Sept. 12, 2019

This paid piece is sponsored by The Spice & Tea Exchange.

The medical evidence adds up faster than calories of those sweet drinks: Medical journal The BMJ recently reported just one-third of a typical can of daily soda increases cancer risks by up to 22 percent.

So what to do if too much coffee makes you jittery, decaf gets boring and water seems tasteless?

More American workers are turning to tea to hydrate, and a new downtown Sioux Falls business – The Spice & Tea Exchange of Sioux Falls – offers four dozen loose-leaf tea options.

Outside the U.S., tea represents the second most popular drink behind water. Now, it’s becoming especially popular with young U.S. workers. By some estimates, 87 percent of millennials drink tea. What they’re drinking isn’t brewed in grandma’s old-fashioned tea bags. They want the full flavor and antioxidant benefits of loose-leaf tea.

But how do you brew it and do it without the mess at your desk?

Buy quality loose-leaf tea 

Have you ever peeked inside tea bags? They contain the “tea dust” that settles to the bottom of tea harvest tarps. Loose-leaf teas are truly leaves that hydrate into full leaves again when brewing, releasing all the taste and nutrients.

Give it room to unfurl

The Chinese, who developed tea drinking, call brewing the “Agony of the Leaf.” That sounds harsh, but giving loose-leaf tea room to expand in hot water is a beautiful process. Take Jasmine Pearl tea, for example. Each leaf is hand rolled in China in an honored tradition that makes it the size of a pea. Yet when you steep it in hot water with plenty of room to “agonize,” it unwinds beautifully into leaves about 1-inch long and one-quarter-inch wide, releasing all the essential oils and antioxidants for a more flavorful, healthy drink.

Follow directions for amount, temperature and time

Not all teas are the same. Black teas typically require a teaspoon of loose leaf per 8 ounces of boiling (212-degree) water for five minutes; greens and whites might take slightly more tea but at a cooler temp and less time so the tender tea leaves don’t scorch and turn bitter; herbals – the non-tea – will take a tablespoon or more and also at something less than boiling. The point: Buy loose-leaf tea from a reputable source that will provide specific directions.

Bonus tip for iced tea

It is still technically summer after all, and some people drink iced tea year-round, so a hint on iced tea: Make a concentrate. Use the correct amount of tea according to directions, but cut the water in half because you’ll pour it over a full glass of ice, which will dilute your concentrate to the right proportion and flavor.

For step-by-step instructions, watch owner Tami Brown’s tutorial on how to correctly steep tea.

Brewing tea at your desk doesn’t have to be a hassle. Invest in the right steep ware, and it can be easy. The Spice & Tea Exchange of Sioux Falls offers a variety of easy-to-use cups, travel mugs and even iced tea pitchers for brewing in bulk.

The Spice & Tea Exchange of Sioux Falls also makes any of its 48 teas “to go,” hot or cold, at its Tea Bar at 328 S. Phillips Ave.

The store, owned by Tami and Vernon Brown, also features 185 spices, herbs, salts, peppers, infused sugars, custom blends for meats and gourmet gifts.