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:

Organic Decaf Masala Chai Black Tea
Now decaf tea drinkers can enjoy a chai latte too! Exceptionally spicy aroma and flavor, this Organic Decaf Masala Chai is surprisingly similar to the caffeinated version (hard to do with a decaf leaf) and offered at the same price!

Organic Decaf Tropical Green Tea
Using the same green tea base as our Decaf Green Tea, our Organic Decaf Tropical Green Tea packs in the flavors of mangos and papaya! Whether you are dreaming of summertime or actually enjoying warm weather, this tea reminds of the summer and is wonderful hot or iced.

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 I ordered some extras! I can’t recommend this tea highly enough especially because it is both Organic and Fair Trade. I’m simply thrilled!”  – Five Star Review, posted by Nickel

Tea-Infused Chocolate Truffles
You will not be able to resist our gourmet tea-infused chocolate truffles, only available November through February! These tasty little treats are hand-made by our friends at Sweet Gem Confections, using the finest quality chocolate. Each truffle is infused with a different variety of organic tea, carefully matched with the perfect combination of chocolates to highlight the unique characteristics of each. Each box includes 6 truffles: Earl Grey, Jasmine, Masala Chai, Lapsang Souchong, and Matcha .

Don’t just take our word for it! “Greatest Chocolate Gift. We get a few boxes every year mostly as gifts (the Lapsang Souchong is surprisingly awesome). This year my fiancee gave some boxes to faculty in her department in thanks. The response was overwhelming. One recipient spent the afternoon telling everyone in the department how amazing the chocolates were. Next time she’ll have to get everyone their own box!”  – Five Star Review, posted by Ben

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.

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 20^th and ends April 20^th, 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.

Preparing Dragonwell Tea Leaves

None of this effort goes to waste, however, because the leaves are processed on the day of harvest to prevent any unwanted oxidation. The first step involves laying all the leaves out to dry, or “wither,” for eight to ten hours. This allows certain enzymatic reactions to take place that will remove the bitterness and grassy taste that is associated with other green teas. Next, the tea leaves are hand-roasted to prevent any further oxidation from occurring.

That wasn’t a typo. High quality Dragonwell tea leaves are roasted by hand. This is done so that the tea worker can feel the temperature of the heating wok, because there are two temperature ranges necessary for proper roasting. The tea is roasted at a higher temperature range (80-100 degrees C.) for twelve to fifteen minutes to broaden and flatten out the leaves. At the lower temperature range (60-70 degrees C.) the tiny white hairs that naturally cover the shoots are burned off, and most of the water in the leaves is evaporated, preventing further oxidation. Master tea workers may spend up to 3 years learning their craft and earning their title, but even the best can produce no more than about a kilogram of tea per day.

Lower grades of Dragonwell tea are produced through a similar process, but with a lack of expertise, the leaves may be cooked for too long, at too high a temperature, or with too much hand pressure—any and all of which will ruin the flavor.  So why not treat yourself to some of the best tea in China? Knowing how much effort went in to preparing your tea may just make that next pot of our Dragonwell tea taste a little better.

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!

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).

ABOUT OUR BACKYARD COMPOSTABLE TEA PACKAGING
Our exciting new packaging is composed of a cellulose film made from wood pulp sourced from sustainably-managed trees. Most compostable packaging available in today’s marketplace is only truly compostable in industrial settings optimized for rapid breakdown. By contrast, the films used for Arbor Teas’ new packaging can actually breakdown in a backyard compost setting.

Because of greater variation in moisture and temperature, backyard composting environments have historically been incapable of breaking down so-called “compostable” packaging materials (e.g. corn plastic cups and take-out containers and the like). However, the material chosen for Arbor Teas’ new packages requires a less optimized environment for biodegradation, representing a major advancement in low-impact packaging.

The film is certified to both the European (EN13432) and American (ASTM D6400) standards for compostable packaging, and has been submitted to an additional independent test protocol (Miti Test ISO14851) confirming its biodegradation at ambient temperatures and in aqueous environments, relevant for home composting in bins or compost heaps.

