Welcome Back!
Yes, I know... you didn’t go anywhere. Fact is, we didn’t either, but with launching Tuppence Tea just before the holidays, importing a wider selection of tea strainers and gurgling jugs, plus other activities, writing the newsletter each month sort of fell by the wayside for a time.
So anyway, we’re back again... with apologies for neglecting you. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the brand new web look of our site at www.virtualtea.com then I strongly recommend that you do so. The new teas are there, of course, including economically priced "big bags" for you serious tea drinkers as well as small sample bags for those who want to try one or more of our 44 types of tea and herbals. I also like the new tea sacs from Germany that give you the convenience of a tea bag but are large enough to accomodate loose leaf teas by the pot. Of course, you'll also want to check out the only place in the entire USA where you can buy authentic English gurgling fish jugs (see feature article next month).
We are also in the process of building the subscribor base for the free monthly newsletter by offering everyone who signs up a free sample pack of the tea of their choice. Since you already get the newsletter, you can have a free sample as well just by picking the Tuppence Tea you want and sending an email to mail@virtualtea.com. Remember to include your address, however, as we have only an email for most of the newsletter subscribers. You might want to mention this offer to friends and relatives. Just tell them that everyone who visits our web site and adds their name to the mailing list for the free monthly emailed newsletter will also receive an offer of a free sample of tea...and other benefits when we think of them. Subscribers can unsubscribe at any time.
TEA OF THE MONTH: Rooibos (Red Bush)
Rooibos (pronounced ROY-bus) tea from South Africa isn’t tea at all, of course, but one of today’s most popular herbals. As you will recall, to be a true tea requires that the beverage came from the Camellia Sinensis plant. Technically, anything else is called an herbal tea, or an "infusion" or "tisane."
Rooibos is an Afrikaans word which means "red bush." Early Dutch settlers at the turn of the last century discovered that the fine, almost needle like leaves of the Aspalathus Linearis plant made a nice tea and with a name like Aspalathus Linearis, you can see why they changed the name to "red bush" rather quickly. The plant itself is of the legume family and only grows in South Africa, primarily in the Cedarberg Mountain area near the Cape of Good Hope. The plant grows into a rather small bush and the leaves themselves are green. They take on their distinctive red coloration by virtue of an oxidation process not too dissimilar from that which what turns tea leaves black.
One reason for the growing popularity of Rooibos is the claimed health benefits, which are legion. I joke with people in the teashop that if they drink a pot of Rooibos every day, they will live to be 120. I emphasize that there is a money back guarantee if they fail to do so, but only if they apply for it in person. In addition to having a high mineral content, there appears to be significantly more polyphenols (of anti-oxidant fame) in Rooibos than there is in tea (an elixir that can only boast a guaranteed life expectancy of 100). Rooibos has no caffeine, and is supposed to be very easy on the stomach... in fact, an aid to digestion.
I suppose the best thing is that it tastes quite good. Personally, I’m not a big fan of many herbals, some of which taste a bit like what I imagine infusions of lawn clippings must be like. Rooibos has a nice, slightly sweet, slightly "peppery" flavor that I find very palatable. I’ve taken to drinking a pot every day myself, as I’m a sucker for a good guarantee.
Rooibos is available from Virtual Tea either in unflavored "super" grade or in a vanilla enhanced version.
TEA TIPS: Taking it off...stains off china, that is.
Old china can be quite lovely, but it can also get stained by tea and other foods over time. The good thing about this problem is that it means you can often pick up some real bargains at estate sales on discolored pieces. Many people soak their china in bleach. While this can work, some say that the odor and aftertaste of chlorine residue can be very difficult to eradicate.
As an alternative, consider picking up some hydrogen peroxide from a beauty supply store (not the anti-infective solution commonly available from the corner drug store). Yes, this was the wash for the "bleached blond" look, so make sure you don’t get any on your clothes. Since it is harmful to skin and combustible, use rubber gloves and keep it away from any open flame.
Use a plastic, airtight container of sufficient size to completely immerse the item(s) you are trying to clean up. Be sure to leave enough room for the level of the liquid to rise when the china is added to the bath. Keep the cover on and let it sit for a day or two before examining. When the china has lightened enough, rinse thoroughly.
China can also be "baked" for a few hours in an electric oven at a temperature of no more than 150 degrees to remove impurities.
Keep in mind that early china usually had the colors painted under the final glaze and this process shouldn’t cause those colors to fade. Later china often has stickers applied over the glaze, however, and this can cause permanent fading to occur during the bleaching process.
TEA TALES: Clipper Ships — The Age of Romance
The 1840’s brought the beginning of the romantic age of the clipper ship, the slim lined "greyhound of the sea" with acres of sails and a speed unmatched by any ship of the era. The first clippers were American, built in New England and based on the design of the fastest privateers and war ships from the War of 1812. Soon the Americans were setting speed records to San Francisco and to China. The first "extreme" clipper, the Rainbow, sailed from New York in 1845 and made the round trip to China in 180 days, which was faster than a normal sailing ship’s one way journey.
The English and others started building clippers, which steadily got both larger and faster. An American vessel, the aptly named Lightning, once made 436 nautical miles (just over 500 statute miles) in 24 hours, a record still unbroken for sailing ships. By the 1860's, races were an every year event and large sums of money wagered as to who would be first to England with the new year’s first tea harvests.
Sadly, technology once again triumphed over romance, and by the 1870's the somewhat stodgy "tortoise" of the steam ship prevailed over the "hare" that was the clipper. While no one could match the clipper’s speed under full sail, it still had to rely on the vagaries of the wind. The steamer would keep plodding along at a constant, if less dramatic, pace.
RECIPE: Parmesan Cheese "Bites"
If you are looking for a delicious but insanely easy "savory," look no farther than Parmesan Cheese "Bites." So simple that even this editor could do it, the recipe is as easy as melting fresh Parmesan cheese on a hot griddle or frying pan.
Use freshly grated Parmesan cheese, not the powdery stuff in the shaker can. Put on a hot griddle enough cheese to cover about a three-inch circle. Let it melt together a bit and then turn with a spatula, bringing it to the ever so slightly brown stage before removing to cool. If you want to be fancy, add small bits of precooked bacon or sausage to the cheese before you start the melt.
Before you scoff, give it a try and make one for me too...
--Bert
