Issue 86
Summer 2022
COVER
Beautiful blossom in the tea fields of Darjeeling. Tea fields, located at high altitudes, are often shrouded in mist.
OPPOSITE
This kyusu, crafted by an artisan from Tokoname, is traditionally used to prepare Japanese green teas. Here, tea is infused in ice, known as the koridashi method.
This summer, enjoy the benefits of healthy and refreshing iced teas. Chilled teas and herbal infusions, enjoyed as they are or with a few simple ingredients added, make excellent alternatives to sugary or alcoholic drinks. There are many ways to prepare iced tea that offer new tasting experiences on long sunny days.
Served with an afternoon snack, an iced infusion will delight family and friends of all ages. Caffeine-free, thirst-quenching and with no added sugar, it’s the ideal beverage for a break. Come early evening, a single-estate tea brewed at room temperature is a delightful way to savour the last rays of sun. This preparation method brings out the tea’s complex aromas and preserves the subtly astringent texture. Before a meal, iced tea can be offered to guests as a delicious and healthy aperitif that connoisseurs in particular will appreciate. And there’s nothing to stop you from sticking with tea at meal time, when you can accompany every course with a cold-brewed tea. Get creative and have fun experimenting with pairings to suit your tastes: a Japanese green tea with iodine notes goes well with raw fish, while a black tea from Yunnan complements grilled red meat. Later, intrigue your guests by steeping tea leaves with melting ice cubes, a method known as koridashi, which brings out the tea’s umami intensity. A shot of iced-brewed tea is ideal to serve between courses. And when night falls and everyone has eaten, an iced infusion will bring the meal to a delicious conclusion.
Try, taste, savour, and remember that all teas can be served iced!
By François-Xavier Delmas
By Romain Hoarau
François-Xavier Delmas
François-Xavier is the founder of Palais des Thés and one of the world’s leading tea experts. He has been travelling around the world’s plantations for more than thirty years.
Romain Hoarau
A tea sommelier with a passion for Chinese and Japanese teas, Romain loves advising customers in the Toulouse store.
By Laetitia Portois Bénédicte BortoliLaetitia Portois
Laetitia is especially fond of Japanese green teas. She enjoys telling stories and is passionate about sharing her profession with others.
For a long time, tea has remained the preserve of Asia. Today, on the African continent, you’ll not only find the world’s biggest tea exporter but, if you look hard enough, you’ll also come across small-scale production of quality teas. There are enthusiasts making remarkable teas outside the industry mainstream. This is an opportunity for Palais des Thés to bring rare teas to a wider audience.
By François-Xavier DelmasFor a long time I thought that tea only grew in Asia. I’m talking about really good tea, not broken leaves, dust, or anything else that ends up in mass-produced tea bags. It suited me to believe this, because even a lifetime isn’t enough to travel around all the different growing regions of this immense continent. Instead, I continued to journey from a Japanese island to the banks of the Mekong river, from the Himalayan foothills to the volcanic islands of the Indian Ocean, via the Shan, Naga and Lizu people. And year after year there would be another mountain, another valley, another community to get to know.
And then came Africa. It happened due to a chance meeting. Of course I knew that Kenya had become the world’s largest tea exporter. I knew that wherever the British had gone, tea was grown. I knew that many countries in East Africa, starting with the Great Lakes region in the Rift Valley, had been growing tea since the early twentieth century. I just hadn’t tasted any thing special from the continent, so I’d never thought of going there.
But then a tea producer told me about Alex, and another one did the same. So I set out for Blantyre after stopping off in Addis Ababa. This time Ethiopia would have to wait, and I arrived in Malawi’s business capital, located near the southern end of this vast country that descends through Africa like a long scar from the Eritrean coast to the banks of the crocodile-infested Shire river. One way of recounting a trip is through the bugs you encounter along the way. There are millipedes so improbably large that at night, in Alex’s house, I would hear them crawling along the corridors, their countless legs tapping away on the floor tiles. I remember the sound of the millipedes and the bite of the ants, gigantic ants that don’t just nip but clamp on with their jaws and don’t let go. You have to pull them off one by one, forcing them to let go of your flesh, like removing a bone from the mouth of a hungry dog.
If you’ve ever accidentally sat on an anthill you’d understand the sensation of having hundreds of bugs suddenly crawling under your clothes and up your body and biting you all over. You have to clasp them one by one between two fingers, pull sharply, then quickly move on to the next. In China, you find strange bugs on your plate; in Africa, it’s the bugs that eat you.
It’s only an hour’s drive from Blantyre to Thyolo, enough time for Alex, who kindly met me at the airport, to tell me about the tea from the former Nyasaland, one of the first countries in Africa to start growing this crop, in 1878. Malawi is also the first country to have its own dedicated tea research Institute.
