Tea Deviant Blog

Tea and Guitar Pairing

3/15/2019

Classic Teas and Classic Guitars

When I drink tea I often get sensations of places, colors, vibes. Every tea tells a story.

How is tea like a guitar? I did a blind tea tasting for my Light Shadows bandmate Philip, who is a vintage guitar collector/seller. I was jazzed when he told me how these three classic British bagged teas remind him of three classic guitar brands.

(NOTE for the guitar geeks: Philip wanted to make sure I mention that he is specifically speaking about the vintage original pickups of these guitars. Let the debate begin!)

The teas we tasted are some of the top sellers in the UK: PG Tips, Typhoo and Yorkshire Tea. All three are the bagged black blend, strong morning cuppa kind rather than single origin loose leaf stuff. Now I don’t generally prefer bagged tea, but when it comes to a classic milk and sugar kind of British tea though, I love these.

Nostalgia? Familiarity? I just like them.

Matching the Tea to the Classic Guitar:

PG Tips Tea and Gretsch

Gretsch White Falcon and PG Tips tea

Philip said PG Tips tea reminded him of Gretsch, like the beautiful Gretsch White Falcon above, circa 1970.

By itself: He thought it was brighter, sharper and more original than the others.

With milk and sugar: The original taste comes through: round with a little sharpness at the end.

How it reminded him of Gretsch:
Gretsch has a bouncy tone with a quick attack and pull back. Though less versatile than some, when a classic Gretsch is put through effects it's original flavor comes through.

Typhoo Tea and Gibson

Gibson 355 with Typhoo tea

Philip said Typhoo reminded him of Gibson, like the juicy red Gibson 355 from 1965 above.

By itself: He said at first it tastes murky, maybe even bland, but strong. (I like to say ‘ballsy’!)

With milk and sugar: Typhoo tea is so strong it handles them well and together they make something better.

How it reminded him of Gibson:
Gibson has a sustained tone and is very versatile. The sound is darker and when put through effects you hear the full measure of the effect and it is awesome!

Yorkshire Tea and Fender

Fender Telecaster - a combination Telecaster with all current parts - and Yorkshire tea

Philip said Yorkshire Tea reminded him of Fender, like this cool combination or 'parts-caster' above.

By itself: He said Yorkshire tea has a nuanced taste that he thinks is the brightest of the three. (I thought PG Tips was, but that’s individual palate for you :)

With milk and sugar: The tea handles them well but original flavor still shines through.

How it reminded him of Fender:
Fender has a shorter, twangy tone. The crunchy sound with more high end rings through when put through effects.

So what do you think? Does tea make you think of something musical?

If you have strong feelings about these teas or these guitars let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

If you love guitars check out Philip’s Youtube page where he sells and demos modern and vintage guitars. You can follow our alternative/electronic musical journey on our website and join us on Instagram!

Let the music play!

This is not a sponsored post. Just the musings of a tea and music fiend.

Tea & Music: Interview with G4L Records CEO, Markus Muller-Stach

11/16/2018

Markus Muller-Stach (M STack), Founder and CEO, G4L Records, chilling at the Sunset Marquis

Hey there! Grab a cup of your favorite tea and check out this fun hang with Markus Muller-Stach (M Stack). I met him at a music festival last year. We got talking about the label he was launching, G4L Records. Schedules aligned and we got to meet over tea at the legendary Sunset Marquis to talk about his label and how he came to the wild world of music. Enjoy! - Cassandra (TD)

A Non-Traditional Route to Music

TD: You were born in Germany

M Stack: Yes I was.

TD: ...and quite a story to come out here.

M Stack: It’s crazy. I told my parents when I was three months old that I wanted to move to America. So that’s how we got to America.

TD: You were so precocious.

M Stack: (laughs)Yes

TD: Do you like it out here?

M Stack: I love it out here. I love California. I love LA.

TD: So you started in the business world before coming to music.

M Stack: Yes, I have a non-traditional route that I have taken to come to the music industry. I started as a stockbroker with Smith Barney and ended up in software sales for many years.

Then along this journey found my way to starting a marketing agency with no marketing experience in the early 2000s, closed a big account and staffed up with a number of employees and ran that for nearly ten years. About four years ago just one thing led to another and the call of music pulled me up to LA to start a record label.

I’m that guy that everyone told not to do this. Everybody I talked to in the industry is like, “What the fuck are you doing? Do not start a label.” And I’m like, “No. Follow your heart. Live a meaningful life. Go for it.” And here we are.

I spent the last four years up here in Hollywood getting plugged into the Sunset strip. Seen over 600 live shows. It’s allowed me to kind of understand how the industry works, develop relationships, build out my team, get a clear vision for my label and we launched two months ago with our first artist.

The Beginning of G4L Records

M Stack hanging with Blondie at the Sunset Marquis

TD: And you started the label with the lead singer of Candlebox, Kevin Martin.

M Stack: That’s right. I started the label, I’m the Founder and CEO and Kevin Martin, a multi-platinum selling artist still out there successfully touring, he heads up my A&R. We just really click well.

