How many of you know where your teas come from? I know I don't know where most of mine are from, especially the tisanes: all that lavender and cinnamon and ginger? Companies aren't always clear as to where their teas come from, though it's much more common to specify where green teas or black teas are grown.

Adagio is one of the companies that has taken an interest in acquainting people with not only where their tea blends are from, but also the individual farmers for some of the teas via their Roots Campaign. The farmer for the pi lo chun is Huang Jian Lin and you can find out more about him here. He talks a little about his typical day in the fields and also gives advice about how best to brew the pi lo chun. The name translates to "green snail spring", as it's harvested in the springtime and the leaves are then rolled into spirals much like a snail's shell.

As a sociologist, I find this type of campaign fascinating; this is probably also because I'm friends with a few folks doing work on agriculture and farms (hi Shawn!). So often we don't know where much of our food comes from, and tea is no exception. This obviously doesn't make tea a local crop, but it does put a face to the otherwise faceless tea producers.

My first impression upon opening the bag was just how grassy it smelled. I'm not typically a fan of green teas, because they usually smell (and taste) fairly sour to me, but this one reminds me more of matcha. They say it smells floral and a little smoky, which are kind of lingering in the background, but it's mainly just a pleasantly sweet grassy scent.

From their own description of the tea:

Green tea from Fujian, China. Made from the finest tender buds, hand-plucked and rolled. Perfumy and sweet floral, with a full body and slightly earthy and savory quality. Lingering, aromatic finish and delicate floral-smoky note.

I used a rather generous teaspoon and steeped it for 2 minutes at just under 200 degrees, per Adagio's instructions. Huang Jian Lin recommends it be brewed in an open glass container, rather than a teapot with a lid, because it needs to breathe more than other teas. I also tried really hard to keep the water temperature low. Part of the reason I don't make green teas is because they seem so finicky about temperature.

The other part of the reason I don't make green teas? I really just don't like them. They taste bitter to me, regardless of how I brew them. They're astringent and dry my mouth out. It's disappointing how little the aroma translates to flavor for this one, because it smelled like matcha (which I love) but tastes like everything I don't like about green teas.

This is a blogging project sponsored by the Association of Tea Bloggers, much like the monthly carnivals. We are a supportive organization designed to connect those who love tea and also happen to blather write about it. Other participating blogs:

• Black Dragon Tea Bar
• Gongfu Girl
• LeafJoy
• Notes on Tea
• The Tea Enthusiast's Scrapbook
• Tea For Today
• Tea Pages
• Teaspoons & Petals
• That Pour Girl
• Walker Tea Review

A green tea for green tea lovers only who can get past the astringency and echoes of bitterness to appreciate the grassy florals and smoke. Sadly, I am not this person.

You know what it means when a tea blogger disappears from the internet for two and a half months? It means that she has been traveling (California, Maui), doing research (i.e. my day job), reading 28 books since May (gotta make a dent in my to-read list sometime & summer's as good a time as any), and falling in love. The latter was accidental, but perhaps all the sweeter for it. Like when you put a spoonful of sugar in your cup, get distracted by something else, come back and add another, then take a sip? Yeah, kinda like that.

Best way to get a tea blogger to fall in love with you? Ask her out on a first date to go get some tea.

However, duty calls again! I'm traveling less and hope to be drinking more tea. It was, for a time, a scorchingly hot summer in which I couldn't even think about tea because it was so hot. Now it's cooling back down and I've discovered some lovely new teas I want to share with you all.

Tea blog carnival time! Sponsored by the Association of Tea Bloggers and graciously hosted by Cinnabar of Gongfu Girl. The topic being:

Write about how you brew one type of tea.

A friend of mine recently commented that making tea was more complicated than she expected. Why was I so particular (she actually used a less pleasant word, but I prefer particular)? The easy answer is that I've had one too many bad cups of tea. The more thorough answer: I believe that every tea has the potential to be good tea when brewed well. Here are the three most important things about any tea.

Space
Tea leaves expand and like to roll around in the water. For this reason, it's preferable to brew in a basket instead of a tea ball or (worse!) a tea stick. If I'm brewing in something other than a teapot with a built-in infuser, my absolutely favorite is Lupicia's strainer. I bought one on a whim, and then went back to buy two more.

Time
Once you've added water to the tea, you need to know how long to steep it. Remember that steeping time varies, depending on whether you use bagged tea or full leaf, and what temperature you steep it at. Get a good timer to help you out. I really like steep.it a lot if I'm near a computer, though usually I just use Tea Timer on my android phone. It's absolutely the best app I've found: simple, elegant, never crashes. Suggestions for good iPhone apps welcome!

Temperature
Seems like everyone's opinion varies on temperature as well as time. In general, the manufacturer's directions about time and temperature have served me well. Start on the lower side of things, then progress from there. Trial and error will serve to give you the best tasting cup of tea possible. It's grueling, and maybe a little annoying, but it really does work. Generally, I tend to put both tisanes and black teas in a full boil (212° F or 100° C).

