Food and Drink Center

Tea Accessories
By Brad Hamill

The tea industry is the largest beverage industry in the world as the tea is world’ most popular drink. A cup of tea is all it takes to freshen up the mood and get it going! However, it is a general trend that when one industry flourishes, the demand for associated products also increase. Therefore, the tea accessories are also very important.

What do tea accessories mean?

Tea accessories are the products that go along with the making brewing and drinking tea. Different countries brew and enjoy different kinds of tea. The tea has different taste. Therefore, the accessories associated with tea will naturally be different. The Chinese have a more traditional way of having tea. On the other hand, the European countries and USA have a modern approach to tea drinking. Naturally, their needs will be different.

What are the tea accessories?

The various tea accessories can be tea pots, cups, saucers, tea infuser, brewers and strainers, tea spoons, sugars, milk, storage containers, iced tea pitchers and definitely the tea bags.

The more traditional Chinese have Yixing pots and Gung fu cha tools like gaiwans and coasters. The Japanese who drink the matcha tea have matcha tea accessories like bamboo whisks, wooden spoons and ceramic bowls.

In India, which primarily has black tea prepared with milk and sugar, the essential tea accessories are glass or plastic tea cups, glass or plastic saucers, stainless steel spoons, tea bags and tea pots.

In USA which prefer canned tea or iced tea, the accessories can be pitchers for keeping ice tea, ice pack and cans.

Even books which has information on tea which are enjoyed by tea lovers can be looked upon as a tea accessory. While enjoying tea, we generally have snacks accompany them without which tea time is not complete. These accessories include biscuits, cakes, sandwiches, bread and butter, Indian samosas etc.

Price ranges of tea accessories

Since we are talking of tea accessories here, naturally question arises as to the prices of these products. Many of them are costly and do not satisfy our budget. However, we still need to have a fair idea of the accessories that can be bought. After all, what is a tea time without the tea accessories!

Tea cups and saucers - There are made of plastic glass or even can be wooden. Wooden products are costlier as wood products are not easily available owing to regulation by governments on cutting down teas. Therefore, most people prefer plastic or glass cups.

A normal glass/porcelain tea cup set will cost approximately $5. However if someone prefers the gaiwan set of the Chinese, then the price will be around $25-$30. This is because traditional sets are costly.

The teapots can be from as low as $30 to as high as $150. The lower priced ones are basic versions that allow for preservation of tea. The higher priced models are unbreakable Chinese pots. Tea brewers and tea strainers help in giving fine taste to the tea. It is usually a simple process. The products that fall in this category are, tea filters, pitchers, tea bags, and strainers. The prices of tea filters range from $5-$25. The most basic ones are paper filters and the costlier ones are made of ceramic. Tea strainers fall in the range of $15-$20. The tea bags are very cheap with prices of only $2-$4 depending on the company and the make. Canisters or storage containers are used to keep the loose tea. The prices are $20-$30. In addition to these, there are books for accompanying tea lovers. Snacks also assort tea. Depending on personal preferences and also which tea accessories, the prices can vary.

Tea Accessories are something not only fun, but very useful. Learn about how you can use tea accessories at the tea site http://teaonesite.com

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Wine Bottle Accessories - So Much To Choose From
By Susan Dean

Did you know that there are so many different wine bottle accessories available to add to your home decor? I was truly amazed when I took a good look around. I mean that, ok, wine accessories and gifts alike make great presents for people who already have everything but do people really use all this stuff? Well, the answer to that is yes!

For most of us red and white lovers, sure we use some of it like openers, stoppers, coolers and ice buckets pretty much as necessities. But let me tell you what else is available for you to use. First off, apart from the obvious stated above there are bottle covers such as santa and snowmen. These would look great on your Christmas table, fitting right in with the festive season. You can even have your favorite Chardonnay dressed up in a suit?

If you are someone really serious about your beverages then you cannot go past an electric thermometer for your favorite red. And of course your Champagne cannot be left out with a range of screw pull Champagne openers to choose from. Now if you really want to impress your guests then you cannot go past the many different collars that you can buy. These come in different materials that fit over the neck to prevent drips. Coasters are also very popular with specially designed ones that actually fit over the bottom of the bottles in very fancy patterns indeed.

