Archive for the 'Products' Category
Tis the Season! Our gourmet Tea Infused Chocolate Truffles are back for the holidays! We have offered these tasty little treats during the holiday season for 4 years in a row, brought back each year by popular demand. This year we are mixing it up. We are replacing one of the previous truffles with a new Coconut Rooibos truffle. It is amazing!
Plus, NEW for 2012! Enjoy sweet and smoky artisan caramels. These handmade caramels are meticulously prepared in small batches by our very own Olivia May at From the Kitchen of Olivia. Olivia has been creating tea inspired recipes for the Arbor Teas Cooking with Tea section (and this blog!) for several years. This year, we FINALLY convinced Olivia to share her talent with all of us! For the holiday season only (Nov thru Dec), Olivia is re-creating her most popular recipe, Tea Infused Smoky Caramels. Olivia uses our Organic and Fair Trade Certified Lapsang Souchong Black Tea to create a smoky infusion for these caramels. Think buttery sweet smoke wrapped in one amazingly gooey and salty caramel. We’ve never tasted a caramel as good as this!
PS – Watch out, these caramels can be addictive!
November 08 2012 | Products | No Comments »
We are delighted to announce the addition of 4 new wonderful teas to the Arbor Teas catalog.
3 New Organic Oolongs.
We’ve been searching high and low for extraordinary organic oolongs and have FINALLY found some. Great oolongs are extremely difficult to find USDA-certified organic, and we are proud to add these gems to our catalog. Better yet, these amazing oolongs are grown and manufactured by a small, family owned and operated tea garden in Anhui, China.
Organic Bao Zhong Oolong Tea. Also known as Pao Zhong, this beautiful organic oolong tea has an aroma of buttered greens and pronounced wildflowers. Smooth and lightly creamy with a lingering dry floral finish with a hint of almond. Using the Jin Xuan varietal instead of the traditionally-used Cing Xin varietal, this organic loose leaf tea breaks the traditional definition of what we expect from an organic Chinese tea and, similarly, what we expect from a Taiwanese Bao Zhong oolong. Exquisite!
Organic Dong Ding Oolong Tea. Also known as Tong Ting, this organic oolong is made in the “traditional style” with a deeper oxidation and a more pronounced roasting (as opposed to the more fashionable green style that has become popular these days). The single leaf, rolled balls lend an aroma of roasted peanut shells with orchid notes and a sweet full-bodied, smooth, and creamy infusion. If you already appreciate Taiwanese Dong Ding Oolongs, you will not be disappointed by this Chinese version and may even find that it allows for a particularly generous number of infusions!
Organic Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea. Also known as Bai Hao oolong, Pong Fong oolong, Super Fancy Formosa Oolong or simply Formosa Oolong, our organic Oriental Beauty has a deep oxidation of around 75% which produces a bronze-colored, extremely smooth (almost velvety!) cup that reveals hints of spices and citrus marmalade. It is produced in small batches and is a superb example of one of this distinctive oolongs.
1 New Organic Pu-erh.
Organic Chocolate Pu-erh Tea. This wonderfully aromatic tea, combines Pu-erh with an American favorite – chocolate and almonds. With a rich bouquet of almond and chocolate, the mellow cup tastes earthy with hints of carob and almond.
September 28 2012 | Miscellaneous and Products | 1 Comment »
Arbor Teas is celebrating National Iced Tea Month this June by launching a new product, Organic and Fair Trade Certified Thai Iced Tea!
Thai Tea (also known as Thai Iced Tea) is a popular iced drink hailing from Thailand, commonly found in Thai restaurants across the USA. Arbor Teas’ Thai Iced Tea is a traditional blend of strong black tea, vanilla bean, cardamom and anise. It can be enjoyed hot or cold with a twist of lime as a self drinker (without milk). Or it can be brewed to create a traditional, restaurant-style Thai Iced Tea when combined with ice, milk and sugar!
NO Artificial Colors or Flavors!
Did you know that the deep orange color of Thai Iced Tea served in restaurants is usually attributed to artificial coloring (specifically FD&C Yellow #6)? Well, no longer! After a failed search to find an organic, traditional Thai Iced Tea sold in the US without artificial flavors or dyes, Arbor Teas decided to develop its own. The resulting blend is Organic and Fair Trade Certified, includes no artificial colors or flavors, and does not turn orange when dairy is added, but instead turns a beautiful natural light brown!
