Read my leaves: Starbucks Coffee Co. is proving there is life after latte.
The chain that hit it big by roasting status into beans is now steeping attitude into tea leaves.
In December, it added “eight new exclusive varieties” of tea to its 500 stores across the country. Krups had an epiphany of sorts too. In January at the International Housewares Show in Chicago, the German stalwart of coffee machinery unveiled a sleek electric teakettle.
At the same show, Bodum introduced a plunger system for brewing tea–Bodum, being the Danish company that made famous the French press or plunger system for making coffee.
And then there’s the social scene.
Tea rooms and salons are starting to pop up all over the country–even in Seattle, the hub of Coffee Culture.
Sip to it.
From all indications, we’re on the brink of another hot beverage boom, and this time it’s tea, a drink that’s estimated to be 5,000 years old, but still in its infancy in the U.S., as far as consumption goes.
More teas. Better quality teas. A seemingly endless assortment of blends. The drink has all sorts of creative possibilities.
But the boom is bigger than the beverage itself. A new generation of pots and kettles hath been born.
While some carry on the tradition of high design started years ago by the Italian-based Alessi company, others go way beyond mere good looks. They pioneer new ways to make and take tea.
“This is the biggest change that there has been in years,” says Illtyd Lewis, executive director of The Tea Council in Britain, a London-based trade association and the world’s authority on propriety in regards to the steeped stuff.
Lewis is referring to a glass teapot named Assam, which is new to the U.S. market but has been out in Europe for several years.
More than a pot, it is a plum.
It solves the gravest dilemma known to man- and womankind throughout history in their humble attempts to brew the perfect pot: keeping every cup potable.
“The teapot was never envisaged to be a teapot. It’s nothing more than a Chinese wine jug, historically pressed into service as a teapot,” explains Lewis, whose organization has done considerable research on the perfect pot.
“The first cup is delicious,” he continues. “The second cup is passable. The third cup is definitely becoming a problem in strength, and the fourth cup is a bit of a shaker.”
Meaning: It’s way too strong.
Take the plunge
Named for a type of tea from India, the Assam teapot comes equipped with the mechanics to control the strength of the tea. Developed by Bodum in conjunction with the council, Assam has a plastic infuser column and a plunger that inserts into it.
You simply place tea bags or loose leaves into the column, fill the glass pot with near boiling water and then let the tea steep to the desired strength, which is clearly visible through the glass.
“As soon as you see the tea is now the flavor you want, you press down the plunger,” explains Jorgen Bodum, owner of the company that bears his name and has headquarters in Switzerland. “It stops the contact between the leaves and the water.”
Thus, infusion is halted.
“It is arguably the best way of brewing tea that there is,” Lewis says. “It stops the brewing in a very elegant way. You can always pull the bags out of the pot, but it is hardly elegant.”
Steeped in tradition
Not everybody strives to be elegant. Many more people are simply looking for traditions.
“We’re seeing a lot of younger people interested in afternoon tea, because they don’t see these same kinds of traditions in their lives,” explains Karen Giordano, editor of Mary Mac’s TeaTimes, a 20-page magazine that comes out six times a year. Published out of Langley, Wash., it has grown from serving 200 to 3,000 tea-loving subscribers in just four years.
“Tea itself-from tradition and history-is a ritual,” she continues. “Even brewing a pot of tea, you can’t short-cut it and end up with a really good cup.”
You have to preheat the pot. Bring cold water to a rolling boil. Drop loose leaves or bags into your pot. Pour in the boiling water. Steep for three to five minutes. Strain. Serve. Sip.
“It’s the opposite of coffee,” Giordano says. “It’s a leisurely, tranquil experience rather than a quick fix of caffeine. “
Some of the new teapots come with a coordinating warmer. Suddenly, a cup of tea turns into a pot of pleasure. That pleasure can be a thing of beauty too.
Jenaer Glas, a German glasswaremaker, recently introduced Communications, a teapot/warmer combination unit that is as much a jewel as it is a place to steep tea.
The glass pot nestles in a cobalt blue ceramic warmer. A 18-karat gold infuser dangles inside the transparent pot. A candle squats in the warmer, transforming the tea into liquid amber.
Beauty by design
In other teapots, the beauty is more basic. It’s about sensibility.
There are now cast-iron teapots and kettles done in traditional Japanese forms-but equipped with contemporary infuser baskets that simplify brewing and cleanup.
World-renowned French designer Philippe Starck put his own, wacky spin on the sensibility theme.