There are many places that you can purchase these types of items from and none so popular as International Wine Accessories or IWA inc as it is also known. This company also offers racks, glassware and even wine education. You can find them online as well. So if you are looking for wine cellar accessories like racks, cabinets or perhaps something for a special gift such as a satin lined box to display a vintage bottle of red then you will be happy to know that you will be accommodated for.

As you have just learnt, most wine bottle accessories really are necessary but there are also a lot that are perhaps for decoration only. In saying this, those in particular still make great gifts and also can help make entertaining a little more glamorous.

For more detailed information on wine bottle accessories try visiting http://www.wine-accessories.fine-wine-resource.com, a popular website that provides heaps of wine accessories tips and advice.

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The Anatomy of a Coffee Tree
By Connie Limon

Coffea, a member of the Rubiaceae family is responsible for the biological heritage of “coffee.” The Rubiaceae family includes more than 500 genera and 6,000 species of tropical trees and shrubs.

It is doubtful the average person would recognize an actual coffee tree. Most of us would recognize a roasted coffee bean. Just in case you stumble upon something you think might be a real coffee tree, here is a quick description of one:

Pruned short in cultivation
Capable of growing more than 30 feet high
Generally covered with dark-green, waxy leaves that grow opposite each other in pairs, although a coffee tree can also have leaves that are purple or yellow (dark green is the predominant color) The leaves may be 1 to 40 centimeters in size
Coffee cherries grow along the tree’s branches (see below for a description of coffee cherries)
Coffee cherries bloom into flowering, fragrant, white blossoms after about a year
Because coffee cherries grow in a continuous cycle you might see flowers, green fruit and ripe fruit at the same time on a single tree

A coffee tree can live as long as 20 to 30 years. They are capable of growing in a wide range of climates so long as the climate does not have harsh fluctuations in temperature. Coffee trees grow best in a rich soil and mild temperature with frequent rain and shaded sun. Heavy frost will kill coffee trees.

It is estimated that there are 25 to 100 species of coffee plants. In the commercial coffee industry, there are two important coffee species. These are:

Arabica
Canephora (more commonly called robusta)

Varieties of Coffea Arabica - C. Arabica include:

Bourbon
Typica
Caturra
Mundo
Novo
Tico
San Ramon
Jamaican Blue Mountain

The original coffee trees were discovered in Ethiopia. Coffea Arabica comes from these original coffee trees. The coffee trees in Ethiopia produce a fine, mild, aromatic coffee. Over half of the world’s coffee production originates from the coffee trees in Ethiopia. Arabica coffees bring the highest prices in the world market of coffee. Better arabicas are high grown coffees, generally between 2,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level.

The Arabica coffee trees are costly to cultivate due to the following factors:

The terrain tends to be steep and access is difficult
The Arabica coffee trees are more disease prone than robusta coffee trees, which requires additional care and attention

Arabica coffee tree beans are flatter and more elongated than robusta coffee tree beans and “lower in caffeine.”

Variety of Coffea canephora - C. canephora var. robusta include:

Robusta

The robusta coffee tree tends to be hearty and is more disease and parasite resistant. This makes the robusta coffee tree easier and cheaper to cultivate. The robusta coffee tree is able to withstand warmer climates and prefers constant temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees. It needs about 60 inches of rainfall per year and cannot stand up to a frost. Robusta beans produce a coffee with a distinctive taste and about 50-60% more caffeine than the Arabica coffee tree beans.

Most robusta coffee trees are grown in Central and Western Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, which includes Indonesia and Vietnam. Brazil is also a country in which the robusta coffee tree is grown, however, Brazil accounts for only about 30 percent of the world market.

What does a “coffee cherry” look like? You will recognize a “coffee cherry” by the following characteristics:

The outer skin of a coffee cherry is called the “exocarp”
Beneath the exocarp is the “mesocarp,” which is a thin layer of pulp
This thin layer of pulp is followed by a slimy layer called the “parenchyma”
The beans themselves are covered in a parchment-like envelope called the “endocarp” and more commonly called “the parchment”
Inside the parchment, side-by side lie two beans
Each of these beans are covered separately by another layer of thin membrane or seed skin called “spermoderm”
The spermoderm is generally referred to in the coffee trade as the “silver skin.”

