tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82356990300385702742024-03-12T19:47:48.832-04:00Tea Happiness- A blog on tea drinking, tea history, tea industry interviews, NYC tea experiences!A blog about tea drinking, tea history, tea industry interviews, Tea Reviews, and NYC tea experiences!Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.comBlogger447125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-76227496230516176612021-02-25T11:51:00.000-05:002021-02-25T11:51:44.053-05:00Interview: Alex Ahearn <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb4JZr8eTUUok7Ardd5bXXLfz18mCuoZuqrABTHT1tdxde3LAsWTn9S6ESDv3CV4Ujh6KYVBF65LvpfLaOFrL2jyAmj_yzpuFtP9vEugAoQQbAl0GEfgNUCFBHKSc3GaV1Am70-pxaGZDN/s1280/Alex+Ahearn.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb4JZr8eTUUok7Ardd5bXXLfz18mCuoZuqrABTHT1tdxde3LAsWTn9S6ESDv3CV4Ujh6KYVBF65LvpfLaOFrL2jyAmj_yzpuFtP9vEugAoQQbAl0GEfgNUCFBHKSc3GaV1Am70-pxaGZDN/w300-h400/Alex+Ahearn.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex Ahearn <i>(Photo courtesy of Alex Ahearn)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />I'm so excited to bring back tea industry interviews! Today I have an interview with an amazing tea friend <a href="https://www.flowersandtea.com/about" target="_blank">Alex Ahearn</a>, who has been studying tea from an early age. His knowledge and passion for tea is infectious, as is his convivial personality.</p><p>Alex recently published his beautiful book <a href="https://amzn.to/3aTLvJH" target="_blank">Flowers + Tea</a>, an amazing combination of poetry, flower photography, and tea evaluations. It's an eloquent expression of his love for tea, and I highly recommend it. He has also published two baking books that incorporate tea as well as gluten free ingredients, <a href="https://amzn.to/3qV48mg" target="_blank">Please Bake It </a>and <a href="https://amzn.to/3qWlfUD" target="_blank">Please Bake It (Again)</a>. Learn all about Alex and read his tips and ideas on tea drinking, below.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKAnhIvZHq_iFxTn-BMlwfnta0F727rdy8SOg-mCJ129rWiEyEO4Giy9gu3tHdZOk6pILerr-9LK48Lb_bAV6pA9cv_xyUeK-pA8sRf_gySlZERG_b0UsteeFDL8dMZCshi0hM-K5DKzy/s960/Astilbe+%252B+Shincha.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKAnhIvZHq_iFxTn-BMlwfnta0F727rdy8SOg-mCJ129rWiEyEO4Giy9gu3tHdZOk6pILerr-9LK48Lb_bAV6pA9cv_xyUeK-pA8sRf_gySlZERG_b0UsteeFDL8dMZCshi0hM-K5DKzy/w400-h400/Astilbe+%252B+Shincha.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the beautiful photos from Flowers + Tea <i>(photo courtesy of Alex Ahearn)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><br /><b>Your tea journey started at a very young age. What sparked your interest to learn more about tea, and what advice can you give to young tea lovers looking to learn more about the leaf?</b><br />I feel very lucky to have discovered tea when I was very young. I had a memorable tea experience at a local Japanese restaurant with a simple cup of sencha when I was about eight years old. There was something so special about that moment. It was one of the many ‘a-ha’ moments that I've had over the years. Tea is a fascinating, multidimensional product with many areas and traditions to explore.<br /><br />It's important to understand that your personal learning experience and tea journey will evolve over time. Never stop learning and keep drinking and enjoying tea, alone and with others. You can learn a lot by drinking tea by yourself as you discover your favorite teas and how you like to prepare them. Drinking and sharing tea with friends is a great way to learn and experience teas in new ways. The tea community is incredibly welcoming and there is always space for everyone.<div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>What tea and baking projects are you dreaming about right now? </b><br />I'm always trying to incorporate tea into savory and sweet things. It's a dream of mine to create an extensive cookbook incorporating tea. Tea is a versatile ingredient that has been incorporated into dishes and sweets for centuries. The connection between tea and food has always amazed me, and I'd love to find a way to share that with others.<div><br /></div><b>What inspired you to create Flowers + Tea?</b><div>Creating Flowers + Tea was an eye-opening experience. It made me sit and think about the impact that tea has on my life so far. Over the years, I've had many memorable tea experiences and read countless books about scientific tea research and preparation practices. I realized that there was not really a book that explored one’s solitary tea drinking experience. The book took over three years to passively create. At first, I took photos of flowers and tea separately, then started to pair them together. The poems were written during those three years while I tried to articulate my thoughts and experiences. The final combinations in the book incorporate the beauty of the flowers and plants, the tasting experience of each tea, and a poem to represent the overall feeling of the pairings.</div><div><br /></div><b>You are passionate about promoting the enjoyment of tea. Tell us a little bit about the importance of enjoying tea in daily life, and how to spread the word.