Happy New Year from all of us at Chateau

Happy New Year from all of us at Chateau Rouge! Looking forward to a fantastic 2014 and wish you all the very best with a year full of heath, wealth and happiness! And a good cup of tea or two…

Life and food

If life was only as simple as food – the farmer’s field is where it all starts, the kitchen is where it is all organised and the table is where it is savoured, enjoyed and remembered (at least to the next meal)!

Is loose leaf tea better than tea bags?

For most of us in the UK a cup of tea is very much part of our daily routine, part of English culture. Good old builders tea, or also known as ‘english breakfast tea’ – made in a mug from tea bags and milk. Tea is the second most popular drunk beverage in the world, behind water. In the UK alone it is estimated that 165 million cups of tea are drunk daily (2009).

Tea bags were first discovered in 1907 by American tea merchant Thomas Sullivan, when he began distributing samples of his tea in small bags Chinese silk with a drawstring. Consumers noticed that they could simply leave the tea in the bag and re-use it with fresh tea. However, the potential of this distribution/packaging method would not be fully realized until later on. In the 1950’s Tetley’s on England launched the tea bag to the UK and the rest is history.

However following food trends in wine, coffee and chocolate, consumers are caring more about what they eat and drink. They want products that have character and reflect where they’re grown and produced. Even in this difficult economic climate, we are witnessing a sea change. There’s a certain type of consumer who is moving away from mass produced, consistently uniform and ultimately boring offerings – back to interesting, quality products from small producers, where every mouthful tells a story of how, when and where they were grown.

Now, with the growing popularity and interest in loose leaf and organic teas, most tea drinkers have been asking what the real benefits are of enjoying loose leaf tea versus that of drinking tea in tea bags.

The main difference between the teas used in tea bags compared to that of loose leaf tea, is in the size of the tea leaf. The tea commonly used in tea bags is called fanning’s or “dust” and is the waste product produced from the sorting of higher quality loose leaf tea, although this certainly is not true for all brands of tea, fanning’s are often blended in with other smaller cut tea leaves.

In addition tea bags are often considered to have less flavour by tea aficionados as dried tea loses its flavour quickly on exposure to air. Most bag teas (although not all) contain leaves broken into small pieces; the great surface area to volume ratio of the leaves in tea bags exposes them to more air, and therefore causes them to go stale faster. Loose tea leaves are likely to be in larger pieces, or to be entirely intact and thus retain their flavour longer.

Also to consider is, that breaking up the leaves into smaller pieces for bags releases the natural flavoured oils of the tea leaf, with the result that the smaller pieces in the tea bags have less flavour.

The small size of the bag does not allow leaves to diffuse and steep properly, and fact that most tea bags are squeezed against the side of the cup – often brews a bitterer cup. Not to mention, the paper used for the bag can also be tasted by many, which can detract from the tea’s flavour.

Lastly, some tea bags are made using a wet paper strength-reinforcing coating using epichlorohydrin a known carcinogen.

To the everyday tea drinker, loose leaf tea may be perceived as less convenient to prepare than tea bags but the benefits of truly appreciating a fine tea to its fullest can only really be appreciated when enjoying one of the many loose leaf tea varieties from around the world. Be it white, yellow, green, oolong, black, pu-erh teas, South African Rooibos or tisane. Whether enjoying teas from India, China, Africa, England, Russia or any other tea growing region or tea loving nation – like a fine wine, to enjoy a quality leaf tea is to experience a product that has character and reflects where it is grown and produced, as well as the skill that has gone into its selection and specific production.

Great Video – Tea Chemistry Analysis

Just found this very interesting analysis of tea from a Chemistry perspective from the University of Nottingham.

Best tea in China in London

To celebrate the Chinese New Year (14-16 February) we went on a mission to find the best place to drink tea in China town (London). Whilst partaking in some Chinese New Year festivities along the way, and although much less subdued than a the New Year spent in Beijing in 2005 London still managed to get a great feel with the Chinese street parade. Being lovers of tea and having spent some time discovering tea houses on China, we had hoped that we could find similar in China town, but were largely disappointed to find there is no ‘traditional’ styled tea house. But what we found instead was a number of Chinese inspired ‘tea’ restaurants. Probably our favourite was, Yauatcha (15-17 Broadwick Street Soho). Alan Yau’s gorgeous all-day teahouse and dim sum restaurant serves 150 varieties of tea as well as 24 varieties of dim sum and a range of delicious pastries. Trendy (in Soho) but nice! Maybe not like the Chinese New Year I had imagined but then again China has been changing so fast that in one way, it epitomises all that modern China is about.