Source: The National Coffee Association

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

© 2007 Connie Limon. All rights reserved.

Written by: Connie Limon Visit us at http://smalldogs2.com/CoffeeArticles for an extensive list of FREE reprint articles all about “coffee.”

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Thanksgiving Dinner and The Green Bean Casserole
By June Carr

You have a decision to make this holiday season, are you going to eat nutritionally, keeping those calories in check or throw caution to the wind and have an extra piece of pumpkin pie?

I considered titling this article… “Uncle Bill and The Second Piece of Pumpkin Pie”, but he swore he’d disown me if I did. Settling on the tamer choice “Thanksgiving Dinner and The Green Bean Casserole”, I began to wonder if one could have a satisfying (for everyone involved) Thanksgiving dinner, while also making the meal nutritious.

These views may seem diametrically opposed, but with a bit of planning, it’s possible to have the best of both worlds. Our plan is to prepare a meal that is both enjoyable to eat, and nutritional sound, something you are proud of, and your guests… well they’ll be asking for seconds.

Variety is the spice of life, and it’s no different on Thanksgiving. While turkey is the tradition, let’s build some variety into our meal. Not only will this provide your guests with a culinary delight, you’ll also be giving them a feast for their eyes. So what does that mean?

Well one of my favorites and standard Thanksgiving fare is the green bean casserole. The recipe is fairly standard mushroom soup, 3 or 4 cups of green beans, a little pepper, milk and, to kick up the calories a notch, a brimming cup or more of French fried onions. Seasonings to taste could be garlic, onions, parsley, sprinkled with bread crumbs. Depending on how you personalize things, the calories per serving aren’t that bad, anywhere from 80 to 100. Seconds anyone?

While that sounds great (I’m getting hunger pangs) consider also a green bean salad. It fits with tradition, while giving your guests a choice of something different. Prep is a snap green beans, boiling salt water (sea salt of course), a touch of vinegar, a little vegetable oil, onions (don’t let them catch you crying), some dill and a wee bit of sugar.

Having variety will encourage your guests to sample small portions (they simply have to taste those yams), instead of loading up on one high calorie yummy. Preparing your meal this way provides complex nutrients and scintillating flavors to please the discriminating palate.

Go slow. It always amuses me to listen as conversations go from animated to silence as the meal is served. Then pick up again as the plates are cleaned. Uncle Bill (name changed to protect my uncle’s ego) heads back for seconds, while the kids start eyeing the pumpkin pie and cool whip. Instead of rushing toward the second helping or desert, encourage some conversation, thus slowing things down. Why? It gives your brain time to catch up. It takes approximately 15 minutes for your brain to process the information that “you are full and satisfied”. If during those 15 minutes you have that second piece of pie, or heaping helping of dumplings, you’ll find yourself stuffed and uncomfortable.

While we’re all thankful for the food, take a moment to be thankful for your family and friends and the blessings we’ve received throughout the year. Family and friends are the true spice and variety of life.

When you have food, remember those who are hungry.

June believes in living life to the fullest and that fact is personified in every article she writes. Broad ranging topics about wealth, health and success on her primary site, wealthhealthsuccess.com or specific articles about Christmas, Thanksgiving and the true spirit of the holiday season, you ll find she is a woman who believes that every moment of every day is important. To read more of June s holiday articles visit her at happy-holidays-to-you.com

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Wine Tasting — The Traditional Way
By Jerry Powell

Wine tasting is properly known as Wine Degustation . It is the art of
being able to note the various differences between difference types of
wine, and even the various differences between the vintages of the same
type of wine.

There are basically two parts to Wine Tasting, first is What are we
looking for the second is How are we looking . We ll start with the
How, and move on to the What.

Traditionally the seven steps to sampling wine are: see, sniff, swirl,
smell sip, swish, and spit. This is the process we see tasters going
through at the table and in wineries.

