A few weeks ago, I had the chance to try some unusual matcha-styled (powdered) teas with Lindsey, of Vee Tea. She's had special training in the preparation of matcha, and I loved watching her whisk up the fine powder to a froth. These teas were non-traditional matchas, in that they were chosen for their high antioxidant levels and made into powder. The thought is the powdered tea will offer even more health benefit when a person ingests the whole leaf. I'm not able to comment on the validity of this claim, but I find it an interesting concept. One of the teas, a white, made a lovely froth and silver-green color (reminding me of a silver artemesia plant).
We started with a high-quality matcha, Matcha Hekisui, then progressed to the non-traditional ones. Here is Lindsey whisking up the first matcha.
The powdered white tea, after whisking
Today we had a puerh sampling session. We tasted two special varieties, one packed in a bamboo stalk and the other in a pomelo rind. These are the "old" teas I referenced above because puerh tea is aged. It was fascinating to loosen the brick-like tea from its container and then notice the aroma of the dry leaf, the wet leaf and the flavor differences both within the same tea at different brew lengths, and between the teas.
Tea will continue to be a life-long study and passion. There is so much to learn and explore.
I had a wonderful time tasting teas with you on both occasions! Thank you for sharing your powdered teas -- they were fascinating examples of non-traditional teas. The first tasting inspired me to request some powdered tea samples for review on About.com, and I'm making plans for using powdered tea as a food ingredient. If the timing works out, I'd love for you to taste test my powdered tea recipes! :)
ReplyDeleteWow - you two are definitely getting into some unique tea stuff. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteI'm like you and will always be a student of tea, Steph, for there is just so much to learn! Today I learned that matcha can be made of something besides green tea. I'd never heard that before!
ReplyDeleteYour matcha tea tasting sounds very interesting. I didn't know that there was powdered white tea.
ReplyDeleteI like to use Stash Green Tea Powder in my water bottle at the gym. It would be nice to know if the powdered whole leaf does provide better health benefits.
I love the you and Lindsey are exploring and learning together. I didn't know there was a white powder tea either. Thanks for educating me also.
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