Want a delicious and healthy breakfast to start your day? This nutrient packed Matcha green tea and oatmeal breakfast should get you charged up for the day.

Pictured above is a freshly made Matcha Oatmeal with almond milk, pine nuts, almond pieces and sweet red beans.  It is delicious, packed full of nutrients and energizing.

It is very easy to prepare. First, make an oatmeal like you normally would. We put in almond milk just because we like how it tastes. Alternatively, you can use regular milk, coconut milk  or rice milk.

Second, whisk 1 teaspoon of Matcha with 1-2 ounces of water to make a thick/dense matcha green tea and add it to the oatmeal. 

Finally, put some nuts, and/or fruits according to your preference. We like to use pine nuts , cut up almonds and sweet red beans.

Enjoy! 

​Jasmine Green Tea is a classic full bodied green tea from China. It also makes excellent iced tea.

 

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This is a very pleasant 1st grade Jasmine Green tea with surprising body and a captivating floral taste. It has all the flavor, aroma and good green tea qualities but not the exorbitant price.

This Black Dragon Pearls Tea, also called Yunnan Black Pearls, is a hand rolled small batch production from Yunnan, China.  

Product Page: https://www.beantowntea.com/black-tea-products/black-dragon-pearls

The beautiful tea pearls are hand rolled using only the highest quality leaves and buds. 

It is an exceptional tea from the Dian Hong tea category. It brews a cup that is earthy, sweet, and mellow. It is Complex but with low astringency. Very forgiving tea that still tastes good when over brewed. Delicious tea that can be enjoyed all day long.

Kenya’s highland is one of the best location for tea production. It has got the right altitude, optimum soil and climate conditions for tea growing.  

In recent years, Kenya has become a major producer in the tea trade. Tea farms in Kenya adapt very quickly to new trends and technologies. The black tea matcha is a fine example of what Kenya has to offer. The special tea leave are specifically selected for their tannin and antioxidants count. After the harvest, they are processed in small batches and craftily stone ground into fine powder. 

This Kenya Highlands Matcha brews up a very well balanced tea that is smooth, malty, and slightly astringent. It couples with milk/cream very well. 

Black tea Matcha is super rich in antioxidants and fibers. It is less vegetal than green Matcha. For some who don’t like the grassiness of Green Matcha, this Kenya Highlands Black Tea Matcha is a nice alternative.

We highly encourage you to experiment with various quantities, water temperatures, and whisking time until you find the strength that‟s perfect for you. 

For more information please visit our tea info page. 

https://www.beantowntea.com/tea-info-2/

Bruising is a Tea making technique that breaks down the structures of leaf cells in order to promote oxidation of the tea leaves. It is a very important step in the making of oolong tea and black tea as the bruising allow for oxidative enzymes to work. 

In the making of oolong tea, the bruising is done by tossing or tumbling the tea leaves in containers. After the tossing and/or tumbling  the edges of tea leaves are bruised and the oxidation starts. 

Depending on the desired level of oxidation, some oolong teas are just lightly oxidized, while some other oolong teas are further oxidized. Taste of oolong teas can vary largely due to different degrees of oxidation. The less oxidized oolong teas usually taste more floral and vetegtal. The darker, more oxidized oolong teas take on a fuller taste profile that is earthy, nutty, and sometimes toasty.

Pictured here is the infused leaves of the lightly oxidized Jade Oolong tea. It is noticeable that the edges of the leaves are bruised while the overall appearance of the leaves remained green. 

Black tea on the other hand, after the bruising, usually goes through the oxidation process completely. This means most black teas are fully oxidized. And as a result, they have a full bodied profile with little to no vegetal taste.  

Pictured above is a brewed cup of Golden Monkey black tea.  

Want more information? Visit our other blog posts and the information page on our website.

A high altitude grown crisp green tea with depths and classic green tea characters. 

Green Curls make a perfect afternoon tea.  

Green Curls are grown in the mountainous area of Fujian province. The leaves are tigltly rolled and green in appearance. The cup is crisp and complex with little to no vegetal grassiness. It is slightly smokey and pleasantly refreshing. Excellent both hot and iced. 

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Pouchong Oolong is a very green (slightly oxidized) Oolong from Taiwan.  

The leaf appearance of Pouchong is green and wavy. Click here to view this product.