He’s a very talented individual just so passionate about giving back to artists. He’s had some terrible label experiences. He’s got so much talent and so much history and understanding coming up as one of Seattle’s greatest rock bands, I mean it’s legendary. He’s got a lot of character and ethics as well.

TD: Do you think that by having Kevin on board with the label you have some of the elements of an artist imprint label?

M Stack: Yeah, it’s truly great. My vision and Kevin’s vision really align in trying to build a truly artist-centric record label. You know, find the right artists that fit up with what we are trying to do beyond musically: personality types, work ethic, character, things of that nature, and empower them.

Develop them. Develop their music. Leverage that with my business/marketing/advertising background put [in] some capital, put them on the road, properly market them, promote them through radio, pr, digital, social media.

It’s all about best practices and empowering the artists and starting from that standpoint. We wouldn’t have an industry if it wasn’t for the artists. It’s all about the artists. It’s about generating synergies versus adversarial relationships.

TD: I want to hear about your first artist that you signed, a metal artist, how you found them and where they were in their personal development of their own doing prior to you finding them.

M Stack: That’s a great question. So our first artist is called To Whom It May. They’re a three piece out of Galveston, TX and Kevin Martin found them. He got referred to this artist and they just blew him away. He’s like, “Markus I think I got our first artist for us.” He played it for me and I’m like “This is great. This is good.”

The funny story there is that Kevin’s like, “Hey, let’s go fly out there.” And I’m like, “I’ve got to be lean startup Kevin. I’ve got to be careful how I manage the books here at the label.”

So what did Kevin do? He ended up setting up a tour with these artists in Texas.
So I’m like “Ok, Kevin you’re smart. I’m going to go. You got me out there.” I saw them and they blew me away.

They play to multiple genres, which we like. They play metal but they’re not necessarily purely metal they’re hard rock and progressive as well, so they play to both audiences. The vocals just have an amazing quality. They play heavy, the can play to the commercial side. The lyrics are very deep and intense too.

TD: They had done some self-releases?

M Stack: Actually they had not. That’s a great question. They had a lot of songs that we just loved and decided to roll out with 'as is' for our first album. It’s called “The Great Filter” by To Whom It May. A true testament to the band’s talent, and the producer Dean Dichoso did an amazing job with them, and Jonathan [Jourdan] who’s the primary songwriter just nailed it.

Tea Memories

TD: This is also a tea blog and we did share a little bit of tea earlier.

M Stack: We had some amazing tea. Where was that from, by the way?

TD: That was an English Breakfast from Harrods in London.

M Stack: That is awesome. That was my first time having tea from Harrods.

TD: Cool. I did make it a bit strong. I was thinking “He can handle a strong tea.” I got that impression from you.

M Stack: It was ballsy.

TD: It was ballsy! (laughing) You used my favorite word when I’m talking about a strong black tea - ballsy!

Did you grow up drinking tea? Is the German culture in your opinion a heavy tea culture?

M Stack: I started drinking Jack Daniels at the age of five. (laughs) I’m just kidding. I did grow up drinking a lot of tea in the household.

TD: Was it predominantly black tea?

M Stack: Yes it was. And then I believe Earl Grey, Mr. Grey. And then of course some green tea came along.

TD: Did you have to reach a certain age before they would allow you to have tea?

M Stack: I don’t think I had to reach an age limit though. Coffee was different though. They drew the line on that.

TD: Really? They didn’t want little Markus climbing the walls too young.

M Stack: Yes. To be addicted on caffeine at that age, which I am now, yeah.

TD: You’re a coffee drinker.

M Stack: Mm hm. Too much so.

TD: Too much?

M Stack: Well, I don’t know can you?

TD: I think it’s personal. Whether it’s tea or if it’s coffee I think it’s a question of what can you handle, what feels good to you.

M Stack: Oh, I can handle it, let me tell you. (Laughs) It’s a lot of hours right now, as it should be. It’s a startup.

TD: Being that it is a startup, what is your vision for your label, G4L Records?

M Stack: My vision is to create an artist-centric label to bring music to the population that transcends the status quo. Things that are outside the box, multi-genre. Our first artist as I mentioned, To Whom It May is Metal/Hard Rock. Our second artist, that’s alt rock/indie-pop. Our projected third artist is singer-songwriter/country. We believe if that deal goes through, moves forward, we believe she could be like a female Johnny Cash.

So we’re looking for the best artists we can find, that fit our criteria. All sorts of genres, we’re open to everything. We have through Kevin Martin and other team members, access to Grammy winning/nominated songwriters and producers.

I’m looking to sign a handful of artists that really blow us away, that meet our requirements, that we feel we’re going to work with and be great partners together. I view this as a partnership between the managers, the artist and the label.

TD: Realizing that business is human. Music is human and long-term relationships that benefit everybody start with that kind of basis of mutual respect.

M Stack: Yeah, call me crazy I think people matter. I think relationships matter. I think you should treat artists like people. I think you should empower them, treat them like business owners, and talk to them appropriately. Treat them respectfully, be respectful of boundaries. I know it’s a crazy concept for some people to get their arms around, but not for me.

