Favorite Tea Bases?
Sep. 15th, 2023 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tea_musingsWhat are your favorite tea bases?
The "base" (not necessarily the same as a "base note" in flavor) is the largest proportion ingredient in a blend. It typically appears first on the label, since most countries list ingredients in descending order of amount in the product. A tea can have multiple bases if there are 2+ main ingredients in equal or near-equal amounts (e.g. 1 part chamomile, 1 part peppermint, 1 part everything else combined). There are a number of ingredients widely used as bases, including but not limited to ...
Camellia sinensis ("true tea") bases:
Black teas
Green teas
Oolong teas
White teas
Herbal (everything else) bases:
Chamomile
Ginger (for warming / masala / spice teas)
Hibiscus
Honeybush
Mints (mostly peppermint and spearmint)
Rooibos (aka "red tea")
Rose
Yerba-maté
These bases tend to correlate strongly between cultures and what plants grow in that region, although some ingredients have spread around the world due to popularity. Camellia started in Asia and is now popular almost everywhere. Chamomile probably started in Europe and is now nearly global too. Rooibos and honeybush are both African. Yerba-maté is South American. Some are still pretty regional, thus harder to find. Look at Native American blends and you'll find sweetgrass instead of chamomile. Lemongrass is primarily Southeast Asian and hasn't spread nearly as far as Camellia, but you may find it as a tea base in Asian or Indian markets.
If you dislike certain bases, knowing a list of possible bases makes it easier to find a substitute with similar qualities but more appealing flavor, or conversely, similar flavor but without an undesired effect. Then look at recipes for a tea blend you like most of, and you can recreate that with a different base but the same or similar supporting ingredients. For instance, hibiscus and rose are two options for a reddish floral tea. Other times you can use a less-common ingredient as a substitute for a common base; raspberry leaf makes a fantastic noncaffeinated replacement for green tea. There are online tea shops where you can shop for house blends or make a custom blend, like Blendbee (U.S.) or Tealea (Canadian).
Camellia Sinensis: Mother of 5 Teas
Tea Plant 101: Everything To Know About Camellia Sinensis
Your Guide to Botanicals and Herbal Tea Ingredients
Top 50 List of Herbal Teas & their benefits, uses
The Art of Tea Blending – 6 Tips for Creating Your Own Tea Blends
How to Make Your Own Tea Blends: 10 DIY Recipes
The Idea Box: choice is an essential ingredient to creating
The "base" (not necessarily the same as a "base note" in flavor) is the largest proportion ingredient in a blend. It typically appears first on the label, since most countries list ingredients in descending order of amount in the product. A tea can have multiple bases if there are 2+ main ingredients in equal or near-equal amounts (e.g. 1 part chamomile, 1 part peppermint, 1 part everything else combined). There are a number of ingredients widely used as bases, including but not limited to ...
Camellia sinensis ("true tea") bases:
Black teas
Green teas
Oolong teas
White teas
Herbal (everything else) bases:
Chamomile
Ginger (for warming / masala / spice teas)
Hibiscus
Honeybush
Mints (mostly peppermint and spearmint)
Rooibos (aka "red tea")
Rose
Yerba-maté
These bases tend to correlate strongly between cultures and what plants grow in that region, although some ingredients have spread around the world due to popularity. Camellia started in Asia and is now popular almost everywhere. Chamomile probably started in Europe and is now nearly global too. Rooibos and honeybush are both African. Yerba-maté is South American. Some are still pretty regional, thus harder to find. Look at Native American blends and you'll find sweetgrass instead of chamomile. Lemongrass is primarily Southeast Asian and hasn't spread nearly as far as Camellia, but you may find it as a tea base in Asian or Indian markets.
If you dislike certain bases, knowing a list of possible bases makes it easier to find a substitute with similar qualities but more appealing flavor, or conversely, similar flavor but without an undesired effect. Then look at recipes for a tea blend you like most of, and you can recreate that with a different base but the same or similar supporting ingredients. For instance, hibiscus and rose are two options for a reddish floral tea. Other times you can use a less-common ingredient as a substitute for a common base; raspberry leaf makes a fantastic noncaffeinated replacement for green tea. There are online tea shops where you can shop for house blends or make a custom blend, like Blendbee (U.S.) or Tealea (Canadian).
Camellia Sinensis: Mother of 5 Teas
Tea Plant 101: Everything To Know About Camellia Sinensis
Your Guide to Botanicals and Herbal Tea Ingredients
Top 50 List of Herbal Teas & their benefits, uses
The Art of Tea Blending – 6 Tips for Creating Your Own Tea Blends
How to Make Your Own Tea Blends: 10 DIY Recipes
The Idea Box: choice is an essential ingredient to creating
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 03:22 am (UTC)I like oolong teas, green teas, honeybush, ginger, and red rooibos as tea bases.
As for blending, Adagio Teas' website allows for a limited form of it- the fun part is that you can name/theme the customized blend after a fandom! (No, I don't know how they are getting away with it either. They DO have the option to have some of the proceeds from custom blends go to a charity, but not everyone chooses to do that.)
Thoughts
Date: 2023-09-16 03:45 am (UTC)Huh, I've never seen the green, only the red. I like the red okay but it's not a favorite.
>> I like oolong teas, green teas, honeybush, ginger, and red rooibos as tea bases.<<
Green tea and ginger are favorites. Oolong is okay. I don't think I've had honeybush.
>> As for blending, Adagio Teas' website allows for a limited form of it- the fun part is that you can name/theme the customized blend after a fandom! <<
That is so awesome. :D "Tea, Earl Gray, hot."
>> They DO have the option to have some of the proceeds from custom blends go to a charity, but not everyone chooses to do that.) <<
I like that idea.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2023-09-16 09:57 am (UTC)The fandom blends are fun- I have 15 little fandom tins, 6 devoted to The Legend of Zelda and 9 to Mega Man X. Those fandom blends even inspired me to write a fanfic.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2023-09-18 06:59 pm (UTC)That makes sense. I may keep an eye out for it.
>> The fandom blends are fun- I have 15 little fandom tins, 6 devoted to The Legend of Zelda and 9 to Mega Man X. <<
:D That sounds so cool.
>> Those fandom blends even inspired me to write a fanfic.<<
Inspiration is awesome.
I low how evocative the names of teas can be. French Blue. Morning Thunder. Phonix Dragon Pearl.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-28 07:52 pm (UTC)Lemon grass in tea is pretty good, it's used in starbucks "Jade citrus mint" tea, which they also use for their iced green tea. It's really good, I think it could definitely gain popularity.
Thoughts
Date: 2024-05-28 08:17 pm (UTC)