While Alex’s ancient jeep swerved between men herding cattle, ox carts, bicycles and a colourful crowd – it was market day – he told me about his grandfather, a pioneer who arrived with the British army to end slavery, and never left.
Two generations later, Alex is living an incredible life here with Anette, who took a road trip with a friend by motorbike from their native Sweden and decided to stay and settle here with him. Their life is unlike any other, their surroundings are unique. What strikes me when I arrive at Alex’s plantation is the rare, wild beauty of the landscape. Beauty as far as the eye can see, where the green of the tea bushes mingles with the colour of stone, rocks and mountain peaks. To top it all off, the camellias and the Abyssinian acacias are simply stunning.
Alex produces tea for the industry, he needs it to live, but as a true tea enthusiast he’s not content with that. He has set up various small workshops to make teas of all colours using traditional methods. He’s experimenting with green, semi-oxidised tea as well as white, dark and smoked teas. And while the machines that produce CTC tea (see “The CTC method” on p. 13) are running at full capacity, Alex can be proud that his tenacity, curiosity, and expertise mean that some very exceptional teas now make up more than five percent of his output. That outcome is all the more impressive because Alex has travelled very little. However, he has researched everything thoroughly and has shown incredible resourcefulness in finding machines, learning how to do things properly, and setting up the perfect factory – one that suits his land, his climate and his tea plants. It took him several attempts to make his first smoked tea and his first dark tea.
A beautiful place where green tea bushes mingle with the colour of stone...
Southern Malawi is dominated by beautiful mountain ranges and high plateaus covered with tea trees.
What I also really like about Alex is his consideration for others and his deep sense of doing the right thing by the villagers, all those who live or work at Satemwa, an immense estate of nearly 900 hectares.
To make these teas of all colours, he buys leaves from nearly two hundred small producers situated around the plantation, thereby significantly improving their standard of living. This approach has been recognised by accreditation schemes including Fair Trade and the Rain Forest Alliance. These farmers don’t just depend on tea for their livelihood, they also grow corn, spinach and tomatoes.
Alex is proud as he takes me around every plot on the plantation, every production building, around the school and dispensary. There’s a lot to be proud of, he’s a bit of a pioneer in Africa, one of the first to try to get out of mass-market teas, to make finer teas in smaller batches. He’s succeeded.
Evening falls early in this part of the world. Alex comes to find me in what was his grandfather’s house where he’s kindly putting me up. It’s a charming single-storey cottage that Alex and Anette have turned into a beautiful space that they’ve opened up for tourists. The house is steeped in the history of three generations of planters. It’s as if nothing has changed for a century, everything is still there, as if Alex’s grandfather was watching over it. In his room, I can sense the life of the settlers.
Alex Kay has imported some of his tools from China and Taiwan. He makes his teas in his own way, on his own soil and with his cultivars.
In Malawi, most plantations produce industrial tea that is harvested with shears.
I meet Alex outside on the veranda. We might be at an altitude of over a thousand metres but it doesn’t cool down until later in the day. In the luxuriant garden, hundreds of birds celebrate the evening with their melodic song. While we sip a delicious, freshly squeezed garden fruit juice, Alex talks me through the plan for the next day. We’ll go to Mount Mulanje on the border with Mozambique, visit the research centre and experimental gardens, and look at the different cultivars. We’ll meet the centre’s director, as global warming is a major challenge for Alex and all the planters in the region. Scientists are working to develop more drought-resistant tea plants that can go without rain for six months. Time is running out. •
During the 1930s, the British developed the CTC – Crush, Tear, Curl – method in Assam. After the wilting stage, the leaves are chopped into tiny pieces and rolled into small, evenly sized balls. Originally intended to process low-quality leaves that couldn’t be handled using traditional methods, these types of teas are now used in massproduced tea bags, for which they are especially suitable. CTC teas turn the cup a dark colour almost instantly and don’t taste of anything interesting.
To learn more about Malawi’s teas, listen to FrançoisXavier talk about these highly complex teas (in French).
Refreshing and thirst-quenching, iced tea, when prepared simply as it is with good-quality leaves, is a flavoursome and healthy drink for summer – good for your body and the planet!
The heat of summer will soon be here and with it the need for refreshing drinks. It’s better to drink healthy alternatives to ready-made sweetened beverages. Interestingly, the craze for iced tea doesn’t come from hot countries, where people are used to drinking hot tea, but from the United States.
The British were the first to add ice cubes to their cuppa. At the end of the eighteenth century, English and American cookbooks record the common practice of serving tea chilled, sometimes combined with spirits. Black tea, imported at a lower cost, quickly supplanted green tea.
