09.25.08
bashing the blends
posted by Pete Moss | 6 comments
It is easy, from the remove of a tea purveyor who can purchase and enjoy some of the finest whole leaf teas the planet has to offer - at wholesale prices, to forget the socio-economic diversity of the global tea-drinking population.
Tea, being second only to water as the world’s most consumed beverage, is most certainly being enjoyed by poor people. Lots of us. 85% of the tea consumed in the good old U.S. of A. comes from Argentina. According to James Norwood Pratt, author of New Tea Lover’s Treasury, “There is no worse tea.” I respect your opinion, Mr. Pratt, but why does that rich red liquor taste so good to so many people? Is “not knowing any better” a valid criticism of the consumer?
Go to your grocery store and look at the bagged teas being offered: English Breakfast; Irish Breakfast; Earl Grey . . . all blended teas with a huge following. Even your very expensive Jasmines are, in the narrowest definition, blended teas. So, why are blended teas so maligned by tea snobs? As tea regains popularity in this country, tea purveyors are offering high quality blends. Yes, they are cut-tear-curl (CTC), and many have a rich and fruity aroma both in the can and in the teapot. The taste can be exquisite. Saying that “tasting good is not an indication of quality,” is tea snobbery taken to its lowest high. Does that mean that “tasting lousy IS an indication of quality”?
T Ching is primarily a health-oriented and educational website. As Sandy Bushberg, editor-in-chief, pointed out in a comment a few weeks ago, the aim is to educate readers so they can make an informed choice. Because little has been posted here about blends, readers need to sit up and stand up for their favorite blend. Let us not be misguided by the error of omission.
Rather than bash and dismiss the blends, let’s discuss them, review them, try them. Discussion does not rob us of our opinions- it helps us to examine them.
What’s your favorite blend?
September 25th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
OK, truth be told probably the FIRST loose tea that I tried (and still enjoy upon occasion) was one that I did purchase at a local supermarket, Twinings Irish Breakfast! This robust tea looks like very small (and I emphasize that) CTC “pearls” over very DARK oxidized tea. Being of Celtic extraction myself and having visted the Emeral Isle in 2002, I can attest to the fact that while this particular product was consumed in Ireland, in my limited experience the bag was usually used and YES the idea for this particular blend is to “get as dark as possible with the hottest water possible in as little amount of time as possible.” To this end, this particular variety works quite well. Since the Irish, like the Brititsh Breakfast variety from Twinings are similar in nature, usually both are offered with the addition of milk (which may explain why the CTC method is prefered for this type of tea). All in all, I do like this robust taste and have tried it solo, with milk and even with lemon (but not mixed with the milk as that just makes a HORRIBLE mess of curds in your cup, trust me as a child I tried it and DIDN’T drink the result, after one tast that was enough!) In short, again drinking what you enjoy to drink seems to me to be the key. I happen to be fairly open minded and ecclectic in my tea tastes. I appreciate puehr’s, greens and whites from many different growing regions, as well as blacks but like most of us we all have our favorites. In short, again if you like it DRINK IT! I know that we can sometimes come off as being snobbish when we tout the virtues of QUALITY whole leaf tea but in the end, as Pete Moss says above:
“Saying that “tasting good is not an indication of quality,” is tea snobbery taken to its lowest high. Does that mean that “tasting lousy IS an indication of quality”?”
Does that also mean that because it COSTS $100.00 per oz. that it’s quality tea if you don’t like the way it tastes? Some may say so just because of price but I’m reminded of a recent movie, “The Bucke List” where one of our leading characters, Jack Nicholson, drank a particular variety of coffee NOT becuase he liked the taste, but because it was the most expensive variety known to mankind. Trouble is, once you find out HOW it was processed, would you like to drink it? Seems as if these particular beans come through the digestive tract of a small arboreal critter BEFORE they are harvested and it is the partial digestion that supposedly imparts its special properties to that coffee and since it is so hard to obtain (don’t think about it too long) THAT’S why the price was so high.
Again, just keep drinking what you like to drink. There’s plenty of room in the tea producing world for just about anybody to enjoy our favorite beverage of choice.
Peace and blessings,
Fr. Patrick
CHEERS
September 25th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Yes Pete. Let’s have a discussion about blends. Perhaps you can lead us in such a topic here at T Ching. We’re always eager to explore all things tea.
My primary concern with blends is that it doesn’t allow the drinker to taste the subtle flavors of orthodox green and white teas. I’ve met many, many people who define themselves as “tea lovers” who’ve never tasted simple, green tea, properly brewed, straight up. I’ve only come to learn this when we’ve done tastings and have been approached by long time tea lovers of this phenomenon. As you know, good tea is very delicious.
