 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|  |
| | Prism Tea and Gifts |
| the colours of tea |
| |  | |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
The complex and bright fragrance of white tea will transport you to a place of peace and tranquility. Our white tea gift baskets come with assorted items to enhanced your experience, like honey sticks, lemon cookies, and jam. Since our baskets only contain the finest loose leaf teas, we also include a large tea infuser for ease of brewing.
|
|
|
 |
|
You may be new to the exotic flavors of red tea, but you will soon become entranced by their spicy aromas. We join teas like Rooibos and Honey Bush from South Africa with butter cookies, jam, and honey to round out your tea drinking experience. We also include a large tea infuser with our baskets, so you can easily steep our fine loose leaf teas.
|
|
|
 |
|
Sipping green tea is like strolling through a warm field of flowering summer grass. You'll find yourself drifting away into relaxation and harmony. We send delicious snacks like lime cookies, honey sticks, and jam with our green tea basket. Our full green tea leaves require room to brew, so we also include a large tea infuser with all our green tea gift basket selections.
|
|
|
 |
|
If you've been disappointed by too many cups of bitter, boring black tea, prepare to be amazed. Black tea has amazing complexity and variation in its fragrance and flavor. You'll taste currants, honey, orange peel, and molasses. For a true afternoon tea, we pair our black tea with rich jam, butter cookies, and honey sticks. Use the tea infuser we include to easily steep these large, loose leaf teas.
|
|
|
|
|
Prism Tea and Gifts sells tea tins with detailed brewing instructions, so you can always brew the perfect cup of tea. We thought, however, that you may be interested in some of the finer points of brewing white tea and green tea. To someone new to enjoying fine tea, these detailed techniques might seem strange and counterintuitive. For example, our China Pai Mu Tan white tea brews at 158 degrees Fahrenheit, after the water has been boiled then cooled. That doesn't exactly fit the concept of hot tea.
The use of this cooled water all comes down to science. Stated plainly, boiling water plus white or green tea leaves equals bitter tea. The bitterness in tea comes from tannins, just like you find in wine. To keep tea from being bitter, the brewing process just needs to keep those tannins out of the tea. So, white and green tea leaves are steeped at a temperature lower than the point where tannins will dissolve into the water but at a temperature high enough to extract the flavors from the tea leaves. The end result is a delicious, relaxing cup of tea.
The brewing times for both white tea and green tea are relatively short. Steeping the tea leaves in water too long leads to a flat, harsh tasting cup of tea. When making the tea, though, you will most undoubtedly think, "That wasn't enough time." In the United States, we tend to place our teabags in boiling water and let them steep for five or ten minutes. However, our China Lung Ching green tea brews for only two minutes, which is exactly enough time to extract the delicate, grassy flavor. If you brew the tea longer, the grassiness becomes more pronounced, with a hard, unpleasant edge.
|
Coffee versus Tea
Some of you visiting our site feel that coffee drinkers won't be interested in tea, so we want to set the record straight. At Prism Tea and Gifts, we love coffee. In fact, one member of the staff can't start his day without his cup of coffee.
The problem all of us have, even the aforementioned coffee junkie, is that one can only have so much coffee. Coffee enjoyed after 1:00 p.m. just keeps you too wired and awake far into the night. Thus, tea comes to the rescue. With far less caffeine than coffee, a cup of China Yunnan black tea, Indian Chai, or Oolong tea can give you that boost to make it through the last three hours of work, without the coffee aftereffects.
All of us lead stressful lives, and sometimes find that we need something to calm and soothe our addled brains. Coffee can't provide that calm, but a cup of white or green tea can relax any time of the day. If you're looking for a hot, zesty beverage, you can always drink fruit tea without being blasted with caffeine. Finally, before bedtime, a cup of chamomile will provide you with many hours of blissful sleep.
So the question is, do you have any friends or loved ones you'd like to give the gift of relaxation? Do you know coffee drinkers who would enjoy skipping the late evening buzz but would still like to enjoy a robust afternoon pick me up?
We haven't even touched on the health benefits of tea. You get cancer fighting antioxidants and boosts to your immune system with tea. That makes a great gift for your health conscious friends and relatives.
Nevertheless, as we see it, the coffee versus tea debate should never result in an either/or decision. A person can enjoy both. In fact, people should enjoy both. So buy tea and buy coffee. Follow our advice above, and you'll have a well rounded day of drinking your morning coffee, you midday white tea, your afternoon Yunnan, your evening green tea with your sushi, your fruit tea with dessert, and your chamomile tea before bed. That sounds like the perfect day for you and your friends!
|
| | | |
 | |
 |
| Copyright Prism Tea and Gifts 2008 |
 |
|
| |