I think the failures that are the hardest to take are the ones where I have a very specific flavour profile in mind before I start out. It works if you make hot chocolate and then add a little bit of tea, like peppermint or a really spicy chai, but the other way around ends up being pretty dishwater-y).Ĭreating a chocolate tea that tastes as good as it smells – that’s probably my holy grail. I think I’ve been pretty inventive, even trying to mix tea with hot chocolate powder (not good. And every time I’ve tried to make a chocolate tea it’s been a disappointment. I had a big flop when I tried to combine black tea and rooibos. My husband and I recently relocated to Ottawa and I was really missing having tea as such a big part of my life… so we started Proper Cuppa! One of your goals is to make tea blending fun and approachable for all tea lovers! Can you share a moment when you were experimenting with a blend that did not pass your taste test? It was amazing! I learned so much about the tea industry, different people’s palates and preferences, and – of course – how to blend tea. I enrolled in the Tea & Herbal Association of Canada’s Tea Sommelier program around the same time that I started working at Murchie’s Tea & Coffee in BC, so I had a period of time being completely immersed in tea. After that, tea just became a habit – through school and work I always had a pot or cup nearby. My roommate Lindsay and I would have cream tea – afternoon tea and scones with clotted cream and jam – every chance we could get. Most weekends we went on ‘field study trips’ to different historical or cultural sites around the UK. I guess tea really implanted itself when I was in first year university at Herstmonceux Castle in England. I actually grew up in a coffee family, so I’m definitely the black sheep with my tea fascination. How did your relationship with tea begin and eventually evolve into Proper Cuppa? I really like the way the jasmine works with the stronger black teas in this blend… mmm! You guessed right! Thank you for this wonderful steep. Knowing a little bit about your taste, my guess is that you might increase the proportions of Assam and Ceylon the next time you make this blend - what do you think? It has a base of smooth Keemun black tea, Assam and Ceylon for strength, and just a little bit of jasmine green tea to provide some pizzaz.Īs with all of our tea recipes, I encourage everyone to taste the blend and then adjust to their personal taste. What tea are you going to steep for us today?įor you, Lu Ann, I decided to blend up a pot of Proper Cuppa’s Royal Afternoon tea. The kettle is on and I can hear it about to sing. At the tea table Sarah shared how she became the tea lover in a coffee family, tea blending failures, where tea will be in five years and more. To provide education on her favourite beverage, she teaches an introduction to tea course online. As a certified tea sommelier Sarah created their initial product offering, a guided tea blending kit, to encourage other tea drinkers to explore tea blending. She missed being more involved with tea so she started her small tea business, Proper Cuppa, with her husband. After working at a tea company on the west coast, Sarah moved to Canada’s capital. This step works in “developing the aromatic principle.Her love for flavours and aromas led Sarah Vaughan to a career in the tea industry and eventually a tea business of her own. What intrigues me about Soyer’s advice is his suggestion to “warm both the pot and the tea before the fire” before adding boiling water. Hunt’s instructions are followed by those of chef Alexis Soyer, author of A Shilling Cookery for the People (and also, interestingly, a food reformer who sought to relieve famine in Ireland and who also worked with Florence Nightengale to improve nutrition among soldiers in the Crimean War). “In tea, properly so called, you should slightly taste the sugar, be sensible of a balmy softness in the milk, and enjoy at once a solidity, a delicacy, a relish, and a fragrance in the tea.” Hunt’s instructions, though flirtatious at the start, cover territory that is familiar to tea makers today, with the main point being that the water must be in “a thoroughly and immediately boiling state.” What I like in particular is Hunt’s sensual description of a correctly made cup: Bernhard first offers Leigh Hunt’s advice on tea (quite similar to the guidance included in the Jissue of Leigh Hunt’s London Journal).
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