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Hi there! I am most often found in the pastry section, but i have a small chocolate shop in iowa and am having a hard time coping with what to offer in the summer. besides chocolates and desserts we offer a small traditional coffee bar menu (white, dk choc and caramel for hot or cold lattes) (capps, americano, red eye, mighty leaf teas, brewed coffee, chai, "real" hot chocolate and a blended hot chocolate (what we call an arctic chocolate, or frozen hot choc) well, we don't want to have to get into gelato (or lord, the start up with that!) but thought about going the route of frozen fruit smoothies (no boxed crap) and sadly, my husband thinks frappuccinos are the way to go. do you find that frappuccinos are still "hip" or do you think they are cheesy? to make a frap do you have to buy a powdered mix or whats the big deal with fraps anyway? to do smoothies, we are thinking about going the thermomix route or just getting a blend tec blender...any suggestions are very welcomed! thanks so much-

Greetings, Prepare for a long post. I have been searching all over the internet for an answer to a question and it's starting to appear that I may have to do my own experimenting. Still, I thought to ask someone (you all) who have MUCH more experience with tea than me. I have a doctorate in chiropractic and always got an A in Lab which, like cooking, I love. I also have the equivalent of a doctorate in coffee, yet not for tea....yet. For coffee I use a digital scale, a digital thermometer, stellar water (properly mineralized), make single variations every day over many weeks and record data on a spreadsheet, and incorporate my partner's opinion as well as occasional "outsider's" who say things like "this may be the best cup of coffee I have ever had!" So, here's the tea question, Question #1: Does tea taste better when "fresh brewed" like coffee does? It's well known that coffee that's more than 15 minutes old (20 tops) after brewing is not the same, and is not as good as fresh-brewed. Of course, and as you probably know, there is a LOT more going on than the post brew-time issue (water quality, grind size, type of grinder/mill, brew temp, type of roast, type of roaster, age of roast, weather patterns, dried on earth or wood, wet-dry-hot-cold processes, etc.), still I wonder if the post-brew time is similar with tea? Having just switched to tea from coffee, and while being amazed that I'm not missing coffee, I am learning a lot. How could I have almost 5 decades under my belt and be so clueless about the worlds of tea? I shudder to think of all the tea I have wasted over the decades not having any idea that a second, third or more infusions were possible. My current daily, all-day tea is Ti Kuan Yin. It does not take a Rocket Surgeon to taste the difference between infusion #1 and #5. I lengthen the steep time from the first to last infusions. Aside: I heard that tea gets cloudy when stored in a refrigerator - have not observed that yet. I read that it's a great growth media for micro-organisms. I am not trying to make kombucha - lol. My #1 priority is taste. Since the first infusion has a far fuller taste (some even recommend tossing it and using the first infusion only as a wash), and since the last infusion (#5) is quite thin in the taste department (though still good, just not as...), it occurs to me to mix the five infusions together, and heat what we want as needed over 1-2 days time. Question #2: Is mixing five infusions a good idea? (comments invited) I am mixing infusions now: I am make five infusions of 16 oz, or 2 cups each in an uncovered 4 cup Pyrex pitcher/measuring cup. Since I am using an oolong, my awesome water is heated to between 185 and 190. I am using close to 4 rounded teaspoons of tea, slightly more (a teaspoon) than most recommend. Steep times for each infusion in minutes are 2.5, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This yields a total of 10 cups steeped in 4 teaspoons tea for 20.5 minutes. Question #3: What is the difference between performing five infusions as noted above, or steeping the same amount of tea in 10 cups of water kept at 185 for 20 minutes? {?more tannins released because the tea leaves didn't get a smoke break?} Question #4: What is the effect of over-heating already brewed tea? Asked differently, what effect does taking a couple of cups of the mixed infusion up to 200, or 205, or even 212 degrees have? I'd love to find these answers, and of course, I'd love your input. Thanks in advance, Dr Carl Sir Dr. Carl, DC, OCD, ADD, PTSD, LOL

I saw something today I'd never seen before. A student at Johnson and Wales brought back coffee and iced tea for several people in the bread classroom (including yours truly -- more on that visit later), along with straws for all the cold drinks. However, one of the iced tea drinkers was short a straw, and when we looked around to see why, one visitor was drinking the hot coffee through a straw stuck into the little hole in the cover. I have never seen this before. Does it have some meaning of which I'm unaware?

