urbàna tea blog
fresh thoughts, meditations and ramblings re. tea
one look at the foodie magazines on the shelves will tell you that tea is becoming a hot culinary ingredient. this summer, try tea in a whole new way — on the grill. tea can make a fantastic addition to a meat rub or marinade, or can be used to add a new element to the smoked flavor of whatever you choose to grill.
basic tea rub recipe
for a rub, it’s best to start with the basics and then elaborate. here’s a basic recipe that’s sure to please.
2 tablespoons of a green tea of your choice (ground fine with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder)
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon fresh-ground black peppercorn
vary the type of tea and add in new spices such as ginger, garlic, and allspice for new and exciting flavor combinations. bancha and dragonwell provide a more basic green tea taste. houjicha offers a naturally smoky flavor. matcha is easiest to use, as it is already powdered.
tea marinades
simply add brewed tea or tisane to a marinade, or replace another liquid in your marinade recipe with tea. match the tea with the marinade’s flavor–lemon star or blood orange for something citrusy, a masala chai or spicy ginger yerba maté for something piquant, or a pu-erh for a rich, deep flavor. if you’re marinating meat with a true tea (white, yellow, green, oolong, black, or pu-erh) or with rooibos, you get an added benefit — it naturally tenderizes the meat for fall-off-the-bone goodness.
smoking with tea
you can add tea leaves to your smoldering coals for a phenomenal new flavor to your food. we suggest lapsang souchong and houjicha, naturally smoky-tasting teas that will add a richness to your next grilled dishes.
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if you’re from anywhere near our homebase of charlotte, nc, then you know all about sweet tea. if you’re from up north, you’re probably more used to unsweetened iced tea. whether or not you sweeten your tea until you can stand a spoon in it or skip the sweetener in favor of a lemon slice, iced tea is easy to make and enjoy. the easiest way to prepare iced tea is to brew it at double strength (twice the amount of leaves per cup water), sweeten it (if you’d like), and pour it over lots of ice. voila! iced tea. here are a few of our favorite teas and tisanes for serving iced:
black teas
nilgiri (from the rolling hills of india, this tea is sweetly perfumed and delicate in flavor)
tropicale (a wild infusion of black tea and flowers, perfect for summer)
botanicals
blueberry (a fantastic caffeine-free iced “tea,” perfect with a bit of honey)
unity (a spicy-sweet herbal blend that’s sure to tickle your tastebuds)
green teas
earl green (an exciting twist on an old favorite, wonderful iced)
houjicha 1st flush (a smoky, mellow, low-caffeine green tea made from the plant’s twigs–unique and delicious)
jasmine pearl (great sweetened or on its own)
oolong teas
oriental beauty (naturally sweet and incredible iced)
plum oolong (flavorful and refreshing)
rooibos tisanes
we carry a variety of rooibos blends. thanks to the natural sweetness of rooibos (a.k.a. “red tea”), they’re all phenomenal iced!
white teas
honeydew (an intoxicating aroma and balanced flavor)
rose mélange (the tastes of white tea, mint, and rose blossoms blend for a crisp, cooling taste)
yerba matés
we love all four of our delicious, naturally high-caffeine yerba maté blends iced.
what are your favorite urbàna teas and tisanes to ice?
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thanks to their popularity in our spa and teabar, we’ve added some new products to the site. e.lix.r tonics are based on chinese medicinal herbalism and really pack a punch. these concentrated little bottles are targeted at specific purposes, such as relaxation (liquid yoga) or energy (power plant) and are sweetened only with natural fruit juice. they taste delicious hot (we drink ours with a slice of lemon) or chilled (mmm, sparkling water), and we love what they do for us. other e.lix.r tonics at urbàna: depth recharger, virtual buddha, tame the elements, mind over muddle, power plant, mighty joe yang, chi devil, and the perennially popular morning after tonic (hurry-up help for any kind of headache).
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at urbàna, we’re busy getting ready for the world tea expo, an annual industry event that allows us to source the very best teas — for you! this year, we head to vegas at the end of may. while there, we’ll look at tea trends, take classes with tea experts, source new products and suppliers to refine our offerings, and hone our tea knowledge and skills. they say it takes a lifetime to learn tea, and it always seems true when you’re rubbing shoulders with some of the most knowledgeable tea experts around.
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finally, spring! celebrate warm weather and budding plant life by bringing a small taste of mother nature’s beauty into your home or office with flowering teas. these gorgeous, handcrafted teas slowly open before the eyes to reveal a bouquet of tealeaves and flowers. after the tea is steeped and drunk, the bouquet can be displayed for a week with fresh water each day. here are a few ways you can enjoy flowering teas:
start the day lingering over a pot of rising sun, watching its flowers bloom and reach for the sky.
revitalize your afternoon with awakening spirit, the most dramatic of our flowering teas.
watch golden prosperity’s three tiers rise while meditating on success.
send a loved one (or yourself!) flowers with our beautiful lily basket.
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