Rob wraps about the Tuffy Steeper

Rob Cooke explains why the Tuffy Steeper makes a great tea companion, especially on-the-go...

Anybody else wondering what else he has in his back pocket...???

The Triple-Threat Position with your Whole Leaf Tea

Rinsing or washing your tealeaves doesn’t have to be an exact science but I do think that it’s an important process that’s worth taking. The rinsing technique is most commonly used in gongfu tea preparation as a means to cleanse and purify the steeping vessel as well as the leaf before starting the actual infusion of the leaf itself. Here’s a great guideline that you can use thanks to our friends at Imperial Tea Court if you’re wanting to learn more about the intricacies of gongfu tea preparation. http://www.imperialtea.com/classroom/GongfuPrep.htm

For those of you that don’t use traditional Chinese tea ware to prepare your loose tea, however, you can still easily employ this method with your tea.

I find that our Steepin’ Cup is a really easy vessel that you can use to employ this method. Here are the quick steps that I take prior to infusing my leaf…

Simply portion your whole leaf tea into the infuser, drop the infuser into the cup, pour your hot water to a level where it just starts to cover the leaf, and cover with lid. I sometimes utilize a swirling method at this point but you can also just let the leaf soak for 10-15 seconds. After that time period simply invert the lid, remove the infuser with leaf and place on inverted lid. Dump the rinse water from your cup.

As my old friend John Moreau used to say when I squared up to shoot a jump shot at Camp Virginia, “Now YOU ready!”

That’s right! Exposing your leaf for 10-15 seconds prior to your infusion means that you’ll have the following benefits to work with: a preheated vessel, a clean leaf, and a leaf that’s already warmed to a temperature close to the tea that you’ll consume.

It’s almost akin to the triple-threat position in basketball… Kobe Bryant demonstrates nicely here. But instead of being in a position to pass, shoot, or dribble the basketball you’re now in a position to steep, drink, and be merry with your tea! How’s that for a stretchable (but still ballpark) analogy!

photo from http://lakers.topbuzz.com/gallery/v/kobe-bryant/kobe-bryant-triple-threat-position-fullj_getty-71797704jb008_lakers_clips_2_41_03_am.jpg.html

You should know that the rinsing technique is most commonly used with Oolong and Pu’er teas but I find that it works well with all of the teas that I drink. In fact, it’s become my little pre-ritual technique for almost every cup or pot that I make now. Besides… it’s all about putting yourself in a position that produces the best tasting and most enjoyable cup. Take note Kobe.

So try these simple steps before you start your infusion and put yourself in the triple-threat position with your whole leaf tea every time!

Miso-Glazed Salmon Infused with RED ROCKS Tea

Succulent salmon soaked in a miso, ginger and RED ROCKS broth slightly seared and baked to buttery tenderness. Served with spinach sauteed with mushrooms makes a tea-licious healthy meal that takes about 30 minutes to prepare. Visit Tea Spot's Chef's blog for spinach recipe.

Miso-Glazed Salmon Infused with RED ROCKS Tea

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Marinate Time: at least 30 minutes / Cook Time: 15 - 20 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Level: Easy

Ingredients:

• 3 lb salmon, cut in 4 - 3/4 lb fillets
• 2 TBS Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBS Sweet Miso Paste
• 2 TBS Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
• 1 1/2 TBS Hoisin
• 2 TBS Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 TBS Dijon Mustard
• 2 TBS Brown Sugar
• 2 TBS Ginger, minced
• 1 TBS Olive Oil
• 2 TBS RED ROCKS loose tea, yielding 3/4 cup tea concentrate*

*Hot to make RED ROCKS Tea Concentrate: Bring 5 oz water to a boil. Place 2 TBS of tea in a STEEPING CUP or an 8 oz measuring cup. Pour 4 oz hot water over tea leaves, steep for 6 minutes and strain tea leaves. **Reserve tea leaves to make iced tea.

