Walker Tea Review | video tea review and tea tasting blog

How do you do tea at work/school?

October 17, 2017 by Jason

Making your own tea at the office or at school can be a very healthy, affordable and rewarding experience, if preparation and clean-up are simple and convenient. Take a look at how easy the steeping cup can be, and try for yourself.

I used Dragon Pearl‘s steeping cup which is FREE with an order of 2 items or more. You may also want to try Adagio Teas tast ing set ($9) for ease of use and cleaning. This is what the pros use to evaluate teas.

What other methods do you use? Add a comment or shoot me an email (jasonowalker@gmail.com) about the most convenient, effective way to prep your loose teas at work or school.

Teavana Closing – Thoughts

October 3, 2017 by Jason

I Told You So

Four years ago to the month, Walker Tea Review covered the grand opening of Teavana’s flagship store on New York’s Madison Avenue. Then back in July, Starbucks announced the scheduled closure of 379 Teavana stores. “But why?” you may ask. There are several factors (and opinions) at play here.

Shriveling Shopping Malls

Some blame in on the death of the American shopping mall. This is a factor, but not necessarily the primary culprit, as Charlie Cain explains. 75% of Americans go to malls at least once per month, and large shopping centers drive 50% of all US retail sales. I give Charlie a lot of credit here as he has worked in tea (and was a Starbucks exec), but I’m not convince the numbers work out. How many cups of tea do you need to sell to weekend mall traffic to make a worthwhile profit? Does half of all US retail sales- spread across multiple shopping center locations (and across multiple shops within those shopping centers) mean these marketplaces are healthy? Not sure about that one either. On the other hand- I know tea shops being contacted by shopping mall agents with enticing proposals to lure them into the slots Teavana is exiting.

Bloated Brick and Mortar

American retail stores are bloated in overall square footage. In 2015 the estimate was 25 square feet of retail space per American vs. 2.5 per European. The result has been vacant retail properties with no new business coming in- the store’s footprint is too big and the rents are too damn high.

Tea Trumping Coffee

Many people want to point out that tea is growing faster than coffee, and that some age groups are drinking the same/more tea than coffee. Maybe so- it depends on what kind of coffee you’re talking about. I haven’t seen the studies that examine the growth of specialty coffee vs specialty tea. American consumers are just waking up to the taste of higher quality espresso drinks and single-origin coffees. Comparing declines in the prolific consumption of drip coffee to the slight rises in loose tea use doesn’t tell enough of the story.

Selling Tea, Or The Cup?

The model has to be right. In the original article 4 years ago, I noticed that the store layout indicated 2 sales models trying to compete in the same space. A consumer can only buy so many novelty teapots and teaware. Teavana mall stores push teaware- this makes developing frequent return customers challenging.

How Do You Brew Tea?

September 27, 2017 by Jason

Steep Tea Gaiwan

Some people run in fear of loose leaf tea because they think that brewing loose leaf tea is complicated or messy. They’ve seen all the fancy setups and get turned off or intimidated. Steeping loose leaf tea is really not much different from using a teabag.

Things You Need

1. Tea – Choose a good tea. Life’s too short to drink bad tea.

2. Hot water– at the right temperature. Good teas are more tolerant of hot water and produce less bitterness, but optimal temperatures can extend the life of your tea leaves and deliver richer character. A good kettle will help control temperature and allow for smooth pouring.

3. A steeping vessel. This could be a gaiwan, teapot, tea infuser, or other. Avoid those infuser balls and similar gimmicky crap. If you want something that goes straight in a cup, get a brew basket instead.

What To Do

1. Get your cup and pot ready. If you want good tasting tea that isn’t weak and watery, you’re looking to add a good heaping teaspoon of tea for each cup of tea served at each steeping. Notice this is per steeping – don’t think that you need 5 teaspoons if you’re going to steep the tea 5 times. Most good teas can be re-steeped. In many cases, they can be re-steeped multiple times.

2. Heat your water. There’s all kinds of talk about how heating water in the microwave is bad. It may not be the best but it isn’t terrible either. Kettles are nice, and a Zojirushi is delightful. Aim to heat your water to slightly below a full boil- look for small bubbles, not a rolling boil. Most teas don’t need water that hot.

3. Add water to your cup/pot. Tea leaves will float. Try to pour so that all the leaves at least dip beneath the surface for a second.

4. Wait 30 seconds and then decant. “Decant” is just a fancy way of saying get the water off the tea leaves. You may be thinking that 30 seconds isn’t enough. You may be right. Use 30 seconds as a rule of thumb- as you learn to use the tea leaves you’ll find a your ideal amount of time. In most cases you certainly don’t need more than 2 minutes for a first steep. That’s just over-steeping tea leaves that can be better used on the re-steep. As you re-steep, steep a little longer each time – add 10 to 30 seconds to the previous steep time.

5. Enjoy.

Where Does Tea Come From?

September 18, 2017 by Jason

Where does tea come from?

Tea can come from many places, and it can be quite useful to know the origin of a tea.

For one thing, knowing a tea’s origin can give you a sense of the flavor characteristics and processing method you should expect that tea to possess.