It is arguably the greenest Oolong of all. Pouchong brews a very floral cup with melon like fragrance.  It has a lot of the green tea characteristics but does not have the sharp green tea vegetal notes. Its name in Chinese, literally "the wrapped kind", refers to a practice of wrapping the leaves in paper during the drying process that has largely been discontinued due to advancement in tea processing. At its best, Pouchong gives a floral and melon fragrance and has a rich, mild taste.

Brewed Pouchong. 

So what is Tencha? Tencha is a unique kind of green tea from Japan. It is a green tea of the Gyokuro variety. In the past, it was used almost solely as a the base for Matcha. In short, Matcha is a finely ground version of Tencha.

Since Tencha is a Gyokuro variety, some would wonder what the differences are between Tencha and the famouse Gyokuro.

Firstly, it is harvested a little differently than Gyokuro. tencha leaves plucking is “three leaves and a bud”, while the Gyokuro plucking is “two leaves and a bud” on a tea branch. In layman’s term, when compared, the Tencha making calls for leaves that are slightly older. This is necessary, because Tencha needs to have a fuller flavor in order to produce a good Matcha. 

Secondly, Tencha is flat, while the Gyokuro is rolled to needle like shape after the steaming processe. The reason for Tencha leaves being flat is that staying flat makes it easier to strip of the stems and veins. Stems and veins will bring bitterness and undesired flavor to Matcha. 

So who does it taste? The taste profile of Tencha is similar to Gyokuro. However, because the leaves are little bit older and stems are striped, Tencha has a fuller body and taste sweeter.

Availabilty of Tencha is more limited due to the fact that it is produced mainly for Matcha production.  

If you are a fan of Japanese teas such as Gyokuro, Sencha and Matcha, you should definitely give Tencha a try.

Matcha Salt is a great seasoning salt. Matcha salt is a simple and easy to make. It brings out the “umami” (Japanese for savory flavor) of meat and seafood. Matcha is uniquely flavorful. As a seasoning ingredient, it adds a vegetal and almost seeweed like flavor and natural sweetness to food. It is also not overpowering, it rather compliments your food. Combined with a quality salt, it can really add more depths and make your dish more interesting. 

Here are some things we would like to highlight: 

1. Use a Matcha to salt ratio of 5:1 or a ratio of your liking. 

2. We recommend Using sea salt or rock salt. 

3. Mix them well. 

4. Use Matcha salt as a rub for meat. 

5. Sprinkle Matcha salt on seafood and steak when serving.

Matcha being added.

We use pink salt to mix with Matcha

We sprinkle Matcha salt on pan seared scallops.  

We recommend using our culinary grade matcha when making steak rub Matcha salt. And when used as seasoning salt. We recommend the Matcha Green and Matcha Samidori 

Have fun cooking! 

50/50 blend of Japanese Hojicha and Kukicha

Hojicha is a classic roasted green tea from Japan. It is low in caffeine and has a clean toasty and slightly sweet taste.  

Kukicha is also a traditional green tea from Japan. It is uniquely flavorful. It brews a light cup of tea that is nutty with a  slightly creamy finish. It is very rich in antioxidants and low in caffeine as well. 

We made this blend at the request of a customer. And since we love both teas, we thought we should at keep some for ourselves. When we first tried it, we were surprised at how good and different it tasted. We loved it so much that we decided to add this blend to our roster. It should become available very soon.

So what does the blend of Hojicha and Kukicha taste like? It is very crisp, toasty and slightly sweet. Notes of honey and walnuts are very noticeable. It does not taste astringent at all. This blend is perfect for cold brewing, because of its taste profile.  

If you are a fan of Japanese green tea you should definitely give it a try. 

Cheers! 

We have just blended a new batch of Moroccan Mint Tea. The quality of the ingredients we use is apparent by looking at it. We use first grade gunpowder green tea and chunmee green tea as the tea base and blend them with US grown peppermint. Not only does it contain a lot of antioxidants, it also helps with digestion and provides energy. 

Cheers! 

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Moroccan Mint Tea is a blended Green Tea. Our Moroccan Mint is blended with the classic quality ingredients.​ We use the full body Chinese green teas as its base and blended them with top quality peppermint. 

The brewed cup is minty, refreshing and emergizing. Excellent both hot and iced. It can be enjoyed as is or with a dash of sugar.

For more information, please click here to visit the product page. 

