked sea salt to garnish
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December 18 2009 | Cooking with Tea and Tea Fun | 3 Comments »
The World Tea News recently reported (11/30/09) on a study that suggests that plants producing high-quality tea cannot simply be reproduced in other regions with the same outcome. Researchers at the Kenyan institutions Maseno University, Egerton University and Moi University, conducted the study, which will appear in the April 2010 issue of the scientific journal Food Chemistry. They started from the idea: “A superior quality genotype in one location is assumed to replicate the same attributes when planted in different regions, especially when climatic variations are minimal.” To test it, they cloned 20 plants that produced high-quality tea and planted them under identical circumstances, but in three different regions. The results showed significant differences in the quality of the plain tea produced, based on certain parameters, among varying locations of production. A closer look further indicated that the changes in the tea were not systematic, because the same clone underwent different changes in different regions. The study led the team to conclude: “A genotype selected in one site for high quality may not retain the relative quality over other genotypes in new areas. It is necessary to test genotypes in new areas of production to fully evaluate their relative quality potentials.”
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December 04 2009 | Miscellaneous and Tea Facts and Tea Preparation | No Comments »
The holidays are a great time to thank those around us for all that they do to make our lives better. It is also a great time to initiate those random acts of kindness that many of us want to do, but often find ourselves too busy to execute. One of my favorite random acts of kindness is to pay for the person behind me in line (think café, movie theater, drive-through, etc.). Not something that I do every day, but certainly a surprise worth doing every so often! When writing a blog post for Arbor Teas I wondered, “What can I do with tea to celebrate the holidays?” Obviously, I can give Arbor Teas as a healthy, socially conscious gift. But what else can I do with tea during these cold months to celebrate those strangers and loved ones that fill my life?
Here are a few simple ideas that I hope to do this holiday season:
- Give a cup (or two) of hot tea to my postman, who always looks chilly on these winter days.
- Boil a mixture of water and holiday spice black tea in a pot on my stovetop to infuse my home (and family!) with its festive holiday scent.
- Use tea in one of my favorite holiday recipes to “spice it up” and then maybe bring it to work to share with my co-workers. For a great example, try From the Kitchen of Olivia’s masala chai tea scones (yum!).
- Host a holiday tea for my family and friends. A tea during the hustle and bustle of the holidays is a perfect excuse to slow down, take a breather, and enjoy the season! Because evenings are generally committed to the typical host of social gatherings at this time of year, mornings often work well for a holiday tea. I plan to keep my menu simple and fill it with items that can be prepared in advance, so I have a chance to slow down and enjoy the tea, too. Menu: Cheesy egg bake (veggie and meat options); scones (perfect timing Olivia!); bread, butter and my mom’s homemade strawberry jam; Sweet cakes and breads (lemon poppyseed is a favorite!); and of course, our Holiday Spice Black Tea.
Hope this post helps you get started celebrating the holidays with tea! I know there are plenty more ways that tea can help you celebrate – leave us a comment to add your ideas!
December 04 2009 | Miscellaneous and Tea Fun | No Comments »
Tea and scones go together like milk and cookies. One is just simply more enjoyable in the company of the other. Taking it one step further, I decided to meld the two together by flavoring my favorite scone recipe with tea. Masala chai tea offers the perfect balance of aromatic spices that can be imparted to dough through a cold infusion technique. With notes of cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper, there is absolutely no need to open the spice cabinet or fiddle with many measuring spoons for this recipe. Those holiday flavors you are trending toward this cool weather season are available, conveniently packaged in an environmentally friendly canister, in Organic Masala Chai Black Tea from Arbor Teas. While the ingredients come together quickly, you will need to plan ahead to let the cream steep. The longer the tea infuses the more pronounced the masala chai spices will be. Butter and cream make these scones rich and moist, while cake flour lends a tender, crumbly texture. Hope you enjoy this Cooking with Tea Recipe from the Kitchen of Olivia!
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December 04 2009 | Cooking with Tea and Tea Fun | 2 Comments »
Arbor Teas was delighted to join friends at a special fundraiser on November 7 to support the Clowns without Borders expedition to India, one of largest tea producing countries in the world. Clowns without Borders (a 501(c)3 nonprofit) offers laughter to relieve the suffering of all persons, especially children, who live in areas of crisis including refugee camps, conflict zones and territories in situations of emergency. It brings levity, contemporary clown/circus oriented performances and workshops into communities so that they can celebrate together and forget for a moment the tensions that darken their daily lives. This specific expedition, “Project Muskurahat” (Smile), just left for India and will be working with children affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty in the slums and rural areas surrounding Mumbai. Check out their daily journal entries at http://clownswithoutborders.org/2009/11/india-2009/.
The fundraiser was a wonderful event in which a dozen Southeastern Michigan artists came together to create an informal evening of entertainment at the Wild Swan Theatre in Ann Arbor, MI. The show featured the acclaimed Srishti Dances of India, Wild Swan Theatre, Brass Tacks Ensemble, Sumkali and the Vocal Experiment (UM-Dearborn). Samosas, sweet treats, and Arbor Teas’ Indian Korakundah Estate Nilgiri Black Tea were served throughout the evening!
December 04 2009 | Media and Tea Fun | No Comments »