Richard Blechynden is credited with making iced tea popular, at the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis, Missouri. As the Commissioner of Indian Tea and Director of the East Indies pavilion, he served visitors hot tea, but the heat-weary crowd weren’t keen on it. So he decided to offer iced tea and the thirsty visitors lapped up the refreshing drink. Iced tea became hugely popular, appearing on hotel menus and sold in train stations.
It was also produced for mass consumption – made from highly sweetened powdered tea – and soon iced tea was being consumed almost everywhere in the world. In Japan, the teas are very well suited to brewing at room temperature, and are enjoyed both hot and cold. In countries such as Thailand, iced black tea is traditionally made with spices and milk.
In South America, mate is drunk very chilled in hot weather, sometimes with lemon or mint. In Europe, Switzerland is said to be the largest consumer of iced teas.
100g of Palais des Thés loose-leaf tea will make 6.25 litres of iced tea, the equivalent of a pack of iced tea bottles sold in supermarkets.
CAFFEINE-FREE Iced tea does contain caffeine but at a lower concentration than hot tea, as the caffeine molecule diffuses more slowly at room temperature or colder. Try experimenting with premium teas: their high proportion of buds will add complexity but are also a great source of caffeine. By infusing teas at room temperature or colder, you can enjoy a first-flush Darjeeling or an Ichibancha at the end of the day without fear of disrupting your sleep. In general, if you are sensitive to caffeine go for teas like Hojicha and Kukicha, or Oolong which is naturally low in caffeine.
1. Also see the article “The carbon footprint of a cuppa” in issue 82 of Bruits de Palais
Also see the article “The effects of tea on the mind and body” in issue 84 of Bruits de Palais
Among beverages, tea has the smallest carbon footprint (19g of CO2 per cup on average¹). In this positive environmental context, it’s the preparation of tea, particularly boiling the water in a kettle, which emits the most CO2. When you’re steeping loose leaves at room temperature and not buying more plastic bottles, it makes iced tea the world’s best drink in terms of its environmental impact.
Overall, iced teas brewed at room temperature (see pp.16 and 17) offer the same health benefits as hot teas, with a slight advantage in terms of vitamin intake (the vitamin C in the leaves is destroyed by heat). Water that is too hot also destroys some compounds including amino acids, which are present in large quantities in green tea. While heat helps most of the natural substances in the leaves to dissolve, it also destroys or changes some of them (the hotter the water, the more these compounds migrate into the aqueous phase). •
However you prepare it, a cool or iced brew is a great way to appreciate your favourite teas while enjoying a wide variety of flavours to suit your tastes.
You can prepare a room-temperature brew relatively quickly – this method lends itself well to flavoured teas. It’s also ideal for infusions. You’ll enjoy an explosion of flavours in the mouth combined with a refreshing sensation –perfect for summer!
Brew your tea in cold water for 30 minutes using the same quantity of leaves as for a hot brew. You can also leave the tea to brew overnight. If so, reduce the quantity of leaves to avoid too much astringency.
Don’t brew your tea colder than 10°C though as it won’t develop enough flavour. A tea that is too cold or too hot will numb the mouth and kill off the subtle aromas.
Brewing a single-estate or premium tea at room temperature and savouring it at the same temperature or chilled offers a new tasting experience that will give you a different appreciation of its complexity. Challenge your preconceived ideas about how these types of tea should be prepared, and you’ll enjoy new flavour sensations!
Brew the tea at room temperature for between 45 minutes and an hour at most. That’s long enough for the leaves to release all their aromas without subjecting them to extreme temperature changes. Then simply sip and enjoy! Always be guided by your taste to adjust the quantity of tea leaves and the steep time.
The main benefit of brewing at room temperature is to bring out the top notes. At this temperature, the aromatic molecules that produce the most subtle aromas don’t “evaporate”. The other advantage of iced tea brewed at room temperature is the lack of astringency.
When you steep tea leaves in hot water you extract the catechins, which are well known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but you also bring out the bitterness that sometimes comes from teas infused at too high a temperature or for too long. However, these molecules are not soluble in water at room temperature. With no sudden rise in temperature, no tannins are released. You may lose some of the finish in the mouth but you’ll gain an explosion of flavours without the astringency that sometimes bothers people unaccustomed to such textures.
Brewed and consumed at room temperature or slightly chilled, a premium or single-estate tea can enhance even very subtle dishes and are a perfect accompaniment to a meal. You want to find the balance between a dish and a tea that offers rich aromas and that is less structured due to the loss of tannins. You might try pairing a tea with fish or meat with a pronounced texture, or with a creamy, fresh goat’s cheese – the fat will bring out the flavours.
This involves replacing the brewing water with ice cubes (made using water with a low mineral content). You will end up with a concentrated, intense tea with the elegance of dew drops, yet this refreshing drink is easy to make.