</b><div>Finding the tea or teas that you enjoy is one of most exciting things about drinking tea. I'm a firm believer that anyone can enjoy tea, it just takes some time to find the right one. It does not matter if the tea is expensive or rare, all that matters is that you like how it tastes, find happiness in preparing it, and want to share your excitement with others. Sharing your excitement and experiences will make others want to seek out a similar tea and try it. The repetition of enjoying tea is equally as important. Tea is a crop which changes with each year, harvest, and producer, so make sure to enjoy a tea while you can. The inherent variability of tea makes it so your enjoyment of a particular tea is always evolving alongside your tea journey.</div><div><br /></div><b>Has the pandemic changed anything about the way you enjoy tea? </b><div>Having the time to sit down and truly enjoy and experience the teas that I have, has been wonderful. It changed the way that I drink tea, especially since I do not have the ability to share tea with others in person. Instead of creating that enjoyment between myself and another person, I wanted to derive more enjoyment from the tea itself. When I get a new tea or drink a tea that I haven’t had in a while, I like to drink only that tea for three to five days. On the first day, I follow the provided steeping parameters. On the second day, I change the water temperature. On the third day, I adjust the steeping time. The last two days, I like to combine what I’ve learned and experiment with the tea. After those three to five days, I feel as though I have a better understanding of how I like to enjoy a particular tea and how to steep it no matter the situation.</div><div><br /></div><b>What is one positive thing you’ve learned from staying home during this pandemic? </b><div>I’ve realized how important it is to share the things that you love, are passionate about, and that excite you. Sharing your excitement and passion is a great distraction from everything else that is going on and can make you even more interested in a particular subject.</div><div><br /></div><b>Once it’s safe to travel again, where do you want to go? </b><div>I'd love to go to any tea-producing country or to visit tea producers around the United States and Europe. My list of teas to drink and places to explore has only grown over the last year. Sharing tea with others in a tea field sounds perfect right now.</div><div><br /></div><b>Any words of advice for everyone looking to expand their love for tea during the pandemic? </b><div>Whenever I’m looking to learn more about a particular tea or tea in general, I find that incorporating video and sensory experiences into my tea drinking habits is very helpful. For example if I want to learn more about Chinese green tea, I’ll look at photos of tea fields in China, watch videos of tea producers making tea, and explore cultural practices of the particular tea-producing areas. I think that allows you to appreciate and enjoy what you’re drinking even more. Also, continue to ask questions about the tea that you’re drinking and about the tear elated things that you’re interested in. Reach out to other tea drinkers, start conversations, and share tea together.</div><div><br /></div><b>What is the last tea that truly inspired you, and why? </b><div>Over the last couple of months, I’ve been inspired by white tea. I think of it like the dried flowers of the tea world; delicate, complex, and fascinating. The amount of craftsmanship needed to produce any tea, especially white tea, is astounding. I feel like you can really taste the connection between the tea field, tea leaves, and the tea producer while drinking a white tea.</div><div>---</div><div>Thank you so much Alex for taking the time out to answer our questions! To learn more about Alex and his approach to tea, be sure to visit his website <a href="https://www.flowersandtea.com/" target="_blank">Flowers + Tea</a> and pick up his books!</div></div>Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-55664978839400721992020-12-03T17:30:00.012-05:002021-02-22T14:59:28.810-05:00Tea Gifts for Every Type of Tea Lover<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEDNy6jeCst6Rg7oejyc9lZwk3NrR3dSttv5G_HRk7ecEeL-WvMWsA2ig12U2fwOFPVOetNBkSlKmaRcIMmF21SnIKDQjrvPS5LdDoE3nSEuTJ-QG7pEdKcKXcde-CwdyeTkQCNdn7MfI/s2048/holiday+tea+gifts.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEDNy6jeCst6Rg7oejyc9lZwk3NrR3dSttv5G_HRk7ecEeL-WvMWsA2ig12U2fwOFPVOetNBkSlKmaRcIMmF21SnIKDQjrvPS5LdDoE3nSEuTJ-QG7pEdKcKXcde-CwdyeTkQCNdn7MfI/w640-h640/holiday+tea+gifts.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />It's that special time of year! If you're wondering what to get your favorite tea lover for the holidays, I've compiled a list of suggestions from the beginner to the more advanced tea geek, and everyone in-between. Of course, a whole list of tea vendors as well! So let's bring on the gifts:<p><b>For Those Working From Home</b></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3qrTmE0" target="_blank">Small Tea Tray</a>: I have this exact tea tray in my office, and it's the perfect size for gongfu tea on a desk. I also like that it doesn't have any images or logos on it. Plain and simple!</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3gbO0Ir">Zens Travel Set</a>: I have used this little travel set for years, and it's perfect for desk tea. It's small, easy to clean, and fun to use. I also like the minimalist design.