Voyage A L'Extreme
Adventurer's Companion
Gift Box
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JASMINE DOWNY PEARLS
GREEN TEA
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"If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty"
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"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea"
Serving Speciality Leaf Teas at the Bath Coffee Festival May 2011
We had a great time at the Bath Coffee Festival this last weekend 21-22 May in Bath. It was our first trip out to that part of the country since launching in Harvey Nichols Bristol where our teas have been sold for the last 2 months. Read the rest of this entry »
Tea is a work of art and needs a master hand to bring out its noblest qualities - Okakura Kakuzo, The Book of Tea
Chateau Rouge Luxury Tea Harvesting in India
It’s first flush season again and the new season samples have been coming in over the last few weeks. We’ve all been happily tasting them all, and already deciding on our favourites for the season! But what consititutes a ‘First Flush’ and how is this tea different from other teas?
Wiedouw Long-cut Organic Rooibos Tea is available exclusively here at Chateau Rouge Luxury Teas. We sell the only single estate long-cut Rooibos tea in the UK, and as far as we are aware are the only company importing and selling Rooibos direct from the tea farm in South Africa. Read the rest of this entry »
With the amount of tea available online and in-store one cant help but feel overwhelmed by it all. There is a massive selection of teas to choose from: from the more exotic green teas, yellow teas or red teas to the more ‘standard’ black teas, not to mention white tea, rooibos, honeybush or even oolong. Tea is getting more sophisticated! But where do you start and is price really that important or is the more expensive tea, just in more expensive packaging?
Harvey Nichols Arcade Entrance
We had a great day in Leeds on Saturday for a Chateau Rouge Luxury Tea Tasting at Harvey Nichols. The Jasmine Downy Tips was a favourite (as always) but pleasantly surprised that the Formosa Pouching was well received. Read the rest of this entry »
Many myths and recipes surround English Earl Grey black tea, whose distinctive flavour and aroma come from combining various black teas with oil extracted from bergamot rind.
Earl Grey is named after the British Prime Minister Charles, 2nd Earl Grey (1830-1834). Legend has it while on a diplomatic mission to China; a mandarin confided the recipe in gratitude for saving his son’s life. Read the rest of this entry »
A brief history of the tea bag… In 1908, Thomas Sullivan, an American tea merchant, began distributing samples of his tea in small bags of Chinese silk with a drawstring. Consumers noticed that they could simply leave the tea in the bag and re-use it. It was not however till the 1950’s that Tetley’s commercialised the tea bag and launched it in the UK.
It proved an immediate success, as it was easy and convenient, making tea bags popular for many people today. Tea bags are normally made using fannings or “dust” – a by-product from the sorting of higher grade loose leaf tea. Fannings are useful in bagged teas because the greater surface area of the many particles allows for a very fast, complete diffusion of the tea into the water – producing a stronger, harsh flavour when brewed. It is not always possible to fit larger tea leaves into small tea bags without breaking the leaves in the production process.
Dried tea can lose its flavour quickly on exposure to air. Tea bags that contain leaves broken into small pieces have a greater surface area to volume ratio of the leaves that 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 which means they remain fresher for longer.
With loose leaf tea there is no problem of ‘tasting the teabag’. Using a good quality infuser or teapot ensures you don’t have the residual taste left by a paper tea bag.
Whole leaf tea retains most of the natural oils in the tea leaf. Breaking up the leaves for bags loses many of the natural flavoured oils in the leaf that give the tea its unique taste.
The tea leaves have enough room to open up and release their full flavour. The small size of the bag does not allow leaves to diffuse and steep properly.
With leaf tea there is no temptation to squeeze the tea bag against the side of the mug, which will release more tannins and makes a very bitter cup.
There are no tea bags to recycle, and no risk of being exposed to the carcinogenic glues or coatings used on some tea bags.
Lastly, as you can see the tea leaves unfurl in your teapot or cup, you know exactly what tea you drinking. You can even experiment by mixing your own teas, for example green tea and spearmint or Rooibos and Honeybush, make a fantastic blend.
Château Rouge are purveyors of fine, premium, specialist and luxury leaf teas that are sourced from around the world. Chateau Rouge Luxury Teas Ltd, Coppergate House, 16 Brune St, London E1 7NJ, England. Company No.5489120
Green Teas | Oolong Tea | Black Teas | Tisane Teas | Jasmine Green Tea | White Monkey Green Tea | Formosa Pouchong Oolong Tea | Sikkim Temi Black Teas | Fikkal Lam Black Teas | Imperial Earl Grey Teas | Wiedouw Organic Rooibos Tea Tisane | Wild Harvest Honeybush Tisane
Rooibos may well be the best kept secret in the tea industry. Not only is Chateau Rouge Rooibos herbal tea or tisane unique as it is the only single estate Rooibos tea (or Redbush tea) sold in the UK, and a special long-cut leaf to ensure maximum flavour; but it is also possibly one of the healthiest teas to drink.
