BLOG

Rarely do I write about any one specific tea here. My leafy ramblings tend to drift to tea at large and pointing people to the tea reviews section, which is closing in on 80 reviews at this point.       But, every so often some crazy tea comes along that I feel like writing about. I this case, it is the tea from Ineeka. They're one of these new tea blenders that's all about green this and free trade that and conservation here and organic there. These are all good things and I'll always support a product that purports to be made with these ideas in mind. It's just that it seems like everything and everyone has jumped on this bandwagon. For now, this is a good thing. I just hope that the fad won't inevitably fade and we'll go back to sludge and Twinkies.       Anyways, back to the tea at hand. Beyond all the catchphrases, this is very, very good tea. I tried the Himalayan Black as an introduction to their teas. It is simply one of the best black teas that I've ever had. The tastes qualities are wonderful and they damned well better be as it's one of the most expensive bagged teas on the market.       But these bags that they sell the tea in warrant some special attention. They're freakin' wild. Not content to just be a standard paper bag or even a fancy silken bag like Mighty Leaf uses, they made a teabag that has, yes, "wings". I know it sounds like a maxi pad slogan, but I don't know how else to describe it. The bag has these little wings that fold out to sit on the edge of the cup. Then you actually open up the bag to pour the water inside as opposed to just letting it soak in from the outside.       I have no idea if this actually brews a superior cup of tea or if it's just that the leaves they use are high grade and well-processed. Whatever the case, the end result it mighty tasty. I just need to move on and try some of their others now!

Damn you Onion! I knew that one day you would find me and spoof me up good.       It pretty much all revolves around the article about a fellow they call "Fancy Man". You can read it and if you know me, you're bound to see some similarities. The most poignant being that the guy in the article is a web designer and he likes tea. Oh yeah, he also happens to be 29, when I'm 30. Oh yeah, there's also the "hoity-toity copper-bottomed tea kettle" that he uses and I admit, I'm rather in to the one I've got since yes, it does make a difference to nuke it or boil it. Microwaves do strange things to food and beverage. It's the last bits in the article that stray from me. Oh yeah, they also make no mention of a blog, although I'm guessing that would be implied.       I suppose that the really disturbing thing about this is not that I feel someone who knows me, spoofed me. I'm just not that cool. It's more the fact that there are apparently more of me out there in such great numbers that The Onion could write a whole article about. That my friends, is by far more disturbing.

It's the case that when in the place where they do things commonly, that even the worst of whatever they do is still considerably better than those who don't do it. Take pizza. In places where they make it a lot, even when it's not so good, it's still okay, even in the US       Such is the case with tea. Places like Croatia, Italy, Spain, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, and a whole slew of others have really bad tea. Sure, you'll find that one pocket of it somewhere where you stand up and scream, "Hallelujah!" But really, this is more from the shock of contrast in that what you've had to this point has been so bad that a weak coffee could taste like tea. Although, it is true that a somewhere like Čajna Hiša in Ljubljana has a really good brew.       Then you get to London and suddenly, tea is good. The stuff sitting on the night stand in London was ten times better than the best tea we had in Croatia. But this makes sense as they do tea and they do it well in the UK. I doubt that there is anywhere there, where you'll get a cup of the boiled leaf and want to spit it out. Then you go to a tea house and it is like floating in a leafy heaven where a well-steeped pot sits on every cloud.       Of course, you travel back to California and realize that nearly every wine is good somehow. Even the bad ones are drinkable. And you see that it's all about what a place does well. Sometimes it may seem like they don't have anything they do well, but when traveling for months on end, you realize that you just need to look deep enough and see what it is that people do well. Then you realize that something silly and unnecessary like a proper cup of tea is something that is analogous for finding whatever it is that is good about a place and enjoying the crap out of it.