</p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/OMyTea-Travel-Japanese-Tea-Set/dp/B08B38KPT9/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=bamboo+travel+tea+tray&qid=1607010783&sr=8-4" target="_blank">Small Teapot Set</a> If you'd prefer to gift a teapot and cups but your recipient doesn't have much space, a travel set is a good option. This one also comes with a storage case to keep it safe and organized when not in use.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3lDJ1kK" target="_blank">Travel Gaiwan Set</a>: If a gaiwan is what you're looking for, again a travel set is a good option. It comes with everything needed for gongfu-style tea, and has a storage case.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3g3q9dU" target="_blank">Small Tea Kettle</a>: If your gift recipient has room on a desk for a kettle, this one has a small footprint, and you can set your desired temperature. I've had this one for years and it doesn't disappoint.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3qnhjMN" target="_blank">Insulated Tea Tumbler</a>: If having a kettle by a desk isn't an option, an insulated tumbler like this is a good way to go. I have a few of these that I keep by my desk, and they keep the water hot all day long, ready to brew up tea any time I need it. It comes in many colors and sizes.</p><p><b>For The Tea Beginner</b></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3qtCXPo" target="_blank">Basic Teapot</a>: A small teapot with a removable strainer is a great way to start a tea journey. I love that these pots come in cheerful colors. I have one I use almost every day when I'm in the office.</p><p><a href="https://ippodotea.com/products/matcha-starter-kit-deluxe?currency=USD" target="_blank">Matcha set</a>: If you know anyone that wants to start whisking their own matcha, this set is a great way to start, and it has all the tools they'll need.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3mDkrC9" target="_blank">Basic Gaiwan</a>: A sturdy gaiwan set with cups like this one is a good starter set. It's not too delicate which makes it a little less intimidating to use. Plus it has thick walls which won't burn fingers quite as easily, and comes with two cups. </p><p><b>For Anyone That Needs Tea Storage</b></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33hNBPm" target="_blank">Tea Storage Box</a>: I was recently gifted this box for review, and it's proving to be quite handy. It is beautifully made and the compartments are roomy. You can also take out the dividers and use it to store larger packages of tea or tea cakes. I decided to store cups in the compartments, since I have so many and they're tough to keep safe. It makes a lovely gift.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3lIKzKE" target="_blank">Small Tea Storage Jar</a>: I have a few of these small jars in different colors and they are perfect for storing small amounts of loose leaf tea. They are airtight and attractive.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/36Ca3op" target="_blank">Large Tea Storage Jar</a>: For something larger and minimalist, these get the job done. They are nice enough to leave on a counter and have the important features of being air-tight and opaque.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/2L57Idu" target="_blank">Storage Basket</a>: For round tea cakes, I use one of these baskets. They can fit a few cakes, and allow for a nice amount of air-flow for the tea to breathe. A storage gift a bit more unique, and very useful.</p><p><b>For The Bookworm</b></p><p>Here are a few books about tea that I've enjoyed this year, everything for the tea beginner to those looking to go a bit deeper into tea facts and history:</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3jDKkiL" target="_blank">A Dark History of Tea</a> by Seren Charrington-Hollins: Tea has such a long and storied history, it's only natural to have seen many dark moments. The author gathers many of the dangerous and morbid events throughout tea history and compiles them into one well-researched book. An entertaining read for anyone looking for interesting tea history.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3g40GB4" target="_blank">Tea: A Nerd's Eye View</a> by <a href="http://virginiaspairteas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace</a>: This book has information for Tea Nerds of every kind. Everything from tea chemistry and plant biology, to how our senses perceive the flavors in tea.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/36CWHbD" target="_blank">Grow Your Own Tea</a> by Christine Parks and tea historian Susan Walcott, Ph.D: For anyone interested in growing their own tea, this book covers all the basics of growing <i>Camellia Sinensis</i> plants at home, both indoors and out. </p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3qpguTQ" target="_blank">Flowers + Tea: A Collection Of Works</a> by Alexander Ahearn: This book lovingly illustrates the beauty of tea through poetry, tea evaluations and photography. A delightful book to give as a gift.