Musical Influences

M Stack acknowledging Johnny Cash and Iggy Pop at the Sunset Marquis

TD: What were some of your early influences musically?

M Stack: Elton John, Billy Joel, The Beatles of course. I’ve grown up listening to all sorts of genres. My parents coming from Germany they were heavily into classical music, so that was played prevalently in the household. I still like to listen to that when I’m working depending on what mood I’m in.

Then I really found my groove with the Led Zeppelin’s of the world, The Who, Bad Company all those sorts of artists. Then the heavy metal bands of the world Black Sabbath, Dio, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, the hair bands. Then the Seattle [bands].

Honestly, it’s very surreal in a sense that, hey, Kevin Martin and Candlebox was a big album in my life in the early 90s. I spun that CD a shit ton. About two years ago I ended up meeting him at the Viper Room. So here’s one of my idols, and we got connected to each other and a year later we’re working together. So how rad is that!

My favorite type of music is rock n roll driven, blues, hard rock, metal, pop. I like the Duran Duran’s of the world, bands like that and Depeche Mode, Muse. It all starts with the Beatles as far as my generation.

What’s Next?

TD: So what are we going to see next for G4L Records?

M Stack: We are going to see an artist that is kind of a Radiohead meets Lana Del Rey with kind of Interpol vibe. Alt Rock/Indie Pop. We are very excited. Again every artist that I’m going to sign is going to blow us away and hopefully it blows the market away.

We’re getting very good success with To Whom It May. We moved them up the charts. As a little boutique label we got them up to iTunes Metal chart right between two Metallica albums. I mean come on, who fucking does that? Very proud of that. We got them up to Billboard’s Heatseeker #10. They charted high on the college network stations. Then it’s just a function of keep getting them out there, keep marketing, touring them properly. And we’re going to move them upstream.

TD: We can find To Whom It May through your website and their website.

M Stack: Yeah. They have some shows locally. They have some touring dates with Drowning Pool, with Ten Years. They’ve toured a number of dates previously with Nothing More. So for that genre those are big hitters.

We are finalizing the tour for 2019 and I can’t really say who our touring partners would be. I’d love to share it right now but I can’t. We’ll throw in of course a handful of Candlebox shows. That’s a given. That’s kind of a built in advantage for G4L is every artist we sign most likely is going to get a handful of Candlebox tour dates.

TD: Not bad at all.

M Stack: Not bad at all.

TD: Pretty fantastic I’d say. Well congratulations on the launch of G4L. I wish you great success and thanks so much for taking some time to talk about it.

M Stack: Cassandra than you so much for having me on. You do an amazing job. You’re an amazing person and a very talented artist. I really had a great time here. Thank you so much.

TD: Thank you! (blushing and loving it!)

This is not a sponsored post

Tea Halloween Style

10/29/2018

Tea Deviant becomes Tea Dragon for Halloween

This is not a Yes that's makeup. I was inspired by a beautiful illustration of a Chinese dragon to turn myself into one for Tea Halloween style. My bandmate Philip and my friend Elexis also let me get creative with their lovely faces and you can see the results in the gallery below.

I love the creativity of Halloween time. To me every day is Halloween in that way, but it is great to have so many more people join in - the costumes (especially the creative mash ups), the decorations and the Halloween inspired tea settings! It is also the time for warming spices, the flavors of fall.

I did a simple scones and tea for my friend Elexis and I. I had some leftover pumpkin puree from another recipe and wanted a scone that used that. Seek and ye shall find upon the internet! I found this cool recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. It has some great, specific baking tips in it like freezing and grating the butter which results in deliciously flaky scones (if you don't overwork the dough, easy does it).

I was feeling my inner child and gave these scones a Halloween twist with a coffin cookie cutter and some red icing for fun. Kind of reminded me of the first short story I ever wrote when I was nine. A vampire story of course. I still remember how hilarious it was acting it out in front of the class.

Have you enjoyed a Halloween Tea yet? Share your pictures with us on Facebook and Twitter. And show us your costumes so we can celebrate your creative spark!!!

This is not a sponsored post

Cassandra Vincent

I'm a singer, performer, writer who loves tea, sharing while I continue to learn. Email for business inquiries.
For more on music and mayhem visit Light Shadows and the Tea Deviant Music Series

Halloween makeup 2018 Elexis Tea Deviant

Halloween makeup 2018 Philip of Lightshadowsband on Tea Deviant

Halloween makeup 2018 Cassandra of Lightshadowsband on Tea Deviant

Does Your Tea Taste Like Crap? We Can Fix That.

10/18/2018

I have had multiple people tell me that they are still hazy on how to steep tea and some even tell me they don’t really like it. I’ve found the reason for this is often one of the following. So this isn’t a moral judgment, but an insight into why you are having a less-than-stellar tea experience. We can fix that.

Temperature - Come on in! The water’s fine...or is it?

I used to dislike green tea. It was a real hit or miss experience for me. As I learned more and more I discovered multiple reasons for this. One was this heat thing. Green tea is generally not meant to be steeped at the same temperature as black tea. Here is why, green tea is much less processed than black tea. Like white tea, green tea is more delicate in flavor (and will also go bad/stale faster than black tea, by the way). When water that is too hot is used it scalds the tea and makes it taste like a bitter beast. I’ve also experienced and been advised that the higher the quality of the green tea generally the lower the temperature for steeping.

