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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Cooking -> Celestial Seasonings
TEA: AN INTERVIEW WITH CELESTIAL SEASONING'S KAY WRIGHT
 We
asked Celestial Seasonings botanical purchasing director Kay Wright to fill us
in on tea facts.
FRL: Where does most of our imported tea (black and
green) come from? Are there special places in the world that are the heart and
soul of tea agriculture?
WRIGHT: We buy over a hundred different ingredients from 38 countries. It’s
blackberry leaf, rose hips, spearmint, and so forth. Black and green tea comes
from the same plant.
Black tea is fermented there on the plantation. Black tea comes from South
America, India, Africa, China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. China is well known for
green tea, also Japan.
Argentina is growing green tea, or working on it. They have the right
climate. We use the Argentine for ice tea, it’s lighter, the Indian teas are
Assams and that goes in the English Breakfast tea. It’s all specially
blended.
The quality of tea will depend on the country, the soil, the climate
conditions, where the clouds come in and where they don’t. I like the English
Breakfast. It’s very good and doesn’t give you the jitters like coffee.
Darjeeling is a more floral, so you put no milk in that or Earl Grey. Green tea
has gone up in popularity because of health benefits.
FRL: How does the United States differ in tea drinking
compared to, say, the Europeans? Are we catching up with the Asian countries or
is coffee still our main morning beverage?
WRIGHT: Americans drink it iced. People don’t know how to make hot tea.
Europe and Asia drink it hot. Europe has a long tradition of herbal teas, also
medicinal. China has what they call green or red. They’ll drink it hot for
social occasions, but they also use other botanical teas for medicine. Hibiscus
comes out of China and Thailand, they use that for export, not to drink there.
Not like in the Sudan or Mexico, where it is a popular drink. Chamomile
is popular in Europe.
FRL: Are herbal teas holding their own, perhaps even
growing? What are the most popular herbal flavors that sell at Celestial? Any
new trends on the horizon?
WRIGHT: Our market was flat for a long time, but so was the black and
green. Now the wellness teas have taken off. People are tired of taking
medicines, so I think this going to be popular. The Echinacea, Tension Tamer, Mood
Sharp. The most popular was Red Zinger and Sleepytime (chamomile) has been our
best seller since it came out.
FRL: Is there a best way to brew tea? If so, what might
that be?
WRIGHT: For your black and green tea, take cold water from the tap, which
is fresh and full of oxygen. Then you want to bring it to a full boil. Warm the
teapot with hot water. Boil water and then as soon as it’s to a rolling boil,
not too long, pour so that when it hits the tea leaves will release the taste.
If the water boils too long it’s flat tasting. Let it brew for three to five
minutes. Don’t over brew; then remove tea bags, Add lemon, sugar, honey or
milk. When you order in a restaurant and they bring you a tea bag and hot water
on the side you’ll get a weak cup of tea and then people don’t let it brew
long enough.
FRL: How should tea be stored (black, green and herbal).
Is there a shelf life when tea is too old to use ?
WRIGHT: Store in a cool, dry, dark place, not with spices because it will
pick up those flavors. You can even freeze it.
FRL: How are new herbal flavors developed?
WRIGHT: We’ll be extending the wellness tea line, the green tea line
and looking more into the black tea. And, of course, the fruit teas, medicinal
teas, the zingers, all the old standbys.
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