If you want to explore this further, choose a Japanese tea such as an Ichibancha or a Gyokuro and connect with timeless rituals using traditional utensils in a fun yet contemplative approach to tea.
The Shiboridashi method
Measure out the same quantity of tea leaves as for a hot brew (about 10g per 10 cl). Either brew the tea warm (50°C water and short steep times) then cool the infusion with ice cubes, or use ice cubes instead of water and wait until the ice has melted. The tea leaves will diffuse their flavours as you drink. With every sip you’ll discover subtle marine or vegetal notes. This is also a good way to understand what the umami flavour is all about!
We guide you through the whole tasting experience with our tea sommelier pp. 26 and 27.
The principle is the same but you use more water (15-20 cl). The ice will take longer to melt.
Refreshing yet indulgent, matcha latte is the tastiest of all summer beverages.
In a large cup or tall glass, add 2-3g of matcha followed by 10 cl of dairy or plant-based milk (oat, rice, coconut, etc.). Froth with an electric whisk. Add ice cubes. You can also blitz it in a blender to create a drink that’s part latte, part granita. The beautiful jade colour, vegetal notes and smooth creamy texture are a feast for the eyes and palate alike.
To keep the leaves fresh, they are immediately transported to the factory after harvesting.
Every season is dedicated to the processing of different teas. One in particular is much anticipated by tea-lovers around the world. Spring is a symbolic time in many teaproducing countries, when nature’s awakening is celebrated. It’s also when the new-season teas are made from the first harvest of the year, with leaves that often have exceptional qualities.
By Laetitia Portois
With the symbolism that surrounds them, in some countries the arrival of the first teas of the year is marked with special celebrations.
In China, the first teas are harvested at the time of Qingming, the festival of pure brightness that celebrates life and honours deceased ancestors. It is also an opportunity to welcome the arrival of spring and the renewal of nature. Qingming takes place on 5 April and marks the start of the tea harvest. The first pluckings are highly anticipated and are called “pure brightness teas”, a designation of quality. Some plantations start picking their leaves early, just before Qingming. These teas are particularly rare and prized. They are known as Pre-Qingming.
In Japan, the first harvest of the year is called Ichibancha. It is very popular due to the quality and purity of its teas. Its symbolic value is twofold because it occurs at the time of the changing season, when nature awakens. This period is of major cultural significance in Japan. People gather to contemplate and celebrate the fleeting nature of life.
These spring celebrations mark the beginning of a harvest season in the world of tea and herald the arrival of the year’s first teas.
Tea is a perennial crop. As Camellia sinensis is a evergreen shrub, its leaves can be picked at different times of the year at intervals of four to fifteen days. However, climatic conditions influence the tea’s growth and the quality of its flavours. The bushes grow quickly in a warm, humid climate and more slowly in lower temperatures (below 15°C). During winter, Camellia sinensis stops growing. During this dormant period, the young shoots have more time to replenish their essential oils than at other times of year. The first crop of the spring is very aromatic and offers exceptional flavours.
In India, the most famous of the spring crops is Darjeeling. The quality of the first leaves of the year depends on the winter weather conditions, which are particularly unpredictable in this part of the world. Depending on the year, the harvests start any time between the last days of February and the third week of March and continue until mid-May. The event is eagerly anticipated by connoisseurs around the world: produced in very limited quantities, these “first-flush” Darjeelings are rare and richly flavoured. In recent years, however, climate change has affected the calendar: winters are shorter and less cold. In the coming years, first-flush Darjeelings will probably be produced by February. Today, Palais des Thés selects its teas at the beginning of March. Our tea sourcers receive hundreds of samples in
Regardless of the country, the harvest season is often reflected in the name of tea when it affects the quality. In India, the spring harvest is known as the “first flush” (with “second flush” and “third flush”, respectively, for the summer and autumn crops). In China, they call the spring teas Qingming or Pre-Qingming. In Japan, the first plucking is called Ichibancha (literally “first crop”).
In Darjeeling, the leaves are harvested from a tea bush on average 40 times a year, but the time between harvests is not the same in the spring as in the monsoon season, when growth accelerates dramatically.
To produce quality tea, you have to pick the leaves delicately, selecting just the bud and the next two leaves.
Tasting samples of first-flush Darjeelings. The decision to buy must be made instantly as the batches are sold to the highest bidder and don’t exceed a few dozen kilos.
Once picked, the leaves of the first harvest spoil quickly. In China, a producer like Mr Li must find a buyer for his leaves within two hours of picking.
