#teapodcast

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Welcome to the World Tea Podcast! A podcast about tea's culture and technology! This week we hit the exhibition floor of the World Tea Expo 2015 to see what was happening, who was present, and what was selling!

If you haven't already, I recommend you jump back in time to listen to a previous podcast, "Rise of the Machines". Last year proved very interesting as we looked at the technology making its way to market. Much progres has been made in the realm of "single serving" coffee machines. Many of you are probably already familiar with Keurig, Nespresso, and Tassimo. Would it surprise you that tea is doing the same?

Today we take a look into the technology behind three mechanical brewers and discuss their benefits, contributions, disappointments, and changes they bring to a growing industry and beloved drink.

For better or worse, these machines are sparking to life and downloading themselves to cafes near you. It'll be an exciting few years to come. As coffee made "waves" into the market, so do many industry leaders expect tea to do the same. 

We have so much to gain......but what do we stand to lose? Tune in to the podcast and find out!

LEEET'S BREW IT!!!

 Check out your new Mechanical Overlords here:

BKON

Alpha Dominche - Steampunk

Sharp - Tea-Cere

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The World Tea Podcast Brew-A-Long Blog - Sour

Recommended Teas 

Fermented Bancha 

Poor Quality Tieguanyin Oolongs (try for a light, medium, and heavy roast)

Welcome to the World Tea Podcast! This week we continue our exploration into taste! What is it? Where is it? Why do we have it? And what does it have to do with tea?

Last week I bit into bitterness with a side look into astringency. We saw how polyphenols were the cause of this taste due to their interactions with the taste bud cells within our mouths. This week it's all about sour!

The short of it is that sour is an acid. Tea has a lot of different types of acids in it, including: Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Oxalic Acid, Acetic Acid, Hexanoic Acid.....seriously this list goes on forever.

What these all have in common is that they donate H+ (Hydrogen ions) when they come into contact with water. These loose and wandering H+ are what interact with out Type III taste bud cells via Potassium or Sodium channels as well as the PKD2L1 and PKD1L3 gene receptor. Keep in mind that not 100% of our taste (gustatory) system is known. Much debate still surrounds these topics. Regardless, it is a fascinating read.

Unfortunately, not many teas are sour in taste, despite the large amount of acids present. A sour taste in tea is often regarded as an indicator of poor workmanship or tea quality. Other tastes and flavours are much more sought after. Feel free to blame evolution for that; sour is thought to exist to save use from eating spoiled meat and vegetables.Nevertheless, I still get the craving to stuff my face with sour Skittles on occasion.

So listen in to the podcast and enjoy the information! And next time you drink some tea, keep a taste bud out and ready to see what tastes you can pick up on!

LEEET'S BREW IT!!!

 Further Reading

US National Library of Medicine - Expression of Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels

US National Library of Medicine - The Candidate Sour Taste Receptor

The Journal of Cell Biology - The Cell Biology of Taste

The Journal of Neurophysiology - Taste Receptor Cells Express pH-Sensitive Leak K+

The University of Calgary - Taste Quality

chemistryexplained.com - Taste Receptors

The University of Texas Medical School - Chemical Senses: Olfaction and Gustation

The Journal of Chromatographic Science, Vol.35 - Determination of Volatile Acids

sciencebuddies.org - Acids, Bases, & the pH Scale

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It’s a Podcast TEAm-up!

This week on the World Tea Podcast I'm looking into tea cultivars with fellow Japanese tea enthusiast Ricardo Caicedo from My Japanese Green Tea! If you haven’t listened to his podcasts I encourage you to lend them an ear. There’s some great content brewing! Also head over to his shop kyusuteas.com, to taste some of the cultivars we discuss today!

For those unaware of what exactly a tea cultivar is it’s a tea plant with specific characteristics resulting from human guidance during propagation. During the many years of growing tea, farmers noticed how different tea plants either resisted insects or tolerated droughts more than others. By cross-breeding these tea plants the farmer could propagate a plant with both traits. Do this enough and you can have some very strong tea plants. Of course if you want more of the same plant, you have to grow them by clipping off a branch and planting it (called a “cutting”), thereby retaining the same genes. Suffice it to say the cultivar of a tea plays a huge role in the yield, budding time, temperature tolerance, insect/disease resistance, and of course taste of the tea.

When a tea farmer decides to plant his crop, you can bet that considerable thought has gone into choosing which cultivar to use. Often it is integral to the tea’s survival and the farmer’s profit. It’s therefore very surprising how little the subject comes up when I talk tea with others. But that’s why Ricardo and I have teamed up today! We’re cultivating curious queries! 

We discuss several Japanese cultivars during the podcast: Yabukita, Benifuuki, Sayamakaori, & Okumidori. However chances are you've only had Japanese tea from the Yabukita cultivar as it dominates the Japanese landscape. Something with inherent benefits and consequences.

So brew yourself a cup and listen in. There’s plenty of drink for thought!

LEEET’S BREW IT!

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It’s the World Tea Podcast @ The World Tea Expo!

Another week begins and already I’m exhausted. Fortunately there exists a refuge for such ailments. I speak of course, of The Open Space! A cafe unlike any I’ve been acquainted with and one whose owner, Jonathan Klein, is incredibly passionate about.

In short it’s “a creative space fuelled by tea and coffee”, a place where people can gather, socialize, brainstorm ideas, and implement them within the very same cafe. Whether it be recording a podcast or video, completing your thesis, or doing some morning yoga, The Open Space is there to promote your creativity. 

Of course being in Toronto, I’m a bit far away, however I’m certain their must be something similar in this city, it’s just too great a concept to pass up! Anyone? Consider this a shout-out to any Toronto tea-lovers: Send me a message if you want to collaborate on something, I’m running low on tea and must soon venture out from my apartment.

As I served up some Shincha (First Harvest Tea) from Yame, Japan, I was happy to seen Jonathan and his friend Mark’s face light up at the umami laden broth. I think they were well prepped for the rest of the event. I know I was, and I’m heart bent of stopping by the cafe next time I’m in town.

LEEET'S BREW IT!