It's true. Heated frothed milk can be simply that or it can be an entirely different substance with not only a different viscosity, mouthfeel and sweetness but the capability for blending with espresso in a manner that yields a drink quite unlike the run-of-the-mill capuccino or latte most folks have ever experienced. I'll quote myself (from the Latte Art Video section of my own web site) as a place to start the discussion: Schomer has a good article on these techniques at his Espresso Vivace website Milk Texturing Basics I have also found the free pdf tutorial offered by Gimme! Coffee to be concise and very helpful Milk Preparation Tutorial I'm no expert.... heck... I can't even pour decent "latte art" despite having a really good machine and plenty of resources to study. What I do know is this: using manual frothers with heated milk is a worthy substitute if you're in a pinch but true microfoamed milk is a thing of beauty and the drinks one can prepare with it really are superior. There is no substitute but few cafes actually produce it. Visit a really good cafe.... JJ Bean or cafe Artigiano in Vancouver BC, Vivace, Vita or Hines in Seattle, Intelligentsia in Chicago, Gimme Coffee in NYC or Ithaca.... you'll find that the difference between a latte and cappuccino is the espresso to milk ratio - lattes get more milk. There's none of this Starbucks style "scoop the extra foam on top and call it a cappuccino". Uh uh.... no sir.... all the milk they serve is microfoamed - it's been prepared so that the milk itself has been transformed in its entirety rather than having a separate layer of foam and milk. I'll welcome and respond to dissenting views but I've had enough first hand experience to feel strongly about this. Here are what I consider to be really "basic basics": Start with cold milk - the colder the better - the longer the frothing time the better developed the foam (within reason) Use an appropriately sized pitcher. Smaller machines in the sub $500 range generally steam no more than 5 - 6 oz of milk at a time properly. $500- $1200 units generally do well with up to 10 or 12 ounces. Best results are obtained when the milk is at least 2" or 3" deep - thus we need a 10 oz pitcher for small amounts and a 20 oz pitcher for larger amounts. Higher milk fat produces more velvety and longer lasting microfoam. I can get passable results with 1% but 2% or whole milk works better. I even know people who juice up their whole milk by adding half 'n half or condensed whole milk. Skim milk creates lots of dry, fluffy and light foam that separates from the milk - exactly what we DON'T want! Purge the steam wand and then start steaming with the tip fully submerged. Immediately lower the pitcher so the the tip stays just under the surface of the milk - feel free to move it around a bit as the milk is "stretching". It will begin increasing in volume from the air being introduced but we're only looking to expand volume by 15% to 25% at most - what we're after is better texture. At about 100 degrees, tip the pitcher or tilt the wand (or both)so that the tip is still just slightly submerged but the wand against the side of the pitcher, more or less parallel to it and get a swirling motion going. This is the process where the larger bubbles initially created are broken into the smaller bubbles of microfoam. At about 130 degrees keep the same swirling motion going but raise the pitcher to fully immerse the tip so it's close to the bottom of the milk. Stop frothing at about 145 degrees. That's pretty close tro the sweet spot - literally. It's the point at which the sugars in the milk have been converted to produce extra sweetness from the milk but well below the level where scorching can occur. Many people forego the use of a thermometer and work by the level of warmth on the outside of the pitcher and the sound that the foaming creates. Maybe I'll be at that level someday but for now I find that having the thermometer really simplifies things and helps me control the process Yes... I know... it seems like a lot of hoo-hah and monkeying around for a coffee drink but if it wasn't worth I wouldn't be here

So, like many people I've been trying to get better at producing the right kind of pourable "latte art" milk foam over the years. This has involved such refinements as installing a three-hole steam tip on my Rancilio Silvia and switching from the "standard" 20 ounce milk pitcher to a much smaller 12 ounce milk pitcher. Both had a notable impact on my ability to consistently produce high quality milk foam. But still, perhaps depending on the quality, age and fat content of the milk I used, I wasn't able to get the creamy pourable microfoamed milk I wanted. Until now. One day I was making cappuccino for myself and Mrs. slkinsey and realized we were out of clean demitasse spoons. And I figured that since we would ordinarily put a touch of sugar into the cup, why not add the sugar to the pitcher and steam it in to the milk. Well, this made a tremendous difference. The milk foam was the best I've made. I've continued this practice, and the consistency and quality of my milk foam has increased greatly. Anyone try this? Observe this? Have any ideas why this might be so?

I have a Vava frother, to froth milk for lattes. Works kinda OK. Froth seems a bit heftier if I do frothing action with it TWICE. I use fresh 1% milk. My question is, how to improve frothing action. One would like to believe there is some protein additive that you can stir in to bump up froth production, but I've never seen that described. Whey, maybe? Lots of disagreement about whether whole or skim, or part skim milk is best for frothing.