Biodynamic agriculture is nothing new (in fact, it's based on really old principles) but I've only really heard about it since the start of this year. A very excited and blustery Slovenian by the name of Aleš Kristančič, who owns the Movia Winery started talking about it at a wine dinner I was at. His winery practices it and he made a great deal about how others are coming to him to learn how to do it.       It got me wondering as to what it was. At first I guessed it was just a different name for 'organic' food growing. But, this was only part of it as it takes organic and goes beyond it to create a completely enclosed system for producing whatever it is that you want to produce.       For instance, a local wine producer in Sonoma, Benziger, grows all of their wines biodynamically. They're to the point where they even have Demeter certification, which as I understand it is that biodynamic equivalent of being certified organic, albeit a much trickier thing to accomplish. I'm not sure if it plays in to it, but they certainly make very fine wines up there.       Beyond these wine examples, I received an email today from Numi Tea stating that some part of their teas were now offered as biodynamic certified. I definitely smell something of a buzzword with this because as Evil Blue (Walmart) starts selling organic items, it will cheapen the whole term and maybe at some point negate it. Because biodynamic requires so much more work, thus decreasing the bottom line, I could never see a major retailer like them touching it. And this, is quite fine by me.

I think there are two reasons that I'm such a tea nut and love doing my Tea Reviews. The first reason was a trip to London in 2004 where I was exposed to good tea for the first time and got hooked. The second was due to this bit I saw on Good Eats where Alton Brown went in to the depths of food geekness in talking about tea. It was a good show, but it was his "recipe" for the perfect cup that really got me hooked on tea and as any reader of this site knows, it's a bit of a passion for me.       One thing that Alton went on and on about was the need for perfect water when making tea. I had been somewhat taking this for granted because I brew at home or get a cup where they boil the water properly. It wasn't until I tried using the hot water in the office water cooler that I realized how important it was to have good, properly boiled water. I would rather be tired and un-caffeinated than drink tea made that way because really, it sucks.       It wasn't until recently at one of my sometimes offices where I pointed out the fact that the coffee drinkers get all these fancy coffee pots, $500 espresso machines, and what not, while the tea drinkers are stuck with the crappy hot water thing on the water cooler that makes me prefer Starbucks. So, after much hassling, I managed to have them get an electric tea kettle. Specifically, this on from Sunbeam. The only catch (which I didn't think of as an issue at first) was that it's made of plastic. This probably isn't a big deal to most people seeing as how nearly every damned thing is made of plastic these days, but really it makes a difference. While this pot will actually get the water to a rolling boil, there is something never quite right with it. Tea doesn't steep as dark as it does at home and there is always this slight air of plasticness to it that I don't quite care for.       All things told though, I greatly prefer this over the water cooler and it is a lot better than spending $2 every time I want a cup of hot water and Indian leaves. Still, it's not great and short of having a gas burner with a proper Chantal kettle (god I love these) in the office, I believe this is the best I will get. Quite obviously, I need my own company and office...

If you follow along in the Tea Reviews section, then you're very aware of how much I like tea. One unfortunate personal downfall is that despite my love of the leaf, the ability to make the perfect loose leaf cup seems be an elusive goal for me. This tends to result in the cop out of using bags and while they're good, they're not really ever as perfect as loose leaf can be, when made right of course. They also happen to be considerably more expensive and less environmentally friendly, since pure tea leaves are so easy to compost and recycle.       But, it seems that with hundreds of attempts under my belt, I'm starting to get closer to figuring out proper loose leaf methods. My problems all seemed to revolve around the amount (I put in too much) and the steep time (I let it sit too long). About a pinch and a half from my big monkey fingers seems to be the right amount for a single cup that is laced with a lot of flavor, but not too much flavor to the point of being overwhelming. As for the time I've been letting it steep, this is still something of a work in progress. At times, I get it just right by leaving it shorter than what seems should be enough time to me. But still, I'm over steeping just a little much. If I pay attention to the color that seems to help.       I'm sure I'll get it right someday and while this is a silly pursuit, at least it's not a costly one since the only things I need are tea leaves and boiling water. There is no $400 machine that I need like in coffee and the fact you have to "meditate" a bit to get the cup right is something that I like. Anyways, I've got a large lot of loose leaf samples coming from a tea blender for me to review, so I'll get more practice and more reviews up in due course.