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/36zrm9O" target="_blank">Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties</a> by Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, and Jasmin Desharnais: While not new this year, this is a book for anyone that wants to learn more about tea. I use it frequently as a reference guide.</p><p><b>For the Tea Loving Teen</b></p><p><a href="https://www.smokonow.com/products/pearl-boba-milk-tea-ambient-light" target="_blank">Boba Tea Lamp</a>: I have seen this lamp mentioned in various places, and I'm so tempted to get it! It's so adorable. I know my Tween Tea Critic would go crazy for it.</p><p><a href="https://www.teathoughts.shop/collections/enamel-pins/products/flower-gaiwan-enamel-pin" target="_blank">Tea Pins</a>: I love everything from the Tea Thoughts shop, especially these pins. A fun gift for the tea-loving teen to display on their bag or jacket of choice. Be sure to check out all her pins and other fun offerings.</p><p><a href="https://www.bonfire.com/flowersandtea/?productType=bacf6cd6-b53d-469c-ab96-02afe5b15f71" target="_blank">Tea Shirt</a>: Not just for teens, a fun tea shirt is a gift any tea-lover would appreciate. You can find tea shirts galore with a simple google search, and I'm partial to Alex's lovingly designed shirts where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.</p><p><b>For The Tea Latte Lover</b></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3lDLxHI" target="_blank">Milk Frother</a>: There are many types of milk frothers, and I personally own this one and absolutely love it. It's more expensive than most but it warms the milk (no need to do that separately!) and can create two different foam textures. You can add tea powders directly to the milk while frothing, and you can also make hot chocolate in it, so that's a win-win in my book!</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/2JqcpOG" target="_blank">Hand-held frother</a>: If you prefer to warm your milk in a pot, or just want something that froths, this is a great choice.</p><p><a href="https://aliciaboateng.com/collections/afro-glam-collection/products/copy-of-bling-mug-afro-glam-collection-akoya-pearl-silver-gray-tones-coffee-tea-cup-personalized-custom-woman-girl-ceramic-mug-travel-tumbler-afrocentric" target="_blank">Fun Tea Mug</a>: Of course, you'll need a nice big mug to hold that frothy tea! These mugs are beautifully hand-decorated, and are from a small woman-owned business. My link gives one design choice, and there are many others to choose from.</p><p><b>For The Teaware Lover That Has Everything</b></p><p><a href="https://www.ivystea.com/collections/trap-china" target="_blank">Trap China from Ivy's Tea</a>: I'm always tempted by this line of cups from Ivy's Tea. It's super popular and make a great gift. And you'll be supporting a small, Black-owned business.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3qjvu5w" target="_blank">Cold Brew Tea Bottle</a>: Your tea-loving friend is probably cold-brewing teas, so why not give them a bottle that is elegant, and narrow enough to fit on the door of the refrigerator. I use these all summer long.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/36A5lYk" target="_blank">Simple Glass Teapot and Cups</a>: Your friend may be a collector of amazing teaware, but do they have a basic glass tea set? I find this one to be super useful for a crowd- I love that everyone can see the color of the tea and the cups have been in my regular rotation for some time now.</p><p><a href="https://www.theteaspot.com/products/himalayan-tea-travel-tumbler" target="_blank">Himalayan Tea Tumbler</a>: This tea tumbler from The Tea Spot is huge (32 oz), and the double-walled stainless steel body keeps water hot for ages. Perfect for an outdoor tea session, and you can even steep right in the tumbler with the removable filter that's included.</p><p><b>Give The Gift of Education</b></p><p>If you would like to gift someone a tea class, here are just a few places offering online classes:</p><p><a href="https://www.itei.ca/" target="_blank">ITEI: International Tea Education Institute</a>: Full disclosure- I studied for my tea sommelier certification with ITEI. I recommend it because I think the classes are comprehensive and the teachers are very knowledgeable and will be flexible with your schedule. A full range of online tea courses are offered. And mention my name to get a discount! </p><p><a href="https://www.teaclassics.com/" target="_blank">TeaClassics</a>: I can't think of anyone more knowledgeable about tea and food than Yoon Hee Kim. She offers tea education and regional cooking services including a wide variety of tea classes, traditional Korean regional cuisines, tea meditation, Korean tea ceremony, and tea tastings. </p><p><a href="http://www.teablendingsisters.com/" target="_blank">Tea Blending Sisters:</a> If you are interested in learning how to create tea blends, look no further than a class with JoAni Johnson of Tea Blending Sisters. Tea blending is part science, and part art form, and she will teach you everything you need to know to create memorable tea blends.</p><p><a href="https://worldteaacademy.com/" target="_blank">World Tea Academy</a>: A resource for all sorts of tea certifications and classes.</p><p><a href="https://beingtea.com/" target="_blank">Being Tea</a>: A variety of tea classes and online workshops available.