St. Pauls London

When one thinks about tea, one thinks about England. When one thinks about England, naturally one things about London, and one thinks about London, one thinks about St. Paul`s Cathedral. A Cathedral dedicated to St. Paul has overlooked Britain's capital city since 640 AD. Over the centuries many different buildings have occupied the site, some of these ravaged by war, others by fire. In fact, the current Cathedral was built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. The Cathedral has seen its fair share of important services of the years from the funerals of Horatio Nelson, and Winston Churchill, to the wedding of Charles and Diana to the birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth and the late Queen Mother. With such a long history, and treasured place in the annals of British history, it seemed only fitting that we dedicate a tea to St. Paul's.

In order to create a blend worthy of such an institution, our Master blender determined that the teas used should come from the historic growing regions of the old British Empire. He also felt the blend should be rounded off with a tea from the historic birthplace of tea itself, China. Finally, the tea should have a hint of the Queen's favorite tea, Earl Grey. Subsequently, three teas were used: an Indian from Assam, a Dimbula from Ceylon, and a China black from Anhui Province. The Assam gives the blend a delicious, thick malty character that is wonderfully offset by the fresh astringency of the Ceylon and the regional nuances of the Chinese tea. This result is a truly fabulous cuppa. Brew a pot, add a splash of milk, a dash of sugar, and raise a toast to St. Paul's and merry old England. Cheers!

Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Even though milk and a dash of sugar help enhance the flavor character on this tea, it is perfectly acceptable to consume this tea ‘straight-up’

Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. [A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to double the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water]. Please note that this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice; a perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and nothing to worry about!