I am going out for morning tea this morning with a close friend.  Here in McLaren Vale we have many coffee shops/restaurants.  All make an effort at serving tea.  There are very few that specialise and try to do it correctly.  Many of the cafes are doing their best to also have specialist teas on their menu.  There are so many varieties that it is very easy to become bewildered with the choice.

With all the different varieties of tea available now it is difficult to know what to choose, and to try something new may mean I will get a cup that I won't enjoy.  Whilst I always have a small variety of tea bags in the house, I also have a caddy with "real" tea and a couple of special teapots and cosies.  Does anyone even use tea cosies these days.  My special cosy is one made for me by an aunt many years ago (must be 30+years) and it is knitted, orange and brown in colour.  No one in their right mind would use it but to me it is very special.

I have several teapots in the house but the two main teapots I use couldn't be more different from each other.  One is an old porcelain teapot that may father gave his mother many moons ago and she gave to me when downsizing.  Grandma has been dead 30 years so I have had a long while.  The other is a recent gift from my sister, it is clear glass with an infuser in side that you remove when you have the required strength of tea.  Neither could be more different or more important to me (in the world of teapots!)


 All tea comes from the Camellia sinensis, but there exist hundreds of kinds of teas, with their own individual appearance, taste, and aroma. Like wine or coffee, every 
harvest of tea will vary year to year due to changes in climate, rainfall, and other seasonal 
conditions.

By selectively exposing the tea leaves to the air, tea farmers and artisans can bring 
out certain flavors and aromas from the leaves.
We start with White, which is Un-oxidized, then  Green to Oolong to  Black to Pu Erh which is fully Oxidized.

I will talk about these another time when I have had the chance to try more.   All I know now is that we need a little of all of them as they all have different antioxidants,  You can never win.
This is a picture of the Mclaren Vale vineyards with the lovely hills behind.  Although the picture isn't clear, it is truly a beautiful town.

For more information on Mclaren Vale go to: http://www.mclarenvale.info/
For more information on tea:  http://www.itoen.com/major-varieties-of-tea
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