Paris. Every day they taste the fruit of these distant crops and choose the best pluckings. As the selection of first-flush Darjeelings comes to an end, Nepal’s tea season is in full swing, and then it’s the turn of China in early April. The best-known of these teas are Tai Ping Hou Kui, Huang Shan Mao Feng, Huang Hua Yun Jian, Long Jing, Bi Luo Chun and Bai Mao Hou. In Japan, spring begins later than on the Himalayan slopes and runs leisurely from March to early May. During this time they harvest the leaves used to produce Senchas and Gyokuros. Tencha leaves, used to produce Matcha, are also picked at this time.
First-flush teas should be enjoyed as soon after harvest as possible. Their characteristic freshness demands immediate tasting in order to appreciate all their qualities. These teas are consumed within eight to ten months of picking. Beyond that, the leaf becomes less supple and the infusion loses its freshness and flavour (unlike traditional tea that can be kept for a year). This fragility gives these teas their unique characteristics. In Darjeeling, the first harvests produce teas with sustained floral notes, like freshly picked flowers. China’s new-season teas have a powerful vegetal note that gives the impression you’re tasting the freshly harvested leaf itself. Japanese Ichibanchas are very delicate, evoking a fresh spring breeze. These early season teas are not alike, but they all share the quality of green growth, of nature’s awakening. •
The arrival of the first teas of the year is eagerly awaited, and demand often exceeds supply. Almost all tea produced in Japan is consumed in the country. With Ichibanchas, it is not uncommon for farmers to have their teas reserved before they’re even produced. More and more people in China are developing a taste for these rare teas, and domestic demand has grown from almost non-existent to very strong. For Palais des Thés, the challenge of choosing new season teas is speed. For six weeks, our tea sourcers taste dozens of samples sent by the producers we work with. Often, out of a hundred or so teas tasted, we might choose just one. We must then buy the tea as quickly as possible before the batch is snapped up by someone else.
To learn more about spring teas, check out the episode of our podcast, Un thé, un voyage, dedicated to the subject (in French). It’s fresh and delightful, just like the teas themselves!
Today I’m taking you to Guangdong Province in China, just a two-hour drive from the city of Chaozhou. Here, in the Phoenix Mountains (Feng Huang Shan), farmers make an unusual Oolong they call Dan Cong.
The name Dan Cong refers to a distant time, far removed from the terraced fields and strict picking regimes, when tea plants grew unconstrained into trees.
Well before cultivars were bred, tea was grown from seed, and from generation to generation each tea plant developed its own aromas, affirming its unique character. In this region of Guangdong it is customary to name teas after their specific features, thus our Bai Ye Dan Cong means “the only tree with
white leaves”. As you cross these mountains you’ll also come across the only tree that smells of orchids (Mi Lan Xiang Dan Cong), of tuberose (Ye Lai Xiang Dan Cong), of almonds (Xingren Xiang Dan Cong), and so on.
In my opinion, very few teas other than Bai Ye Dan Cong so accurately reflect the imagery of the word “Oolong” which can be translated as “black dragon”. The leaves are dark with amber and copper streaks here and there as well as some lingering green glints. These long, twisted leaves are intensely fired and the best way to bring out their qualities is by using the Gong Fu Cha method. Gather a gaiwan, a fairness cup and a glass [1] , and let’s taste this tea together and appreciate its lively, sharp flavour with powerful, heady aromas.
Romain Hoarau joined Palais des Thés in 2018 and became a tea sommelier in 2019. Romain is particularly drawn to Chinese and Japanese teas, and loves advising customers in the Toulouse store.
By Romain Hoarau
As the summer approaches, I’d like to introduce you to an alternative to the hot brew version of this premium tea. We’ll enjoy it at room temperature or iced, according to preference. For this, I use a 10 cl gaiwan that I fill with a generous quantity of tea leaves (about 10g) [2] . With water heated to 95°C, I steep it for just 15 seconds to bring out the unique character of this tea, while controlling the astringency and bitterness. Once the infusion is ready, I pour it into the fairness cup, which I previously filled with ice [3].
The infusion will cool down in just a few seconds. By touching the outside of the fairness
process. Over the course of the infusions you can be in no doubt that you’re tasting a quality Oolong, a Black Dragon distinguished by its flavours of fire, fruit and flowers. •
cup, I can check the temperature for this first infusion. You’re free to drink it as chilled as you like, but to get the most from the tea, I recommend drinking it at room temperature, so you don’t dilute the infusion too much. When the tea has reached the desired temperature I strain it into a tasting glass, taking care not to add the ice cubes [4] . The still-hot gaiwan gives off scents of flowers and exotic
fruit, sustained by a sweet burnt note emphasised by aromas of toast and burning wood. I recognise the essence of Phoenix teas. The tasting prolongs this olfactory experience, it is mellow and smooth with notes of exotic wood and geranium. The burnt notes remain present over a creamy, fresh texture.
