The Process

So you may have already read our previous blog on how we select our teas. Now, we will take you on the rest of the tour to learn more about the finishing process. So hold on to your seats here we give you rest of the tour..

After we find we our new teas, we move forward with the labels. Here we think about names. The name, we feel should reflect the tea and its characteristics. Sometimes the naming of a tea takes constant contemplation for a long time. Yet other times the name just pops out, such as with our Up North!. After Chris had tasted this tea and said he agreed we had to sell it, he said, “It's so Up North!” That's how Up North! Got its name. Of course there are still some teas where you just don't mess with name, such as English Breakfast or Earl Grey. In many ways naming a tea is like naming a child. You want to make sure the name is a perfect fit.

Then it's off to visit our graphic artist. He does a fantastic job! We sit down with him and give him the information for the new labels. Everything that must be adjusted is changed, such as water temperature, steeping time, name, description, list of ingredients and sometimes the outlying color is changed too.

Once we approve all changes and updates, the labels are sent to the label makers, who in turn forward proofs for us to see. After we have given the okay the labels are printed and then sent to Tozy Tea. 

Of course, then there are all of the updates that are made to the website, too. Some decisions are easy. If a new tea is a green tea, it goes under the green tea banner. Other items, such as the new teapot that we will be selling involves more thought, product placement.

As you can see, the job of introducing new teas and new items is quite a process, but you know, we love it!

If you liked this article, please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Darjeeling in San Francisco

Earlier this week we were in San Francisco, attending the 2^nd Annual San Francisco International Tea Festival. There were many wonderful exhibitors with their wares at this festival. It took us a two hours to check out the exhibits. Unfortunately, there were items downstairs that we never got to see as we ran out of time. However, we felt very fortunate to have met so many wonderful people at this event.

We had signed up for a Darjeeling tea tasting and were not only very eager to taste these teas, but also to meet with the Glenburn Tea Estate people themselves, and to learn more about the Glenburn Darjeeling teas. Sidhant Prakash was one of the two speakers for this tasting. Both speakers were very knowledgeable and a joy to talk too.

Before we started tasting eight teas, we were given a little background information that was fun to absorb. First of all it takes 1,000 leaves to make a pound of ready to steep tea. Sixty percent of all of the work is done by hand, of which all of their tea is handpicked. When it comes to picking tea by hand, it is not as easy as it looks. Tea requires an exact plucking technique. The plucker wants of course to only get the first two leaves and a bud, not the stem. 

Tea is effected by soil and climate. Tea from the Glenburn estate is grown on the western slopes of the Darjeeling mountains between 1,000 and 5,000 feet.

One tidbit of knowledge that I learned was that teas harvested during Monsoon season (July-September) have a much mellower taste due to the over abundance of water. When the plant gets less water, it stresses out a bit and has a stronger tea taste. This occurs during the harvest; March to June and October thru November.

The winter months are used to prune the tea plants and perform many other tasks that cannot be done during the harvest season, one of which will be working on an irrigation system.

Of the eight teas that we tasted with Glen burn Tea Estates, there were three that really stood out for us. First, was a lovely white tea called Moonshine, which had a lovely citrusy taste, a light liquor, and finished well on the tongue. It was very tasty. This tea is harvested in March at the beginning of the tea season. Our second favorite tea was a white tea, Silver Needle. Silver Needle is harvested during the Monsoon season and therefore has a much more mellow taste. I found the aroma to be wonderfully intoxicating. The tea liquor had a lovely light appearance and finish on the tongue was smooth and buttery. The other tea which we both favored was the Autumn Oolong, which is harvested in November. The Autumn Oolong had a wonderful aroma and a coloury liquor. It had a wonderful crisp sensation in the mouth and left a nice lingering taste. 

It was sad to leave the San Francisco International Tea Festival and the Bay Area, but hopefully we will return sooner rather than later. There is always joy in hoping of a return trip. I'm already planning what we would do the next time we visit. Of course, tea is always in the plan. How could it not be?

If you enjoyed this article, please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.