Greetings From SBS Teas
Sharon and I have returned from the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas and we hope you have your passport ready because we are going to take you along on a Tea Experience going around the world.
While in Las Vegas we were able to attend many tastings for some excellent teas from different countries--- So fasten your seat belts—here we go!!!
First Stamp On Your Passport:
Bangladesh
All of the teas grown in the TetuliaTea Garden in Northern Bangladesh are the first teas to be granted the USDA Certified 100% organic classification for importing to the US and they are committed to improving the social conditions for the men and women who work in their fields through the Tetulia co-op. Their mission is to sustain the land and the people while producing quality tea for enjoyment on the global market. We sampled many of their wonderful teas and have chosen these two for our Expo Sampler.
**Bengal Breakfast: A smooth clean-tasting tea which combines the boldest black teas to give you an excellent cleat start to your day. It has a barely perceptible sweetness in the finish. It is actually about halfway between the maltiness of English Breakfast tea and the slightly vegetal taste of traditional Darjeeling. The leaves are big and beautiful are fun to watch as they unfurl during “the agony of the leaves” into beautiful almost complete tea leaves. Bengal Breakfast will transport you to the hills of upper Bengal where you will be ready to play with the tigers.
**Neem Nectar: This is a perfect way to take in the amazing benefits of the Neem herb. A large Neem tree usually stands in the center of each village. Its medicinal properties have been known about for years—Neem is known as the wonder tree of the Indian subcontinent. The earliest Snaskrit writings refer to the benefits of Neem fruits, oils, seeds, root and bark, hence its extensive use in traditional cultures. It is called the “Village Pharmacy” of South Asia. Hindu villagers even worship it as a God. A satisfying and refreshing tea, Neem Nectar contains just a hint of Neem. It is excellent morning, noon or night. Neem Nectar will give you the boost you need to get through your day, bright and clear. It is suggested that you might want to add a sweetener to Neem Nectar.

Second Stamp on your passport:
Taiwan
**Xing Nan Jin Suan: This tea from Natou, Taiwan is sometimes referred to as milk taste oolong. It is made from tightly rolled leaves. The cup is a bright golden color, very fragrant, smooth and mellow in taste with a distinct taste of milk. It is a high value oolong tea It is often best described as “premium oolong with sweet milk and orchid notes peeking out.” How to describe a steaming cup of Milk Oolong—imagine if velvet somehow took liquid form and was blended with sweet light cream. You need to brew yourself a cup or a pot and experience this luxurious infusion for yourself. It sounds dream-like, doesn’t it?? It is an amazingly profound tea experience.
Oolong teas are best enjoyed when the leaves are briefly infused in hot water, which is then poured off. The tea is then re-infused and allowed to steep for about 1 minute before enjoying.
**Taiwanese Oolong: Often called Champagne Oolong because its pale golden color when infused is reminiscent of fine champagne. It is produced from carefully selected leaves. It brews a beautiful cup with strikingly sweet flavor and an elegant aroma. It is a rare top grade oolong and is surprisingly sweet, delicate, and elegant. It is sometimes called Oriental Beauty.
Oolong tea are best enjoyed when the leaves are briefly infused in hot water and then the water is poured off and the leaves are infused again and allowed to steep for about 1 minute before enjoying.

Third stamp on your passport:
China
**Tai Ping Hou Kui: This green tea from Anhui, China is sometimes called Monkey King and has the finest large flat leaves, bright yellow cup and sweet vegetal aroma with a sweet viscous taste/mouth feel. It is an exceptional selection and of high value. You will watch in amazement as the large leaves unfold and show you exactly how big they are.
**Pai Mu Dan: This white tea hails from the Southeastern Fujian province in China. This superb white tea is one of the highest quality white teas and is made from the uppermost two leaves and a bud, plucked, withered and dried in the sun before the buds are able to open. These leaves are green with plenty of buds that show a very light green almost grey white color, covered with delicate velvety down. The pale infusion has a delicate lingering fragrance and a mellow sweetly vegetal taste. It is sometimes referred to as White Peony.

The fourth stamp on your passport:
Africa
**Chisunga: This is an estate black tea from Malawi. Malawi is a landlocked nation in Africa which is bordered by Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Tanzia. The shortest route to the sea is frought with danger so a more circuitous, less dangerous route is now taken to sea.
Chisunga is one of Malawi’s better-known teas. It has a character that tends to be somewhat malty but not overpowering and tend to mimic a Kenya tea. Malawais are a good choice for iced tea blends since they give a good color and tend not to become cloudy. It is a medium bodied cup of tea that is best enjoyed in the morning or after dinner. It infuses to a bright, coppery color. Use boiling water and steep 3-7 minutes according to taste.
**Rooibos Capetown: This tea is an exuberant, refreshing Rooibos blend. It is fruity, creamy and delicious. The aroma is amazing and the taste is sweet, earthy and very refreshing. It is a blend of Rooibos, hibiscus blossoms, rose petals, blue mallow blossoms, sunflower petals and marigold blossoms. Use boiling water and infuse 1 tsp. for 5-10 minutes and then sit back and enjoy!!

Now we will head to Japan for your fifth stamp:
**Gyokuro: This tea is known as Japanese shade tea and is Japan’s best tea and is made from single buds that are picked in April/May. In an effort to develop increased chlorophyll (which makes the tea leaves dark green) and reduced tannin (which gives a sweeter flavor with no bitterness) the tea is covered with black curtains or bamboo and straw shades for 3 weeks in the early spring. The leaves are small and extremely fragrant and tender. Immediately after plucking the leaves are taken and steamed for about 30 minutes to seal in the flavor and arrest fermentation. They are fluffed with hot air and dried to 30% moisture content. Repeated rolling takes place until the tea develops long thin dark needles.
It is a fully flavored green tea that has some satisfying light refreshing character. It tends to be pleasantly vegetative with some briskness. The infusion is very bright. The secret to successful brewing is to use water that is about 180 degrees F. Steep for about 2- 3 minutes. It can be infused as many as 3 more times until the flavor of the tea is exhausted. For a pot of tea use 2-4 tsp and steep for 2-4 minutes Green tea is usually enjoyed “straight up” without adding milk or sugar.

As a bonus we are going to stop over in Hawaii:
We tasted some wonderful teas from the Islands. The Hawaiians are in the infancy of tea production and it’s too soon for them to have enough for export—so we will keep an eye out for any future tea news from Hawaii.

Thanks for traveling around the world with the Tea Ladies from SBS Teas!! These are just a sampling of the wonderful teas we had the pleasure to taste. Sharon and I both invite you to try a new Tea Experience with these new teas in our Expo Tea Sampler and then let us know what you think.