Coffee or tea for me?

This past week, one of my colleagues at work saw me drinking coffee and said, "I always see you drinking tea- I didn't know you drank coffee."

It's been a long week.

Much as I love coffee, it does funny things to my gut and I get too buzzed and jangled so I try to drink tea in an effort to stay even keeled. I try reserve coffee drinking for weekend brunches and special occasions (mornings only!) An average cup of coffee contains 110 mg of caffeine while a cup of tea contains only 40 mg.

On a visit to Leslieville yesterday, I found myself with some extra time on my hands and wandered into recently-opened, Steeped and Infused.

Unlike other tea stores in Toronto where teas are trapped behind the counter, the product is accessible to sniff and look at. What an idea!

I know a good amount about tea, but I left Steeped and Infused with more knowledge than ever before, thanks to the lovely staff members who took so much time and care with me as we discussed all the varieties displayed along the wall.

Some facts about tea:

1. True teas are made from the Camellia sinensis plant. Herbal teas do not contain tea leaves and are created from herbs and spices.
2. The Camellia sinensis plant gives us white tea, green tea, oolong tea and black tea, ranging from youngest to most mature. All contain caffeine - even white tea.
3. Pu-erh tea is made from a large leaf variety of Camellia sinensis and gets its name from Pu'er county near Simao, Yunnan, China. These teas can be aged up to 50 years old and gain complexity like aged wines. Sometimes they are auctioned off for thousands of dollars.
4. Tisanes are made from fruits.
5. Rooibos (pronounced roy-bos) tea comes from an African legume plant; the name means red bush. It's high levels of antioxidants like aspalathin and nothofagin have gained attention from health-conscious Western conoisseurs. It also contains some phenolic compounds like flavanols and dihydrochalcones, but has very low tannins compared to Camellia sinensis teas and contains zero caffeine.

I hadn't even intended to buy, but I made my way home with some delicious premium jasmine phoenix pearls. You just sprinkle 5-6 six in your tea cup and they blossom upon meeting hot water. Unlike other blossoming teas, you can re-steep them and the flavour gets better the second and third time.

If you are a tea connoisseur, I definitely recommend Steeped and Infused. Have a look!

Steeped and Infused
1258 Queen Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M4L 1C3
647 348-1669


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