</p><p><a href="https://www.mojoosh.com/" target="_blank">MoJoosh</a>- Offering unique online tea seminars on everything from tastings to tea culture, to history. </p><p><b>This is Great, But What About the TEA?</b></p><p>So if you're looking to gift tea, here are a few smaller-scale vendors I'd recommend checking out. <i>This is by no means a comprehensive list, </i>but I think you'll find lots of options. If you are looking for specific types of teas and are still unsure where to purchase, leave a comment below, or you can send me an email.</p><p><a href="https://atellinco.com/" target="_blank">A. Tellin Tea Company</a>: Well crafted blends that are sold in limited quantities with hand-made packaging.</p><p><a href="https://www.augustmoontea.com/" target="_blank">August Moon Tea</a>: Carefully sourced Chinese tea and teaware.</p><p><a href="https://www.banateacompany.com/" target="_blank">Bana Tea Company:</a> Specializing in well curated pu'erh and aged teas, woman-owned company with many years of experience.</p><p><a href="https://www.bang-tea.com/" target="_blank">BANGtea</a>- Delicious and unique Taiwanese teas from small organic farms</p><p><a href="https://www.calabashtea.com/" target="_blank">Calabash Tea</a>: Washington D.C based Black-owned company offering loose leaf tea with a focus on interesting blends and herbals.</p><p><a href="https://crimsonlotustea.com/" target="_blank">Crimson Lotus Tea</a>- Pu'erh tea specialists based in the Seattle area.</p><p><a href="https://eco-cha.com/collections/taiwan-oolong-tea" target="_blank">Eco-Cha Tea</a>: Taiwanese teas sourced from family run tea farms.</p><p><a href="https://floatingleaves.com/" target="_blank">Floating Leaves Tea</a>: Seattle based vendor specializing in Taiwanese teas, teaware, and they aoffer interesting online seminars.</p><p><a href="http://www.greatmsteacompany.com/" target="_blank">The Great Mississippi Tea Company</a>: Tea grown and processed in Mississippi. Every tea I've tried is really good, and they have worked hard to perfect their processing techniques.</p><p><a href="https://happyearthtea.com/" target="_blank">Happy Earth Tea</a>: Family owned Rochester, NY based company with well curated teas and gifts, specializing in Darjeeling tea.</p><p><a href="https://hatvala.com/" target="_blank">Hatvala Teas</a>: A great source for Vietnamese teas</p><p><a href="https://hojicha.co/" target="_blank">Hojicha Co</a>: For all things hojicha (roasted Japanese green tea)! </p><p><a href="https://hojotea.com/indexe.html" target="_blank">Hojo Tea</a>: A Japanese tea company specializing in green tea and cast-iron teaware.</p><p><a href="https://www.jenidoddtea.com/teateaware" target="_blank">Jeni Dodd Tea</a>: Jeni is an advocate for Nepalese tea growers and she sells an excellent small selection of teas.</p><p><a href="https://www.ketlee.in/" target="_blank">Ketlee</a>: Unique and high quality Indian teas</p><p><a href="https://kettl.co/" target="_blank">Kettl:</a> NYC based, well curated and harder to find Japanese teas and beautiful teaware. </p><p><a href="https://littleredcuptea.com/" target="_blank">Little Red Cup</a>: Organic Chinese teas, with lots of sampler sets and fun tea accessories.</p><p><a href="https://www.lochantea.com/" target="_blank">Lochan Tea</a>- A good source for quality Indian teas of all kinds.</p><p><a href="https://mansatea.com/" target="_blank">Mansa Tea</a>: Well sourced pu'erh and other aged teas, woman-owned tea company.</p><p><a href="https://www.nepaliteatraders.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Tea Traders</a>: Family-owned Nepalese tea company</p><p><a href="https://nepalteallc.com/" target="_blank">Nepal Tea LLC</a>: Organic Nepalese teas from small farms.</p><p><a href="https://brekell.myshopify.com/en/collections/all" target="_blank">Oscar Brekell's Tea Selection</a>: Fantastic single-estate Japanese teas, specializing in sencha.</p><p><a href="https://www.renegadetea.com/pages/eshop" target="_blank">Renegade Tea Shop</a>: Teas grown and processed in the country of Georgia.</p><p><a href="https://www.sage-collective.com/shop-tea" target="_blank">Sage Collective</a>: NYC Based woman-owned shop of beautiful Chinese tea and wares with an eye for beautiful design.</p><p><a href="https://senbirdtea.com/" target="_blank">Senbird Tea</a>: A good source for teas and herbs from Japan.</p><p><a href="https://songtea.com/pages/tea-by-type" target="_blank">Song Tea & Ceramics</a>: Beautiful teas and teaware perfect for gift-giving.</p><p><a href="https://the-qi.com/collections/all" target="_blank">The Qi</a>: A beautiful selection of whole-flower tisanes</p><p><a href="https://www.the-tea-crane.com/store/" target="_blank">The Tea Crane</a>: Japanese teas curated by a passionate tea teacher.</p><p><a href="https://tecompanytea.com/" target="_blank">Té Company</a>: NY Based tea shop and online retailer of delicious Taiwanese tea and amazing cookies.</p><p><a href="https://tea-side.com/" target="_blank">Tea Side</a>: Unique teas from lesser-known growing areas like Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos</p><p><a href="https://www.teatrekker.com/" target="_blank">Tea Trekker</a>: A great source for teas, teaware, and information.