Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Tea with Monsieur Hediard


Way back in October I reviewed Hediard's Hediard Blend as a hot tea and found it to be pleasant, but not great. Today I made it as an ice tea – 8 teaspoons to almost 2 quarts of water. This is definitely where it shines. All the citrus, bergamot and orange, come out and it is a very nice, refreshing ice tea. I personally like it plain, but that's me. If you have tried it hot and weren't impressed, I urge you to make it iced, I think you'll like it a lot more.


I did try blending tea with the cat litter and I found it did not do much for odor. The company I mentioned that sells green tea cat litter must do more processing beyond stirring, as I did. The cats looked at me as if I were nuts, but then, catly disdain is not uncommon.


I just got an issue of the magazine “Tea in Texas”. I thought I ought to keep up with our Southern tea people. In the magazine, I found 2 items of note. The first is that the combined Tea Associations of Canada and the US are sponsoring the 1st Annual North American Tea Conference in Niagara Falls, Canada. It will be held in September and delegates from all over the world are expected to attend. The emphasis will be on the Specialty Tea market. It sounded like it is aimed at everyone in the tea business, not just tea drinkers.


The second piece of news is that Rishi Tea is launching a new tea concentrate, Masala Chai, in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute. If you remember, Dr. Goodall has done extensive work with African gorillas, as well as other animals, and sponsors an environmental and humanitarian youth program. The tea, and all its ingredients are organic and Fair Trade. The base tea comes from ancient tree forests in Yunnan, China. I've not had any Rishi Tea, but I know they generally have a good reputation. If you buy the tea, a portion of the profits will go to the Institute.
























No comments: