In our last action-packed episode of TeaMuse, we rummaged through the newest
offerings of 2005 and disinterred the worst products the tea world had to offer.
In this month's season finale, we'll explore and extol the best tea products of
the year. But first, a quick recap of those that were covered last month:
1. The ReadyWhenUR by PG Tips - A kettle you have to call when you're running late.
2. The Tea Stick by Gamila Design - The (really) high price of slick design.
3. Green Tea Frappa by Starbucks - Stick to coffee, fellas.
4. The Health Tea Wand - Presto Strange-o.
5. Anteadote by Adagio Teas - Bottled tea...what bottled tea?
Numi's Flowering Tea
And now, without further adieu, I present my picks for the Best Tea Products of 2005:
Numi displays it all
While display teas are by no means new on the market, Numi Tea Co. is proving to
be the first to successfully purvey these to customers within the United States.
An age-old tea art form, these hand-sewn
"artisan teas" (as Numi calls them)
are one of the quickest-growing markets in the American tea industry. While
much of the success may be due to the packaging itself (they come in really cool
specially designed dark mahogany bamboo cases), the quality of the product is
nothing less than dazzling and delicious.
The triniTEA: three reasons you'll love this teamaker
OK... I'll be the first to admit it: when our R & D department told me that they
were working on an all-in-one teamaker, I was a bit wary. After all, most
electric teapots I've seen in the past have been sub-par at best, some even
limited to making tea from teabags. My fears, though, were quickly alleviated
with the first flick of the switch. The
kettle section boils water quicker than
I could've imagined, the infuser part can be set to several different steep
times (making it wonderfully variable), and the carafe is on a heated base so
the tea stays hot and fresh for a while. Although it is not perfect (I'd love
to see an adjustable water temperature setting myself), it is a vast improvement
over the rest of the market, and earns a solid position on the list.
Making convenience an organic experience
My friends at Rishi Tea, a company famous for purveying the one of largest
selections of organic and Fair Trade teas in the industry, introduced a great
line of
iced teabags this year. It is no surprise that Rishi's master blenders
concocted these extra-large teabags with organic loose leaf tea and tisanes, but
my favorite part about this product is that even the filter pouches and
packaging are biodegradable. In other words, this is the perfect product for
the inner environmentalist in us all. You'll want to sip some tea and hug a
tree simultaneously.
How do you improve an already-great idea? With a little ingenuiTEA.
Of all the unique and useful tea products that Adagio offers, probably the most
noteworthy is the widely popular and distinctly innovative
ingenuiTEA teapot. A
couple weeks ago, Adagio released the new version of this amazing teapot in
response to some of the feedback we've received over the past few years. It's
got the same great functions and capabilities, but unlike past models, the new
ingenuiTEA has a sleek new design and allows for much easier cleaning.
Featuring a removable filter and detachable lid, it is now just as easy to
maintain the teapot as it is to make tea with it.
Yes folks, 2005 was a great year for tea. Earlier this year, a long legal
dispute finally ended over whether "rooibos" could in fact be called "rooibos"
(we don't have to call it "red tea" anymore). Last month John Harney, founder
of Harney and Sons, was named
Food Artisan of the year by Bon Apetit magazine.
And just a few short weeks ago
A Guide to Tea, written by the Sexiest Tea Author
of 2005 (selected by TeaMuse.com), was published and made available for
purchase.
In closing, I bid a fond farewell to 2005 and anxiously look forward to what
2006 will bring. I wish all my wonderful readers safe, happy holidays filled
with many warm, healthy cups.