Conversely, if the water isn’t hot enough particularly for a black tea, the steep may not extract enough flavor to please you and you basically have muddy water (no insult to the awesome blues man Muddy Waters. Can never have enough of him).

If you look up tea steeping temperatures you’re going to see a lot of disagreement and different temps. I’ve been given suggestions varying from 160 - 185 for white and green teas and 180 - 205 for oolong and 200-212 for black teas. You will need to play within these ranges to find what suits you and the tea you are making.

Ok, so how do you know the temperature of the water? You can use a thermometer or a temperature specific kettle. Some kettles can even be programmed for the exact temperature of choice while others, like mine, have a number of temperature options.

Alternatively you can use the Chinese temperature method which looks at the size of the water bubbles as indication of temperature - bigger bubbles = higher temperature.

There is also the Korean method of boiling the water and pouring it into another vessel to cool to the desired temperature before using.

Time - Don’t forget your hourglass

Everyone has a different palate so this, as with many of these tips, is based on taste preference. The longer most tea steeps the more tannins are released causing more bitterness. You may need to experiment to find the timing sweet spot for you. Also consider cold brewing which releases very little tannin but doesn’t shortcut flavor.

If tea is not steeped long enough the leaves may not give over enough flavor. This depends again on many things:

Tea category - black, oolong, green, white, puerh...and now purple
How broken the leaves are - The fuller the leaf the more slowly they release flavor. A more broken leaf has more surface area for the water to work on and releases flavor more quickly.
Brewing style - Gongfu tea style uses more leaves with less water for multiple short steeping times compared to western style brewing for example.
Processing - Growing region and harvest time impact flavor and preferred steep length.
Personal preference - You may like some types of tea steeped stronger than others. I tend to like a more intense black tea but a really light steep for most green teas.
Palate - The ability to discern different subtle levels of flavor will depend on how developed your palate is too. Sometimes you may not be able to taste a difference that someone else thinks is huge and that’s ok. Like what you like and be prepared for the possibility that will change over time.

Heat - The Warm Up Act

Remember those science classes as a kid? Heat transfer and heat conduction. Metal is a great conductor. Porcelain, China, some types of glass, though they don’t conduct like metal, do experience heat transfer. When the liquid poured into a vessel made of these materials is hotter than the vessel, the heat of the liquid will transfer to the vessel until its temperature matches the water. So, if you pour hot water over tea leaves in a cold vessel some of the heat of the water is transferred to the vessel before even having a chance to extract the flavor from the tea.
Result: crappy weak tea and many tears.

This is why it is so baffling when you order tea at a restaurant and they bring you hot water in a cup, with a metal spoon in it and the teabag on the side. There is no hope in that scenario. To make it worse I’d bet they never heated the cup before putting the less-than-boiled water in it anyway. Meanwhile your friend gets a well-made latte with creative foam art on the top, and you’re like “what did I do to deserve this?” Dramatic, yes, but it sucks to pay $3-$5 for something poorly made doesn’t it?

Quantity - Too much Too little Too late

This is another personal taste thing. I love a good strong black tea that can stand up to milk and sugar. So the average amount of tea in a US teabag rarely does it for me. Kinda tastes like lightly flavored water. Blech. I also like moderate bitterness, nothing too crazy. So I up the tea quantity and lower the steep time. This way I get fuller flavor and less bitterness.

The size of your teacup comes into play here. Most teabags/servings are meant for 8 ounce cups. This is America. Who drinks 8 ounces or less of anything? (Okay, bourbon drinkers, I hear you, but alcohol is the rare exception. And if any of you wine drinkers say you drink less than 8 ounces I am disinclined to believe you:) I use 16 - 20 ounce cups, so I up the tea quantity accordingly.

Water - Take me to the River, but don’t steep my tea in it

Tap water has a large number of particulates. Distilled has none. The sweet spot is in-between. This was proven to me through a tasting at the World Tea Expo back before I had even started this blog. David Beeman of Global Customized Water steeped the same type of tea with Las Vegas tap water, distilled water and GCW’s reverse osmosis process water with a specific mineral content. Every other aspect of each pot was the same: same amount of tea, same temperature, same vessel, same steep time.

The taste difference was amazing. The tap water made the tea taste like it had been dragged through a garbage bag compared to the other two. The distilled had a fainter aroma and only a slight pop of flavor and then it was gone like mist on the wind. The filtered water with the mineral complex had the greatest aroma, and most impactful, satisfying and lasting flavor.

I asked Dave what the rest of us, people who can’t easily obtain reverse osmosis water with a specific mineral blend, can do to improve their tea experience. He mentioned filtration of course. Even a carbon filtered pitcher is better than nothing. Also, GCW sells these A&B bottles of minerals that can be added to distilled water to approximate the GCW water, if you want to go the extra mile. Then there is Spring water. When I use spring water for tea the result is a step up from a basic filter.

