Chai – meaning ‘spiced tea’, is an Indian beverage made of black tea, milk, spices, herbs and sweeteners. Spices added to Chai vary from region to region, as well as from one household to another. Among the most commonly used spices are cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pepper. Usually, whole-fat cow milk (or water buffalo milk in India) is used to prepare chai, with 1 part water and 2 parts milk. The mix is heated up to a near-boiling point. Then, black tea mixed with spices is added to steep. The most commonly used tea is Assam (Indian black tea) or in some areas, gunpowder tea. At the end of making Chai, sugar, honey and sometimes condensed milk is added to the tea.
Drinking Chai is an essential part of everyday life in India.
]]>Cha Hai (茶海) – ‘sea of tea’ or ‘bowl of impartiality’. It’s a vessel that serves to control the strength of the brew. After brewing the tea for a certain amount of time either in a yixing or in gaiwan, tea should be decanted into a cha hai, from which it gets poured into individual cups. This method ensures that the tea leaves do not continue to steep in between each pour. In Chinese Cha Hai is also called ‘Gong Dao Bei’ (公道杯) – ‘justice cup’ because it lets each participant enjoy the same brew.
]]>Cha Gao – translated means tea paste. However, the substance is not at all pasty and is more like a solidified rock, which dissolves in hot water. Although it is a form of instant pu-erh, it is not a low quality product. In the Qing Dynasty cha gao was produced only for the elite class. Although the production methods were mostly abandoned after the Qing Dynasty, it is slowly being revived.
Nowadays, cha gao is often associated with a cheaper form of pu-erh, because in most cases, it is not produced correctly. Cha gao shouldn't have a pungent or off-putting smell. A good cha gao is characterized by a sweet woody taste, with notes of cocoa, as well as a unique fragrance. The taste, however, is quite different from a typical shou pu-erh.
To make cha gao tea farmers need to use already fermented sheng or otherwise shou pu-erh.
There are crucial steps to the process:
About one kilogram of tea leaves is required to produce only 200 grams of cha gao.
]]>Chagama (or Kama) – a kettle or a cast iron pot used in a Japanese tea ceremony to heat the water for tea
]]>Cha Dao or Cha Do (茶道) – "teaism" or "the way of tea" – the terms that are used in reference to a tea-culture that is cultivating is cultivating certain aesthetics, as well as a sense of focus and concentration while making and tasting tea.
Cha Do is a long established Japanese tea tradition formalized by the great tea-master Sen no Rikyu who has lived in the 16th century.
The term Cha Dao can refer to a number of various regional Chinese tea traditions.
]]>Cha (茶) – tea in Chinese. Cha is the second most consumed drink in the world, surpassed only by water. What comes as a surprise to many is that all teas (i.e. White, Green, Yellow, Oolong, Black, and Pu'erh) come from the same plant – Camellia Sinensis.
]]>Cha (茶) – tea in Chinese. Cha is the second most consumed drink in the world, surpassed only by water. What comes as a surprise to many is that all teas (i.e. White, Green, Yellow, Oolong, Black, and Pu'erh) come from the same plant – Camellia Sinensis.
Camellia Sinensis is a sub-tropical, evergreen plant native to China. However, since the early 19th century after it was brought to India, it has been grown all around the world. Depending on the season and the time when the leaves are harvested, as well as the processing technique used after the harvest, several forms of tea come to life. Therefore, "tea" is everything that is derived from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Anything else, while sometimes called "tea", is more accurately referred to as an herbal tea or tisane. Tisanes include chamomile, rooibos and fruit teas.
]]>Camellia Sinensis – is the plant from which all teas derive. It's a sub-tropical, evergreen plant native to China. However since the early 19th century, when it was brought to India, it is grown around the world. Depending on the season when the leaves of Camellia Sinensis are harvested and on the different techniques that are used to process the leaves after the harvest, different kinds of tea come to life. Therefore "tea" is everything that is derived from the Camellia Sinensis plant. There are different varietals of the Camellia Sinensis plant. The most common ones are Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis and Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica.