MORE TEA, LESS PACKAGING!
Not only are our new packages compostable, they’re also lighter than their predecessors. In all, our latest shift in packaging materials reduced the weight of Arbor Teas’ packaging by over 60%! This translates to a meaningful reduction in the carbon footprint of Arbor Teas operations. And, in response to customer requests, the new packaging accommodates more tea than ever before. On average, Arbor Teas packages contain 27% more tea than they did previously. The result: MORE TEA, LESS PACKAGING!
Individually, these may seem like small improvements. But taken together, they add up to the greenest option for tea lovers anywhere!

One of Ireland’s most famous (and most consumed) brands of tea, Barry’s Tea, claims that on average the Irish consume up to 6 cups of tea per day!  And if that doesn’t convince you that the Irish drink a lot of tea, this statistic will: Ireland is one of the largest tea consumers per capita in the world!  Now in my opinion that is a boat load of tea.  What led Ireland to become such a large tea drinking country?

The history of tea in Ireland is similar to that of England (another well known tea drinking country).  It was initially introduced to the upper class in the early 1800s and later spread to the rural and lower class in the mid 1800s.  The tea that was available to the average Irish citizen was usually of poor quality and brewed strong, therefore it was consumed with plenty of milk.  This tradition of brewing strong tea and adding milk is still prevalent today.  We at Arbor Teas describe our Irish Breakfast blend as “so strong you could stand your spoon up in it,” and that is no joke.

Strong tea is preferred by the Irish – often continuously brewed on the stove all day long.  Tea became so popular in Ireland that on May 8, 1910, The New York Times printed an article titled “Tea is Ireland’s Evil – Ranks before Alcohol as an Enemy of Public Health.”  This now antiquated article (amazing how science has changed our perception of this healthful beverage!) relates that even within the most inaccessible communities in Ireland “The teapot stewing on the hearth all day long is literally on tap; the members of the family, young as well as old, resorting to it at discretion.”

It wasn’t until World War II that Ireland’s history with tea diverged from that of England.  Up until WWII, Ireland received most of its tea from the English auction houses, importing little from countries of origin.  However, during WWII Ireland took a neutral stand and refused to allow Britain to use its western ports.  As a result, Ireland’s tea ration was drastically cut.   With the help of newly adopted post-WWII laws, Ireland began importing its own tea direct from source and to diverge from Britain’s traditional tea flavor profile.

Dennis Aylmer (of Ireland’s other popular tea label, Lyons) in a 2002 interview with Reg Butler of the Tea and Coffee Trade Journal describes Ireland’s new flavor profile as: “Originally, Ireland’s good quality tea was predominantly Assam orthodox. Then, from about 1960, Sri Lankan flavored teas were introduced into the blends. Later came a major swing towards high quality Kenyan tea produced east of the Rift Valley, and processed in factories established by the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA). Production was concentrated on CTC manufacture.

“We found that this tea liquored particularly well in Irish water, and it was introduced very successfully into our blends. Today, Irish blends are all very heavy on East African teas, which account for at least 60% of the total import, followed by Indian at 20%.

“With a tradition based on loose or packet tea, Irish consumers were generally reluctant to accept teabags until the 1970s. Since then, teabags have boomed to the present level of 93% of the market. Today, with consumer sophistication on the increase, low quality doesn’t exist on retailers’ shelves. The quality message is ‘upwards and onwards forever,’ with average quality constantly rising.”

So now with this new found knowledge, sit down and enjoy a strong “cupan tae” (meaning “cup of tea” in Gaelic) complete with milk.  And don’t be surprised if your spoon gets stuck!

