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Jing Tea Press - Jing Tea Features in the Financial Times, Guardian
Jing Tea Press
From The Evening Standard Magazine
Andy Barker, 13th June 2008
From The Times Magazine
31st July 2007
Food detective: Tea
Sheila Keating
Food detective: Tea
Sheila Keating
After water, the world consumes more tea than any other drink, but in
Britain we have either been seduced by the coffee house, or the rituals
of leaves and warmed pots have become a distant memory while we plonk a
bag of “builder’s” into a cup. All of which is anathema to Edward
Eisler, who started his company Jing Tea to rekindle our interest in
individual flavours and help us be as discerning with tea as we are
with wine and coffee. For Eisler, whose teas are on the menus of
restaurants such as The Fat Duck, every aspect, from the terroir where
the tea grows to the quality of the water and the pot in which you
steep it, is crucial to enjoyment.
Are different teas suited to different times of day?
“I would begin the day with Oolong, which isn’t as high in caffeine as black tea, but very stimulating,” says Eisler. “I suggest trying Yellow Gold and advancing to Wuyi Big Red Robe, which is full, rich and nourishing – one for the connoisseur. In the afternoon, I drink green, yellow, jasmine or Puerh. The green tea everyone loves is Dragon Well, slightly sweet and chestnutty, fresh and toasty at the same time. Yellow tea is similar to green, but slightly more mellow and complex – try Huo Mountain.” The latest tea sensation, however, is undoubtedly the mysterious Puerh tea, much touted for its ability to break down fats in food. “I recommend the 2003 Banzhang Raw Puerh, which is really fresh, but with the mellowness of some ageing,” says Eisler. For the end of the day he suggests white tea, such as Silver Needle, which is higher in antioxidants than other teas and the lowest in caffeine.
How important is the water you use?
“Use filtered water, as any cloudiness, scum or chlorine will obscure the taste, as will re-boiling water, which kills the oxygen,” says Eisler. “If you use a mineral water such as Volvic or Highland Spring which has a good balance of minerals for tea-making, you’ll have a completely different experience. Temperature is important, too. For green, yellow or white tea, the water shouldn’t boil, but be at 70-80C – temperature-controlled kettles remove the guesswork.”
What about the pot?
“We suggest tiny pots, around 250ml,” says Eisler. “The tea is infused, poured, then infused again and either poured into the same cup or a jug, which acts as a decanter. With a big pot the first cup will be too weak, the next too strong, and the next stewed. You wouldn’t cook your steak to perfection, then cut one piece off and eat it while you leave the rest in the pan to overcook, would you? It is the same principle.”
Are different teas suited to different times of day?
“I would begin the day with Oolong, which isn’t as high in caffeine as black tea, but very stimulating,” says Eisler. “I suggest trying Yellow Gold and advancing to Wuyi Big Red Robe, which is full, rich and nourishing – one for the connoisseur. In the afternoon, I drink green, yellow, jasmine or Puerh. The green tea everyone loves is Dragon Well, slightly sweet and chestnutty, fresh and toasty at the same time. Yellow tea is similar to green, but slightly more mellow and complex – try Huo Mountain.” The latest tea sensation, however, is undoubtedly the mysterious Puerh tea, much touted for its ability to break down fats in food. “I recommend the 2003 Banzhang Raw Puerh, which is really fresh, but with the mellowness of some ageing,” says Eisler. For the end of the day he suggests white tea, such as Silver Needle, which is higher in antioxidants than other teas and the lowest in caffeine.
How important is the water you use?
“Use filtered water, as any cloudiness, scum or chlorine will obscure the taste, as will re-boiling water, which kills the oxygen,” says Eisler. “If you use a mineral water such as Volvic or Highland Spring which has a good balance of minerals for tea-making, you’ll have a completely different experience. Temperature is important, too. For green, yellow or white tea, the water shouldn’t boil, but be at 70-80C – temperature-controlled kettles remove the guesswork.”
What about the pot?
“We suggest tiny pots, around 250ml,” says Eisler. “The tea is infused, poured, then infused again and either poured into the same cup or a jug, which acts as a decanter. With a big pot the first cup will be too weak, the next too strong, and the next stewed. You wouldn’t cook your steak to perfection, then cut one piece off and eat it while you leave the rest in the pan to overcook, would you? It is the same principle.”
Martin Isark, 29th March 2006
Martin Isark rated Jing's Bohea Lapsang and Monkey Picked Tieguanyin highest out of 17 other teas. He wrote:
Jing Monkey Picked Tieguanyin
"Verdict: 9/10
This is a very rare tea. It is slightly nutty and tastes rather like apricots. it has hardly any tannin in it and tastes a little malty. Excellent. "
Jing Bohea Lapsang Souchong
"Verdict: 10/10
This is the best lapsang I have ever tasted, with a colour like golden straw. The flavour has a delicate smokiness which is mixed with hazelnuts. It is like an orchestra playing on the palate. Full marks."
21 February 2007
"Jing Tea in south London is Britain's main supplier of white tea. Its customers include Harrods, the Lanesborough Hotel and Coutts Bank."
Evening Standard, 22nd February 2007
"Tea merchant Edward Eisler flies out to see the crop being harvested every April...Mr Eisler is boss of London's main supplier of white silver needle tea, Jing tea, whose customers include Harrods, the Lanesborough, the Fat Duck, Virgin Upper Class and Coutts Bank."