The first thing we want to do is see that the color of the wine is good.
Put some light behind the glass and look for clarity. Fogginess is a
sign we probably want to be careful with. Rusty colors in a white wine
are another sign that we probably don t want to put it in our mouths.

That might seem a bit crass but let s keep in mind what we are looking
at here. The act of Wine Degustation didn t get its start at high
society dinner tables as a way to see what was good with lamb, and what
is better with beef. Wine Degustation came into being as a method of
deciding what was safe to drink and what might be poisonous due to bad
storage or aging processes. While today these tasting methods are less
defensive, since modern methods of wine making produce safer wines, some
wines you may get to embrace were bottled 100 years ago, or even 200.

Some red wines are so dark you will be lucky to see anything through
them, but we still want to take a look. Some of the more obvious signs
we want to look for are brown, muddy, orange or other non-winelike
colors. It is not uncommon to see bits of cork floating in a glass of
wine, just try to make sure that it is cork.

After our eyes are satisfied, we try our nose. Recall that taste is more
or less an olfactory sense. With practice we can tell a great deal about
a wine from its perfume. A good whiff at the very least will give you an
impression, or preview of what to expect from the wine when we taste it.
The obvious impressions to look out for are: does it smell like wine? Is
the overall fragrance fresh or foul? Anything strange about it?

Our next step, the swirl, enhances our ability to evaluate the first two
steps once more. The swirl is to get some of the wine onto the surface
of the inside of the glass. Wines are generally not oily or syrupy. The
liquid should slide off the side in an expected manner. Also with the
wine spread out on the surface, it should be easier to get a better
sample of the fragrance it presents. Which is what we do now, but this
time we inhale it slowly. No quick sniffs. We bring the fragrance into
our nose with a smooth steady inhale, letting our mind go through the
stages of the bouquet with a more examining course.

If our nose is still interested then we move on to taking a small sip.
Just enough to get a taste on our tongue. You will notice here a bit
more of the cautionary tactics in the wine tasting steps, but there is a
bit more benefit really than just making sure that we didn t miss
something painful in the previous steps before we commit to a good
mouthful. Taking in just a taste allows our mouth to get a quick
preview and some expectations. There is also the fact that many
concoctions, not just wine, taste a bit different when taken in small
sips rather than mouthfuls.

So we are still interested, and by this time we are sure whether or not
we want to commit to a real taste, so we take in a mouthful. Not only do
we take it in, we swish it around like it was mouthwash, letting the
liquid coat every part of our mouths and gums. Allowing the wine to be
heated up by our body temperature. Some tasters even gargle a bit with
the wine, because our taste buds are everywhere in our mouths.

The last step is spit or swallow. Not much to say about that, but it is
a choice to be sure. If this is the only wine or one of two or three you
are going to be tasting tonight, swallowing might be an appropriate
option. But if you are at a winery and going through 6 or 7 wines,
spitting is probably your best option. Otherwise every wine is going to
start tasting “swell” and you might as well just have a few glasses
rather than try to go through the steps.

What are we really looking for through all of this? There are many
aspects of wine, and each vintage and type has its nuances. There are
some over all basics though we can start out with.

Oakiness - Some wines have a oak flavor. There really isn t another
way to describe it. You have to taste it, but once you do you can pick
it out. The flavor is generlly from either from the Aging barrel or oak
chips

Sweetness - The process of some wines allows a greater amount of the
natural sugars from the grapes (Or fruit) to remain without being
processes into alcohol. So a sweetness, and sometimes a fruity taste
remains from the amount of residual sugar

Tannin - A wine stressing tannins would be described most of the time as
dry. Tannin is the bitterness from seed and skin of the grape and is
effected by carbonic maceration and Maceration

Above all, the real test is Did you like it. Your tastes are just as
valid as anyone else s and life is too short for wine you don t like.
Enjoy.

Jerry Powell is the Owner of a Popular site Know as Gourmet911.com. As you can see from our name,
we are here in the business to help you learn more
about different kinds of Gourmet Food and Wines,
from all around the world. http://www.gourmet911.com

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