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Darjeeling Margaret’s Hope estate 2nd flush TGFOP. This stable Darjeeling tea is such a classic. Medium body with right amount of astringency. The signature Muscatel grape notes are prominent. It compliments desserts and snacks very well. For someone who is new to Darjeeling Tea, this is a relatively inexpensive easy pick as an introduction to the regions great teas.

More information: The bushes at Margaret’s Hope are almost entirely the Chinese Jat (genus) accounting for the green leafed tippy appearance of the manufactured leaf and the superb fragrance. Because the tea is grown at such high altitudes and in relatively cool weather the bushes do not grow quickly, and as such the production is limited. The best time of the year for quality is during ‘second-flush’ (end May - end June). During this time Darjeelings are incomparable to any other tea in the world. The fragrance and taste is a complex bouquet that reaches right out of the cup. Some would describe the taste as nutty; others find it reminds them of black currants, but most often it is described as similar to the taste and fragrance of muscat grapes.

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Now available for fall and holiday is our new tea sampler value pack. For $29.99, you will get 30 gourmet loose leaf tea samplers and 100 easy to use tea filters. Tea samplers include our popular Green, Black, White, Herbal and fruit teas. 

 Tea samplers include: Jasmine Pearls Green Tea, Silver Needle White Tea, Golden Yunnan Black Tea, Oriental Beauty Oolong, Bi Luo Chun Green Tea, English Breakfast Tea, Irish Breakfast Tea, Darjeeling Margaret's Hope Estate Black Tea, Ceylon Kenilworth Estate, Assam Behora Estate, Kenya Milima Estate, Moroccan Mint Green Tea, Japanese Sencha,a Genmaicha, Peony White Tea, Sleep Well Herbal, Cream Earl Grey, Earl Grey, Vanilla Chai, Rooibos Chai, Blueberry White Tea, Strawberry Black Tea, Lychee Black Tea, Jade Oolong, Formosa Oolong, Cherry Blossom Green Tea, Mango Green Tea, Sencha Mint, Chun Mee Green Tea, Very Berry Fruit Blend, and Chamomile.

Each sampler makes 3-5 servings. The make your own paper tea filters/bags are made of 100% biodegradable wood or pulp fiber. They are taste neutral and allow ample room for the tea leaves to infuse and expend. Making tea is simple and easy with these filters.

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What are the differences between Green and Black teas?

This is a 2 parts question. First is how are Green and Black teas compared to each other from a production stand point? Second is what and how are they different as end products? Now lets expend on them and discuss further.

Firstly, lets take a look at how Green and Black teas are produced. Green and Black teas are both produced from the same plant which is called Camellia Sinensis. The sub cultivars of each tea maybe different, but they all belong to the Camellia Sinensis family.

The oxidation process is what sets Green and Black teas apart. Green tea is very lightly oxidized (less than 1%-15%), where as Black tea is fully oxidized. The oxidation is a process which the chlorophyll in the tea leaves is enzymatically broken down. Tannins are also released during the oxidation. This oxidation process is often times referred to as "fermentation" in the tea industry.

Green and Black teas got their name from the colors of the produced tea leaves. Because most of the chlorophyll is preserved, Green tea still retain the green appearance of the plant. Black tea appear black because the chlorophyll is broken down.

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Ceylon Kenilworth

Secondly, lets look at the differences between them as final products. Although both types of tea are rich in antioxidants, Green tea is richer in antioxidants than Black tea due to a lower oxidation level.

Studies have found that Both Green and Black tea may help boosting our energy and keeping us alert. Black tea has more caffeine than Green tea. 1 g of black tea has 22 to 28 mg of caffeine, while 1 g of green tea has 11to 20 mg of caffeine. The energizing effect is why Black tea is a stable breakfast drink in many parts of the world.

Some long term studies have shown that Black tea is beneficial to our cardiovascular system. This means regular and long term consumption may help in maintaining a healthier heart.

For Green tea, researches show that the catechins and other nutrients in Green tea may help lowering the blood sugars. Drinking 2 to 3 cups of Green tea is also believe to be very beneficial in weight control.

The conclusion

In conclusion, both Green and Black tea are healthy and can be very beneficial to our health. However, in order to reap the benefits of tea, we need to establish a habit of consuming 2-3 cups of tea a day every day. So the key here is to find the teas that we love to enjoy. Because if we enjoy the experience of drinking tea, it is then very naturalto establish a long term and consistent consumption of this healthy beverage.