The point is, depending on where you live, tap water has so much going on the tea has to compete with it. This is especially noticeable with the more delicate white and green teas. If you are going to shell out for high quality tea it is worth it to use high quality water.

There it is. There are more factors and I may do another post on this topic, but these are the basics. Have you experienced any of these? Let us know about your tea ‘aha’ moments.

Feel free to share this post with your fellow tea drinkers.
Friends don’t let friends drink crappy tea.

-Cassandra Vincent

This is not a sponsored post

Travel Mug Tips for Tea Fans

10/6/2018

Tea travel mug - a necessity for tea lovers on the move

We love the teapots and the gaiwans but travel mugs for tea are so important in our busy lives. Just because we are moving from place to place at speed doesn’t mean we can’t have our tea fix. Here are some tips and tricks I’ve used that make using a travel mug a more enjoyable experience.

Stay Dry

Test that the lid is on tightly BEFORE putting the mug your bag or walking around with it (who has experienced this fail with me?). To make sure you have a good seal after putting the lid on tilt the mug over the sink, or turn it fully upside down if you’re feeling cocky. If it dribbles, runs or pops fully off try securing the lid again.

Check your Gasket

The thin rubbery rings you find on tea mug lids act as a sealant when working correctly. If they get damaged, out of place or stretched out they don’t work right. Some are replaceable. Check with the manufacturer of your mug before giving up on it and condemning it to the trash bin.

Keep it Clean, People

Travel mugs often have grooves and moving parts that can hold residue (ick) that can make your tea taste nasty and get in the way of a good seal. Baking soda is a great natural way to remove tea residue from travel mugs (and cups too). You can use an old toothbrush to get into the harder to reach grooves. For the twisty tops, a good soak in white vinegar and water may help get to the places a brush can’t reach. Remember to clean under the gasket too, especially if you have milky teas. That build up is particularly gross.

Some Like it Hot

If you use a metal, insulated travel mug these can have amazing heat retention. I had forgotten to finish a travel mug of tea and discovered it was still drinkably warm 12 hours later! The only downside to this level of insulating heat is it may take hours before your tea reaches a drinkable temperature. When using these mugs I found it easiest to let the tea cool to a drinkable temp before putting the lid on.

If I’m not planning on drinking the tea for a while or have to transport it a long way then I just put the lid on while hot. Some travel mugs are a bit risky to use if the lid is put on while the tea is piping hot. The heat can create a seal where either the lid is very hard to remove or when it is removed it tends to cause the spillage of scalding hot tea. Ouch.

Turn Up the Heat

If your mug doesn’t do a good job of retaining heat give it a boost by heating the mug before putting your tea in it or steeping your tea in it. This is just like you would heat a teapot (if you’ve not tried this it could be one the reasons your tea sucks)

Play Tetris

If you have one of the ridiculously shaped travel mugs that won’t fit in a standard car cup holder, there are gadgets that can be attached to car windows which are adjustable so that you don’t have to do the dangerous drive with your scalding hot beverage between your legs thing. That’s ridiculous.

Don’t Cross the Streams

I have nothing against coffee. I have had good times with coffee also (Don’t worry. Tea knows and is ok with it). But when it comes to odors and residues, tea is like the clean, coiffed girl at the gym and coffee is the guy that gets on the elliptical next to you and smells so strong you have to move, not to another machine but to another room...and want to make sure you clean every machine you use before you use it (you do that, right?). Coffee lingers. The smell. The oils. So unless you want a stale coffee-laced tea keep your tea and coffee travel mugs separate.

What tips have you discovered in your travel mug experience? Share with us on FB and Twitter. Together we can create a better tea experience.

Cassandra Vincent

I'm a singer, performer, writer who loves tea, sharing while I continue to learn. Email for business inquiries.
For more on music and mayhem visit Light Shadows and the Tea Deviant Music Series

Unexpected Puerh at Denong Tea House

9/29/2018

Denong's Pasadena CA tea house

Expected tea is an event to look forward to; unexpected tea is a surprise joy.

I had heard from a couple of people that Denong had opened a teahouse in the area. I had first experienced their tea at the Los Angeles International Tea Festival. They specialize in puerh tea and what I tasted at the fest was lovely and memorable. I made a mental note to visit their shop. Weeks later on a holiday I was exploring in the area I heard it was in. I thought why not at least see where it is even though they won’t be open. [Note - if you are not familiar with puerh you may want to start with this post.

The shop is subtly placed, discovered by aligned chance or with focused intent. The sign on the door said ‘open’. I thought, “no way, they must have left the sign flipped”. Then I noticed the door was cracked open too. I couldn’t see anyone inside, but entered anyway. I am very glad I did. Jeffrey came out to greet me. I had picked the perfect time for a first experience as there was no one else there this late on a holiday night.

The space is spacious and open while feeling welcoming and intimate. It is a live room with a good dose of ping, so I am curious to experience the music of it at a busy time. The beautiful wood furniture is minimalist and elegant. The cabinets are filled with teaware, art and tea including a puerh cake from 1996. I didn’t look through all of it though. I thought I’d save myself some treasures for the next time I visit. There are pictures on the walls of the company founder, workers, the tea gardens and other tea houses that tell a story of Denong’s evolution.