THE FINANCIAL TIMES, 2nd DECEMBER 2006
IT'S TEA, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT
ANDREW JEFFORD
"It was an almost secret door in a wall that led to my own initiation into the splendours of China teas. Visually, they were a carnival - flattened green leaf, its colour as vivid as spring birch leaves; fine hair-like strands of dark tea tipped with orange; felty white tips; glistening, lacquered twists, like seaweed uncovered by the tide; silvered, downy balls; and chunks of brown tea brick, a sight familiar to those travelling the Silk Road a thousand years ago."
THE GUARDIAN, 2nd DECEMBER 2006
LINES ON THE LEAF
KEVIN GOULD
"The most famous green tea in China is Dragon Well, the best of which fetches $2,000 a kilo. Jing Tea's vastly more affordable version also requires cool-ish water. Its fresh, slightly toasty, sweet chestnut character refreshes the palate at lunchtime, after which my traditional Chinese medicine practitioner suggests Pu-erh. This light black tea is reputed to aid fat metabolism and lower cholesterol. It is oxidised by the addition of fermenting leaves from the previous day's batch."
FRESH CUP MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2007
"Jing Tea is a name I heard often when seeking out the best places for tea in today's London and most of the places I've listed here serve or sell Jing Tea, some exclusively. To understand how a single entrepreneur could achieve such an impact, I introduced myself to Jing Tea founder Edward Eisler and obtained this interview for Fresh Cup."
MARKETING WEEKLY NOVEMBER 2006
"Jing tea, a white label supplier of Harrods, is launching its own luxury brand."
BUSINESS TRAVELLER, OCTOBER 2006
JENNIFER SHARP
"Edward Eisler is just 27 but has been passionate about tea since he was eight years old and is an unrepentant “anorak” with a mind-blowing knowledge about tea."
THE MIRROR, 13th FEBRUARY 2006
ANTON ANTONOWIZ
"Edward has devoted most of his life to tea. He began at the age of seven, pestering his mother to buy more interesting brands in the local supermarket. Today, at only 27, he ranks as one of the world's great tea-ologists.
He's passionate about our national brew. When others took a gap year to go surfing, Ed went on the tea trail to China. He traveled the nation, sipping, savouring, smelling, swallowing. His teas grace the boardroom table of Coutts, the Queen's bankers.
The Fat Duck, chef Heston Blumenthal's restaurant in Bray, Berks - voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine last year - boasts a variety of his infusions. So Ed has landed. Deservedly so.
In just a few years he has built a special reputation. Hafizur Rahman, senior tea buyer for Harrods, says: "I've tried thousands of varieties over the years but there is little to compare with the Tieguanyin he brought me. It has a magnificent taste."
DECANTER, DECEMBER 2005
FIONA BECKETT
"You might think that no self respecting Brit would need to be shown how to make a cup of tea. But China tea expert Edward Eisler may be the man to convert traditionalists to the virtues of reapeated steeping rather one good brew.
Of course it helps to have the fabulously rare teas that Eisler and his Jing Tea company work with (which starts at £3.50 for 30g), but just as important is the technique and equipment you use. Eisler uses very small pots which he fills to the brim with leaves, then pours over hot water (mineral or filtered). After about 30 seconds he pours the tea into a container or 'server' to fill up the cups while he re-steeps the leaves with water. This process is repeated six or seven times. The temperature at which the tea is made is critical: hotter water - best for oolong or black teas - accentuates the roast flavours, cooler water (better for white and green teas) the aromatic quality."
THE GUARDIAN
NIKKI DUFFY, 19th NOVEMBER 2005
"I struggled to find a brew as good as the ones I drank in Singapore until a friend introduced me to Jing Tea's jasmine pearls...More than a reviving drink, this tea is so fragrant, it encourages a mid-afternoon ritual - pretty china cup, a moment of peace..."
CATERER AND HOTEL KEEPER, AUGUST 2005
“Jing Tea Heston loves it and so do we. It’s the only tea to drink don’t you know?”
NOVERMBER 2005
Edward Eisler travels to China to work directly with farmers and bring back the finest rare green, white, oolong and black teas...the Fat Duck is already a customer..."
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
I just want to say thankyou very much for your time in answering my question. You have provided exactly the info I was after!
You may be interested to know that I am a passionate chinese tea drinker now. My day consists of Oolongs and Puerhs and I only drink PG tips if there is no other option! This is all down to you and Jing.
I discovered Jing through a TV show ("Taste" I think it was!) and consequently, after ordering some of Jing's Monkey-picked, my tea drinking habits have completely changed.
I've been drinking Chinese tea for 5/6 years, ever since i spent some time in China and Japan and the Water Sprite Oolong I bought from you guys was the best tea I've tasted for a while, perhaps the best I've tasted outside China itself.
The Lapsang Supreme was very good too.
Congrats on having such good teas on sale
Just wanted to say a quick thank you for some excellent service and for opening my eyes to some wonderful teas. Can't wait to try my next one. A heart felt thank you, Dan.
Once again excellent service. I placed a small order yesterday and received it at noon today ! I always feel good when receiving Jing Tea, it is so beautifully packaged.
Many thanks for a most instructive and enjoyable tasting on Wednesday. It was refreshing and quite exhilarating to discover the different flavours, not only of puerh tea of different ages, but between different infusions. I feel a new avenue of research is opening up – and one probably even more expensive than wine!