ARCHIVE FOR April 2019

Hedgerows and field margins

26 April 2019
Hedgerows and field margins

When I travel across some regions of France, I’m alarmed. Where are the hedges? Where are the field margins? When I travel around the world, if I come across a tea plantation that extends as far as the eye can see without so much as a tree, a hedgerow or a field margin left to nature, I run a mile. I can be sure that I won’t find clean teas there, grown in conditions that respect nature. To produce clean teas without the use of pesticides, you need to work with nature. You need ladybirds to attack other insects, you need birds to eat the insects, you need earthworms to aerate the soil. You sometimes need cows, to mix their manure with green waste to feed the worms and enrich the soil. But all these creatures need somewhere to live. Hedges, trees, field margins, even a cowshed. In my job as a tea researcher, which involves seeking out good quality products grown using clean and sustainable farming methods that respect nature, a field containing a single crop covering hundreds of acres is a nightmare scenario.

Here, in Poobong (India), is a landscape that offers hope for biodiversity.  

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Eggs with tea

19 April 2019
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If you’ve never cooked with tea, here’s a simple recipe to get you started: marbled eggs. It’s Easter, but we’re not talking chocolate. Instead, we’re using real eggs, so we’re sticking to the theme all the same. And of course, you can still use them for an Easter egg hunt for added fun!

Hard-boil your eggs, then place them in cold water. Gently crack the shell by tapping the egg lightly on all sides. Next, place the eggs into simmering water for 20 minutes along with 15g of Pu Erh Impérial (per 300 ml water), a stick of cinnamon, a tablespoon of soya sauce, two star anise and a pinch of salt. Then leave to cool. They can be kept, unpeeled, in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

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A hundred teas a day

12 April 2019
A hundred teas a day

When I tell people that I sometimes taste 50 or 100 teas a day, or even more, many are surprised, and ask: how can you try that many teas and still taste something?

In fact, it’s easier to taste 20 teas than just one, especially if they come from the same terroir, because as I move from one liquor to the next, comparing how long they linger in the mouth, their flavour and their aromatic profile, it becomes quite easy to form an opinion on each one. When you taste a single tea, you have to be a complete master of tasting techniques and have a solid knowledge of the typical characteristics of that type to be able to form a proper opinion.

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Shiraore Kuki Hojicha and Pont-l’Evêque, an amazing pairing

5 April 2019
Shiraore Kuki Hojicha and Pont-l’Evêque, an amazing pairing

In general, Japanese roasted teas work very well with food such as shellfish, pan-fried salmon and smoked fish, as well as desserts with red fruit or praline. They are also ideal at the end of a meal, even for coffee-lovers who appreciate their roasted aromas.

Here, Shiraore Kuki Hojicha stands up well to a Pont-l’Evêque. On contact with the cheese, it develops woody, burnt aromas as well as notes of cooked fruit. It’s a great combination.

The tea was infused for an hour in room-temperature water. It can then be kept in the fridge for 24 hours.

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