The menu is of two parts - the main menu listing: Raw selections, Ripe selections, Famous Mountain list and their single, unique black tea; and the recent harvest menu. Jeffrey told me that list will eventually move to the main menu when a new harvest menu arrives. Prices listed are for a tasting and for a cake of the tea. There is even a Reserve & Vintage tasting session available.

I described to Jeffrey some of the flavors/notes I was interested in at the moment (much like describing wine): minerally, some earthiness but not mushroom-y, and a bit of sweetness. He suggested three teas to me and I chose Commemorative Edition 2016 from the Raw menu.

While the kettle was boiling Jeffrey walked me over to a wall of photos and gave me a brief rundown of Denong’s history and highlights. We talked a lot about the lack of information about tea. How a consumer must become self-educated to be able to acquire quality tea, which is one of my goals. He said the he himself had gone through a rough time trying to acquire quality tea, even becoming ill at one point from poor quality tea. This is particularly important with puerh as it is the only tea that can be aged. If aged properly puerh has health benefits and even becomes an investment worth a hefty amount of dosh. If processed or stored improperly, instead of the beneficial enzymes puerh is prized for, unhealthy bacteria can invade the tea.

One of the elements I appreciate about Denong is that the company is part of the whole process. They own tea gardens and there is no mystery step between those and where the tea is sold. That is gold! To know where the tea you are drinking is grown, how it is grown, how it is harvested, even to the cleanliness of the facility in which it is processed and stored - every step through to your drinking of it. It is a rare thing.

Jeffrey described how employees who work directly with the tea change clothes multiple times a day (I believe he said 3 times a shift) and he showed me a picture of them wearing masks and hair coverings and gloves - all intended to keep unwanted smells and contaminants from the tea.

The experience of having the tea was enhanced by beautiful teaware and a focused reverential serving. It looked like there was a galaxy at the bottom of the gorgeous glass cup. I got the feeling that here you could meditate while having your tea, or as I did, have a great conversation about the notes and the joy of it. It is very cool to be served tea by someone who knows so much about it and has a clear passion for it without pretense. Jeffrey was great!

Spring water was used and the tea given a quick rinse, but considering Denong’s practices this was probably one of the cleanest puerhs I have ever had. There were 5 steepings and as the tea opened up I went from feeling like I was walking through a forest after a light rain to sitting on rocks that have been washed by ocean tides. The notes of earthiness, minerality and sweetness all hit at different times.

Jeffrey put the leaves in a biodegradable container for me as I suspected they had more flavor to give (I did some more steepings that night). I love that. I look forward to working my way through their menu.

If you love puerh or want to start exploring it you can check out my earlier puerh post - A Puerh Primer and visit Denong online or at one of their locations in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or in the US - one location in Pasadena with another coming to the westside of LA in 2019!

This is not a sponsored post

Bowl for tea wash and utensils - Denong Tea House

I had this 2016 Raw Puerh

dry puerh leaves

Tea and (De)Hydration

8/6/2018

For the more delicate of you who dislike discussing any of the body’s magical fluid management techniques read no further (are any of you even reading this blog, lol?) For the rest of you let’s get sweaty ‘n stuff:

With temperatures above 100° F and beyond, breaking records, hydration is yet again a hot topic. Literally. I find myself in a water bottle fill-empty-repeat cycle multiple times a day (mine also has a mister on top that I love. Less exciting than running through a sprinkler but more portable). I also find myself taking trips to the toilet more often.

I know that as a singer I drink more water than the average person and if you factor in my tea intake even more so. Still, sometimes on days where the temperatures are relentless and the running about causes me to slip from my hydration routine I feel my mind slipping away. Apparently this is a sign of possible mild dehydration. Research shows that most people in the Western world are in some state of dehydration and are unaware of it.

There have been conflicting reports over time about whether or not caffeinated beverages like coffee and tea contribute to dehydration. I have never felt that my tea intake hampered my hydration efforts and a 2018 article in Time magazine supports this ‘tea and coffee are helpful’ side of the argument with info from a Doctor/Professor at UCLA Medical School. A Live Science article agrees indicating that increased intake of any fluid will cause increased urination. That doesn’t mean dehydration is occurring. From my scrapes with heat exhaustion while performing outdoors I learned it’s when you stop urinating or sweating that there’s a real problem.

The Live Science article also refers to a 2005 study that indicated a higher dose of caffeine had no more impact on hydration than a lower one. That doesn’t mean you can’t overdose on caffeine, but it’s hard. Like really hard. Like 100 cups of coffee a day hard, which means many more cups of tea (though different types of tea have different amounts of caffeine a cup of tea is usually around half that of a typical coffee or less. Check the Mayo Clinic’s breakdown ). Likely you’d have some heart palpitations giving you a clue to slow down way before that happens.

