The Danville Spring Fling is almost here (Saturday, May 1st). Stop by and see us, the shop will be open and we will also have a sidewalk booth. We will be offering either hot or iced tea samples - depending on the weather - and whether you need to warm up or cool down!
We have added more warm weather fare to our menu. We have ice cream floats, sundaes, and milk shakes. You can choose from coffee, vanilla, chocolate, caramel, strawberry and other flavors, plus select syrup, jimmies, whipped cream or a cherry for on top.
Contributing to Danville's cafe society, our outdoor seating is once again available. You can sit outside and people-watch with your treat, tea or
coffee on a sunny day. Bring a friend or a good book! The tables and chairs are in the
shade every afternoon, and we have a large umbrella for sunny mornings.
Our shop now has handmade tea cozies, hot pads and placemats in vibrant colors. Each piece is a work of functional art.
Our new teas this month include:
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Irish
Breakfast
Fresh
and invigorating, USDA certified organic Irish Breakfast is a
flavorful way to greet the morning, or beat the mid-day blues. The
aroma is sweet and rich with the scent of raisins, and the dark
translucent brew is strong, with just a hint of astringency. The
flavor is wonderfully bold, with notes of sweet caramel and malty
oats. A hint of sweet raisin lingers in the aftertaste. Excellent
in every way, Irish Breakfast is perfect straight up, but equally
enjoyable with a splash of milk and bit of sugar if you prefer. |
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Lovers
Leap – Ceylon
Cultivated near the
Southern slope of Sri Lanka's highest mountain, Pidurutalagala,
Lovers Leap takes its name for the risk and passion denoted in its
breath-taking views above the clouds and legends of lost love.
This tea is characterized by a bright cup with a flowery finish.
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Tali’s
Masala Chai
According to the ancient
science of Ayurveda we need to have a balance of all six tastes
throughout the day. Our fusion of organic Assam tea anchored in
cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and other spices, is finely
balanced to create the perfect aromatic blend. Sages in India are
known to infuse the tea with milk and sugar. |
Tea Brewing Guide
Type |
Water Temp. |
Steep Time |
Infusions |
White Tea |
150°F (66°C) – 160°F (71°C) |
1–2 minutes |
3 |
Yellow Tea |
160°F (71°C) – 170°F (77°C) |
1–2 minutes |
3 |
Green Tea |
170°F (77°C) – 180°F (82°C) |
1–2 minutes |
4-6 |
Oolong Tea |
180°F (82°C) – 190°F (88°C) |
2–3 minutes |
4-6 |
Black Tea |
210°F (99°C) |
2–3 minutes |
2-3 |
Pu-erh Tea |
200°F (93°C) – 210°F (99°C) |
Limitless |
Several |
Herbal Tea |
210°F (99°C) |
3–6 minutes |
Varied |
Rooibos (redbush) Tea
(from wikipedia)
Rooibos, (pronounced "roy-bos"),Afrikaans for "red bush"; scientific name Aspalathus linearis) is a broom-like member of the legume family of plants part of South Africa’s fynbos kingdom.
The generic name comes from the plant Calicotome villosa, aspalathos in Greek. This plant has very similar growth and flowers to the redbush. The specific name linearis comes from the plant's linear growing structure and needle-like leaves.
The plant is used to make a herbal tea called rooibos tea, bush tea (esp. Southern Africa), redbush tea (esp. UK), South African red tea, or red tea. The product has been popular in Southern Africa for generations and is now consumed in many countries. It is sometimes spelled rooibosch in accordance with the old Dutch etymology, but this does not change the pronunciation.
Nutritional and health benefits
Rooibos is becoming more popular in Western countries particularly among health-conscious consumers, due to its high level of antioxidants such as aspalathin [5] and nothofagin, its lack of caffeine, and its low tannin levels compared to fully oxidized black tea or unoxidized green tea leaves.[citation needed] Rooibos also contains a number of phenolic compounds, including flavanols, flavones, flavanones, and dihydrochalcones.[6]
Rooibos is purported to assist with nervous tension, allergies and digestive problems.[7]
Traditional medicinal uses of rooibos in South Africa include alleviating infantile colic, allergies, asthma and dermatological problems.[8][9]
Scientific study
Although human studies of rooibos are scarce in the scientific literature, animal studies suggest it has potent antioxidant, immune-modulating and chemopreventive effects. In addition, rooibos tea has not been found to have any adverse effects.[10]
It is often claimed that "Green" rooibos (see above) has a higher antioxidant capacity than fully oxidized rooibos. However, one study, using two different ways of measuring antioxidant activity, found conflicting data, with green rooibos showing more activity under one measure, and less activity using the other. The study also found conflicting data when comparing both forms of rooibos to black, green, and oolong tea, although it consistently found both forms to have less activity than green tea.[11]
Honeybush Tea
(from wikipedia)
Honeybush (scientific name Cyclopia spp.; Family: Fabaceae), or 'Heuningbos' in Afrikaans, is commonly used to make an infusion in the same manner as tea. It grows only in small areas in the southwest and southeast of South Africa and has many similarities with rooibos.
