Cardew Club News » 2006 » February

When they graduated from college this past year with marketing and journalism degrees, Kristen and Courtney Kammerer thought about taking jobs where they’d have to sit behind desks all day at big fancy shmancy offices.

Boring.

Instead, the sassy, J. Crew-wearing, 20-something sisters decided they’d rather spend their days hanging out together, drinking tea and chatting; their daily uniforms simply jeans and T-shirts.

Now that’s a business plan.

Since October, the Temple and St. Joe’s graduates have been the proud owners of the Remedy Tea Bar, a tea-only shop on Sansom Street near 16th.

In April, Atlanta will host an important new city-wide cultural event. The Atlanta Teapot Festival will celebrate teapots, tea ceremony, and related objects with a broad curriculum of educational events, exhibits, and works for sale. The Festival will draw national attention and establish Atlanta as a destination city for teapot collectors and tea enthusiasts, while highlighting the city’s world-class ceramic studios, galleries, artists, and educators.

With the proliferation of many good tea stores on the World Wide Web, you don’t have to make do with mediocre or supermarket teas anymore.

Ask for a cup of specialty tea by brand at any café ¡nd you will get a bewildered look in return. To the masses, tea comes in tea bags. Any brand will do. With many tea stores now specializing in fine teas online, anyone can now enjoy a fragrant cup of delightful tea with a few clicks of the mouse.

The popularity of tea isn’t limited to a mug. It seems more and more chefs are finding ways to use the flavours or tea in their recipes. Here are two admittedly quite strange sounding recipes that use tea. If any of you teapot fans try your hand at these, be sure to write in and let us know how it tasted!

SCALLOPS POACHED IN CHAMOMILE TEA

9 tablespoons rice vinegar
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons water
1 seedless cucumber
1 quart water
1 ounce chamomile tea, loose
1 pound fresh scallops
Salt and fresh ground pepper

By William I. Lengeman III

Tired of the coffee jitters? Sick of sweet, syrupy sodas? No longer energized by energy drinks? Maybe it’s time to turn your attention to another form of liquid boost — tea.

Tea please

Tea is the second-most popular beverage in the world after water, but in North America, it has always been eclipsed by coffee. In 2003, coffee consumption in the United States outstripped tea drinking by nearly two and a half times. But according to Packaged Facts, the publishing division of MarketResearch.com, the U.S. market for tea measured $5.1 billion in 2003, and will nearly double to $10 billion by 2010.

The worst place to have a cup of tea is at a restaurant. The water is frequently lukewarm, and the only tea may be a Lipton bag. Even in fine restaurants that offer an assortment, the selection is very limited, long on flavored and nontea teas.

At home a tea novice can hone the skills at making a great tea. When all you have to do is drop a tea bag in hot water, what could be difficult about making a cup of tea?

Well, try making tea — the right way.

Scientists at the Tea Research Association in Assam ,the biggest tea growing state in India, are working on this project.

Malda: First thing in the morning, a cup of tea - this is a ritual for lakhs of Indians.

Tea does have some benefits but regular drinkers will tell you that it is an addictive drink. But soon, the health conscious can benefit from the life-enhancing qualities of the country’s favourite brew.

Scientists at the state-run Tea Research Association (TRA) in Jorhat, Assam are developing ‘tea biscuits’, which will contain polyphenols - the chemicals that give tea its taste and act as powerful antioxidants preventing cell damage and warding off certain cancers - but not less attractive compounds like caffeine.