BBC Radio 4 – Specialty Teas

A great Radio 4 show highlighting how more people are discovering the world of fine tea. A growing number of consumers are discovering that there is more to tea than the everyday cup of ‘builders tea’; discovering that tea, like wine, is a direct expression of the tea’s unique geography, soil, weather and the skill and craftmanship of the tea grower, as well as tea specialist/buyer. It is now becoming easier, cheaper (and healthier) to learn more about tea and experience new tea varieties – the world of tea is a rich tapestry that rivals wine in its complexity and depth. Definitely worth a listen or download to your iPhone. 

BBC 4 Food - Speciality teas

“Speciality teas are the biggest growth area in the fairly static tea sector, as tea drinkers go in search of more interesting flavours, and stories. Sheila Dillon asks what’s driving this growth, and finds out what is on offer both in the mass market and the speciality tea companies, including The Rare Tea Company. The British are second only to the Irish in the amount of tea they drink but Henrietta Lovell wasn’t convinced they were getting a decent cuppa, so set up the company to bring ‘the good stuff’ to the nation’s mugs, including a surprising new tea from Malawi. African tea is traditionally regarded as low quality commodity tea best used in blended teabags, and lacks the cache of China tea or Indian Darjeeling. Henrietta has been working with a third-generation Malawian tea producer to bring a single estate ‘gourmet’ tea to the market, fit to rub shoulders with traditional premium teas. Sheila is joined in the studio by Bill Gorman from the UK Tea Council, which represents all the major tea brands in the UK, and Edward Eisler, founder of internet-based Jing Teas.”  Listen Now

The worlds most expenisve tea kettle by Bugatti?

From the makers of one of the world’s most exclusive supercars, comes an even more exclusive kettle – the Bugatti kettle! To truly appreciate your tea this kettle not only looks good but has settings to ‘boil’ at different temperatures – so slightly cooler for your white teas and green teas and very hot for the black teas. Not only that, but it also has a programmable timer so you can set it to go off just in time for your morning tea. Fantastic! We love it! It’s on our Christmas lists this year, albeit at £190 the list may be shorter than last year, but well worth it! But all her at Chateau Rouge are ecstatic, as we finally have a sports car that runs on Chateau Rouge tea, or is that Chateau Rouge tea that has its sports car… Available at John Lewis

A change is brewing…wider consumer trends now evident in changes to how we purchase and enjoy tea

‘After years where the emphasis has been on bland uniformity, far sighted companies are recognising a consumer hunger for personality, adventure and excitement. Here we examine this new spirit of individuality, and how one food lover is tapping into it to launch a tea range with a difference.’ 

Running counter to the idea that shoppers want perfection and consistency, there has been a surge in the popularity of vegetable box schemes (over 400,000 boxes of sometimes misshapen and muddy produce are delivered in the UK each week) and farmers’ markets (there are now over 550 in the UK). Likewise there are a growing number of online companies selling traditional breeds of meat, and it’s also being snapped up by key food trendsetters – chefs.

You may have noticed menus specifying Gloucester Old Spot’, ‘Middle White’, ‘Aberdeen Angus’ or ‘Longhorn’ rather than just ‘pork’ and ‘beef’. Even supermarkets are starting to realise the importance of provenance and variety: witness packs of pork chops bearing photographs of the farm from which they originate, the launch of ‘finer’ ranges extolling the pedigree of the ingredients involved, or cheese sections offering an impressive choice of farmhouse cheeses from around the country.

Read the full article as featured in ‘Making Life Richer’ article July’09, PDF: Chateau Rouge Tea – A change is brewing in food consumption trends

Online store live!

Available online! http://www.chateaurouge.co.uk  Tell us what you think?

Chateau Rouge sets itself apart from traditional ‘luxury’ tea brands in 2 ways. Firstly, inspired by a legendary Parisian mansion and an era when traders brought exotic delicacies back from their travels, Chateau Rouge sources teas that are slightly out of the norm, each with their own individual story, turning tea drinking into an adventure. Second, is the unusual emphasis on quality. Production of premium teas is limited and each season produces harvests of a unique character, shaped by climate and harvesting conditions. All Chateau Rouge teas are sourced from a single batch of the highest grade available of the season.

‘Life is either a daring adventure or nothing’ – Helen Keller

Inspired by a mission to revive a spirit of exploration, adventure and sensous enjoyment of fine food and drink, we have embarked on a journey to not only find and savour the worlds best teas, but uncover what makes each cup so special, and how to make it even more so. ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first cup of tea’!