Now what about sweat? According to Dr. Weil, perspiration doesn’t smell in itself. It is when it mixes with bacteria on the skin. Ick. We are such interesting beasts aren’t we? We have 2 types of sweat glands, eccrine and apocrine, and it is the apocrine ones which are in the hairy areas that contribute to stench. Caffeine can increase sweating and Dr. Weil suggests removing caffeinated beverages from your diet if excessive sweating occurs because of them. Interestingly though, he suggests using deodorants which contain green tea extract to help control the smell as it is naturally antibacterial. I found multiple mentions about coffee potentially contributing to body odor but none for tea. Another point for the tea lovers!

So tea can contribute to your hydration when you ingest it (drinking a ton of water alongside it doesn’t hurt) and it can reduce your body stench if you rub it on your pits. Tea might help get me through this summer after all. What is your summer go to tea? Have you ever used a green tea deodorant? Let us know on social here or here. Stay frosty, people.
-Cassandra Vincent

There's One Caffeinated Herb Native to North America

7/30/2018

Yaupon leaves remind me of dragon scales

Yaupon is a sister plant to both yerba maté and guayusa. They are all in the holly family, they all have caffeine but yaupon (yo-pahn) is the only one native to North America. I was introduced to this plant when I discovered Wild Terra in Highland Park. Danielle Noe, the owner, sources hers from Texas where the growing conditions are ideal for this plant. It is robust and grows wild with many people using it as a hedge or trying to remove it, not knowing it’s history as an ancient revitalizing herb.

It’s formal name is Ilex vomitoria. Unfortunate. Kind of like being born with the last name Puke or Dorq or something. Don’t hold the name against the plant as it is much more tasty and positive than its Latin name implies. Apparently it was used in purification by Native Americans, but it is not a vomit-inducing plant. It was a botanist to King George the III that named it in 1789, apparently based on such reports. There are theories that he was ‘influenced’ to do so by the powerful tea trade of the time.

Like, maté and guayusa, yaupon gives a good caffeine kick-in-the-pants without jitters or crashes. As I understand it, the caffeine content of yaupon generally falls between black tea and coffee depending where it is grown/harvested and on how strongly it is made (steep time and amount).

Like it’s sister herbs it is hard to over steep as it doesn’t suffer from tannin overload like over steeped tea does. It just results in a flavor that is more robust. Like with maté, the leaves can be resteeped throughout the day.

Also like maté, which is traditionally drank from hollowed out gourds, yaupon has its own unique traditional vessels. Decorated shells were used as drinking vessels by Native American tribes. You can see a picture of one here .

Ecologically yaupon is a great plant to grow. Because it is robust and grows wild land doesn’t need to be cleared to grow it. It can be grown amongst other native plants without disturbing the ecosystem.

I tried the yaupon dark which is roasted. The broken leaves reminded me of dragon scales. The flavor moved from a light caramel-like earthiness to a deeper nuttiness when brewed longer. I found it less bitter than maté. The kick was a feeling of alertness without any shaking, crashing or stomach gnawing (anyone else get that from brewed coffee? Ouch.) I only tried it plain and I like it’s natural taste, but I think it could pair with sweetener and/or creamer much like a mate latte does. It can be made to taste just like tea so the choice is yours. Have any of you tried yaupon already? Let us know what you think here or here.

Wishing you great adventures in tea.
-by Cassandra Vincent
This is not a sponsored post.

Wild Terra - APothecary and Tea in Highland Park

6/30/2018

One of Greater Los Angeles’ very cool evolving areas is Highland Park. From music venues with an independent community scene, to vegan cafes, to dollar stores, to long standing local favorites to new privately owned specialty shops Highland Park is eclectic and surprising. I became intrigued by this area when hosting for the Youbloom music festival at the Hi Hat. Recently I felt the urge to do more exploring there. Interestingly, the very first place I discovered after parking was Wild Terra - an herbal apothecary with a small, carefully curated tea section. They had only been open a week. The owner Danielle Noe and I got talking about a mutual love of tea. She said Earl Grey was her ‘comfort food’ growing up.

The energy. The serendipity. I had to do a blog on this place.

Even better for this tea and entertainment blog, Danielle has a wild background as a special effects makeup artist having worked on some stuff you may have heard of - HBO’s True Blood and the Aquaman film, for example. As a matter of fact, the windows at the back of the shop were from Merlotte’s bar! (see the gallery below) Man, TV and film are everywhere in this town. So cool.

From Bon Temps to Herbs and Tea

Danielle has a clear love for herbs and spices, how they grow and what they can do for the body. Most of what she carries herb-wise is from California and all of it is organic. She even grows some herself. There are two sections of wall dedicated to herbs and spices including 3 types of Holy Basil, Damiana, Mugwort, Skullcap and on and on.

Tea-wise the selection is small but carefully chosen. Some of the teas are from Biodynamic farms, most are organic except for those from Africa which are Fair Trade. She orders directly from some of the estates including Bitaco, a certified organic tea farm from Columbia which has been growing tea for 60 years. Danielle shared their Tippy Negro 2 with me which reminded me of a light Yunnan - smooth and mellow and the color of liquid amber. She has multiple teas from Kenya, including the new purple tea (read more on what that is here). She has an organic Assam from India and some compelling Chinese teas. There are teas from Japan on the way too.