- Rooibos is 100% naturally caffeine free. Unlike caffeine free black tea it has not gone through a process to remove the caffeine, there is none at all to begin with. Most herbal tea drinkers incorrectly assume that green tea has no caffeine. Even green tea has caffeine, albeit only a small amount in comparison.
- Rooibos has no tannin. All other teas have tannin. Tannin interferes with absorption of iron into the bloodstream. Too much tannin in tea makes a bitter cup. For example, if you have ever drunk one of the commercially available black tea bag products in the UK, you will undoubtedly have discovered that it is too bitter to drink black. This is because the teas are high in tannin and need milk to neutralise the bitter taste. Rooibos tastes best if you just leave it stew, unlike other teas if you want a stronger cup of Chateau Rouge Luxury Rooibos Tea, you can leave it stew for as long as it takes to make a strong cup.
- Chateau Rouge Rooibos is 100% Organic. Grown on the oldest and only one of 2 Organic Rooibos farms in South Africa the tea has been certified Organic by the UK Soil Association.
- Rooibos is packed full of antioxidants. Recent research points that Rooibos may contain more antioxidants than green tea. High in minerals including sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium and zinc Rooibos is purported to assist with nervous tension, allergies and digestive problems.
Try Chateau Rouge Luxury Rooibos Tea from the Wiedouw farm in the Cape – South Africa. They arguably produce the best Rooibos in the world.
Château Rouge are purveyors of fine, premium, specialist and luxury leaf teas that are sourced from around the world. Chateau Rouge Luxury Teas Ltd, Coppergate House, 16 Brune St, London E1 7NJ, England. Company No.5489120
Green Teas | Oolong Tea | Black Teas | Tisane Teas | Jasmine Green Tea | White Monkey Green Tea | Formosa Pouchong Oolong Tea | Sikkim Temi Black Teas | Fikkal Lam Black Teas | Imperial Earl Grey Teas | Wiedouw Organic Rooibos Tea Tisane | Wild Harvest Honeybush Tisane
Château Rouge was inspired by a time in history when traders brought exotic delicacies back from their travels from far away Asia and the Far East. On their return to Europe they would not just trade tea, but tales of another world so far away from most people’s reach, and stories and anecdotes that made the world seem so much more exciting.
Almost a thousand years ago a gifted Persian poet by the name of Ferdowsi Tusi wrote Shahnameh (Book of Kings) – an epic describing the mythical history of pre-Islamic Persia in beautiful rhyming stanzas.
The legend has it that Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, in whose court Ferdowsi served, had promised a gold coin for every verse but when he saw the length of the Shahnameh he balked and refused to pay! Ferdowsi stormed out in anger taking his creation and eventually dying in abject poverty.
Much in the way Château Rouge has found inspiration, in the following millennium storytellers in tea houses up and down the country and across the sprawling empire would recite the epic of the hero of Shahnameh Rustam, who when he walked his boots sank into stone.
Later through consecutive conquest by the Moguls and Afghan tribes, through the dark times and happier days, Fersowsi’s heroic tale passed from one tea house to another, from one generation to another and from Persia across to India and beyond.
The Moguls introduced exotic Green tea to Persia, the Russians later brought aromatic Black tea brewed in coal-fired Samavars, from the very start tea cementing itself as the national drink.
As travellers and traders sat and listened and sipped tea they passed the epic of Shahmanesh. And so tea drinking became closely interlinked with story telling and poetry – a ritual that continues to this day.
Now no Iranian home is complete without a brewing pot or hot Samavar containing aromatic tea served in small glass cups, strong, black with a lump of sugar – with a copy of Shahnameh sitting close by on the shelf.
Château Rouge are purveyors of fine, premium, specialist and luxury teas that are sourced from around the world. Chateau Rouge Luxury Teas Ltd, Coppergate House, 16 Brune St, London E1 7NJ, England. Company No.5489120 Website by Banksthomas part of the Spinach Group
Green Teas | Oolong Tea | Black Teas | Tisane Teas | Jasmine Green Tea | White Monkey Green Tea | Formosa Pouchong Oolong Tea | Sikkim Temi Black Teas | Fikkal Lam Black Teas | Imperial Earl Grey Teas | Wideouw Rooibus Tisane | Wild Harvest Honeybush Tisane
© 2010 Chateau Rouge Ltd, Coppergate House, 16 Brune St, London E1 7NJ, England. Company No.5489120
Website byBanksthomas part of theSpinach Group