• Caffè Sole Teas
• Tea Descriptions
• Equipment & Brewing Recommendations

Although our customers drink less tea than coffee, we are devoted to tea and give it equal billing in our logo and in our tasting and buying efforts. Tea is to coffee what a Sunday stroll in the garden is to a Monday morning rush-hour commute: a contemplative, restorative respite. While lighter in body than coffee, tea offers a far greater variety of flavors and aromas. And while coffee yields only 40 cups per pound, tea yields over 200 servings, making it the single greatest value in beverages for the connoisseur.

As with our coffee selections, our main focus in tea is on unblended, single-origin teas from the best growing regions. For the most part we focus on true teas (from the Camellia sinensis plant), with a small selection of herbal tisanes for times when a hot drink sans caffeine seems appropriate.

Our selection of teas is intentionally kept small for the sake of freshness - a topic that's endlessly discussed in coffee yet often forgotten in tea. One of the reasons this is so is that stale coffee is so blatantly awful, whereas tea stales more gracefully, losing aromatic top notes and becoming bland and one-dimensional rather than rancid. Yet aromatic subtleties are what great tea is all about, and far fewer people have tasted fresh tea than fresh coffee.

Tea bag tea, being made from fine dust (called "fannings") and ground up leaf, is to whole leaf tea what preground coffee is to freshly roasted whole beans. It is "prestaled for your convenience." Whole leaf tea, meanwhile, is packed in chests at origin and has an optimum shelf life of up to a year for black teas, six months or less for the subtler, fragile green teas. At Caffè Sole we buy only the freshest current crop teas and pack them directly from the chest into pouches that are light, air and moisture-proof. Our emphasis is on product quality, not glossy packaging, and our teas are many months (sometimes years!) fresher than the national brands. A comparative tasting will make the difference freshness makes abundantly clear.

At home it's best to keep your tea in the airtight packaging in which we sell it or in a tin, and to keep no more than 3 months worth of tea on hand.

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Fancy Keemun English Breakfast: Pure unblended high-grade Keemun tea from China's Anwhei province has always been regarded as the ideal English Breakfast tea - provided taste not cost is one's priority. Often described as the "burgundy of teas" due to its superb bouquet, this high-grade Keemun has a sweet, subtly fruity and toasty flavor with notes of pine and red fruits.

Malty Assam Irish Breakfast: The Assam district is the birthplace of Indian tea, the tea bush having been discovered growing wild there in the early 1800's. Classic Assams are the gutsiest teas grown, yielding pungent, strong liquors whose hearty body makes them the "coffee of teas." Our current selection from the Borsillah Estate offers all the classic flavors, with more than enough body to stand up to the addition of milk and sugar required of a traditional Irish Breakfast tea.

Fancy Darjeeling Muscatel: Keemuns and Darjeelings are relatively "user-friendly" teas, but fine Darjeelings tend to be more of an acquired taste. The classic cup profile for the more fully developed "second flush" teas is an intense citrus and Muscat bouquet, bright acidity and firm tannins. Steely, aristocratic and very reflective of the unique microclimates from which they spring, fine Darjeelings are the Grand Cru Rieslings of tea. Ideally drunk without milk, but a very small amount of sugar brings out the fruit.

China Yunnan FOP: If deliciousness and value rather than marketing ruled the world, teas from Yunnan, the beautiful, ruggedly mountainous province bordering Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar would be as popular as anything with the names Darjeeling or Earl Grey attached to them. Fine examples such as this one have a uniquely spicy, almost peppery quality along with abundant fruit. This is a superb all around tea, complex enough to enjoy straight yet sturdy enough to stand up to the addition of milk and sugar.

Formosa Green Dragon Oolong: The island of Taiwan produces semi-fermented (oolong) teas of the highest caliber, teas that are the personal favorites of many professional tea drinkers. The range of styles and flavors available is quite broad. Our current selection is a special grade of oolong that's a wonderful example of the subtle natural perfume and sublime balance that are the hallmarks of great Formosa teas.

Japan Sencha, Yamoto: A high-grade example of Japan's most popular tea, the jade-green leaves of Sencha have a shiny, almost polished appearance. The cup is sweetly vegetal and delicate.

China Dragon Well, Special Grade: Lung Ching or Dragonwell is one of the most famous Chinese green teas. There are several grades of Dragon Well produced, of which this is the finest. Pale emerald green liquor, complex vegetal/mineral aroma; a superb tea.

Silver Tip Jasmine Yin Hao: The oldest of all scented teas. Yin Hao is the highest grade of Jasmine tea, carefully hand-scented up to five times with night-blooming Jasmine flowers. Chinese connoisseurs often merely smell the first infusion from the leaves, brewing a second or third pot for drinking. A magical accompaniment to Asian cuisine, and though saying so is heresy to traditionalists, Yin Hao iced is an experience not to be missed on a hot summer day.

Earl Grey Special: Justly the most loved flavored tea, Earl Grey gets its flavor and aroma from the rind of the Mediterranean citrus bergamia. Our version is extra flavorful thanks to the inherent winyess of the Keemun and Darjeeling base teas.

China Lapsang Souchong: China black tea smoked over an herb fire, Lapsang Souchong is the single malt scotch of teas, providing a bracing start to even the coldest winter day.

Black Currant: Fine Chinese black teas scented with black currant. Especially good as iced tea.

Strawberry Kiwi: An exemplary caffeine-free blend of dried fruit, herbs and flavoring.

Berry Basket: Made primarily from dried berries, Berry Basket is one of the best caffeine-free blends available.

Peppermint: Intensely minty and fresh, the perfect after-dinner digestif.

Chamomile: An ancient beverage for relaxation, with an enticing apple and herb aroma and golden liquor.

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Equipment: a ceramic or earthenware teapot with plenty of room for the leaves to expand works best. The Chatsford teapots, which we use and sell, are the best in the world, thanks to their large nylon mesh infuser baskets, which allow full expansion of the tea.

You'll need a kettle to bring cold, filtered or bottled spring water to a boil (electric kettles are far faster than stovetop models) and a measuring teaspoon or, far better, a kitchen scale that measures in grams. Tea leaf is highly variable in size and thus in weight for a given volume, making a scale a great tool for serious tea drinkers. Lastly but most important of all is a digital timer to time the infusion, without which your tea is almost certain to be either bland or bitter.

Brewing

1. Bring freshly drawn filtered cold water to a boil. Preheat the teapot with boiling water and discard (this ensures correct brewing temperature for the tea).
2. For each 6 fl. oz. of pot capacity weigh 3 grams of tea leaf; alternatively, use one heaping measuring teaspoon of leaves per 6 oz. Place leaves in teapot or infuser.
3. For black teas the water should be as hot as possible, poured just after boiling. For oolong teas let the water rest for a minute prior to pouring, doing the same for green teas but also pouring a couple of ounces of cold water over the green leaves.
4. Recommended infusion times are 5 minutes for most black teas, 4 for oolong, and 3 for green. Pour the tea promptly and enjoy within 30 minutes for peak flavor.

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