At the Tea Table with Geoffrey Norman of Steep Stories
Lu Ann at The Cup of Life interviewed mutual tea friend Geoff of Steep Stories for the latest installment of her At the Tea Table series. They talked about how he first got into tea, his favorite haunts in Portland, and what his writing process is like. I always love reading about the interesting people that she interviews and how they make tea part of their lives.
Jee from Oh, How Civilized posted a super helpful tutorial on making your own tea lattes. I normally think of chai or green tea but nearly every tea can be made as a latte, often with delicious results. Warm, frothy milk is just so comforting to drink during the winter months. The butterfly pea flower iced tea latte that she made is particularly striking to look at.
Ricardo from My Japanese Green Tea wrote an in depth post about aracha. The videos that he included were especially helpful for understanding how the tea leaves are processed. There really is much less information available about Japanese teas so his blog has become a valuable resource. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment where he will show us how aracha is refined into sencha.
Alishan and Fern Stream Amber Oolong from MEM Tea
Char from Oolong Owl compared two different Taiwanese oolongs from the Massachusetts based operation MEM Tea. The Fern Stem Amber Oolong definitely sounds like it would be up my alley. Her vivid descriptions of the fruity notes made me really want to give it a try. I love that she made the teas gongfu as well as bowl/grandpa style. These methods often give you very different experiences so it is nice to hear how it goes with both of them.
Tea Cocktail: Oolong Milk Punch
Sara from Tea Happiness shared her twist on a traditional English milk punch, using milk oolong instead. I don’t experiment often on my own but I love discovering tea infused cocktails when I’m out and about. This recipe sounds like a must try though. Her suggestion of using a flavored oolong rather than a pure, high quality Jin Xuan makes a lot of sense.