HASTINGS COLUMN: Tea lovers are thinking outside of the bag

Maybe you are feeling post-holiday stress or winter doldrums. Maybe you are caught up in a whirlwind of day-to-day worries or cares.

Maybe you need a break.

Maybe it's time for a cup of tea.

January is National Hot Tea Month, and Martha Isenberg helped celebrate last week with a tea tasting and talk at the Reynolda Manor branch of the Forsyth County Public Library.

Isenberg, a retired extension-service agent, said she has always enjoyed tea. And now tea is more popular than ever.

"I started drinking hot tea in college," she said. "It's a nice pick-me-up."

The Tea Association of the U.S.A. says that tea sales have increased every year for the past 16 years through 2007, the latest year for which figures are available. More than 55 billion servings of tea were consumed in 2007 -- more than 2.5 billion gallons. Total sales in 2007 were $6.85 billion, compared with $1.84 billion in 1990.

Much of the increase has been in such specialty teas as green tea, now common in U.S. supermarkets.

Isenberg became a sales representative for Tealightful Treasures, a direct-sales tea company, last summer. Her job involves leading tea parties in people's homes to teach them about tea and to sell Tealightful products.

She gave a program for 11 women at the library on Jan. 12, talking about the history and health benefits of tea. She served scones and four types of loose-leaf tea from around the world.

"I've learned a lot about tea since I started doing this," Isenberg said. "What surprised me the most was how many different kinds of tea there are."

There are four basic types of true tea. But each tastes different when grown in different parts of the world. Then there are the herbal infusions, such as peppermint and chamomile, which aren't true teas. And finally, many teas and other infusions are flavored with other ingredients, such as rose petals or orange blossoms, to give them more flavors.

True teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis, or tea bush.

The four types -- white, green, oolong and black -- vary by how they are processed, becoming increasingly strong the more they are processed.

Isenberg poured a white tea from China called pai my tan (white peony) that was delicate with a floral aroma and a taste that hinted at peaches.

Next, she poured a Japanese green tea flavored with orange oil and lemongrass. The oil gave it a slicker texture. The taste was still delicate, but grassy, with hints of citrus.

The third tea, actually an herbal infusion called rooibos (or red bush) from South Africa, also had orange added to it. But the taste was robust, with the orange flavor right out in front.

"I usually drink green tea, but I liked the rooibos best," said Cheryl Everhart, who was there with Paulette Kuzmanovich and Carolyn Redding. The three women were on a scouting mission in advance of the second annual afternoon tea they are planning this Sunday as part of the women's fellowship at Bethabara Moravian Church. "Last year, it was mostly tea bags," Everhart said. "This year, we're going to do it the real way."

The last tea was called royal tea. It's a black-tea blend of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), jasmine, Assam and Kenya teas. This was strong. It's no surprise that Brits like to add milk to it. In comparison, the lighter white and green teas were much better without milk or sugar.

As people sampled the teas and some scones, Isenberg gave a few tips on brewing tea.

Black and oolong teas and herbal infusions need boiling water, but white and green teas are better when the water is not as hot, 160 to 170 degrees.

The correct way to make loose-leaf tea, she said, is to put the leaves in a tea basket without overcrowding it. leaving room for the leaves to expand, Isenberg said. Put the basket in a cup or pot, and pour the heated water over it. Steep it two to three minutes for green tea, four to five minutes for white, oolong or black, and five to seven minutes for herbal tea.

Once the tea has steeped, she said, don't mash the tea leaves, trying to get extra flavor out of it. All you're doing is extracting more tannin and bitterness.

Another nice tip: Most loose-leaf teas may be brewed two, three or even four times. Sometimes the flavor changes or even improves with subsequent brewing.

Isenberg also pointed out that tea is good for you. Without sugar or milk, tea has zero calories. It also has antioxidants, which are associated with reduced risks of many types of cancer. Isenberg said that tea can also help boost the immune system -- a good thing during flu season -- and reduce stress.

At the end of the talk, the women began chatting.

Isenberg briefly interrupted the conversations to say, "See what you're doing? Tea drinking is a great way to socialize and relax."

She also said, "These days we live in a very stressful world. And anything we can do to calm down is to our benefit and our health's benefit."

For more information about National Hot Tea Month, visit www.teausa.org.

For more information about Tealightful Treasures, visit www.tealightfultreasures.com, or contact Isenberg at 924-9158 or mhisenberg@aol.com.

For pickled-shrimp fans

After getting a lot of feedback on my Jan. 9 story about the pickled-shrimp salad that Noble's Grille served at the Governor's Inaugural Ball, I asked chef Drew Ward for the recipe. You can find it the Dishing It Out blog at www.journalnow.com/dishingitout.

■ Michael Hastings, the Journal's Food editor, can be contacted by phone at 727-7394, e-mail at mhastings@wsjournal.com, or mail at c/o Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. His most recent columns can be read on our Web site at www.journalnow.com.