</p><p><a href="https://theteawala.com/" target="_blank">Teawala</a>: Teas sourced directly from farmers in China, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka. Woman-owned tea company.</p><p><a href="https://tillermantea.net/" target="_blank">Tillerman Tea</a>: Taiwanese teas sourced directly from farmers.</p><p><a href="https://unytea.store/" target="_blank">UNYTEA</a>: A fun range of carefully sourced teas, from a passionate seller.</p><p><a href="https://youngmountaintea.com/" target="_blank">Young Mountain Tea</a>: Selling Indian teas that empower the grower and the surrounding community</p><p>Please also see my list of <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2020/06/black-owned-tea-businesses.html" target="_blank">Black-Owned tea companies</a> to support this holiday season. There is a list of all sorts of tea vendors to choose from.</p><p>Happy Holidays everyone! If you're still stumped on what to get your tea-loving folks, you can always ask in the comments, or send me a note. </p>Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-75063635866139488572020-10-08T15:51:00.004-04:002020-10-08T15:51:36.515-04:00Book Review: Grow Your Own Tea<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolBSGNPFgTUomZ_8miotiC4alvfPH69biuDPXdDrChAJELDrEAbucYCNYQg3PrHzX7wAftR7LwiZRQv9lOZtTLRbbxaFM8tlnqq6tL351x_WmbYDb8_QC7lhFH12G8ESHMYR-EAsdfTG_/w480-h640/IMG_4905.JPG" width="480" /></div><br /></div><div><br />Did you know you can grow tea at home? I've been <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/01/how-to-grow-tea-pt-1-growing-camellia.html" target="_blank">growing my own <i>Camellia Sinensis</i></a> plants at home for a couple of years now, mostly figuring things out as I go along. I was so excited to see the new book <a href="https://amzn.to/36HzTbf" target="_blank">Grow Your Own Tea</a> by tea farmer Christine Parks and tea historian Susan Walcott, Ph.D and couldn't wait to get my hands on it.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are so many questions to answer before you start growing tea. Do I need seeds? Where should I plant them? What kind of soil and light do the plants need? The questions can go on and on. This book covers all the basics of growing <i>Camellia Sinensis</i> plants at home, both indoors and out. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Grow Your Own Tea: The Essentials</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The information in the book is well organized and easy to follow. There are many illustrations and charts for easy reference. </div><div><br /></div><div>The book is written by both a tea farmer and a tea historian, and it features information on both. The book starts with some brief historical tea info and includes information on tea growers around North America and the U.K. Basics on the tea plant are explained before going deeper into the ins and outs of tea growing. <div><br />The book is based on the authors' growing experience and has also been well researched. It gives all the necessary info on where to start your tea growing journey, and what the plants will look like as they grow. Readers are led through all the important decisions that need to be made before planting, all the way through tending adult tea plants ready for picking.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once you have your tea plants started, what happens next? <a href="https://amzn.to/36HzTbf" target="_blank">Grow Your Own Tea</a> takes the reader through not just how to grow tea but how to care for them at various stages of their growth. The book also covers climate needs, and growing tea in colder areas. </div><br /><div>There are tasks to be done based on the season, making it easy to understand what your plants need, and when. There is even important information on how to take care of pests and other plant ailments. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Grow Your Own Tea: As A Reference guide</b></div><div><b><br /></b>Since my plants are already a couple of years old, I've been using this book as a helpful reference guide. I've been leafing through various chapters to learn about what else I should be doing for my little plants. My main issue lately has been the size of my plants. They seemed small for their age, and this book helped me troubleshoot why I've been having issues.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had recently wondered why my plants were just growing straight up, and not branching out. Turns out I needed to prune them to encourage the branching! The book gives in-depth information on when and how to prune. <br /><br />Learning how to overwinter the plants is important, especially for my Brooklyn backyard seedlings. The book goes in depth on the steps to take, which has been very helpful for me.<br /><br /><b>Grow Your Own Tea: Important Extras</b><br /><br /><div>The book is a helpful reference guide, but also contains other interesting sections. I enjoyed reading about various tea growers throughout the US and the UK and what their experience has been.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is even a section on growing tea in a changing climate, which is becoming more and more important. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are chapters on harvesting (knowing when to harvest is key) and processing tea at home. If my plants continue to thrive, perhaps one day I'll be able to try and process a batch of Brooklyn grown tea.