Make Your Own Restaurant-style Thai Iced Tea at Home
To recreate a restaurant-style Thai Iced Tea, Arbor Teas recommends steeping a double strength cup of tea. Then sweeten the hot brew with sugar, and serve over ice. Glasses of Thai Iced Tea are usually topped with dairy, such as sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, half and half, or coconut milk (this last one, of course, is not actually dairy). The final addition of dairy usually rests on top of the ice cubes creating a beautiful layered effect in the glass!
For illustrated step-by-step instructions, check out our a guide on How to Make Thai Iced Tea.
June 21 2012 | Iced Tea and Products | No Comments »
One of the amazing things about the world of tea is there is always something new to learn. Just when we think we’ve heard of everything, we discover a new origin, style, or blend, and the learning process begins anew! During Arbor Teas’ recent trip to NYC to participate in the Specialty Tea Institute’s tea curriculum, we were introduced to a “new” category of tea. I put quotation marks around the word “new” because this category of tea is actually not new at all. I (Aubrey) was taught and have always understood the five main types of tea as: white, green, oolong, black and pu-erh. These five main types of tea were touted by the Specialty Tea Institute way back when I took their Foundations of Tea classes, and in many famous and well respected tea history books. In fact, on www.ArborTeas.com we divide our navigation menu into these five types of tea, plus “rooibos” and the catch-all category of “herbal“.
However, what Sarah and Peggy learned in their Foundations of Tea class this time around was that Pu-erh teas are actually a sub-set of a larger category of Chinese teas called “Dark Teas”. Because Pu-Erhs are really the only Dark Teas known to the western world, they are often mistakenly described as their own category (like white, green, oolong, and black). But technically speaking, the fifth category of tea should not be “Pu-erh” but “Dark”. (As an aside, kudos to Sarah and Peggy for completing and passing Foundations of Tea Levels One & Two – congrats!)
So what are Dark Teas? continue reading »
March 05 2012 | Miscellaneous and Products and Tea Facts and Tea Terms | 3 Comments »
We are thrilled to announce the addition of two new organic decaf teas to our catalog. Just in time for the holidays!
New Organic Decaf Teas
Organic certified decaffeinated teas are a rarity in the organic tea market. They are difficult to procure and expensive to produce. Our organic decaf teas are some of our top selling teas and we constantly get requests to add more, add more…. so we did!
The newest additions to our decaf tea catalog are:
November 30 2011 | Products | No Comments »
We are delighted to re-introduce our seasonal favorites — the ever-popular Organic Holiday Spice Black Tea and one-of-a-kind Tea-Infused Chocolate Truffles! Only available for the holiday season, these treats are always a hit – add them to your wish list or give as a gift!
Organic Holiday Spice Black Tea
A perennial favorite for the holiday season (and only sold in November and December), our organic and Fair Trade Certified Holiday Spice Black Tea pairs bold organic Indian tea with generous doses of orange, cinnamon and clove flavor! Despite the generous flavoring, the brisk and coppery qualities of the black tea really come through. Like all of our flavored blends, our Holiday Spice Black Tea uses only the highest quality organic loose leaf tea, essential oils and botanical ingredients, insuring an excellent cup every time!
Don’t just take our word for it! “I ordered several of the sample packs of this tea to distribute as Christmas gifts at work. When I opened the box my house immediately smelled like Christmas! My husband and I lasted about a half an hour before we *had* to break into one of the packs and try it. It was even better than it smelled – I’m so glad that continue reading »
November 09 2011 | Products | No Comments »
We are delighted to introduce three new green teas to our tea selection. Each from a different origin, these organic and Fair Trade Certified green teas expand our green tea selection into two new countries and offer a wider variety of flavor profiles for our green teas lovers!
Organic Five Peaks Green Dew Green Tea
With dark green, needle-like leaves that are finely rolled, this Chinese organic and Fair Trade Certified tea has a light-bodied brew with low astringency, a slight sweetness, a kelp-like vegetal quality and a lingering, pleasant aftertaste. For those of you who remember our Jing Mai Green Tea, this Organic Five Peaks Green Dew Green Tea is the closest equivalent we have found! It is also a nice alternative for those looking to replace a Japanese Green Tea with one from a new origin.
Organic Idulgashinna Estate Ceylon Green Tea
A balanced cup for all green tea drinkers, our organic and Fair Trade Certified green tea from the Indulgashinna Estate in Sri Lanka is not too vegetal and not too fruity. Manufactured in the Uva region in eastern Sri Lanka, our Organic Idulgashinna Estate Ceylon Green Tea is from one of the well-known Staasen group of plantations, about 3300-6500 feet in elevation. It withstands multiple infusions quite well and has a pleasant sweet note with a clean finish.
