Here’s precious advice from Stephen Twining, 53-year-old director of corporate relations at the heritage eponymous English tea brand responsible for the original recipe for Earl Grey. “One of the most important ingredients of the perfect cup of tea is patience.”
You need to give the leaves time to infuse for color, aroma, flavor and antioxidants to come out, he said. For black teas, the recommended waiting time is about four minutes. Green tea needs three minutes.
Twining, a 10th generation member of a famous tea family, had known since he was eight that he wanted to be involved in the tea trade. He drinks at least nice cups a day, if you need further proof of his passion.
He was in town this week to introduce blends from the Twinings of London’s latest collection (Large Leaf Discovery), comprised of teas made with bigger leaves.
Over lunch at Vask, where the chef served only tea-infused dishes, we learned five tea-riffic lessons from Twining.
1. Pinoys are closet tea lovers
Unbeknownst to us, Twining claims that the Philippines is the number one tea market in Southeast Asia. “Filipinos are more open-minded to new flavors and tastes as compared to the British who are very conservative when it comes to tea,” he said.
2. Tea can be used as a secret cooking ingredient
Twining encourages the hospitality industry to get creative with their products. Using tea as an ingredient in cooking shows how complex and versatile tea can be. “We’re not saying that it’s not good food unless it’s made with tea but we’re inspiring people to think more broadly about tea and the different flavors that tea has,” Stephen explained. Earl Grey macarones, anyone?
3. Don’t just stick to one flavor, choose a tea according to your mood
Twining finds it difficult to make tea recommendations. For him, tea is a very personalized drink. “I choose my teas according to my mood, maybe what I’m eating, how the weather is doing. So I never tell people, ‘ah this is what you are supposed to drink’.”
4. Sugar is a no-no
Twining begs Filipino drinkers not to put sugar on their teas. It has a dominant taste, making it difficult to appreciate tea’s flavors, he explained. “Why not change the tea you are drinking to a blend that has sweeter notes instead?”
5. Process is important, but it’s the company that matters
While using fresh water and preheating your cups are important in helping tea achieve its optimal taste, ultimately the perfect cup of tea is not made by following a step-by-step instruction. “My favorite cup of tea is with friends and family, usually at the end of the day to catch up and enjoy a good conversation,” says Twining. Tea is a very social drink, he adds. It’s something good for the soul.
