Tea in the box

2024/5000
If you've ever tasted popular Japanese sweets, you'll probably have a taste for green tea. Green tea ice cream, green tea mochi, green tea cake: the flavor is elegant, sweet without being too sweet and, above all, ubiquitous and delicious. However, when the obtained substance must be gelatinous or creamy, the green tea scenting these delicacies must be fine and versatile. And that's when the matcha enters the stage.

RENDEZ-VOUS MATCHA

What is matcha? This is a very fine green tea powder. The tea leaves are ground between two stones. Although the process seems quite simple, finding matcha - or matcha utensils - can be tricky outside of Japan. Moreover, it should also be mentioned that in Japan itself, matcha is a luxury commodity. Not only does the matcha powder come at a nice price (which goes up to extravagant levels, along with its quality), but its instruments, made from bamboo in a traditional way, can also cost a good sum. No wonder matcha is associated with a refined tradition - the Japanese tea ceremony.

HISTORY AND PREPARATION

Surprisingly (if we notice the relative absence of matcha in China), it was under the Chinese Song Dynasty that matcha was invented. This tea powder became a key element of Chan Buddhist rituals and it was with this spiritual connotation that it was brought back to Japan by a monk in the 12th century.
A few centuries pass. The Chinese have stopped using this form of tea. The Japanese, meanwhile, codify its use in a context of tea ceremony, chanoyu. We must sift the matcha; place it in a tea bowl with a scoop of bamboo (chashaku) and whip with a traditional whip, the chasen, until a uniform liquid is obtained. According to tradition, matcha is drunk three times, with a little sweetness between sips to soften the bitter taste.

¡A sweet Sunday

Outside it is cold, a small snowstorm is coming but at home the atmosphere is soft and warm. Fill your cup, sit comfortably on your couch, and take care of yourself.

Close your eyes and enjoy this moment of pleasure! Meditate, rest wrapped in your blanket, and discover the wealth of spices that intoxicate your teas and infusions.

Subscribe between February 1 and 28 to receive your box in March.

As usual, you will receive an assortment of 4 to 5 varieties of tea and tea to enjoy and share (or not).

Oolong tea has several names: blue tea, blue-green tea, Wulong tea or black dragon tea ... Its identification labels are numerous, but its variations of flavors and flavors are even more! Some oolong teas will delight you with warm, woody scents, while others will delight you with their sweet, fruity notes.

The benefits of oolong tea:

Diligent fighter cholesterol and fats, oolong tea has several virtues much appreciated by health fans. Its supply of theine and caffeine helps to keep the mind clear, awake - but also to regenerate the metabolism thanks to the antioxidants of these elements. In addition, oolong tea is said to be a wonderful anti-inflammatory ... as well as an unsuspected culinary ingredient! To slide in your Chinese recipes.

The production of oolong tea:

Among the reasons explaining the vast differences in taste of oolong teas, one of the simplest lies in the very process of production. Indeed, oolong teas are semi-fermented teas (unlike pu ehr which is simply fermented and aged). "Semi" is a vague description, and for good reason: the degree of fermentation of oolong teas varies greatly from one tea to another! The Chinese method typically produces a light tea at 10-15% fermentation. The Taiwanese method is more intense, fermenting tea at levels up to 70%.

Oolong tea is prepared with almost boiling water (temperature around 95 degrees Celsius). Its infusion time can take between 3 and 10 minutes. However, good quality oolong tea is quite unique: not only can you re-infuse it ... but tea gains more flavors and becomes more pleasant during the following infusions. The third and fourth infusions are said to be the best. That's enough for us as an excuse to drink more!

Low in theine, Pu ehr could be drunk at any time of day.

That said, it is after a heavy meal that Pu ehr tea will do its best appearance. This tea, famous for its medicinal properties, has indeed beneficial effects on digestion ... as detoxification of the system. So, it is ideal for after parties: it burns fat, helps the recovery hangovers, and soothes the stomach. And again, that's not all!

However, its intense spicy flavor may surprise some. At least the first time. The woody notes, strongly reminding us of the forest and soft ground, become a valued perfume. What releases these so strong flavors?

Let us roll out the story line...

The birth of Pu ehr tea took place on a Chinese road between a Yunnan firm and the palace of the Emperor. Farmers compressed green tea to carry it on horsebacks: this tea was intended for the emperor, as part of the tribute. Whereas, being in contact with animal’s heat, the compressed tea leaves began to ferment. The same fermentation phenomenon could be observed in warm and humid regions. Gradually, the Chinese developed a taste for this so distinct perfume.

Today, the methods of fermentation and torrefaction were automated. But if an accelerated fermentation process was created in 1960, fans of Pu her tea have a taste preferring aged teas. According to experts, aging Pu ehr accentuates taste as much as medicinal benefits. The oldest Pu ehr teas can be 100 years old! Like a good bottle of wine, the more "raw" Pu ehr saw years pass, the more it is considered luxurious. Cheers, then!

Dans les pays occidentaux, les Anglais sont perçus comme étant la nation du thé. Ils en sont férus, c’est un stéréotype persistant – et, contrairement à bien d’autres stéréotypes, c’en est un qui est entièrement assumé et apprécié des êtres visés. Cependant, des recherches effectuées pour la semaine de la science britannique ont révélé, en 2015, que seulement 16 % des Anglais infusaient leur thé correctement. Plus de 80 % de la population était donc jugés trop impatients!
Le résultat : leur tasse de thé bien aimée n’atteignait jamais son plein potentiel.

Qu’en est-il de la vôtre?

Selon le British Standard Institute, afin de pouvoir dégager tout son bouquet de saveurs, un thé devrait infuser entre 2 et 5 minutes. Mais cette marge, si elle doit généralement être perçue comme un minimum, n’est pas un chiffre exact. Les thés les plus délicats nécessiteront souvent une température plus basse et, en contrepartie, un temps d’infusion plus long. Un processus tout en douceur et longueur… Le thé vert, au contraire, est associé avec un temps d’infusion beaucoup plus court.

D’autres thés demanderont des températures élevées et de longues infusions. Les thés aux fruits peuvent prendre entre 6 et 8 minutes avant d’aromatiser entièrement votre eau; les thés rooibos, quant à eux, entre 4 et 10 minutes. Certains thés pourront infuser votre théière durant d’encore plus longues périodes sans devenir amers. Heureusement, bien des thés s’accompagnent d’étiquettes et d’instructions précises quant à leur mode de préparation idéal.

Si vous êtes pressé, mais que vous ne voulez pas vous passer de votre tasse de thé, il y a toujours moyen de moyenner : augmentez la quantité de thé et réduisez le temps d’infusion pour compenser. Ça vous permettra d’avoir un breuvage chaud et plein de saveurs rapidement, l’amertume en moins.