ALL STANDARD SHIPPING WILL BE SEND OUT AS A PRIORITY WITH TRACKING NUMBER .
Here at the Angelic Teapot Established Since 2010 in the Heart of White Rock BC, we offer a large selection of teas from around the world. We believe that Fair Trade, Ethical Business Practice and Organic Production are all vital to the health and well-being of everyone on the planet. We do our best to offer teas produced with these standards whenever possible. We know that quality tea just simply tastes better, enriching your cup of tea!
We invite you to peek at our Treasured Giftware for lovely gifts and collectibles that can be given from the heart to the people in your life that matter most. Our teapots, teacups, and tea accessories are selected for style and function and are excellent gift giving ideas.
TEA KNOWLEDGE
We invite you to prepare a tea, sit down and relax, and hopefully gain some newfound knowledge your passion for tea. We have taken the time to discover the beauty and information about tea for you to learn and enjoy.
THE TEA PLANT
All teas come from the same warm weather evergreen plant, camellia sinensis. Teas are then classified in four major categories – White, Green, Oolong & Black. The colour of tea is the result of the chemical changes that take place when the leaves are given time to oxidize before drying.
Usually the beverage of tea is made by steeping processed leaves, buds or twigs of the tea leaves in hot water for a few minutes.
TEA PRODUCTION
After picking, tea leaves will soon begin to wilt and oxidize if not dried quickly. Tea leaves turn progressively darker as a result of the breaking down of chlorophyll and releasing of tannins. This enzymatic oxidation is called fermentation in the tea industry although there is no true fermentation.
Oxidation is the key in tea making, because the basic difference between the 4 main types of tea, is the degree of oxidation.
HISTORY OF TEA
It is said that the origins of tea date back over 4,700 years ago. Wild leaves from the camellia sinensis plant fell into a pot of boiling water. The resulting brew was then sipped by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung, known as "the Divine Healer." The story states that he noted the following: "It quenches thirst," "it gladdens and cheers the heart," and that it was "heaven sent." All of us who love tea can attest to his words of wisdom.
It is also said that Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, meditated for nine years. When he fell to sleep he was so upset at himself by his tiredness that he cut off his eye lids and threw them to the earth. At the very spot where his eye lids hit, there sprung up the first tea plants. The legend says that from that day forward, the serrated ovals of the tea leaves would be watchful over carelessness.