I suggest you infuse these beautiful leaves as many times as possible using the same
Bai Ye Dan Cong
culTiVar Bai Ye
origin Guangdong (China)
harVeSTed 2020
PreParaTion adVice
→ GonG Fu Cha method
Successive infusions of 15 seconds, up to six times
Food Pairing
A young comté
→ Ref. 2783 – € 48 per 100g
In this cocktail, the fruity, floral notes of Thé du Hammam balance out the dryness of the champagne and the sweetness of the peach liqueur.
6g Thé du Hammam
25 ml peach liqueur
1 bottle of champagne, chilled
1. Steep the tea in 30 cl of water at 80°C for 3-5 minutes. Strain.
2. Chill in the refrigerator.
3. In a shaker, pour in the tea and the peach liqueur and shake vigorously.
4. Fill the flute glasses half full with the tea mixture.
5. Top up the glasses with the chilled champagne.
A green tea with notes of green date, orange blossom, rose and red fruit that evokes the ritual of the steam bath. Take a moment of peace and harmony for yourself.
This tea with its floral and fruity notes combines beautifully with the smoothness of white chocolate.
An exclusive partner of the Louvre since 2019, Palais des Thés has now created two infusions inspired by the collections of one of the world’s greatest museums. A journey through time and history that establishes close links between the tea company and the world of museums.
By Bénédicte BortoliSince joining Palais des Thés in 1990, Mathias Minet has been creating flavoured teas that have met with unqualified success.
What if the Louvre and its treasures were interpreted as infusions? What fragrances, what flavours and imagery could be conjured up?
Wandering through the vast museum, stopping before a statue, painting or relic, letting your imagination roam. “I work with my nose and my palate but above all with dreams, imaginary worlds, evocations. You have to be sensitive and listen to your impressions, what things tell you or don’t tell you,” explains Mathias. For the creation of the Thés du Louvre – a successful first collaboration − the concept was born from the symbolism of the place, while
the infusions were created out of a desire to become immersed in the collections, especially in ancient civilisations shrouded in mystery. This playfulness and secrecy is found in the infusions, which don’t reveal their ingredients from the very first sip. It is a way of throwing a veil over the olfactory notes with unexpected and, at first, elusive accords, like hieroglyphics, in a quest for sensory pleasure. But how do you create a connection between the Venus de Milo or an Egyptian bas-relief and an infusion?
With Jardin de Vénus, the light of the Mediterranean sun is infused, evoking a stroll through a garden filled with white flowers and citrus trees. An opportunity to lose oneself between the columns of forgotten temples on the shore in search of a little shade. The warm sweetness of vanilla, the zesty freshness of orange and the indulgence of carob caress the senses, creating an experience that is both delicate and powerful, enveloping
and soothing, like a welcome breeze. Voluptuous and refined, this infusion was born from the sensation of the subtle contrast between heat and shade in a Mediterranean garden.
Nuit Égyptienne immerses you in a vibrant night where the “Star of the East” sings to accompany dancers in an atmosphere of opulence and celebration. Fresh and mellow, this infusion evokes a cool evening on the banks of the Nile, the mystery of the blue hour in chiaroscuro around an oasis overlooked by the Pyramids. The notes of peppermint, elderberry and blueberry relieve the intense heat of the day and charmingly signal the beginning of the eastern night, delicately spiced with a hint of fennel.
And so it is that two civilisations, facing each other from opposing sides of the Mediterranean, gave rise to two creations, one day, the other night. This opposition can be prolonged by brewing and sipping these organic infusions, either hot or iced. •
A 100% ORGANIC COLLECTION
nu S (Me Tal cani ST er)
18 per 160g
ienne (Me Tal cani ST er)
15 per 85g
S lin T ea bag S
Kukicha is a Japanese green tea made only from stems. It is very popular thanks to its low caffeine content and can be enjoyed at any time of day. Fresh and original, Kukicha is an excellent choice to get started with Japanese teas!
It’s said that after selling their best teas to the emperor and nobility at the time, Japanese producers decided to make use of the remaining stalks that were usually wasted to produce and sell tea cheaply. This approach was consistent with Zen Buddhist philosophy: when taking something from nature, it is important to use all parts of it.
Kukicha is a tea that was first produced fairly recently. It became popular with the mechanisation of tea production. While high-quality tea is harvested by hand in most producing countries, it’s a different matter in Japan. The tools used by Japanese producers are designed to allow precision mechanical harvesting. Automated sorting in the factory by machines with electronic eyes make it easy to recover the stems of leaves used to produce Senchas and Gyokuros. These stems are then used to make Kukichas with aromatic notes that are similar to traditional Japanese teas. It’s very
interesting to taste and is very affordable too as it’s produced using supposedly non-premium ingredients.
