TeaMinded is a website dedicated to the world of tea.
Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.
Bill Watterson, The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book
Drinking tea is a wonderful pastime, but there is so much more to the tea experience that can be explored. What we want to do at TeaMinded is pass along our knowledge of different types of tea and how to make tea, review teaware that makes brewing tea easy, and provide as much information as possible to help you along in your tea journey.
The Ritual of Tea
A simple cup of tea is far from a simple matter.
Mary Lou Heiss, The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide
Reaching back to the early Chinese emperors, the tea ceremony is a lasting reminder that the most simple things in life can be performed with respect. When every step in the tea making process is given meaning through ritual, internal thoughts can become simple background noise instead of distractions.
The act of making tea, from using loose leaf green tea or a bag of sleepy chamomile tea, involves multiple steps that eventually become meditative and help calm our minds and bodies.
Daily Tea
But indeed I would rather have nothing but tea.
Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
There are so many beverages that we consume on a daily basis that it can be hard to keep track of them, but there are ones we turn into a ritual. That morning latte from the coffee shop. The soda at lunch. An espresso with dessert.
Tea should be a part of your daily ritual, and in many cases can even be a healthy alternative.
What about visiting a tea house in the morning and ordering black tea with cream and sugar? It will still wake you up, but keep you from having the same caffeine crash as the latte.
An iced oolong tea easily replaces soda as a bright, flavorful drink during lunchtime.
Green tea is an excellent companion to most desserts with its low caffeine content and smooth taste.
While coffee and sodas have their place, the benefits of tea and the sense of well being gained from steeped leaves should not be ignored.
Teaware Recommendations and Reviews
We had a kettle; we let it leak:
Rudyard Kipling, The Collected Poems of Rudyard Kipling
Our not repairing made it worse.
We haven’t had any tea for a week…
The bottom is out of the Universe.
Making tea does not have to be a complicated endeavor, but the right tools can make a difference in your enjoyment of the process and also the quality of the end product. We can show you how to make tea in different styles and with different teaware.
The most important part of tea other than the leaves will always be the tea kettle, so make sure to read our guide on which tea kettle to buy.
If you want to use the Eastern style gong fu method of tea brewing with a gaiwan or yixing teapot, we can help with the right teaware to purchase, as well as steeping times and ratios of tea leaves to water.
If a filtered Western style tea is more your style, we have recommendations on tea infusers, teapots with filters, and other ways of infusing to keep the tea leaves from ending up in your cup.
Types of Tea
Here at TeaMinded we delve into the intricate world of teas, navigating through the diverse varieties from True Teas — encompassing the traditional black, green, white, oolong, and pu-erh varieties derived from the Camellia sinensis plant — to the vast spectrum of Herbal Teas, cherished for their aromatic blends and therapeutic properties, utilizing herbs, spices, and floral components. We also explore the realm of other teas, which includes unique and innovative infusions that defy conventional categorization. Each review is crafted with care, aiming to enlighten our readers about the taste profiles, brewing techniques, and cultural significance behind every cup, making our blog a treasure trove for tea enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
True Teas
- Black Tea
- Oolong Tea
- Green Tea
- White Tea
- Pu’erh
Herbal Teas
- Chamomile Tea
- Hibiscus Tea
- Jasmine Tea
- Peppermint Tea
- Licorice Tea
Other Teas
- Matcha Tea
- Chai Tea
- Rooibos Tea
- Earl Gray Tea
- Darjeeling Tea