Included in the tea wall are Yerba Mate, and the only US native plant with caffeine, Yaupon. It is in the same holly genus as Yerba Mate and Guayusa and contains similar amounts of caffeine. Danielle also carries two types of Coffee Leaf, regular and mango scented. Yes, there is such a thing as coffee leaf that is steeped like tea! Crazy! (I got to do some tasting and will share that part of the experience in a separate post).

These Reishi mushrooms look pre historic!

Other Unique Finds

Wild Terra has a variety of mushrooms including whole Reishi mushrooms which look like some pre-historic relic (see pic). She makes tinctures from them too with a triple extraction process:

A 12 hour water extraction
6 week alcohol extraction
Final decoction boiled in water

Wild Terra also carries:

hydrosol waters
unique honeys including US honey and a line from Brazil (I tried a meadowfoam honey that tasted like roasted marshmallow!)
Salves
Books - including one on tea
Teaware
and classes too

So go get your tea and herb on in this little gem in Highland Park! Tell Danielle the Tea Deviant sent you;)

Watermelon Mint Tea? Trader Joe's Get Funky with the Tea Biz

5/31/2018

Trader Joe's newest-Watermelon Mint Black Tea

The adage that there is nothing new under the sun is especially true today with tea. I mean, it takes a lot to surprise me. I’ve seen everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type teas all over the place for a while now (Teavana for example. Is there actually any tea in there?) There is ant tea too...and I accidentally created a tea that tasted like bugs, but don’t worry, I have no intention of marketing my tea fail. Still, I did a double take when I saw this tea hit the Trader Joe’s shelves a couple of weeks back. I love watermelon. It does go well with mint. Mint goes well with tea. Yet, the idea of all three of them dancing in a cup together seemed like something that could go very well or terribly wrong. After having a discussion with one of the awesome employees at my local TJs (I won’t change my TJs because the people there are particularly awesome) I decided I had to make my own assessment.

The black tea was a medium bodied one to my taste. As is often case in the world of shelf tea the ingredients list didn’t help with any origin or other detailed info. It just included ‘black tea’ in the list <sigh>. I think it would take a more deeply trained palate than mine to identify the black leaf behind everything else going on. Oh yeah, the ingredients also include orange peels, the ever vague ‘natural flavors’ and licorice (?!). So I wouldn’t recommend it hot by itself, but once I added honey the sweetness of the watermelon emerged. It was still a little weird, but interesting and fun to taste. I decided to do the full dressing and add milk. It wasn’t gross as some might guess, it was just... not helpful.

My gut instinct is that this tea was made to be iced, but it was in small single serving bags, not pitcher sized ones and included “hot tea by the cup” and “iced tea by the pitcher” directions. I thought I’d start traditional with a hot steep. Even though I would have taken a bet that it needed sweetener to have the best effect I did try it without to start. It tasted more like sucking on watermelon rind with a splash of mint rather than sweet watermelon.

Next I did an iced tea from a hot steep. Again, plain was not the best but I think plain iced was better than plain hot. This time I added amber sugar and it was quite good this way. The mint added a refreshing coolness that went beyond the ice and the sugar was a better fit to the watermelon sweetness than the honey I used in the hot steep (it was a raw honey with a definitive flavor that kind of competed with the watermelon rather than just enhanced it).

Lastly I did a cold steep for 8 hours. I think this was the best of all methods. Though I have come to love some of the tannin release in a hot black tea with milk (and sometimes sweetener) and prefer it to the milder cold brew, with this tea the milder brew allowed the fruit to shine brightest. I dissolved some amber sugar crystals in a little warm water for a quick and dirty simple syrup-like sweetener and added it to the cold brew. Both my friend and I agreed this was a great addition and made for a unique iced tea. I’d toss in the idea of making a spiked version with vodka perhaps or even using it in a cocktail with other fruit flavors.

If you have a curious palate and these flavors are ones you usually like, give this tea spin. Make it for your next cookout or other summer event. It may inspire some interesting conversation.
-Cassandra Vincent

<<Previous

Tea and Guitar Pairing

PG Tips Tea and Gretsch

Typhoo Tea and Gibson

Yorkshire Tea and Fender

Tea & Music: Interview with G4L Records CEO, Markus Muller-Stach

A Non-Traditional Route to Music

The Beginning of G4L Records

Tea Memories

Musical Influences

What’s Next?

Tea Halloween Style

Cassandra Vincent

Does Your Tea Taste Like Crap? We Can Fix That.

Travel Mug Tips for Tea Fans

Cassandra Vincent

Unexpected Puerh at Denong Tea House

Tea and (De)Hydration

There's One Caffeinated Herb Native to North America

Wild Terra - APothecary and Tea in Highland Park

Watermelon Mint Tea? Trader Joe's Get Funky with the Tea Biz

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PG Tips Tea and Gretsch

Typhoo Tea and Gibson

Yorkshire Tea and Fender

A Non-Traditional Route to Music

​The Beginning of G4L Records

Tea Memories

Musical Influences

What’s Next?

Cassandra Vincent

Cassandra Vincent

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The Beginning of G4L Records