Good day, everyone! Today is actually a very windy and cloudy day, here in Tucson. A perfect day for tea! If you are not a tea drinker, hold tight... you may be one after this post.
By no means am I a tea connoisseur, or expert, or anything. I am a casual drinker. I do believe in the benefits, certainly. I've always liked the taste, but only really actively got into loose leaf instead of tea bags about a year or so ago. Honestly, I would not have gotten into loose leaf if it hadn't been for a really neat brand I found, Adagio.
Adagio is mainly a website. I believe they do have a store location, or two, but they are not a chain like Teavana. I don't think they even sell blends in other stores. Instead, you will probably have to order online... but, that is where the fun is. Adagio has a really cool feature that allows you to create your own custom blends, and they give you a pretty big variety of options to mix together. You can also buy the blends others have created. I have used this option over and over again, and other tea fans have actually quite liked my creations! If I, someone who doesn't know jack about tea blending can make yummies, anyone can, including you and your kids! I will post some screen shots of the creation process to guide you through, and of course, end with a summary of how this can be made into a great educational experience, along with some extra project ideas.
If you want to save your tea blends, you will have to create an adagio.com account, but they have you do that after you create a tea blend, so don't worry about that just yet. I already have an account, but I will create a new one to show the first steps. The reason for this is because the more blends you make, the more options you get, and I will demonstrate that as we go along.
Step 1:
First, simply go to adagio.com. On the top-ish of the screen, click "blends," then "create a blend."
Step 2:
If you scroll down just a tad, there is a basic tutorial video, and you can watch that if you want, but it really is not that informative. Scroll down and you will see the first options, which is where you mix up to three different premade tea blends and flavors. Your options are a wide variety of teas, including different flavors or pu erh, green, white, oolong, Earl Grey, herbals, and more. They are all natural, even the flavored ones. There are even decaff options.
When you select which teas to blend, you also have to choose the percentage of each blend. For instance, 30% white peach, 40% white chai, and 30% wild strawberry. The percentages are all in tens, and, obviously, you cannot make it add up to above or below 100%. Each flavor gives you a description of the taste and ingredients when you click it.
Now, here is something I noticed. When you are brand spanking new to the site, you do not have the option to add in inclusions, which are just extra little scoops of things like different flowers, fruits, and even candies. After you create a blend, you get the option to add in inclusions. Over time, as you create more blends, you are able to add in two, and eventually three. I am up to three inclusions per blend now. Now, of course, it may sound disappointing that you cannot immediately add these in, but not all is lost. We will get to that in a bit here. Lets go to step 3 for now.
Step 3:
Now that you have your blend chosen, you may now name and describe your tea. You can also give a little background on the inspiration for your special-TEA. Special-teeeaaa. See what I did?
Sorry.
Anyway, here is what that section looks like.
Pretty neat, right? It's getting personal now.
Step 4:
The final step to creating the blend is the artwork. Adagio does ask that you do not use images created by other artists, as that is a risk of copyright infringement. However, you are free to upload your own photos and designs. You can also use one of the premade designs. Remember that custom designs have to be rectangular, or the designs will be squished to fit the format.
Step 5:
Now is wen you can create an account. You can set this particular tea blend to be private or public. The benefits to public blends are that others can purchase them. You do not get money for this, but you do get frequent user "cups," which can be used for credit to get more tea. 100 points is $10 in free tea! Points are earned by purchasing, reviewing, and "selling."You can also add tags that describe your tea to help others find them in their searches. When you are finished, clock "create blend."
Step 6:
Congrats!! You created your first tea blend! Doesn't it look pretty?
As you can see, you can like your blend on Facebook, pin it on Pinterest, or even Tweet it. Nothing wrong with sharing your creations!
Now, as for the prices, they may look hefty. To be honest, the sample prices are, but the pouches are actually a really good value. You get a lot more than it seems, and Adagio is cheaper than most loose leaf tea blends out there without sacrificing taste or quality. A full pouch, drinking once a day, can easily last you a couple months. Mine last me about a month if I drink every single day, but I also brew mine extra strong.
Well, now that you basically know how to make your own blends, lets discuss how this can be used to educate your kids, shall we?
How can Adagio be used to teach kids?
1) Ratios and math. Young kids can benefit from using the percentage feature, as it helps them learn how to add tens to equal one whole, or 100%.
2) Advertising and marketing. What key words would you use to attract people to your blend? What sort of image portrays the flavors, colors, or ingredients used? Do you have a photo that works with the tea? Can you create an image? What age range do you think would like your tea blend the most? Does using other means of social media help attract customers?
3) Experimentation. How did your tea taste, if you ordered it? Is there anything you would change next time? How did it smell?