If this has been asked and discussed endlessly before, someone pour some cold milk over me and point me in the right direction What's your best technique for frothing milk in a hand-powered frother? We've found semi-skim milk, heated just until it's too hot to keep your finger in but NOT boiling, then frothing for a minute and leaving to rest works pretty well. But I was in Bodum the other day and the guy there said he froths cold full-fat milk and then heats it. I know skim milk is no good but I'm not sure which wins out over semi-skim vs full-fat. I thought I read in a science book that semi-skim was best but perhaps I've gotten muddled? And I'd never heard of frothing it cold and then heating. Any other techniques out there?

[Moderator note: The original What Tea Are You Drinking Today? topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 2)] Morning started with the Yi Mei Ren Wulian Mountain Yunnan Blcak Tea from norbutea.com. Brewed in a 300 ml Yixing teapot reserved for Chinese black teas, and a wonderful improvement over brewing this already good tea in a gaiwan. Followed by the Zheng He Bai Mu Dan White Tea from jingteashop.com. Brewed in a different Yixing, this Bai Mu Dan is light and ephemeral. What teas are you all drinking today?

Japanese Pan-fired teas? Japanese Oolongs? Really? Japanese Kamairicha tea - what's that? Miyazaki - where's that? Patience Grasshopper, all will be revealed. Dan at yuuki-cha.com is providing three fascinating organic Japanese teas for this Tea Tasting & Discussion. The featured teas are grown in Miyazaki on the island of Kyushu, one of the traditional pan-firing regions of Japan. Organic Miyazaki Oolong Tea Kuchinashi Organic Miyazaki Kamairicha Sakimidori Organic Miyazaki Kamairicha Okumidori More details soon on each of these rare Japanese teas in the next three posts. How This Tea Tasting & Discussion Works Sets of the samples will go to up to three eG members active in the forums: if you have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past 12 months, OR if you have at least 10 posts in the Coffee & Tea Forum, and are interested in receiving the free samples and participating in this TT&D, please read on (this post and the three following soon) and then PM me. The free 10 g samples are available to members who 1) will do at least one brewing session with each of the three teas, and 2) will begin to report on their experience within one week of receiving the sample and participate actively in the discussion with the other tasters and other members. These teas may be brewed 1) in a gaiwan, or preferably 2) in a Japanese side-handle teapot. Please avoid brewing in a mug or western style teapot - it just will not be the same. Preference will be given to eGullet Society members who have never received tea samples and participated in a Tea Tasting & Discussion, and who have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past year or 10 in the Coffee & Tea Forum. This preference will last five days, until Midnight, Thursday, September 29, 2011 (US Eastern). If that sounds like you, please PM me ASAP. As always, everyone who does not receive a sample is welcome and encouraged to participate in the discussion.

Hello everyone! First post here, and I think there's no better first post than one about something very close to my heart: Iraqi-style tea. Growing up half-Iraqi meant a lot of tea in my house, for Iraqis are truly obsessed with the stuff. While I grew up drinking all kinds of tea, and still do, the style associated with Iraq in particular is an extension of the Russian-Turkish-Iranian samovar-brewed tea, in which a tea concentrate (in Russian zavarka, in Arabic no idea) is brewed in a teapot and slowly steamed on top of either the boiler of a samovar, or a kettle on which the teapot sits. Iraq is the only Arab country to brew tea like this, likely an impact of centuries of Ottoman and Persian influence; however, Iraqis drink tea far stronger than Turks and especially Iranians - the tea in Turkey comes close, but the Iraqi stuff is truly powerful. To make it, Ceylon tea is preferred - I'm constantly trying new brands but so far my favorite is Alwazah FBOP1, available at many Middle Eastern shops. An inordinate amount of tea is put in the pot (I put about 6 tablespoons for a full teapot that holds about 700-800 ml), and I then place the pot on top of the opening of the kettle to heat up as the water in the kettle comes to the boil. When the water has boiled, pour some into the kettle, give it a stir then place it back on top of the kettle (which should still have a lot of water in it). Put the kettle to medium-low heat, so that the water simmers and produces steam, which will heat the teapot. Let the tea brew for at least 15 minutes, the longer the better. After 15 or so minutes, depending on how strong you want your tea to be, fill a small glass anywhere from 1/3 to 2/3 full with tea concentrate, and top off with simmering water. When more than half full especially, the tea is drunk very sweet, as sugar is needed to balance the intense taste of the tea. Traditionally, you would serve your guest as follows: put the tea glass on a saucer, put sugar (two teaspoons at least, though I find this exceptionally sweet) in the glass first, then pour tea concentrate and top off with hot water. Then place a small teaspoon into the tea, but do not stir to dissolve the sugar - at this point give everything to your guest for him or her to stir and enjoy. When made properly, with the right glassware, it should look something like this: When served at an Iraqi restaurant or teahouse, the tea will be a few shades darker, and will come with a thick layer of un-dissolved sugar at the bottom, and of course will have the spoon sticking in the tea. People that have been to Turkey or had tea at Turkish restaurants may notice a similarity, and the two styles are identical except for the increased strength of the Iraqi style, and the fact that Turkish tea is served with sugar cubes on the side. When I write that the stuff is strong, I'm not kidding - it's like the tea equivalent of espresso, and two of those glasses at full strength (filled 2/3 of the way or not more) have me wired as much as a couple shots. Great stuff! Edit: I forgot to say, if you don't have a samovar or a kettle that will accommodate a teapot placed on top, you can heat the teapot on EXTREMELY low heat on your stove. This is sort of what teahouses in Iraq seem to do (based on pictures), and it actually simmers the tea, which lends to the atomic strength that Iraqi teahouse tea is famous for