Sencha and Gyokuro stems are used for their wonderfully intense aromas. This low-caffeinated tea is ideal for those sensitive to caffeine. Caffeine is mainly present in the bud and first leaves, rather than in the stem. Kukicha offers all the grassiness of a Japanese green tea but can be enjoyed at any time of day. In Japan it’s not uncommon to drink Kukicha instead of water. It’s served at many restaurants because it goes so well with all types of food.
Savouring a Kukicha is all about taking time to contemplate the serenity of the Japanese spring, appreciating
the tea’s thirst-quenching freshness, and being comforted by the succession of mild notes. The captivating opening iodine and marine notes linger as more vegetal aromas gradually make way for mint and blackcurrant. Mellow and sweet Kukicha is easy to appreciate and pair with food: it has enough character to get along with strong flavours yet is sufficiently refined to accompany more delicate dishes. It makes a generous partner for fresh fish, a sweet dessert or a tamagoyaki (a sweet-savoury Japanese omelet). It’s a tea for all times and occasions and can be enjoyed hot or chilled depending on the season. •
You can roast your Kukicha yourself in a horuku (a large frying pan)¹ to bring out more woody, cooked fruit, toasted cereal notes. These comforting fragrances evoke a sunny late afternoon. This roasted version is called Shiraore Kuki Hojicha. This stem tea is special in that it’s roasted in the same way as a Bancha Hojicha (hojicha means “roasted green tea”).
In Japan, labour is expensive, and harvesting tea leaves is mechanised. The sophisticated tools used by farmers allow them to achieve a high degree of precision when harvesting.
Ku K icha → Ref. 290 − € 11 per 100g
Shiraore Ku K i ho J icha bio → Ref. 2910 − € 15.50 per 100g
1. See “Roasting tea at home in four steps” in issue 84 of Bruits de Palais
For the past two years, Palais des Thés has supported the Karuna-Shechen association founded by Matthieu Ricard. Karuna-Shechen carries out humanitarian projects for disadvantaged populations in India, Nepal and Tibet.
In 2020 we launched Black Friday For Good in our stores 1. For every €50 spent we gave our customers a €10 voucher. Every time a voucher was spent we donated €10 to the association. The funds raised helped to finance a project to supply electricity to homes by installing solar panels. Six hundred households in the Sindhuli and Udaypur districts of Nepal have benefited, and thirty women have been trained to maintain the panels. In 2021 we repeated the initiative and raised €44,050, which we donated to Karuna-Shechen
for a responsible farming project in Ruby Valley, Nepal. Located in the Himalayan foothills, this remote Nepalese region is inhabited by different communities who make their living mainly from farming and raising livestock. In order to improve the living conditions of these people, who don’t receive any other assistance, Karuna-Shechen has provided support in healthcare, education, food safety and the environment.
Thanks to more than 4,000 of our customers who have contributed to the project.
As part of its commitment to society, Palais des Thés takes its Tea School into hospitals, schools and charities for introductory workshops.
After several workshops conducted in partnership with the Souffle de Violette programme and Sainte-Périne 2 hospital, we organised a session with the École des Cuistots Migrateurs, a non-profit organisation that helps refugees become qualified as a kitchen assistant. The workshop took place on 4 March and was attended by six students who obtained their certification! Other workshops are planned for retirement home residents and students with disabilities in the coming months, continuing our work to share our passion for tea with as many people as possible.
We’re delighted to welcome you to our many Palais des Thés stores. Come and see us and let us guide you through our selection of 250 teas and herbal infusions.
1. Also see the News section in issue 83 of Bruits de Palais
2. Also see the News section in issue 85 of Bruits de Palais
Poitiers 1 bis, rue du Marché-Notre-Dame
86000 Poitiers
Montpellier
Centre commercial
Odysseum
2, place de Lisbonne
34000 Montpellier
Vichy
1, rue GeorgesClemenceau
03200 Vichy
Bayonne 52, rue Victor-Hugo
64000 Bayonne
Mulhouse
Centre commercial
Cour des Maréchaux
25, rue Lambert
68100 Mulhouse IN BELGIUM
Charleroi Boulevard
Joseph-Tirou 93 6000 Charleroi
Liège
20 rue du Pot-d’or 4000 Liège
SELECTION OF FOUR MINIATURES –ICED TEAS
→ Ref. DBM16 – € 24.90
Iced tea jug
→
WASHI CANISTERS
→ 100g canister – € 13
→ 150g canister– € 16
5. Spring harvest
→ Ref. V2045C
6. Dragonfly dance
→ Ref. V2044C
7. Tropical forest
→ Ref. V2046C
8. Planted cascade
→ Ref. V2047B
9. Primrose posies
→ Ref. V2043B
MULTISACHETS
→ € 6.50 per multisachet
1. Jardin romantique
→ Ref. DTG975
2. Détox Balinaise
→ Ref. DTG4650
3. Pêche Glaciale
→ Ref. DTG8370
4. Juicy Sunrise
→ Ref. DTG9530
STONEWARE FROM HASAMI
11. Nihonkai cup
→ Ref. N202 – € 17
PORCELAIN FROM HASAMI
12. Sakura cup
→ Ref. N203 – € 18
10. Ocean cup
→ Ref. N201 – € 16
13. Camellia cup
→ Ref. N200 – € 14
What’s the difference between green and black tea?
a. The leaves don’t come from the same tree.
b. The level of oxidation isn’t the same.
c. The colour changes according to the brewing time.
a nswer: b
Green tea isn’t oxidised whereas black tea is fully oxidised.