Simply delighted to be a part of this exciting project, I dropped in on Nancy one evening to observe her master craftsmanship firsthand.  The display of chocolate mastery I witnessed was nothing short of amazing!  She was making a white chocolate, masala chai tea ganache that, when cooled, would be rolled into orbs and dipped in white chocolate.  Without missing a beat while attending to all the stirring, cooling and additional stirring that the ganache required, Nancy poured perfectly tempered milk chocolate into shell-shaped molds, turning out the excess onto her parchment-covered workbench in a spectacle that can aptly be described as a chocolate “rain shower.” These shells will eventually enclose earl grey black tea-infused milk chocolate ganache. While those were cooling, she painted a shimmery campfire motif on the tops of a batch of 65% cacao dark chocolate Laspang Souchong truffles.  Talk about a multi-tasker!

Already finished earlier in the day and queued in neat rows on her work-space were the matcha truffles: a matcha-and-white-chocolate ganache dipped in organic milk chocolate and adorned with swirls of green-tinted cocoa butter. Jasmine green tea truffles, imbued with grapefruit zest were also ready to be packaged. Composed of dark chocolate ganache dipped in white chocolate and embellished with a transfer of delicate purple flowers, the jasmine truffles may arguably be the most stunning of the set.

Amid all this activity, Nancy and I shared a pot of organic passion pineapple green tea, which just happens to make an appearance in yet another dark chocolate truffle painted with blue floral details reminiscent of the blue malva flowers blended with the tea. Nancy is an extraordinarily kind and generous woman with whom conversation flows easy. During my visit she plied me with numerous truffle samples and was quick to share recipes and even her dinner, as the night lingered and we reasoned that truffles alone were probably not sufficient sustenance. In observing Nancy work about her shop, her passion for quality and attention to detail are clearly evident.

Produced in small batches and with the finest organic, fair trade ingredients, these truffles are available for purchase exclusively from our website (or if you happen to live nearby, Nancy will be selling them at her shop located in Morgan & York). With the approaching holiday seasons, these just might be the perfect gift for the tea AND chocolate enthusiast in your life! Of course, no judgments if that “enthusiast” just happens to be yourself. Find out which tea and chocolate combination is your favorite. Mine, undoubtedly, is the richly dark and intensely smoky Lapsang Souchong truffle!

Hope you enjoyed this Cooking with Tea Post from the Kitchen of Olivia!

How CO2 Decaffeination Works

CO2 is a non-toxic, nonflammable, colorless and odorless gas which is a naturally-occurring part of the air we breathe.  Although elevated levels of CO2 in our atmosphere contribute to global warming, it’s generally a pretty inert substance.  Under pressure and temperature, however, CO2 is able to flow freely through natural materials (like tea) and has strong solvent capabilities. This is called its “supercritical” state (which is why CO2 decaffeination is also referred to as “supercritial CO2 decaffeination” or “supercritical fluid extraction,” but this is a blog for tea drinkers, not chemists…).

To begin the CO2 decaffeination process, the tea leaves are moistened and placed under pressure.  Then streams of pressurized and heated CO2 are passed through the tea leaves, where it dissolves the caffeine while leaving the tea leaves otherwise intact.  After passing through the tea leaves, the caffeine-laden CO2 is filtered to remove the caffeine, and then recycled for further use in decaffeination. Finally, the newly-decaffeinated tea leaves are dried.

How CO2 Decaffeination Stacks Up to Other Methods

In addition to CO2 decaffeination, two other methods are used for decaffeinating tea: ethyl acetate and water process.  In both cases, the tea leaves are bathed in either of these substances, which dissolve and remove the caffeine.  Unfortunately, both of these approaches have drawbacks which make them inferior to CO2 decaffeination.  In the case of ethyl acetate, traces of this organic compound (not the good kind of “organic,” mind you) can be left behind on the tea, which is generally felt to be unhealthy for human consumption.  Water process, on the other hand, is absolutely healthy, but essentially amounts to a pre-infusion of the tea leaves, in which a portion of the desireable compounds in the tea (that contribute flavor, aroma, etc.) are removed with the caffeine.

 Is CO2 Decaffeination Safe for the Environment?

In a nutshell, yes.  Because the CO2 used for decaffeination is filtered and recycled at a rate of around 99%, very little CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere.