Steeped In Family–Part I
-Sue Worthman
It’s May, and this month we’re focused on tea-drinking and mothers. (It’s not that Cinco de Mayo celebrations, proms, and graduations go unnoticed, but well, it’s nearly Mother’s Day, and even if the only mother one wishes to honor is Mother Earth, that’s reason enough.)
My maternal grandmother introduced me to tea and its rituals. A Kansas native transplanted by marriage to a Massachusetts college-town, she had an Anglophile’s love and habit of tea drinking. She collected teapots and teacups, knitted tea cozies for keeping pots warm (useful during New England winters), and served her tea with sugar cubes and homemade cookies. She was partial to black tea, particularly Earl Grey, and her favorite teapot was an English round-bellied brown porcelain.
My mother, on the other hand, usually drank coffee. After retirement, and under the influence of my tea-drinking sister, she switched entirely to tea. Now partial to scented teas, particularly jasmines and smoky China blacks, she has started her own collection of teapots and cups, whistling while she warms each, just as her mother did. She is quite particular about her tea habits, so much so that a café in her Seattle neighborhood keeps a pot and loose-leaf tea especially for her. It gives me great pleasure to know that she is part of a community willing to cater to and take care of her, as though a member of their own family.
And so it is L’Amyx. This edition highlights mother members of our “extended family”—staff and customers who find themselves cared for through tea-drinking, and who share that with their children. We offer gifts—literal and figure—to give to our mothers. We celebrate generations of tea-drinkers, and mothers of all ages.
This May, come find out what’s brewing at L’Amyx. Steep yourself, and your family, in the world of tea.
Mother's Club
Many descend upon L’Amyx in search of comfort and community. One group that is especially dear to us is this one of young mothers and their new born babies. An informal gathering that exchanges experiences, ideas, solutions and support. The sounds that fill the tea bar when they are present are magical. And it all happens around a pot of tea.
Tea Education: Scented Teas
-Sue Worthman
Originally created to mask low quality teas, scented tea has become a favorite category throughout the world. The Chinese serve jasmine-scented teas with dim sum; Russians drink Lapsang Souchong with chocolate and cherries and Afghanis like to end their meals with teas scented with cardamom and rose petals.
Scented teas are made by adding flower petals or blossoms, herbs, spices or even sliced fruit or fruit peel to a base of low-moisture black, green or oolong tea, transferring the scent from the source to the tea. Black teas typically get infused with fruits like mango, black currant, peach or lychee; flowers like rose and lavender or essences like bourbon vanilla. Green tea is most typically enhanced with flowers, particularly jasmine and osmanthus. The latter is also frequently paired with oolong. Both of these flower-based teas go especially well with spicy food and at the end of an ethnic meal, especially Chinese or Thai (particularly with jasmine rice). But all scented teas are well-paired with food, sweet to savory.
The best-known scented black teas are probably Earl Grey and Lady Grey, both based on oil of bergamot (bitter orange). Russian Earl Grey is so aromatic it is almost like drinking perfume. Rose Congou consists of Keemun black tea with rose petals to add flavor. Smoky Lapsang Souchong is sometimes called caravan tea, as it was originally transported by camel train and picked up the smokiness of the campfires at night. Today, tea makers burn pine logs and sometimes resin to give it an intentionally smoky aroma and taste.
Scented teas rely on tea’s great aroma-absorbing abilities—which can be a bad thing in your kitchen cabinet. Be sure to store your tea away from spices and herbs, or other strong smelling items. (You don’t really want a chili-scented Assam and oregano-scented Ti Quan Yin, do you?) And use porcelain to brew and serve, which the Chinese consider best for any scented tea.
Sources: www.foodproductdesign.com, www.2basnob.com
Tea Recipe: Lavender Lemon Shortbread
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- grated zest of one large lemon
- 1 tablespoon lavender, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons lavender sugar
Cream the butter and sugar together until well blended and light colored. Sift the flour and salt together, then stir into butter and sugar mixture. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and lavender. Mix thoroughly. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate 2-4 hours. Press the dough into an 8-inch square pan. Sprinkle with lavender sugar and chill for another 45 minutes. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Cool in pan and cut into squares.
- Lavender Sugar
- 1/3 cup fresh lavender flowers
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
Mix the lavender and sugar together in a glass jar. Store in a cool place out of the light.
Source: adapted from http://www.seedsofknowledge.com
Customer Corner
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Name: Gina
City: Oakland
Occupation: Administrative Assistant
Favorite Tea: Jasmine Pearls |
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As a full time mom of 3 kids with a full time job, life is very busy for me. On occasion, I can meet a friend or two for tea after putting the kids to bed. It is a great, peaceful retreat for me. What a pleasure to sit around, sipping a cup of Jasmine Pearl green tea, enjoying the fragrance of the tea and the company.
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