Mao Cha is:
a. A Chinese province that has given its name to a type of tea
b. Used to make Pu Erh (dark tea)
c. A tea plant native to the Yunnan region of China
a nswer: b
Mao Cha is a raw tea used to make raw and cooked Pu Erh.
A memory teapot is made from:
a. Natural terracotta
b. Porcelain
c. Glazed cast iron
a nswer: a
The porous wall of the unvarnished clay teapots absorb tea particles (tannins) and aromas, creating a deposit that enhances subsequent infusions. This creates a “memory” of the teas.
Some teas can be brewed several times. True or false?
a. True
b. False
a nswer: a
Teas prepared using the Gong Fu Cha method are brewed repeatedly.
If a tea is brewed in cold water it will contain less caffeine. True or false?
a. True
b. False
a nswer: a
Caffeine dissolves more easily in hot water. Tea infused in water at room temperature for an hour will therefore be low in caffeine.
What flavour is never found in tea?
a. A tart flavour.
b. A salty flavour.
c. A sweet flavour.
Which citrus fruit is used to flavour
Earl Grey?
a. Lemon
b. Orange
c. Bergamot a nswer: C
Legend has it that on a diplomatic visit to China, Charles Grey, the second Earl Grey and British Prime Minister, was given by a mandarin an ancient recipe that described flavouring tea with a citrus fruit. The reality is quite different: Charles Grey never travelled to China. Instead, he took to adding a few drops of essential oil of bergamot to his cuppa and realised he had created one of the most famous teas in history.
What is a blend?
a. A combination of several different teas.
b. A tea whose leaves have been processed in a blender.
c. A tea that is mixed with milk and sugar.
a nswer: a
Combining different teas is the work of the blender. They must ensure that the tea’s flavour and aroma profile remains consistent throughout the year.
A premium tea can be produced:
a. In spring only
b. Throughout the year
c. Only by a few plantations in Asian countries
a nswer: b
Sought out by our tea researchers who visit plantations and gardens in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America, we use the term premium tea (or Grand Cru specifically for Palais des Thés) to describe limited-availability, artisanal small batch teas which closely reflect the expertise and methods of the person who produces them.
To accompany raw fish, we’d recommend:
a. A sencha ariake
b. A jukro
c. Thé du Hammam
Bruits de Palais
A publication from Palais des Thés
Contributors to this issue:
Paul Roudez (Planet Tea), Julie Schwob (Recipe styling and What’s New)
Editorial team
Bénédicte Bortoli
Chloé Douzal, Mathias Minet
Art direction and layout
Laurent Pinon and Aurore Jannin for Prototype
Illustrations
Stéphane Humbert-Basset
English translation
Marta Scott
Proofreading Nicole Foster
Printing
Printed in May 2022 by Prenant (France)
Imaging & retouching services
Key Graphic Palais des Thés
All translation, adaptation and reproduction rights in any form are reserved for all countries.
Photo credits:
Palais des Thés media library – François-Xavier Delmas: cover, p. 4, 6, 10-11, 12, 13, 20-21, 23, 24, 3233, 38 • Guillaume Czerw: p. 2, 26, 27, 29, 36, 37 • Adobe Stock: p. 15 • Stock.adobe.com: p. 31 (photogolfer) • Kenyon
Manchego: p. 28, 31, 33 •
Karuna-Shechen – Morgane
Effroy: p. 34 • Cuistots migrateurs – Fiona Gautillot: p. 35 • Alexandre Denni: p. 35 (store)
Customer service
+33 (0)1 43 56 90 90
a nswer: a
The iodine notes of this Japanese green tea pair well with the marine flavours of the fish. We serve it lukewarm.
a nswer: b
Teas can have sweet, tart, bitter and umami notes.
Cost of a local call (in France) Monday to Saturday 9am-6pm
Corporate gifts
+33 (0)1 73 72 51 47
Cost of a local call (in France) Monday to Friday 9am-6pm
“Theism is the art of hiding the beauty that one is capable of discovering, and suggesting the one that one dare not reveal.”
Okakura k akuzō The Book of Tea