I have to agree with Fr. Patrick ultimately. If you’re enjoying your tea, regardless of blend, price or quality - drink up.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Pete,
I love the Earl Grey and Bolder Breakfast and Meditative Mind blends that I got from the Tea Spot. The first is unlike any Earl Grey I have ever tasted; the second is a gem of a blend which combines pue’rh and black teas, and the third is a medley of greens AND gorgeous rose buds. The taste is transcendant.
That being said, Michelle . . . as you know I also adore Nepalese Oolong, Jasmine pearl, and Golden Lion’s Paw. All three are pure and unadulterated.
So many teas, so little time!
September 25th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Pete. This is very timely of you given that T Ching is about to introduce some new blends in our store. Keep your eyes open for an incredibly delicious chocolate tisane that actually has pieces of chocolate in it and is nothing short of liquid dessert and a traditional, herbal chai with warming and health promoting spices.
Although I agree with much of what you say, there are some things that I have to disagree with you on. Although it may be true that it is easier for us, being in the tea business, to purchase and enjoy pricier whole leaf teas, the ability to re-steep good quality whole leaf teas makes the cost per cup not that much more than teabags or blends. In addition, it is equally as easy for us to purchase blended and teabag tea.
Our choice to focus on whole leaf was for specific reasons related to several factors. 1. & 2. Freshness and health benefits that go along with drinking fresher tea leaves as opposed to tea that has been mass produced, sprayed with artificial flavorings and stored in warehouses and on store shelves for unknown lengths of time, 3. Support to small farmers and farms - This was a big factor for us. As I alluded to above, much of the ctc tea that goes into teabags and blended teas are grown and processed on huge plantations and factories owned by large corporations, many of which have exploited their workers for many years. The majority of whole leaf teas that we purchase come from small farms and plantations that are family owned and run, 4. The rituals of tea practice - Part of our mission of improving health with tea is to get people to slow down and live more in the present. Teabag tea is much more conducive to a hurried lifestyle (after all, that is why it was developed) and blends just don’t lend themselves to ritual as much as whole leaf, although you certainly can sit quietly and savor a deliciously flavored blend and 5. We wanted to introduce people to the many varietals of tea available and help them to learn to expand their palates to appreciate the myriad flavor profiles provided by the pure leaf itself. As you stated, we are about educating people and as such believe that people should experience all of the available choices before they can make educated decisions about things. If they have only consumed teabag or blended teas/tisanes (which as you indicated is the majority) and think that is tea, then they really can’t make decisions on all of the facts. By expanding their palates and knowledge about tea, I believe they are able to more fully enjoy all of their choices, including whole leaf, teabag and blended.
You can call me a snob if you choose, but I do believe that tasting good is not necessarily an indication of quality. I have a major sweet tooth and work very hard at controlling it. I can eat tons of candies and cakes and cookies etc., because they are delicious and I crave them. Do I believe they are high quality because they taste good? No. Does that mean that just because something tastes good it is not good quality? No, again. The blends that we are choosing to add to our store all taste great and are made with high quality, natural ingredients. I also don’t believe that tasting lousy is an indication of quality. If you are suggesting that whole leaf teas taste lousy, then email me and I will send you some samples of delicious whole leaf teas.
Thank you again for opening up this topic for discussion, and I do hope that you will consider writing up some reviews of blends and teabag teas that you have tried.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I often think that tea can be analogized in many ways to wine. Both can be fine agricultural products which rely on soil and weather and preparation, among other factors, in order to achieve a specific effect.
In this case, wine blends have no stigma in the wine world. Some of the best wines are blends, like Bordeaux. That said, some varietals also command extraordinary acclaim.
It may be that the tea world has yet to find its ‘Bordeaux’, but the effort and refinement of taste required to produce a good tea blend can be substantial.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
You are absolutely correct, Nick. Blending is a true art and takes a lot of work and skill. As far as the tea world finding its “Bordeaux”, the truth is that many, if not most, teas are blended. Different farmers in a Province will bring their teas to a central processing factory where they combine the leaves from these different farms to maintain a distinct flavor profile consistent with a particular region. In addition, black teas have been blended using different teas from different plantations for many, many years. Blenders look to create a particular taste profile and will combine many different teas to acheive what they are looking for or have been commissioned to create.
When you start adding fruit, spices, nuts, flavoring etc, you can imagine how complicated it becomes to balance all of those elements into something that is delicious and refreshing to our palates. We should all stand up and applaud the skill of these blenders to create these taste sensations.