Friday Knows Tea

Halloween is almost here, which provides a fabulous excuse for being super extra about baked goods. I have def been getting carried away with my baking and other craft projects, and to be honest this recipe was mostly created so we all have an excuse to say “rooiBOOS” while making spooky ghost gestures at one another. Hence the cute little ghosts piped in chocolate on top. You’re welcome. Teacup (our teenager) referred to these as “pumpkin spice lattes in cupcake form,” which I think just about sums it up. Let me know if you tried these, if you made any substitutions, and what you thought of the results! Punkin Pie RooiBOOS Cupcakes 1 tbsp Punkin Pie Rooibos 1/2 cup whole milk 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (we used Pamela’s gluten-free, but wheat flour works too! You can swap them out cup for cup.) 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) softened butter 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, room temperature 1 tsp vanilla Combine whole milk and Pun...

Pacific Northwest local red-barked beauty Pacific Madrone, aka Arbutus Menziesii , is a sight to behold for sure. The rich hue and dramatically peeling bark, the curve of its sturdy branches and sheen of its verdant waxy leaves are all peak hiking aesthetic, but did you know this tree has long been a multipurpose source of healing tincture and tea? Various tribes of the west coast, ranging from California up through British Columbia, make use of Madrone bark and berries. Extracted as a tincture or bundled and bruised for a poultice, this plant can be used topically to treat minor wounds and sores. Brewed as a tea, the light-bodied brew has notes of cinnamon, foresty fungus and wood smoke and is used to help a stomachache or as a cold medicine. This tree serves as a very renewable source of bark, leaf and berry and can be harvested without damaging the tree. Madrones will naturally shed their leaf every two years and their bark each summer. When you approach a Madrone in midsumme...

Fall is here and we are ready ready READY for autumnal flavors. I'm personally using the season as an excuse to highlight one of my favorite fandom teas, inspired by an ill-tempered and irascible young girl from Omaha, Nebraska. September is the protagonist of Catherynne M. Valente's lush and heartbreaking Fairyland series. When the series begins (the first book is titled The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland on a Ship of Her Own Making), September is a discontented girl of twelve who is bored to tears by her life of rural chores and a school life where her imagination is underappreciated. She is swept away by the Green Wind to Fairyland, where she meets magical creatures and stumbles upon a series of quests. We see September boldly dive into danger in pursuit of friendship and adventure time and time again, feeling everything more keenly as the book goes on and she grows her small child's heart to match her rapidly maturing life experience. September's Blend ...

When teaching classes, speaking on panels, or even just in casual conversation, two of the most common questions I've been asked are: What is oxidation?  What does fermentation mean in regards to tea?   Tea terminology can be confusing to those who work outside the industry or are just getting their start. We tea workers have our own language for sure! When it comes to oxidation vs. fermentation, things can get especially murky. We hit a translation barrier when working with Chinese tea especially, as it's pretty standard for the terms to be used interchangeably in that region. Generally speaking, however, oxidation and fermentation refer to two completely different processes. Let’s break it down (ha ha cellular biology joke). Oxidation is the process of oxygen getting into the cells and  primary factor that distinguishes between the six true types of tea: white, yellow, green, oolong, black and post-fermented. You know how an apple turns brown when you bite in...

  Calling all tea-obsessed carnivores! Fall is upon us and everyone seems eager to get back to the kitchen. If you're looking for a cozy, low-maintenance dinner option and have a soft spot for complex flavor and a lush, fatty mouthfeel, follow me to tastytown. I wrote and tested this succulent rib recipe for you, and my friends and family can testify to its deliciousness. Enjoy, and feel free let me know what creative tweaks you made in your own experiments! *     *     *     *     *  Tea-Glazed Juicy Ribs (makes 4 servings)              Active cooking time: 40 minutes, Passive cooking time: 2 hours 1 3/4 cups water 1 cup apple cider vinegar 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 4 oz. tomato paste 1/2 cup loose smoked tea (we used our Clockmaker's Blend ) 1 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic ...

Today's episode of Behind the Blend features my personal favorite of our RPG character class collection: Ranger's Blend! The inspiration for each character class blend is an archetype, rather than any specific character. Rangers are sly, observant, and physically dexterous. They have a close relationship with the forest, a kinship with the natural world. Toasty green mélange of foresty delish. Green was an obvious choice for our base, but which green to pick? With so rich and mysterious an archetypal profile, I needed to put together a base that was a blend of bright and dark, toasty and lush. Houjicha (toasted twigs and stems) has the tree bark roasted notes and light body of upper-canopy branches. Dragonwell green serves to bring both sunshine-butter and earthy toastiness to the blend, and Gunpowder green complements the butter with a clean mineral finish. This tea didn't need anything other than tea. The Ranger is pure and complex, simple and layered, myste...

We get asked a LOT what the difference is between white tea and black tea, herbal tea and green tea, and so on. The world of tea is mysterious and a lot of you want to learn more, so let's start with the basics! True tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant. Always. Any infusion made from the leaf, stem, root or whatever other part of any other plant falls into the "tisane" category, also known as "herbal tea." Those are a whole tasty world absolutely worth your time and attention, but today we're focusing on true teas.   There are six basic types of true tea, delineated by the level of oxidation allowed to occur in the leaf during processing. After picking, tea leaves frequently go through a process of bruising, withering, heating, and drying. (I say frequently because the world of tea is so vast and varied, every facet of the end product is up for flux. How much caffeine? What does it taste like? Is it smooth or brash? The answer is always "it ...