Preparation:

1. Clean and pat dry salmon.
2. Make RED ROCKS tea concentrate. While steeping, in a medium mixing bowl, combine rice vinegar, miso paste, mirin, hoisin, sesame oil, dijon, brown sugar and ginger. Whisk tea concentrate in miso mixture. Set aside for 15 minutes so the ingredients meld together.
3. Cover salmon with miso marinade and chill for at least 30 minutes
4. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
5. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Sear salmon 3-4 minutes on each side.
6. Place salmon in over for 8-10 minutes or until opaque in middle.
7. Garnish with lemon and fresh dill or cilantro and serve with sauteed spinach & mushrooms.

If you don't like salmon then try the same marinade over black cod, chicken or pork tenderlion.

T-Man: a cool loose tea steeping gadget!

Designer Jeewon Jung has made a new loose leaf tea steeper with a sense of humor. I first saw it on two design sites Yanko Design and Gadgets World then looked up the rest of this designer's creations on his own site. I'm a new fan! Take a glimpse at T-Man....

Simple Steps to Improving your Rooibos Tea

If you're new to loose leaf tea, seeing particles of your tea floating around in your cup isn't necessarily appealing to look at let alone drink. We're a culture that is used to bag tea, no muss, no fuss, nothing floating around in your drink.

The tea, or rather teasane, that is the worst culprit of this problem is Rooibos tea. Rooibos is not actually from the tea leaf, but rather is an South African herb that is very flavorful, has tons of nutrients, is caffeine free, but is VERY difficult to filter when making a cup of tea. It seems that no matter what strainer you use, a metal ball, mesh plastic, a Tuffy Steeper, etc. little bits of Rooibos get out and not only settle at the bottom of the cup, but many of the bits of tea feel the need to float right at the surface, ready to enter your mouth upon first sip. I no longer mind having the tea leaves or herbs floating in my tea, but for those of you who do, I am going to explain to you a fantastic and very simple way of steeping your Rooibos, like our Red Rocks, so that you can have your cup of tea without choking on any tea bits.

Step 1) Boil your water.

Step 2) While the water boils, put your Rooibos tea in an infuser/steeper, like the Tuffy Steeper pictured here.

Step 3) Leave the infuser off to the side, aka. do not put inside the cup, mug or teapot.

Step 4) Once the water comes to a boil, pour the water 2/3-4/5 of the way up the mug.

Step 5) With the water already in the mug, take your infuser with the tea in it, and slowly lower it into the mug.

Step 6) Wait at least 6 minutes for the Rooibos to steep.

Step 7) Pull the infuser out and you have a practically Rooibos free cup of tea!

The important step in this process is #5. Typically with loose leaf tea, our infuser with the tea is already in the mug and we pour the water over it. Normally this is the best way to steep. However, by doing this with Rooibos we're forcing the already fine tea bits right out of the holes of the infuser. Instead what we're demonstrating is that when you slowly lower the infuser into a cup or mug mostly filled with water, the water comes rushing into the holes and pushes the tea into the middle of the infuser. What you end with is a cup of tea with hardly anything floating it in.

I must give credit where credit is due, it was not me, but rather my coworker who came up with this idea and described this simple change in procedure and therefore we can all thank him for a better cup of Rooibos tea!

Why Choose Loose Leaf Tea?

Tea ranks higher than most fruits and vegetables in antioxidant potential and Vitamin C and K content. Antioxidants work to “mop up” free radicals from our body’s cells. They prevent and repair damage done by these free radicals. Free radicals can accelerate aging and damage your DNA. They are produced in large quantities when the body is exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun, all other forms of radiation, car exhaust, industrial fumes and cigarette smoke. Health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, Cancer and the aging process are all contributed to by oxidative damage.
Recent studies have shown that tea prepared using tea bags had significantly lower antioxidant capacity than leaf tea (ref. May 2000 issue of International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition) and instant powdered, bottled, decaffeinated, herbal teas, extracts or tea pills have even fewer or none of the powerful antioxidant properties of loose teas. These use hand-picked whole leaves while tea bags usually use machine gathered and cut leaves or just the "dust" from the tea leaf. This makes regular tea bags produce fewer antioxidants and more caffeine than loose teas. Another factor to consider is bleach residue, which usually remains on tea bags. And finally, the research and studies done on tea are based on loose leaf tea (green, white, black, pu-erh and oolong tea).