Tea aficionados strive for the perfect blend

GREENWOOD, Ind. (AP) - The aromas of lemon grass, cinnamon and coconut wafted out of the glass jars as each was opened.

Bins filled with whole-leaf tea were marked with names such as Cherry Almond Diva and Mountain Dragon Green and filled with dark green, yellow, red and brown natural ingredients. The earthy odor of tea leaves gave off an exotic feel.

Dan Minear paused over each concoction, wafting each one to get a full whiff. The Greenwood resident is a master blender, and he has studied throughout the world to learn the art of mixing tea. Now, his mission is to expose central Indiana to the possibilities a cup of tea can hold.

"I look for inspiration everywhere I go, from fine restaurants and how they put flavors together in food, to bakers to florists. There's no end to where you can get inspiration for great tasting tea," he told the Daily Journal.

For Minear and other tea lovers, blending has become a specialty niche in the beverage market. Local artisans work with whole-leaf teas, carefully mixing spices, herbs and fresh fruit to find the smoothest drink possible.

Masters such as Minear can create drinks that taste like a chocolate mint cookie or a spicy mango. Their goal is to try and expand the potential of tea beyond a stuffy drink sipped in sitting rooms.

For centuries, teas have been crafted and brewed to combine health aspects with optimal flavor. Tea contains antioxidants, which have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. Other benefits include lowering cholesterol levels and protecting against strokes.

Herbs such as mint, lavender and rose hip also can improve blood pressure and skin health and bolster the immune system.

"Whatever ails us, what we wrestle with every day in life, teas work to alleviate those," said Wayne Ashford, owner of Tea's Me Cafe in Indianapolis. "Tea helps you stack the odds of good health in your favor."

Wayne and Stacey Ashford started Tea's Me Cafe eight years ago as a way to present unique tea concoctions to the general public. Combining modern decor with Eastern art, the small shop serves more than 80 blends, many that the Ashfords have put together themselves.

The Ginger Peach uses a full-leaf China black tea with bits of peach, citrus peels, ginger and apricot. Vanilla bits and cloves balance the fruit taste with some sweet and smoky flavor.

Another of his inventions, Evening in Missoula, is an herbal blend that takes on a strong orange-chamomile flavor. His mix contains rose-hip peels, orange blossoms and fennel seeds.

"We try to pair things that go well together. But we try to be adventurous as well," Stacey Ashford said. "As long as it's good on your palette, we'll try anything."

As such, specialty tea blending has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the beverage industry, according to the Tea Association of the USA. Industry forecasts show that tea has the capability of doubling its volume over the next five years and may grow at an even faster pace with the right support.

Already, that growth is showing in central Indiana. Specialty and loose tea shops have opened throughout the Indianapolis area.

Julie Fernatt and Keither Palmertree have been drinking and blending teas for decades now. They first experimented with tea for their own use. But after realizing the physical and mental health benefits of the drink, the couple decided to start selling their creations to the public.

"We had over 60-some flavors, but where we got it down that these are the flavors people seemed to like, we stuck with them," Palmertree said.

That interest led to the founding of their own blending company, Kei Tea. Based in Carmel, they have their own studio and shop where customers can sample different styles and flavors. The couple also frequent farmers markets around central Indiana on the weekends.

Sometimes, shoppers will come to the shop and ask for particular flavors. After a few different people asked about the spicy Middle Eastern herb fenugreek, Fernatt and Palmertree created a blend using green tea and fennel.

"Fenugreek is known for blood sugar regulation and for nursing moms. So we developed a tea around that," Fernatt said.

Others are just fun flavors that they've thought would be tasty. Their lavender lemon berry tea combines white tea, lavender, lemon grass and bits of dried raspberry.

Though the tea is imported from around the world, Fernatt and Palmertree grow many of the herbs and spices used in the blends in their own gardens.

"It takes a little time, it's messy, but it's something that if you put the care into it, you can realize the benefits of herbs," Palmertree said.

Minear, a Greenwood resident, speaks with pride about his varying creations for his business, Humboldt County Tea Co.

Yorkshire Harrogate is a mix of four varieties of black tea to make a deep-tasting drink. By adding a little milk, it turns a brilliant golden color.

Chocolate mint cookie, a black-tea concoction, has the sharp, crisp taste of Thin Mints.

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