So if you are already a regular tea drinker, stick to your favorite teas. If you are new to tea, try different types of teas and find some that you love to enjoy! Cheers

Whisking up our Matcha Samidori in a casual way. Matcha, bamboo whisk and water is all we need to make a nutritiousand delicious tea. Cheers!

Genmaicha is a specialty Japanese green tea that is blended with fire-toasted rice. A good grade Japanese sencha is blended with the toasted rice. The fresh vegetative character of the green tea is imparted on the cup but it is tempered with the bakey-like character of the rice. There is a natural sweetness and almost chewy character to the finish of this tea. During the firing of the rice, it is common for rice to ‘pop’ like popcorn, hence the name "popcorn-tea"

Country of Origin: Japan

Grade: Sencha Genmaicha

Manufacture Type: Steamed green tea

Cup Characteristics: Light brownish yellow liquor with toasty flavor, tending sweet.

Aged Snowbud White Tea. Click to view product.

What is White Tea

To describe very briefly, White Tea is a kind of tea that has not undergone any oxidation (fermentation) process. When infused, white tea makes a pale yellow to light amber color cup of tea with delicate, floral and fresh flavor.

Production

Take the most common white tea, White Peony (Pai Mu Tan), as an example. Tea leaves are plucked from a special varietal tea bush called Narcissus or chaicha bushes. Secondly the leaves are not steamed or pan-fired (the process used in green teas). The leaves are naturally withered and dried in the sun. If mechanical drying is required it is a baking process at temperatures less that 40’C. Thirdly only special ‘two leaves and a bud’ are selected. These leaves must show a very light green almost gray white color and be covered with velvet peach fuzz down. White teas that are withered in conditions that are too hot with become reddish and in conditions that are too cold they will become blackish.

Health Benefits

Researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute in Oregon tested white teas on selected rats to test for the ability of white teas to inhibit natural mutations in bacteria and to protect the rats from colon cancer. Interestingly, white teas were found to be more effective than green tea in inhibiting the early stages of cancer but researchers were quick to point out that their study was on rats and the effects should not be extrapolated to humans. The researchers also discovered that white tea contains higher levels of caffeine compared to green tea brewed under the same conditions. They suggested that this could occur because white tea oxidizes during withering whereas in green tea the oxidation process is stopped early in the tea making process by steaming or panfiring.

White Tea Sampler Pack

$12.95

The western cosmetic industry also has recently discovered the benefits of white tea. In addition to its anticancer properties, tea has a calming and detoxifying effect on the skin. White tea is especially potent in that it is has three times as many antioxidant polyphenols as green or black tea and has been shown to be 100% more effective in mopping up free radicals that cause skin to sag. Some of the world’s top cosmetic companies are becoming very interested in white tea for skin creams and the result is that high grade white tea is becoming even rarer than before.

Traditional Matcha Brewing

• Prepare tea bowls by warming them with boiled water.
• Prepare your Matcha whisk by soaking the tip in the boiled water in one of the bowls for about 10 seconds.
• Pour the water out and dry the bowl with a paper towel.
• Using your tea spoon, according to taste, add 1-2 teaspoons of Matcha to each bowl.
• Pour 1/3 of a cup of your hot water into each bowl.
• In a slow "m' motion, submerge any loose bits of Matcha that may be floating on the surface of the tea.
• Whisk the tea more briskly in a back and forth motion until the surface of the Matcha becomes frothy.
• Consume immediately.

Mondern/Simple Matcha Brewing

• Add 1 teaspoon of Matcha to a bowl.
• Put a few drops of hot water into bowl and use a whisk to whisk the Matcha into a paste.
• Pour6 to 8 oz. ofhot water (160-180F) into bowl. Then in a slow "m' motion, submerge any loose bits of Matcha that may be floating on the surface of the tea.
• Whisk the tea more briskly in a back and forth or circular motion until the surface of the Matcha becomes frothy.
• Consume immediately.

Matcha is rich in antioxidants, fiber, amino acids, vitamins, carotenes and many other nutrients. It is delicious and nutritious. Add this superfood to your diet and enjoy all the great benefits. Matcha is  very versatile and easy to use. Whisk it up for enjoyment, mix it with drinks, smoothies, or shakes. Cook with it, baking with it, and just be creative with this wonderful ingridient.