Cups of cheer

Jan 20 2009 by Laura Davis, Liverpool Daily Post

Laura Davis tastes the difference in the brave new world of tea-drinking

PHIL KIRBY stirs his pot anti-clockwise – or “widdershins”, as they used to say in the Middle Ages when describing the habits of witches.

Does this make him some sort of tea sorcerer?, I wonder, as he hands me a cup of a green concoction that could easily be liquidised eye of newt and toe of frog.

But, no, it’s actually a tea latte – one of the celebrities of the brave new world of tea-drinking, along with tea smoothies, that the British are gradually opening their eyes, and trusting their tastebuds, to.

Tea, it would appear, is the new coffee, and there is much to learn on the subject, as I discover on Phil’s two-hour tasting session – a sort of Tea 101 if you like.

“People are usually surprised to find out that all types of tea come from the same leaf,” he begins, indicating a plate on which the four basic varieties are displayed.

First, there is black tea, the sort used to make the more traditional blends. After picking, the leaves are left outside for one hour to oxidise and then placed in an oven to dry out. This not only gives it the strongest flavour of the four varieties, but also the greatest concentration of caffeine.

Oolong tea is also left to oxidise, but this time just for 30 minutes. Beforehand, the leaves are rolled up and resemble twisted knots of thick thread.

“White is the most expensive kind of tea you can get,” explains Phil, owner of Brew cafe, on St Paul’s Square, in Liverpool’s business district.

“Only the leaves from the top of the plant are used, because they’re the freshest and have the cleanest taste. They are picked before sunrise and air dried.”

Pickers of green tea, on the other hand, can afford to be less fussy about timing. The leaves are dried in an oven, as are those used for black and oolong tea, once the oxidisation is complete.

Although your average tea drinkers may be unaware of all this, they can taste the effects of the different processes as soon as they take a sip.

“Green and white teas are so delicate that they are usually drunk by themselves, but black and oolong teas are mixed with other flavours,” says Phil, 27, who opened Brew last autumn after deciding to give up a career as an accountant.

“As for which should have milk added – the answer is black tea and that’s it.”

In February, Brew will be expanding its already well-stocked selection of varieties to include a further 12.

Among them are a chocolate/chilli blend (in my opinion, surprisingly refreshing; the chilli flavour coming through more strongly with each sip); Valentine’s Tea (a mixture of rose petals, rosehip, hibiscus and passionflower that smells of Turkish delight but tastes subtly perfumed); Fruit Punch (a vermilion infusion of orange peel, lemongrass, hibiscus, strawberry and rosehip that is potently fruity).

Eventually, I can put it off no longer. It’s time to taste the witches’ brew.

Surprisingly, the tea latte doesn’t taste of seaweed or spinach – probably because it doesn’t contain either, but is actually made of tea leaves ground up into a vivid green powder – and, if you don’t think of it as tea, but as an alternative to hot chocolate, it’s surprisingly easy to find yourself under its spell.

FOR more information on events at Brew visit http://www.brewteabar.co.uk/

Another Liverpool tea shop, Leaf, in the Contemporary Urban Centre, Parliament Street, is holding a tea tasting master class this evening. Tickets cost £7, book on 0151 707 7747 or www.thisisleaf.co.uk

lauradavis@dailypost.co.uk