Ti Tang, his design for Alessi that has been available in Europe but is new in the U.S., is a white porcelain teapot with a stainless-steel infuser and a separate aluminum thermal cover that functions like a cozy.
The horn-shaped handle on the pot is what sets this design in motion. Really.
The horn (which is, of course, Starck’s favorite design element) throws the pot slightly askew. That way, the pot rocks when touched and keeps the tea leaves circulating inside the infuser, allowing for full contact between leaves and water. Nothing settles.
Make rooms for tea
It will be a long time before the tea boom settles in this country.
“We’re seeing a tremendous increase in the popularity of tea right now,” says Joseph Simrany, president of the Tea Association of the U.S.A., the American equivalant of the British Tea Council.
Simrany notes a 10 percent annual increase in the retail sales of tea in this country. He attributes the rise to a variety of factors including perceived health benefits (everything from staving off heart disease to strengthening tooth enamel), affordability compared to coffee and “spillover” interest resulting from the resounding success of cold teas now sold in bottles and cans.
Tea rooms and salons factor into the newfound popularity, as well. They’re turning tea into a public occasion.
Giordano at Mary Mac’s TeaTime estimates that there are 400 salons across the country, many of them combined with other businesses, like bookstores and specialty boutiques.
Locally, there are at least two salons that have opened in the last 18 months-Lisa’s Tea Treasures in Winnetka and Russian Tea Time on Adams Street in Chicago.
Lisa’s, a franchise operation that started in California, offers a graceful Victorian afternoon tea, laden in scones, tiny sandwiches and strawberry darjeeling, perhaps.
Russian Tea goes the opposite route, transporting you to the former Soviet states with strong tea and strong food. The house blend is served straight up in a glass and lunch (borscht, blini, paprikash) includes a first course of pumpernickel bread.
The country’s most distinctly “American” tea salon is in New York. In SoHo. In the lower level of the Guggenheim Museum.
The place is called T, Salon, Restaurant, Tea Emporium.
“I’ve taken tea and put SoHo into it,” says owner Miriam Novalle, a former perfumer. “I’ve given it a whole new song and dance.”
Novalle fragrances her own, funky assortment of teas (Whispering Heaven, South Beach, Zen Blend) and then supplements with a menu that features foods prepared with teas (jasmine-steamed bass, a green tea chicken sandwich with peanut dressing).
“Americans are getting hooked up to tea,” says Novalle, noting that coffee will never go away, but that there’s room for another hot beverage.
“Anytime you have a yin you have a yang,” she says. “Anytime you have a push, you have a pull. Anytime you have a black, you have a white. Here is your black and white.”
WHERE TO BUY TEAPOTS
Here is more information about the teapots and teakettles shown on the cover:
– Assam teapot from Bodum comes in 16-, 32- and 48-ounce sizes, $20 to $45 at Crate & Barrel stores and at the new Bodum Shop in Marshall Field’s State Street store.
– Ti Tang by Philippe Starck for Alessi holds 42 ounces, $360 at Luminaire, 301 W. Superior St., Chicago, 312-664-9582.
– Hada, small cast-iron teapot with a terra cotta finish, $78, and Hira, larger cast-iron teapot, $130, both by Iwachu, at Jayson Gallery, 1915 N. Clybourn Ave., Chicago, 312-525-3100.
– Chambord teapot, 37 ounces, and matching chrome warmer are sold separately. Each piece, $50 to $80, at Crate & Barrel stores and at the new Bodum Shop in Marshall Field’s State Street store.
– Communications teapot with matching ceramic warmer from Jenaer Glas and distributed by Schott Corp. of Yonkers, N.Y., about $125 for the set. Available in June; call Schott’s Consumer Glass division at 914-969-6100 for a store near you.
A CUP OF TEA TRIVIA
While you’re enjoying that cup of tea, broaden your knowledge about this popular drink:
– Even the British bag it-84 percent of all cups of tea brewed in England are brewed from a tea bag.
– If you make it yourself, the average cup of tea costs 2 to 3 cents.
– A pound of tea leaves yields approximately 200 cups. A pound of coffee beans makes about 40 to 50 cups.
– In Ireland, people drink more tea on a per capita basis than any people in any other country in the world- 3.88 cups a day. The English drink 3.15 cups per person a day. Americans drink less than one-half a cup per person a day.
– Eighty percent of all tea consumed in the U.S. is iced tea, an American invention. It was created in 1904 at The Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.
– About 94 percent of tea consumed in the U.S. is black tea.
Sources: The Tea Association of the U.S.A., The Tea Council in Britain and the International Committee on Tea, London.
