Ordering Tea Online
September 28, 2011
Nothing beats drinking a hot cup of tea early in the morning. It is the perfect recipe to shrug away the lazy, sleepy feelings and become active, ready to face the day ahead. Most people drink tea as a part of their daily routine. They do not savour it, nor do they appreciate its taste, but they want it to be a part of their day, and without it they feel restless for the rest of the day. This might be the normal attitude of people drinking a cup of tea everyday. But the truth is that everyone, even who does not appreciate the taste of the tea they are drinking, will notice a difference if they miss their regular cup of tea, or if they drink a different kind of tea.
That is the reason most people prefer sticking to a particular brand of tea, so that they do not have any sort of uneasiness while drinking their regular cup of tea. If you are such a person too, then you might want to ensure that you have enough stock of your favourite brand of tea available. Otherwise one fine morning you might wake up and realise that there isn’t any tea left! To make matters worse, there might not be enough stock left at your nearest store as well. To avoid such a situation, and to ensure that you always have a good stock of your favourite tea, it is advisable that you start ordering tea online.
Now that might sound silly to a few people – going online for something that can be bought at the local store – but in reality, it is just more convenient for you. Using the Internet you will be able to select your favourite brand of tea, its quantity, and flavour. Then you can choose to get it delivered at your door, which is no doubt very convenient. You can even get the specific kind of tea leaves or aroma tea that might not be available anywhere in your locality. The choice is yours, and this is what makes ordering tea online such a rewarding experience. If you are one of those people who would like to try out something new, then you can do so by looking through the wide assortment of tea brands available for purchase, and you might even find something that is much better than your regular choice of tea.
As you might have noticed, there are indeed a lot of benefits associated in ordering tea online. All you need to do is to get on the Internet and find a good website where you will be able to order your favourite kind of tea, and then get it delivered to your doorstep without having to go out and start a hunt among the various stores in your locality. Ordering tea online is both convenient, and saves time too. So if you haven’t already given it a try, then it is high time that you do so!
Some nights there is nothing better than a nice cup of tea. I usually have a variety of green tea, black tea and some herbal teas to suit the dessert I might eat.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrea_S_Watkins
How to Select Tea
September 13, 2011
Although there is only one tea plant, camellia sinensis, there are around 3,000 varieties of tea products. Differences in tea growing area and conditions, tea processing, and age of the plant also affect the final tea product. Considerations should be given to the following factors when you choose your favorite tea.
Region of Growth
Tea is mainly grown and produced in China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Japan and South Africa. Tea in Europe and the U.S. is mostly imported from the above-mentioned nations. Different geographic regions have different climates, soils and humidity factors. All of these factors contribute to the overall nature of the leaf. It is understandable that most regions pride themselves on the uniqueness of their products. You may prefer your products from one particular region to the other regions.
Type of Tea
Black, green and oolong are major tea categories. Black is completely fermented, green is unfermented and oolong is semi-fermented. Different categories of tea have different levels of caffeine content. Black has some caffeine (about half as much as coffee), green has one-third as much as black, and oolong has half as much as black. Decide your caffeine tolerance when you shop for your tea.
Loose Leaf or Tea Bags
Obviously loose leaf has higher quality than tea bags. Tea bags are convenient, but generally contain low quality leaves that are powdered or broken, called fanning. When you make a purchase of this beverage, a choice has to be made between quality and convenience.
How Much to Spend
Tea is a remarkably inexpensive luxury. There is a wide choice of prices. However you get what you pay for. Buying this product just because it is cheap doesn’t automatically give you a deal. In a matter of fact, really rare and great tea is very expensive and sometimes hard to get.
Taste, Taste and Taste
Chew the tea leaves carefully. Good leaves have a fresh mellowness. You can also infuse some tea to see if the leaves extend smoothly and sink to the bottom slowly. Another indicator of the quality is the color of the liquor. Good liquor is emerald green or golden. It has a tint of bitterness with a lasting sweet aftertaste. The liquor brewed from stale tea is malodorous and dark brown.
Other Considerations
Time of Picking: There are a number of harvest periods in a year, referred to as flushes (spring flush, 2nd flush, and autumn flush). Each flush offers a distinct flavor. For green tea, the first flush is considered higher quality.
Method of Picking: The method of how tea is picked and processed changes the quality of the final tea product. Hand picking and processing is the least damaging and produces better quality. Machine handling could damage the leaves causing quicker oxidation and fermentation which in turn degrades the nutrient levels as well as the flavor.