I was in the market for a glass teapot. They're kinda cool and let you see the tea that you're about to drink as it steeps. Plus, they tend to have pretty modern designs, since according to the 1980's, everything in the future will be made of glass.       Once I got to looking around, there was one that kept popping up. It's made by a company called Bodum. What they offered seemed pretty interesting. Decent lines and a good shape to their pots (as well as other things that they make). The only catch is that everything appears to be made in China. Have you ever heard of the Chinese being known for their glassworking abilities? No, neither have I. Clay sure, but glass, no way.       All of this points to the fact that the low price you're paying for this item is because it is sweatshop made and made poorly. A quick trip down to William-Sonoma readily proved this. The manufacturing quality was chintzy. I doubt it would last more than a few months at best and the glass quality was terrible (my father made high-end glass).       Given that this one was out, I had a hard time finding another one that I liked the look of and wasn't made in 3rd world countries. It seems we have lost the secrets of glass manfacturing in this country, so that was gone as well. But what was not gone, was Europe.       I ended up finding at this company, a pot called Trendglas made by a company called Jenaer. This is a German company. I bought it and it's great. A nice look and while I have no idea as to the actual conditions it was made in, in Germany, I know that it was not made in a Third World spot in Asia. There's some comfort in that. I wish I could have bought from the US, but there were just no options. Such is the case, when you completely dismantle your craft base.

I've been lucky to get samples from various tea blenders (no, not makers, blenders) lately and have imparted my experiences in my ever-growing Tea Reviews section. Yes, it's an odd blend for a web developer to be a tea and not a coffee drinker, but such is the case when around Russians for a good long time. And there's something to be said about the slowness you drink a cup of tea as opposed to the typical downing of coffee. I equate it to the difference between drinking wine and drinking beer. Naturally, I happen to be a wine drinker as well.       Anyways, I've been reviewing my ass off and just wanted to point out my most "edgy" tea review to date, here. I know that it really pushes the boundaries of what a tea review should be, but hey, this is the way I roll and if you don't like it, get off the Hudin Express right now.       I'll hopefully get a few more samples in the next few days of tasty things to try. Off to some Chamomile Citrus to knock me out tonight though, since I feel kinda craptastic.

So, fresh on the heels of my pleasureable tea experience in Ljubljana, comes the confrontation of Franck again. Oh Franck, how I hate you so much.       But, as I was looking at my cup I was having in Maksimir Park over the weekend (beautiful place by the way), I realized that it was not the fault of this poor unsuspecting bag. It started life on a bush, growing and happy. It was plucked, shipped and then ended up in a bag in Zagreb. It is innocent, just the victim of circumstances.       I realize now that it must be the near-total mob control of tea distribution in Croatia that has led to this disaster. Franck is like the Starbucks of this land. They sniff out any who deviate from the norm and muscle them in being part of the "Franck Family". I see no other way for this to make sense. You see Franck signs everywhere.       Maybe someday this will change and better tea will be brought forth to the country, especially if they join the EU. Until then, Franck will continue its stranglehold on this poor, unsuspecting country.       You know, to be honest, it is not as bad as I remember. It is still crap, just not as bad a crap. I guess I will go and raise its rating in the tea area.

Having never really spent much time in Slovenia and having spent a good deal of time in Croatia, I assumed that the tea situation here was much the same as across the border; basically, that it sucked. I have been pleasantly and happily surprised to find that this is not the case. They understand tea and make it very, very well. They do loose leave and they do bags and they like it.       Croatia has a national brand called Franck and it is pretty horrible. Slovenia also has a national brand that you seem to get anywhere which is called 1001 Cvet. I believe that this translates in to 1001 Flowers, but I am not sure since my Slovene is rather lacking. It is not a bad tea at all. In fact, I quite like it. Of course, it does not compare to the two tea shops I have spent much of my time at on Stari Trg (Old Square) in the old town. One is at the end at Stari Trg 30 and the other is more towards the center, but I do not know the address. I also can not remember the names, so I am being a complete ass in writing this.       The one shop more towards the center (cross the main bridge, hang a right and walk about 200 meters or so, it is on your left) does all loose leave brews in traditional ways and has a really wide selection. It is such a nice place that I would love to see something like it in San Francisco. Maybe this already exists and I have yet to discover it.       Naturally both of these places serve coffee (kava) as well and for those who like coffee, they say it is damn good. The one advantage of the one at the end of Stari Trg is the fact they have a good assortment of ice cream and you can never go wrong with ice cream. All that may be lacking or off-putting with the tea in Croatia is more than made up for with the ice cream. Damn it is good. So good. So damn dig didley good.