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you're thinking of growing tea at home, this guide is a great resource. It gives in-depth information and answered all of my questions about what to do. I'm grateful to add it to my tea library, and can see myself reaching for it often. Thank you to Timber Press for providing this copy for review.</div><br /></div></div><br />Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-81062906060431458232020-07-16T15:04:00.002-04:002020-11-02T09:58:33.792-05:00Three Easy Iced Tea Methods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__4iV0-5qSrnl9W7lVB16AUAvWYu6zfFjjNYzu-zrxz5DH72dcpTfgstQVgei4t602-WvfskaNEHniP5xHSHebQK3IZZHOTH6UjSR2kjnbArwjsPibrp1VSA3ZA4ZBflBkV45Wup-lP8c/s2048/easy+iced+tea+method+shaken+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__4iV0-5qSrnl9W7lVB16AUAvWYu6zfFjjNYzu-zrxz5DH72dcpTfgstQVgei4t602-WvfskaNEHniP5xHSHebQK3IZZHOTH6UjSR2kjnbArwjsPibrp1VSA3ZA4ZBflBkV45Wup-lP8c/w469-h625/easy+iced+tea+method+shaken+2.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I love iced teas in the summer, they are easy to prepare and super refreshing. I've been having fun experimenting with various chilly tea-brewing methods and posting them to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tea_happiness/">Instagram</a>, and I've had many people ask me about the techniques! Here are three easy ways to have cool, refreshing teas: cold brewed, shaker chilled, and fizzy brewed. </div><div><b><font size="5"><br /></font></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1_btsVLCnTryhXQwfQln-MHrZllWpupnVOETrloQEUrbfDHfgmCQK_mhPi0C75t9rnH-9U1pnTDnvC1dtypD_DmA-_S9sF3l1aWknIcOdv-qTE9Pdjdq_wGsaES42Mv5V_ttMEhciFcw/s2048/easy+iced+tea+method+cold+brew.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1_btsVLCnTryhXQwfQln-MHrZllWpupnVOETrloQEUrbfDHfgmCQK_mhPi0C75t9rnH-9U1pnTDnvC1dtypD_DmA-_S9sF3l1aWknIcOdv-qTE9Pdjdq_wGsaES42Mv5V_ttMEhciFcw/w469-h625/easy+iced+tea+method+cold+brew.JPG" width="469" /></a></div><font size="5"><br /></font></b></div><div><b><font size="5">Cold Brewed Tea</font></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Nothing beats a crisp cup of cold brewed tea on a hot day. It's simple to make, and just requires a little time to brew to your desired strength.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Necessary Equipment: </b>A pitcher or vessel to brew the tea in. I love using something like <a href="https://amzn.to/2Wp6PPF" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> for my fridge, as it makes a large amount of tea and has a nice stopper to keep it covered. The glass is also quite strong and sturdy. Optional: loose leaf tea filters like <a href="uberspot@mac.com" target="_blank">these</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>For something a little more elegant, I have a <b><a href="https://amzn.to/32koHPr" target="_blank">few of these</a></b>, for smaller batches. They are beautiful and are great for presentation. They also fit the shelf on the fridge door.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Directions: </b>Add about 2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea per cup of water- either directly into a pitcher or into a loose leaf tea filter. Fill up with water and pop into the fridge. Brew at least 8-12 hours, but you can go longer with great results. Strain the leaves as you pour the tea if you left them in the pitcher.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Notes: </b>Many oxidized and roasted teas won't get bitter or over-brewed this way so you can brew as long as you like. White teas also seem to do well with a long brew. Greener teas may become a bit astringent if left too long, so taste every few hours and see what you think. Don't forget to try herbals with this, as they work just as well. You can also use teabags for cold brewing, just add 2 teabags per cup of water.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to sweeten your tea, make a simple syrup mixture instead of using sugar. This will dissolve fully and give you a better tasting sip. To make simple syrup: combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Gently bring to a boil and stir until dissolved. Cool fully and you can leave in the fridge until you need to sweeten your tea.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iMVw76xq0Xv-Dt-r0am-WzqiTH9uNjA8T3B5H_d-QIJUFIw_xpqZ8vl4bJCP8uCqbdbX0fO7yFHPOqC27yiJjUWa_h12n5UE0-uEjHETrMbd4-jaltrSFygeNTvpYwQrb9UqAabf_s0f/s2048/easy+iced+tea+method+shaken.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iMVw76xq0Xv-Dt-r0am-WzqiTH9uNjA8T3B5H_d-QIJUFIw_xpqZ8vl4bJCP8uCqbdbX0fO7yFHPOqC27yiJjUWa_h12n5UE0-uEjHETrMbd4-jaltrSFygeNTvpYwQrb9UqAabf_s0f/w469-h625/easy+iced+tea+method+shaken.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><font size="5"><br /></font></b></div><div><b><font size="5">Shaker Chilled Tea</font></b></div><div><br /></div><div>I <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2018/07/shake-it-up-how-to-flash-chill-your-tea.html" target="_blank">wrote about this flash chilling method</a> a few years ago, and recently noticed that Té Company posted <a href="https://tecompanytea.com/collections/shaken-tea" target="_blank">their own version</a>, reminding me give it another try. It's a great way to have a strong cup of iced tea with an amazing texture.