Coffee and tea has both been my favorite beverages over the many years. However, I still prefer the classic taste of tea, and I never fail to drink at least 3 cups of tea a day! I'm also aware that tea is a much healthier option to coffee. (Not Really Entirely Sure Of How Coffee Is Healthy, perhaps anyone can comment about this?) I enjoy drinking mainly green tea such as Matcha, or Longjing Green Tea. However, i truly enjoy the unique taste of rooibos tea as well. What about you? Do you prefer drinking coffee or tea?

Kyle Stewart, co-owner of The Cultured Cup, has contributed samples of two interesting red/black teas for this Tea Tasting & Discussion. The first is a Nepal Chiyabari Estate Black, and the second is a Yunnan Golden Tips. Sets of the samples will go to up to three eG members active in the forums: if you have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past 12 months, or if you have at least 10 posts in the Coffee & Tea Forum, and are interested in receiving the free samples and participating in this TT&D, please read on (this post and the three following soon) and then PM me. These teas may be brewed 1) "western style" using a small teapot or infuser cup, 2) in a gaiwan, or 3) in a Yixing. Please, avoid tea balls like the plague. The free 10 g samples are available to members who 1) will do at least one brewing session with each of the two teas, and 2) will report on their experience within one week of receiving the sample and participate actively in the discussion. Preference will be given to eGullet Society members who have never received tea samples and participated in a Tea Tasting & Discussion, and who have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past year or 10 in the Coffee & Tea Forum. This preference will last one week, until midnight June 3, 2011 (US Eastern). If that sounds like you, please PM me ASAP. As always, everyone who does not receive a sample is welcome and encouraged to participate in the discussion. As I have mentioned in other topics, I have known Kyle Stewart, co-owner of The Cultured Cup, for some time now, having bought tea from his shop for many years, at least 10 years I believe it is. For the past five years or so Kyle has been instrumental to my tea education through the T-Bar Club at The Cultured Cup. And I have reciprocated by doing presentations on Yixing tea pots and on Japanese Wabi-Sabi style teaware for the T-Bar Club. Kyle completed his three years of training with the Speciality Tea Institute in 2009 to become the first Certified Tea Specialist in Texas and one of a few in the world. I have had many pleasant times with Kyle and his staff, trading teas and sharing new tea discoveries. More than just a tea merchant I happen to buy tea from, Kyle is a culinary friend as well as a tea friend - the wonderful tea pairings at Sharon Hage's former York Street restaurant and a shared interest in Asian food.

Hi, I purchased some tea recently from either Walmart or another small grocery store. I think it was the best tea I have ever had but can't for the life of me remember what brand it is. I was hoping someone here could help identify the brand. Description: It is a decaffeinated tea. I have one of the tea bags tags and on it it says on one side, "Orange Pekoe and Pekoe Cut Black TEA" in green letters with a white background. On the other side it says " Decaffeinated Tea" and has a picture of a tea/coffee cup with a backwards looking "S" representing steam coming out of the cup also in green with white background. Does anyone have any idea what brand this is? It would sure be helpful is someone knows what this is. I LOVE this Tea! Thank you... PS. I can take a photo of it if needed.

Is there a consensus among serious tea people as to whether decaffeinated tea (actual decaf tea, as opposed to herbal infusions) can be legit?

So what's the difference? I have a couple of specimens of each here and mostly it just seems like the Irish breakfast is stronger. Is there an official position?

