Tea chests have uses both practical and decorative, as they can be used both to display and to store all kinds of tea in the home. Tea chests can be bought from almost any gourmet tea shop or seller. Antique tea chests can also be bought, as tea chests are an innovation going back to when tea was first being shipped to the United Kingdom. Quality tea chests usually come in some kind of wood, and are usually made to be decorative as well as functional. Lower cost alternatives to the wooden tea chest are produced however, and are often made of cheaper materials like heavy cardboard.

Many, if not most, of the tea companies available in the U.S. have, on their website, other tea-related merchandise. The giants of western tea, like Bigelow and Stash, offer tea chests in many varieties on their websites. Some of these are cheap and gaudy options, but some of them, especially by Bigelow, are very beautiful and decorative in their own right. These kinds of tea chests make great gifts for tea enthusiasts and look beautiful in any kitchen, and they are not hard to find online or in tea stores.

Unfortunately a low cost tea chest often means a flimsy or gaudy carboard affair, but there are a few places online where you can get a simple wooden tea chest. These tea chests aren’t as decorative as the pricier ones, but they still look good and they are useful for keeping a variety of teas organized and easily accessible. No more messy tea cupboard with a tea chest.

These are not as decorative as many online, as they were used to ship tea across oceans. They were simple wooden boxes, with metal rims holding it together, but they still can add an interesting touch to a home if used for decoration, and certainly are a conversation starter. Even better if you can get an antique one with the antique “shipping label” still written on the side of the tea chest.

One of the most interesting options available was customizable tea chests. There are websites where you can get a wooden tea chest engraved with a name or significant message on it. These tea chests may not be as flashy or as decorative, but can send a much more significant message to a tea lover as a anniversary, birthday, or Christmas gift. This gift is both individual and personal, but also speaks to the person’s interests in something widely popular and enjoyed.

Gyokuro, which translates to “Jade Dew” is a very fine and expensive kind of Japanese Green Tea. While sencha, the most popular form of green tea, is grown in full sunlight, the Gyokuro green tea is shaded for two to three weeks before harvesting. This keeps the flavor of the Gyokuro particularly light and fine, which is why Gyokuro Green Tea is a more expensive variety of green tea.

Green tea is typically steeped at a lower temperature than most other teas. Most tea is steeped in just boiled water, green tea is steeped in water that was boiled at let to cool for five to seven minutes, but the water for gyokuro green teamust be even cooler than that. A mere 104 degrees F (40 degrees C) is used when steeping gyokuro green tea.The gyokuro green tea is also steeped a little longer than sencha, but shorter than many American green tea producers would have you believe. Most American sold green teas say three or three to five minutes of steeping time. Sencha steeps for only a minute, but the gyokuro green tea should be steeped for a minute and a half, or ninety seconds. This keeps the flavor delicate, sweet, and fine.

There are far too many complicated rules and rituals involved in a true Japanese Tea Ceremony to fit into a blog. Entire books have been written on the subject, and those can be quite a fascinating read for the curious gyokuro green tea drinker. But here is one tip on drinking green tea the Japanese way.No sugar or cream is necessary (or any other tea fixin’s). Many (if not most) Americans are very accustomed to drinking their coffee, tea, and other hot beverages with a thousand other things mixed in. True Japanese tea drinking would dictate that you simply listen to the flavors of the tea, rather than add a thousand other shouting flavors into the cup. It may be difficult for the western palate to appreciate the flavors at first, the subtle differences in sweetness, complexity, and intensity that different kinds of green tea have to offer. It may take several attempts at drinking tea the Japanese way before an American (or other westerner) can start to notice and enjoy the gyokuro green tea for what it is.

It’s nearly impossible to live in the U.S. without hearing about a new super-food that will cure all of your health ills almost every day. But green tea–including the gyokuro green tea–has been studied by a variety of groups and found to have positive effects on the heart, the brain, and other organs. While there are also other groups that make unsubstantiated and unlikely claims regarding the health benefits of green tea, this should not stop people from seeing the legitimate uses of green tea and imbibing accordingly. Gyokuro green tea is both good for the body, and enjoyable to drink.