Honeybush is so named because the flowers smell of honey. The taste of honeybush tea is similar to that of rooibos but a little sweeter.
There are 23[1] or 24 [2] species of honeybush tea found in the wild, of which mainly 4 or 5 are in widespread home or commercial use. These are:
Coffee
(from various sources)
Is Coffee good for you?
Here's a CNN article on coffee.
Did you know that there
are over 25 different types of coffee? But in our reality we only
need to be concerned with the 2 that are most popular, Arabica and
Robusta. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between these
two? Why does it matter if something is 100% Arabica? Does that make
it better?
Many coffee drinkers already know the answer to this question, but
just in case you were wondering…yes, Arabica gets much more
respect than Robusta for the most part. In the land of American
coffee snobbery, anything less that 100% Arabica isn’t even a
cup of coffee. (The French and Italians often prefer a combination
blend.)
Arabica makes up for 75-80% of all coffee produced in the world
even though it’s much more difficult to grow than Robusta.
Therefore, this results in a higher price for the consumer. It takes
about 4-5 years for an Arabica tree to first produce a crop, while
Robusta only takes around 2-3 years.
One of the interesting ‘perks’ to Robusta is its
surpassing amount of caffeine in comparison to its delicate rival.
For this reason, Robusta is often used in espresso, not only because
of it’s speedy effects, but also because it produces a
sufficiently better amount of crema on top of a brewed espresso.
Mostly used for instant coffees and espressos, Robusta has its place
in the world, but for a truly great cup of coffee with a full bodied
taste, definitely grab the Arabica beans and get to grinding.
Arabica
Arabica
is the coffee plant that originally popularized the drink, with its
origins in Ethiopia. Arabica coffee is made from the seeds of a
white-flowered tree. The fruit of this tree itself is edible and
slightly sweet, but is far more prized for what's inside the fruit.
The seeds of this coffee plant, when roasted properly, create a
flavorful coffee, and this is what makes arabica the most popular
variety among coffee connoisseurs. Its name, as one might guess, is
taken from the ports where coffee first was exported.
The
drawback to Arabica coffee plants is that they require particular
growing conditions and even then, are susceptible to disease. It is
grown primarily in East Africa where it originated, in Latin and
South America, such as in Brazil, or in South Asia, such as on the
Indonesian island of Java. Even then, it is still tough to grow; in
Brazil, it can only be harvested in the winter, and though it can be
harvested year round in Java, disease has at least once nearly wiped
out all the coffee plants.
Robusta
In contrast,
robusta coffee comes from a much hardier plant, able to be grown in a
variety of different climates. Because this coffee plant can grow in
more areas than Arabica, Robusta is much cheaper to make. However,
there is a tradeoff, since the drink made using beans of the robusta
coffee plant has what is considered to be an inferior taste, though
it has greater caffeine content.
Still, the Robusta coffee
plant is popular because it costs less to make, and is the favored
variety among mass-produced coffee makers. If you buy your coffee
loose, you will know to buy Arabica for flavor and Robusta if you
want high caffeine content. In fact, dark roasts of Robusta are the
preferred choice for espresso makers, who seem to value the ability
it has to create the crema, the foam that is on top of the
espresso.
Armed with your information about the two major
coffee plants and the sorts of drinks you make, should you go
shopping around for your own beans, you will know the best choice to
make for your taste. Whether you choose Arabica, Robusta, or some mix
of the two, you'll be sharing in a love for one of the world's most
popular beverages.
Coffee cherries on coffee plant (Coffea
arabica) |
Structure of coffee berry and beans:
1: center
cut
2:bean (endosperm)
3: silver skin (testa, epidermis)
4: parchment (hull, endocarp)
5: pectin layer
6: pulp
(mesocarp)
7: outer skin (pericarp, exocarp)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_bean |
Tea Tastings
Our tea tastings have been well received and we now have them every Saturday at 10am, 1pm, and 3pm. Our teas for each tasting are selected from our expanded inventory and even if you have already attended a tasting, you will find new teas each time you attend.
As a special offer to our news letter subscribers we are offering a free cup of tea (except the blooming teas). Just mention this news letter for your free cup. We are also offering 10% off any purchase of loose leaf teas to our newsletter readers! Be sure to stop in and explore our new teas.
If you want some great tea or just a nice place to hang out and visit with friends, come to the Tea Gallery and find out why it's one of Danville's best hidden treasures.