Other than that, sweeten appropriately (as previously discussed) and drink in a timely fashion. Also, make it a point to try new things. For a long time, I thought green tea was absolutely disgusting, until I realized I'd only ever had it brewed too hot and for far too long. It's all about the journey right? Keep looking for that perfect cup of tea, and I guarantee you'll find it.

Further Reading
A.C. Cargill on Tea Thermometers
Alex Zorach on Very Long Steeping Times
Republic of Tea: How to Brew Hot Tea
Republic of Tea's Citizen's Tea Library
Steven Smith: On Brewing the Perfect Cup of Tea
Tea Gadgets: Boiling Edition
Tea Gadgets: Brewing Edition
To Bag or Not to Bag

I generally only get to get new tea ware when the old stuff breaks. So I got to thinking, what else could I do with old teapots and cups? The internet yielded a heck of a lot of options. Some of these even seem plausible. Certainly some of them seem pretty.

• chandeliers (here, here, and here)
• planters
• homes for hermit crabs (definitely the cutest option!)
• dangerous but very lovely mobiles
• giant unwieldy necklaces (see my previous post on this topic)
• bird feeders
• candles
• pincushions
• windchimes
• lamps
• sculptures

I don't have an excuse for my absence, other than obsessing over that April Fool's post of mine. It's true, Cheshire Cat doesn't exist. Yet. Maybe.

I've been toying with the idea of starting my own tea company almost since I started this blog. With what time? I have no idea. With what resources? I have no idea. But sometimes I dream about mixing tea by hand, getting to create the flavors I wish existed, and getting to share those flavors with other people.

This is nuts, right? I don't know anything about marketing, small business strategies, taxes for small business owners, etc. I don't know that I could hack it. I mean, I love tea, but do I love it that much? I've watched friends be driven nearly insane by their small businesses, selling things they used to love. Tea is my quiet time, and often it's part of a private ritual. How do I learn how to share that while still keeping something for myself?

Maybe this is just one of my crazy dreams that won't amount to much of anything, other than the occasional mix I'll put together for myself. Maybe it will, someday, when grad school gets a little lighter (does that even happen?). A tea-loving girl can dream.

What a confusing concoction! Cheshire Cat is a black tea that includes miniature rosebuds, strawberries, a bit of mint, and pink sprinkles for sweetness. All of this in a rich assam black tea that can stand up to the clash of flavors. I highly recommend adding vanilla honey to enrich the sweet richness just a touch more, though it's definitely still lovely without it.

I love this blend because it combines two of my favorite things: tea (duh) and Alice in Wonderland. I let it steep for four and a half minutes, then sat down to relax. The sprinkles seem like they enhance the flavor of the strawberries, allowing it to blend nicely with the roses. The mint is only a refreshing aftertaste, so think twice before you mint-haters turn away. I can't find a single thing to dislike.

Sweet and surprisingly light, but with the kick of black tea. A lovely addition to any tea party.

P.S. happy April Fool's!

Etsy is an utterly magical place. Being able to shop in an internet boutique consisting almost exclusively of handmade items is a trip. I try to do at least 90% of my gift shopping there. Pretty much whatever you want, someone will make it. Then when you get it and open the box, you'll usually find some sort of handwritten note thanking you for your purchase. Sometimes they send you samples of some other products, or business cards to other Etsy shops they recommend. Compare that to buying on Amazon, a thoroughly impersonal (if very convenient) experience.

This is the first post of an ongoing series of gift guides of sorts. I collected a sampling of some interesting looking teas, including a Mardi Gras themed black tea, white jasmine, and a kit with all the spices for making your own chai blends. Get to the first part of the series by clicking the photo preview below:

So tell me about your favorite Etsy shops: where do you go for your hand-blended tea?

Bottled teas are pretty hit or miss, but this one is definitely amazing. Billed as a champagne substitute, Golden Star's white jasmine sparkling tea is a charming alternative with a very low alcohol content. These lovely pale golden bottles are currently only found in brick-and-mortar stores in California, but you can order a case online. Order one with a few friends - it's worth the cost.

It's champagne-colored and smells slightly fruity. The silver needle white tea base balances out the sweetness of the jasmine and the cane sugar. I don't find it overly sweet, though a family friend declared it a bit too sweet for his taste. I'm also inclined to drink tea-based concoctions whenever possible, so perhaps I'm biased. It doesn't taste particularly flowery to me either, just a light fruity flavor.

Lightly bubbly golden concoction with a lovely jasmine aftertaste. Perfect champagne substitute, though I don't know whether I can limit it to drinking it only on special occasions.

I'm not advocating tea and chocolate; that's too much sweetness for one sitting (at least for me).  But tea-flavored chocolate...now that's a whole other ballgame.

Knowing about my tea *ahem* problem, my wonderful upstairs neighbors gifted me with a Duke of Earl Gray chocolate from Heavenly Chocolate, a local hole-in-the-wall chocolate shop in a basement that is more worth visiting than you can guess. It was a mix of milk and dark chocolates, not tooth-achingly sweet, and subtly flavored like a very smooth earl gray. Yum! So I, of course, got curious about what other types of tea-flavored chocolate there might be.