Dear "Addict in the Blue Mountains"

It seems that our Blue Mountain Nilgiri is turning out to satisfy a certain type of palate. Maybe it's because this tea is so understated or because it lacks nearly all the astringency people might expect in a black, but it seems that this delicate tea gets lost on many people. And since we all really love it over here, we get excited to hear when others love it too.

So "Thank You!" to the writer of Tea For Today, for writing about our Organic Nilgiri tea, from the Blue Mountains of southern India. It sounds like our tea came in at just the right time to offer some solace to your day. Check out her post here called, Tea Addict in the Blue Mountains.

Haute Couture of Tea (part deux)

The previous post reminds me of some serious tea couture - the Red Dress created a few years ago by designer Brett Cooper. After being commissioned by Celestial Seasonings to make a red gown from their tea packaging, Cooper transformed nearly 700 packets of tea into this red gown and matching hat, purse, and heels. Celestial Seasonings donated a portion of sales of this brilliant Red Dress to WomenHeart, the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. Kudos to our Boulder neighbors for fundraising in such a fun & whimsical way! Their goal was to also help raise awareness that black tea may actually help lower cholesterol, a major factor of heart disease. The link between black tea and heart health has been supported by numerous scientific studies. You can find our current list of black teas here: Organic Blue Mountain Nilgiri (the one I'm happily sipping currently), Organic New Moon Darjeeling, Bolder Breakfast, Earl of Grey, Creme Caramel, and Mango Tango.

Organic Blue Mountain Nilgiri

This Saturday was definitely tea party material. It was a lovely week; the sun was out, and it reached nearly 60 degrees on Friday--a spring boon in frigid Boston. And, of course, two days later, as the steady supply of dirty snowpack melted almost completely, the snow falls yet again--a fresh 8 to 12-inch supply on the way.

I suppose I shouldn't moan too much, I certainly have my fair share of tasks to undertake, and a snowy day only makes it easier to sit still in front of a laptop computer and whisk up journalistic moments of ingenuity as well as masterfully crafted graphic design projects, courtesy of Adobe's Creative Suite 3. However, I'm definitely going to need some caffeine to make the magic happen.

Enter TeaSpot's organic, fair trade Blue Mountain Nilgiri. These deep black-brown leaves hail from the Nilgiri Mountains of India. The dry leaves have aromatic overtones of apricots and berries.

I steep my Blue Mountain goodness with boiling water for three minutes--I'm a wimpy black tea drinker, and any hints of bitterness (which usually come with a longer steep time) leave me nonplussed. The leaves, after being steeped, smell not unlike a freshly kicked-over pile of wet fall foliage. Earthy, subtle, releasing memories of fall days in fleece jackets, riding on the leaf sweeper.

The tea tastes steamy, if that's even possible. A light sweetness lingers on the front of the tongue, which is also reminiscent of its scent--apricots and berries. It's very smooth, and only lightly tannic. I am fairly positive that this tea will be the bridge builder between me and the black tea world that I have always been too timid to jump into. I'm an oolong girl, through and through. But Blue Mountain Nilgiri, I raise my cup to your subtle deliciousness. 

The Chai-wala of Slumdog Millionaire

Post-Oscars media has me remembering just how much I loved Slumdog Millionaire. I didn't get out to see many movies this year, but I'm so glad I picked the one that walked away with Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, & the list goes on. Although I haven't ventured to India yet myself, I've heard many stories from my Indian-American friends. I had heard about the organized bands children begging to make a living, and about the pimps who exploit them. I'd also heard about the huge disparity between the rich and the impoverished, and about the caste system which is still deeply enmeshed in the culture. I'd also heard about forced prostitution, which was also detailed in the 2004 documentary Born Into Brothels which focused on the children of Calcutta's red light district.

One surprising cultural aspect depicted in the movie was the low social clout given to people who serve tea, chai-walas. As a teen, the main character Jamal works at a customer service center as their chai-wala. At work, people treated him with a slight condescending tone. And later, when he sat opposite the game show host, he referenced Jamal's job title as if it were a joke. He repeatedly made fun of him for being seemingly uneducated, by simply calling him a chai-wala. The word "chai-wala" was intended as an insult on his personal status and identity rather than a job title.

A quick Indian tea diversion... Tea in India goes way back, and is still tightly integrated into their modern culture. The most famous Indian tea comes from the Darjeeling region, located in the foothills of the Himilayas. Darjeeling tea, endemic to this region, is known for the naturally slight fruity taste and light astringency for this world class black tea. The other popular region of tea growing is located in the Blue Mountains (Nilgiri Mountains), which also gives name to this tea type - Nilgiri. Our Nilgiri tea is amazingly robust, nearly impossible to over-steep, and remains fragrant and flavorful for multiple steepings - gorgeous burgundy leaves and liquor.

But back to Slumdog... viewers can't help but root for this underdog hero, Jamal. His unwavering heart wins you over from the very beginning. My favorite memory of the whole movie is when he's presented with the opportunity to meet his childhood idol; he jumps into the pit of a public outhouse in order to escape the baracaded door and runs to meet his hero. Covered in sewage, his determination gets him an autograph on the photo of his hero that he carries around with him, and he walks away triumphant. This photo captures the split second before he makes the decision to jump into the sewage pit, full of hope for this chance encounter. I love it!

(photos of the film taken from imdb.com)