(PRWEB) August 10, 2014
Tea is the world’s most popular and most consumed beverage besides water. In fact, nearly 80 percent of households in the United States feature tea as a staple in their pantries, and is enjoyed by 158 million Americans every year. The most popular tea is black tea, followed by green tea, and trailed by oolong and white tea. While it began as a single-tea leaf beverage, with one strain used for each batch, over the years, blended teas have been capturing the hearts and taste buds of the world.
Blended Tea Benefits
When a person combine the soothing effects of certain types of tea with each other the benefits are boosted two-fold, three-fold and more. Not only does it give your body a much-needed boost through the caffeine inherent in some teas, there is added benefit from the rich flavors inherent in blended teas. Single teas are powerful in their own right, but when combining two or more components, enhances the flavor combination and benefits in one cup.
Why Blended Tea is Better
Blended tea simply tastes better when combined with two or more unique flavors in one, such as hibiscus raspberry and lemon ginger. Through the strategic blending of teas, a tea enthusiast will be able to pair complementary flavors together to get the best taste and aroma. The mixing of loose teas with herbs, fruits and honeys can increase the complexities of both taste and smell.
Beginnings
With origins pointing to China, the discovery of tea is often credited to Emperor Shennong, considered the ancient Chinese Father of Agriculture. Legend has it that in 2700 BC, he sat to rest under a Camellia tree with a cup of hot water when dried leaves from the tree above landed in his cup. This led to the first tea infusion that began in China and quickly spread far and wide to countries all over the world, loved for its rich fragrance and lively taste.
Blending Teas
It wasn’t until the fourth or fifth century that tea purveyors began adding things to this popular drink, such as orange peel, ginger, lemon, spices and even rice. Tea blends from different estates, grades, yields, flavors and batches began to be mixed together, creating completely new variations of tea that were even tastier than their original counterparts. With a bold mix of colors, tastes and flavorings, blended teas became the new standard in tea and have only been surging in popularity since.
Hot Tea
Many tea purveyors like China Mist, for example, offer fragrant varieties of black and green tea that, when steeped in a hot cup of water, bring out all the unique flavors within the blend. Chai, for example, blends ginger, cinnamon and spices for a zesty flavor, while tropical green tea mixes the citrus aromas of orange, melon and coconut with a smooth buttery-tasting base. Lemon ginger, apple cinnamon, and peppermint and spearmint can all be combined for a unique taste sensation.
Cold Tea
Cold tea is best served over ice, for a refreshing taste perfect for summer. Why stick with plain black or green tea when you can blend flavors like strawberry mango, strawberry guava, watermelon marula, lemongrass, blackberry jasmine, honey mint or hibiscus raspberry?
Take your tea to the next level, and enjoy blended teas today to get the best of both worlds!