I know there are many who believe that using tea bags at all is horrible, but assuming there is sufficient evidence for the existence of good tea bags what's the harm in using them twice? That has been the procedure around every household I've live in: save the bag in a little dish, add more hot water later.

So at some Yemeni cafes here that I've gone to, the drink of choice seems to be a big glass of strong, very sweet, very milky tea - almost like masala chai without the spices, but thicker in mouthfeel. I'm guessing low-grade tea is boiled and then evaporated milk and sugar are added, or even condensed milk. Has anyone had this? It's kind of nice when it gets cold out.

Jing and Sebastian at jingteashop.com recommend leaving a small amount of tea in your gaiwan as a "root" for the next infusion when brewing Chinese green tea. Anyone else do this? I have tried it, but not done a side-by-side comparison, and think there may be a mild intensification of flavor. It certainly does not seem to cause any bitterness. How about leaving a root in a glass when brewing "gradpa style"? Thoughts? Experiences?

Just curious about which tea merchants you have used this year so far, and any others you plan on using the rest of the year. I'll be buying mostly from some of my dependable standbys (theculturedcup.com, houdefineteas.com, jingteashop.com, norbutea.com, teasource.com, yuuki-cha.com and yunnansourcing.com.), but I'll probably try two or three additional tea merchants. I have stuck with the above ones for similar reasons and individually distinctive reasons that I'll get into in a post a little later. So what tea merchants are you using this year...and why.

Any thoughts on the new 2011 Spring teas from around the world? The only ones I have tried have been those from China and Taiwan at norbutea.com. Greg did a tasting for me in order to select another set of teas for a later Tea Tasting & Discussion. By the end of the day my taste buds were blurring, so I can't provide a thorough review of each of those teas, but there are a few that were particularly memorable because they were against type. The 2011 Shade Grown Anxi Tie Guan Yin stood out due to the intensified flavor from using a shade growing technique common in Japan for gyokuro. Another was a Taiwanese White Oolong, that is a tea using a cultivar that is typically used in Taiwan to produce Oolongs, but in this case processed like a white tea. Also the 2011 Dan Cong Hong Cha, using a cultivar used in making the well-known Fenghuang Dan Cong Oolongs, but here processed as a black tea. Most of the teas we sampled were interesting, but not processed against the norms. The 2011 Jade Dragon Green Tea, for example, was similar to the 2010 (which many people liked a great deal, but I thought was only okay), but I actually liked the 2011 much better. I am behind on trying Japanese green teas, but plan to order some before too long. Anyone else tried any new 2011 Spring teas? Black/red, Oolong, White, Green? Whatever? Anything to recommend?

I'm just wondering if I could add phosphoric acid to home brewed tea. Has anyone tried it? I am trying to cut sugar out but can't stand plain tea or tea with lemon. I am a soft drink junkie but think its the tartness I like about them.

Hi all, I'm looking at starting a new coffee/tea bar and I could really do with your help! I want to focus on a large variety of high quality tea, instead of focussing on coffees, like most other places do. Having said that, I love coffee too and will also be serving the usual americano, cappuccino etc. Tea is the second most popular drink (after water) in terms of amount consumed per day, yet costa and starbucks etc serve much more coffee than tea. What I would like to know is what would make you buy a tea (or derivative of tea) drink, or what's wrong with tea? Thanks!

I think I am about to enter my tea/tisane nerd phase. Got some good suggestions from our herbal tea topic http://forums.egullet.org/topic/119376-herbal-teastisanes-what-are-your-favorites/?hl=%2Btisane I noticed the post on Serious Eats about Steven Smith the guy who started both Stash and Tazo and now has another tea company.- http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/08/steven-smith-interview-tea.html?ref=excerpt_readmore Some sound quite appealing. Has anyone tried them ad if you have tried Stash or Tazo or the new company and how would they compare?

It's not that I don't care about tea at all. But my standards are pathetically low. The teas in my cabinets are old, having just come out of a year in storage in the Bronx. I took a tea-appreciation class in Singapore but didn't appreciate it enough. Richard Kilgore has given me some of his tea and it has been great, but I've quickly reverted to crummy tea. Ditto for when White Lotus and Dance bring tea to the Heartland gathering. What can I do to claw my way toward tea respectability? I need a program.

I picked up a 'tin' (round tube with two vacuum-packed bricks within) of JustMake King Hsuan Oolong, a semi-fermented formosa tea recently. The literature included the chart below, with suggested amounts of leaf and steeping times. However, there is no indication of the amount of WATER. Any ideas?