Organic Makaibari Estate Green Tea
This Fair Trade Certified organic green tea is another example of the wonderful offerings coming out of the Makaibari Estate in India. Biodynamically farmed in India’s Darjeeling district, the Organic Makaibari Estate Green Tea exhibits many of the same qualities as the black teas of this region, but with an unoxidized leaf. The varying leaf colors (ranging from green to brown to white) produce an easy-to-drink cup that exhibit slight lemony, vegetal and earthy qualities akin to other Darjeeling teas.
November 01 2011 | Organics and Products | No Comments »
Making Dragonwell tea is a complex process: it requires many hours of manual labor, skilled workers, and just the right cultivation methods to produce one of the finest teas in China. The style of Dragonwell tea preparation perfected on Lion Peak Mountain (a mountain in the western part of Zehjiang province) has been emulated by numerous plantations around China, but subtle variations in growing and manufacture result in products of various qualities.
Location, Location, Location
All the processing in the world won’t make a bit of difference if the starting product is no good, and to grow the best tea leaves, you need optimal conditions for the tea plant. The best Dragonwell tea comes from plantations at high altitudes in moderate climates with high humidity and lots of rainfall. Lion Peak Mountain, the source of the first Dragonwell teas, has a topography that maximizes rainfall and moisture retention and soil that is high in phosphorus and mildly acidic. Factors such as these, combined with a legion of highly trained tea workers, result in the ideal Dragonwell tea leaf, but there are still many steps between the tea tree and your teacup.
The Art of the Harvest
The artistry involved in merely picking the Dragonwell tea leaves is exceptional. Workers must only collect terminal buds and another leaf or two (often referred to as a “bud set”), and they must be cautious not to tear or otherwise damage the leaves; all bud sets in Dragonwell tea must be pristine.
Even the harvesting season is meticulously managed; traditional harvest begins on March 20th and ends April 20th, leaving workers a meager four weeks in the fields! This is all the more astounding when one considers that skillful tea harvesters may only gather two kilograms of tea in the span of ten hours, which will amount to roughly a quarter of that weight in processed tea product.
continue reading »
January 22 2011 | Organic Tea Facts and Products | 1 Comment »
We’re thrilled to introduce our latest addition to our catalog of organic loose teas: organic Schizandra White Tea! This combination of organic white tea and schizandra berries is not your average blend!
Schizandra (aka “Magnolia Vine”) is a genus of hardy deciduous climbing shrubs native to East Asia. Schizandra berries are given the name wu wei zi in Chinese, which translates as “five flavor fruit” because they exhibit all five basic flavors in Chinese herbal medicine: salty, sweet, sour, pungent (spicy), and bitter. This complex flavor profile plays a supporting role to the fresh, smooth and aromatic character of the organic white tea leaves and sweet-citrusy touch of tangerine flavor. A knock-out choice hot or brewed!
The dried fruit of the schizandra plant is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is believed to provide a remedy for many ailments: to resist infections, increase skin health, and combat insomnia, coughing, and thirst. Modern medical research suggests that Schizandra is particularly effective in protecting the liver, with clinical trials pointing to a benefit to those with chronic viral hepatitis. In combination with antioxidant-packed Bai Mu Dan white tea leaves, this blend is potentially as healthy as it is tasty!
June 30 2010 | Products | 5 Comments »
This is always an exciting time of the year at Arbor Teas, as we welcome the arrival of the 2010 Makaibari First Flush Darjeeling! The first flush harvest is the first picking of 2010, and marks the beginning of the new tea season in India. This year’s First Flush is outstanding – a major improvement over last year’s drought-ridden crop – with a very dry mouth feel that has nuances of green and black tea that is slightly flowery, with fruity notes of Muscat grape. Truly a delight, it perfectly represents the “champagne” of Indian tea. This outstanding tea is Fair Trade Certified, and organic & biodynamically farmed at the Makaibari estate in India’s Darjeeling district. Established in 1859, Markaibari is the oldest estate in Darjeeling, where a strong commitment to sustainable farming prevails.
Please Note: We recommend infusing this tea with a slightly lower water temperature and shorter steeping time than that of other black teas (maybe 2-3 minutes at 180 degrees F).
June 30 2010 | Products | 2 Comments »
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