Secondly, knowing where your tea comes from can help you make a better purchase decision. For example, Darjeeling has been in the news several times this year, as floods, strikes, and political uncertainty. These activities will like affect Darjeeling tea production and prices. However, it has been known for years that the market sells more “Darjeeling” tea than the region is actually capable of producing. If you can spot the authentic character and taste of a tea, it can increase your chances of purchasing an authentic product.

To learn more about where teas come from, check out these resources about tea origins:

♦ Sri Lanka
♦ Hangzhou, China: Dragonwell
♦ Taiwan: Oolongs
♦ Hawaii
♦ Japan: Kumamoto teas
♦ Yunnan province, China
♦ Darjeeling, India
♦ Wu Yi Mountain, China
♦ La La Mountain, China
♦ Tea Terrior

Does all tea come from the same plant?

Camillia Sinensis - Wikipedia The answer to this question depends on what you consider to be “tea.” The earliest drinks called tea came from the camillia sinensis plant. Camillia sinensis is an evergreen plant that grown in multiple regions around the world. The traditional teas – dark, black, green, yellow, wulong/oolong, and white, are made from camillia sinensis leaves. Herbal teas (sometimes called tisanes) can come from other plants. Chamomile and peppermint are examples of popular herbal teas.

Learn more about camellia sinensis teas:

♦ Top 10 teas to expand your palate
♦ The big, wide world of Chinese teas

What Are The Different Kinds of Tea?

September 15, 2017 by Jason

What kinds of tea are there?

Keep in mind that using a word like “type” or “kind” can be understood in different ways. These words could mean things like general processing method, in which you get categories of camellia sinensis processing, like:

♦ dark
♦ black
♦ wulong/oolong
♦ yellow
♦ green
♦ white

In other instances type/kind of tea can mean the contents of the tea

♦ herbal: chamomile and peppermint are popular herbal teas. Look out – not all herbal teas are caffeine-free.
♦ blends: English breakfast is a blend. A blend can be any combination of more than one kind of tea ingredient
♦ flavored: jasmine tea is often a single-source green tea that is infused with jasmine flower aroma
♦ combinations of the above: Earl grey tea is usually a blend of black teas flavored with bergamot citrus.

How are teas made?

Creating great teas is a process that requires several areas of expertise. Processing fine teas often includes:

♦ Harvesting: The right tea leaves need to be plucked at the right time. Once the leaves have been plucked, the clock is ticking.

♦ Withering: The moisture level within the leaves needs to be reduced to make a stable product. Sometimes this drying activity is as simple as setting the leaves in Withering also makes the leaves more pliable for shaping.

♦ Shaping: The limp and withered leaves have more flexibility and can be shaped. Some tea leaves get twisted or rolled. Shaping of the leaves can affect the appearance and steeping qualities of the tea.

♦ Firing/finishing: Depending on the type of tea being produced, firing may be done at various points during processing to halt the oxidation process. Firing adds distinctive flavor characteristics to the tea. Finishing, as the word suggests, is the final step in removing moisture and creating a final product. Both finishing and firing involve a direct or indirect heat source.

♦ Other processes: Some teas, like dark teas and yellow teas may include further processing of the leaves. After tea leaves are dried, they can be blended with other teas and herbs, or other flavoring added.

10 Commandments of Tea

September 12, 2017 by Jason

Story goes that Lu Yu climbed one of the Sacred mountains of China (every telling names a different mountain), and drank tea for 40 days before descending and presenting these

10 Commandments of Tea.

Thou shalt Try new teas. If you can’t describe your tea beyond the basics of “green”, “black”, or a brand name, you haven’t really experienced what the world of tea offers.
Thou shalt Go loose and natural. Tea blends were originally designed to mask inferior teas. Get some loose tea with no added flavors. You’ll be amazed at the varieties of wonderful flavors in good teas.
Thou shalt Smell your leaves. Truly savor tea– don’t mindlessly slurp
Thou shalt Use fresh tea. If the tea has been sitting in a box in your cabinet for years, the spirit is gone. You are drinking tea-corpse.
Thou shalt Use filtered water. Boil it in a kettle, and take it off the heat just as it starts to boil.
Thou shalt Experiment with preparation. Some teas get more astringent when you steep too long. Steeping too short leaves your tea too weak. Printed instructions are just a guide.
Thou shalt Have some familiarity with a tea’s origin. You will develop an appreciation of how earth and people have contributed to the cup you are drinking.
Thou shalt Use a proper cup– avoid paper and plastic.
Thou shalt Keep a tea journal, or some sort of record of your developing appreciation of tea.
Thou shalt Support your tea community. When you discover a sweet ambrosia, you’ll want to share that finding. You’ll also want to search for other delightful tea nectars. Your tea community will prove immensely valuable.

Steeping: Finum Brew Basket

September 5, 2017 by Jason

For the longest time, having tea at the office or away from home has involved compromise. In most cases, the compromise came in the form of a teabag. Even when teabags have high quality tea, it rarely compares to a well-steeped cup of quality loose leaf.

This compromise on quality often comes at greater convenience. Or at least that is the prevailing logic.

But the Finum Brewing Basket offers a middle path that comes closer to achieving Tea-At-Work-Nirvana.
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