4) Health benefits. Teas have a huge range of health benefits, and different types all have different things that can aid your health. Some are full of antioxidants, and they all have different levels of caffeine. Look up the differences between loose leaf and tea bag. Fruits and herbs vary in health benefits as well. Even honey used to sweeten tea has healing properties. Research them together.
5) Gardening. How is tea grown? What is the difference between white, black, and green tea? What about oolong and rooibos? What sort of plants are used? Can you grow herbs for teas at home? What kind of bugs pollinate the plants used to teas?
6) Geography. Where does tea come from? What herbs and fruits grow best in different countries and climates?
7) History and social studies. Adagio even gives brief lessons on the origins, and even the growers, of their ingredients. History has a very huge history, and has been used for many things all around the world. Read up on how teas are used in different areas of the world.
What projects and lessons can be used in coordination with Adagio?
1) Grow your own tea ingredients. This is where that part about lacking the inclusions option comes in. If there is something you want to add to your tea, such as bits of fruit, spices, flowers, or even sprinkles and candy pieces (chocolate bits and candy cane can actually be quite yummy in tea!), learn how to grow them together, and start your own tea garden. If you don't want to wait a few years for a tree (in case you are thinking something like orange zest), then learn how to purchase the ingredient needed and properly dehydrate it for tea usage. That is a homestead and cooking skill that can be used for their whole lives!
2) Make it a sweet, artsy gift. Kids of all ages can have fun designing baggies, cards, or even making treats to go with their tea blends, and give them to friends and family. You can even use a tad bit of the tea blend in things like soaps, bath bombs, and lotion bars.
3) Cook with tea. Yes, you can cook with tea! I have made my own recipes for green tea cake and black tea cake (which actually became a surprising family favorite). The trick is to boil about four tablespoons in the milk you use for your recipe, and leave the tea in the milk to bake in the cake. Experiment with different flavors of glaze, or add in extra coordinating fruits, spices, and nuts. You will have a truly unique dessert or breakfast cake.
4) Encourage your child to practice their marketing and advertisement skills. For young kids, allow them to design the label for the tea, and also an "poster." They can use paint, card stock, paper, stickers, whatever is on hand to design a poster used to grab a customer's attention. Have them draw pictures and use colors to represent the ingredients, or the actual product, and learn to use key words. Maybe, even have them act out a commercial. For older kids, they can design from scratch, or even use real photos they took (if they are into photography) and photo editing software such as PhotoShop, PhotoFiltre, and Gimp. Allow them to research the age range and gender that will be more likely to appreciate their tea blend. Teach them to use social media to spread the word on their new blend. Adagio also has a feature for leaving video reviews. If your child is curious about video reviews and commercials, allow them to work with that feature and create a well-made review. Advertising and marketing is a highly sought-after skill in any business, as it is what attracts customers. Pay attention to font style, colors, images, and descriptions. You can even suggest they research the cost of ingredients and discover how much ingredients from the source would cost so they may create an imaginary price for the blend.
5) Research the history of the ingredients. Where was white tea first used? Why is green tea so commonly used in Asian culture? How did Earl Grey tea get its name? Tea is full of rich histories. Research which cultures use and grow the types they used in their blends, how different cultures drink their teas, and how tea is used in everyday life and celebrations. You can also turn it into an English lesson and have them write a research paper on it.
6) Create specific teas meant to do specific tasks. For instance, if you are looking for a tea that is meant to calm the body before bed, research which teas have low caffeine and which herbs have calming effects. For teas that heal colds, look for ingredients that have high antioxidants and vitamin C. Teas can be used for nausea, headaches, illness, relaxation, and rejuvenation, depending on what is used. Remember that this includes tea leaves, fruits, herbs, and spices. If there is a pregnant woman in the family (or a friend), consider looking into what teas and herbs are safe to use on pregnant women, and what the benefits are. Be careful, though, as many doctors and midwives warn about using certain herbs. For instance, raspberry leaf is great for the third trimester, but heavily not recommended before that. Chamomile is also considered not safe during pregnancy. Young adults and teens can benefit from learning which herbs are safe and which aren't, for whenever they decide to start a family.
7) Research local tea growers. What local brands are there? What sort of unique ingredients are native to your home? What ingredients grow best in your climate? How much do they make in profit? Perhaps set up an interview with a local tea grower, and sample some of their product!
As you can see, something so simple can really be highly beneficial. I have been using the site for at least a year, and it only just hit me today that this can be a very educational tool for any age. Obviously, purchasing tea all the time can add up, especially is you are using loose leaf, so you may want to only do this every now and then. An alternate option is to buy some mixed sample boxes of tea bags from any grocery store, cut the bags open, and blend together, but honestly, you will not have the same quality. Tea bags also have to be heavily sweetened to even be palatable (to me, anyway) while loose leaf usually doesn't, since it contains whole fruits and higher quality ingredients. That's just my two cents, though.
So, relax, and have fun <3
What sort of teas do you like?
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