Plants that don't belong to the Camellia Sinensis family, while sometimes called "tea", are more accurately referred to as herbal tea or tisane. Tisanes include chamomile, rooibos and fruit teas.
Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica – is one of the tea varieties, and it is often referred to as Da Ye Zhong in Chinese, meaning "big leaf". Indeed, this Camellia Sinensis variety is known for its larger tea leaves. This variety grows not as cultivated buses of var. Sinensis but as wild trees, often with strong trunks. This tea variety is known to have a slightly higher caffeine content than Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis. Yunnan native, this varietal is used to produce pu-erh tea, Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea), and Yunnan white tea.
Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis – is the most common, cultivated tea varietal.
]]>Black Tea as it's called in the West, or "Hong Cha" (Red Tea) as it’s called in Asia, is well known as an afternoon tea because of its mellow and sweet flavor.
Unlike green tea processing which attempts to preserve the green color of fresh tea leaves, black tea processing encourages the tea leaves to oxidize and change color from green to coppery-red. This change in leaf color is referred to as oxidation.
Being fully oxidized, Black (or Red) Tea has dark leaves and produces a deep colored liquid. As well as tender, profound characteristics.
Most black teas brew best at water temperatures of around 195-205ºF (90-95ºC).
"Think bomb shelter, the atmosphere inside a dungeon or a torture room in the Middle ages." -CL.
FEAR (C. Laudamiel, 2011) was presented at Dillon and Lee Gallery (NY), Mianki Gallery (Berlin), and is now on exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (NY) until October 28, 2018.
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Baozhong, also known as pouchong, is a lightly oxidized tea that falls somewhere between green and lightly oxidized oolong tea. Bao Zhong is often referred to as oolong tea due to its floral notes and lack of green teas' sharpness. It's an early spring tea that is being grown primarily in Fujian, China and Pinglin, Taiwan
]]>Assam Tea is a sultry, malty black tea from India. Assam is one of the most popular teas from the region. Assam is widely used as both – low grade, ‘better tastes with milk’, crush-tear-and-curl leaf style tea; as well as high grade, hand picked, carefully produced black tea.
]]>Lightly-steamed sencha (or some other Japanese Green Tea). Typically, the steaming process for green tea (Futsuumushicha 普通蒸し茶) runs for about 30-45 seconds.
Asamushicha, on the other hand, is steamed for about 30 seconds or even less. As a result, the tea preserves its freshness.
]]>Peptides are the chemical name for a chain of amino acids – and cosmetic chemists differentiate between the peptides that are not proven beneficial to the skin and peptides that are. When a peptide has proven in laboratory testing to have beneficial effects on the skin, it is classified as an active peptide. The family of active peptides is wide ranging – and when applied topically to the skin they can produce dramatic results. In one study of peptides, more than 30% of the people who used them saw an immediate improvement in their skin, while an additional 5% saw improvement after several hours. Almost 70% of users reported tightening and firming within two weeks.
]]>Amber Xtreme™ (IFF) A sharp amber with a somewhat rancid wood undertone. Has a slight ambergris facet is a versatile material that brings volume and warmth to any creation.
(AC) Aroma Chemical
Recommended Usage Levels: 0.5% in the fragrance concentrate.
NOTE: Base
ODOR TYPE: Animal
ODOR Characteristics:
AKA NAME: Musk Indenofuran, cashmeran velvet
CHEMICAL NAME: 2,2,6,6,7,8,8-heptamethyl-3,3a,4,5,5a,7,8a,8b-octahydrocyclopenta[g][1]benzofuran
APPEARANCE: pale yellow to yellow clear liquid
ODOR STRENGTH: Medium
LONGEVITY: 168 hours on a blotter
FRAGRANCE HOUSE: IFF
MOLECULAR WEIGHT: 264.4522
AVERAGE USE: 0.5%
FLAVOR USAGE: No
CAS NUMBER: 476332-65-7
FLASH POINT: 251 °F ( 122 °C )
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