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Necessary Equipment: </b>A cocktail shaker (I have <a href="https://amzn.to/2WljMKc" target="_blank">this one</a>) or a jar with a good fitting lid, ice, spoon.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Directions: </b>Make a small pot of a double-strength hot brewed tea (if you normally use 1 tsp of tea or 1 teabag per cup of water, make it 2), brew for 10 minutes and allow to cool to room temperature. Fill about 1/3 of a cocktail shaker with ice, and pour in the tea. Shake like crazy! Té Company recommends at least 33 shakes, and I say go for more. The more you shake, the more froth you'll get. When you're done shaking, remove the lid and pour into a glass. Most shakers have a strainer-like top, be sure <b>not</b> to pour through this or you can damage the beautiful froth.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Notes</b>: You can pour over ice, but I enjoy the texture of the foam without the interruption of the ice cubes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Use a spoon to get all of that foamy goodness out of the shaker!</div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to sweeten this brew, add some simple syrup to the ingredients in the shaker, before you shake.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4V2POij9lqASiUg72IvQM7ogWMtKgOYnQU05JuImhT5cXPnFDAp2vkUrM9QOBfvn7U_ydCkdSM6uhx0NjKAirgPo03tEY9diErdWykib9MKN0MxuvsLluUW5IaG5Bi4M1sM5vpYZ7xNZ/s2048/easy+iced+tea+method+fizzy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4V2POij9lqASiUg72IvQM7ogWMtKgOYnQU05JuImhT5cXPnFDAp2vkUrM9QOBfvn7U_ydCkdSM6uhx0NjKAirgPo03tEY9diErdWykib9MKN0MxuvsLluUW5IaG5Bi4M1sM5vpYZ7xNZ/w469-h625/easy+iced+tea+method+fizzy.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><font size="5"><br /></font></b></div><div><b><font size="5"><br /></font></b></div><div><b><font size="5">Fizzy Brewed Tea</font></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>This is my newest obsession! A refreshing, festive drink that doesn't need any added sweeteners. It's as easy to make as a regular cold-brew, and is super festive and refreshing. Plus, if you're a fan of those fizzy flavored seltzers, these are a great alternative without any questionable added 'natural flavor'. I think I first came across the idea for this method from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CCMVPhrAXw4/?igshid=ufovsrqjwufc" target="_blank">In Pursuit Of Tea's Instagram post</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Necessary Equipment: </b>A small bottle of sparking water or seltzer. Or prepare a bottle of carbonated water if you have a SodaStream. I prefer smaller bubbles, so I use sparkling water. But go with what you like best.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Directions: </b>Uncap a small bottle of bubbly water and add about 1 tsp of tea per 1 cup of water. You can err on the side of less tea here, and see how you like it. It's easy to add more next time, instead of having a brew that is too strong. Put the cap back on, and leave in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Have a taste, and see if it's ready. Not yet? Try another hour or two. Simply pour through a strainer into your glass and enjoy.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Notes:</b> Herbal teas work great for this preparation, as do teas with floral and fruity flavors.</div><div><br /></div><div>The tea seems to infuse much quicker in carbonated water than in still water. This is helpful since you don't want to go 8+ hours of brew time and risk loosing fizz.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you don't want to steep directly into your fizzy water, you can make a standard cold-brew and add a few splashes of fizzy to your cup for some bubbly goodness.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>I used <a href="https://tielka.com/collections/organic-tea/products/limonada-rosa-herbal-infusion-loose-leaf-box" target="_blank">'Limonata Rosa' from Tielka Tea</a> for my fizzy tea in the photo above, and the beautiful color makes it look like pink champagne! It's sweet, fruity, and beautifully floral. Such a festive sip!</div><div><br /></div></div>Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-85013706002566253972020-06-11T14:19:00.006-04:002021-07-18T09:52:47.083-04:00Black-Owned Tea Businesses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge58q6P7us3Y80j8ANdYT9_qvp1ioliU7Ofb4NUQM2o8aWvDLQEfRfXj7icCOriu4tmYoR-LPneMMYY0qF_mTcUogV5ptxFLZRJcqrIu_riylU-RBLfyVrhi74rN8iZ3QBEnrPG0dy-vda/s1600/camellia+sinensis+8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge58q6P7us3Y80j8ANdYT9_qvp1ioliU7Ofb4NUQM2o8aWvDLQEfRfXj7icCOriu4tmYoR-LPneMMYY0qF_mTcUogV5ptxFLZRJcqrIu_riylU-RBLfyVrhi74rN8iZ3QBEnrPG0dy-vda/s640/camellia+sinensis+8.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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We all need to support black-owned tea businesses. I often get questions on where to purchase tea, and I've created a comprehensive list of as many black-owned tea businesses as I can find. This list is based on recommendations, online lists, and word of mouth. Everything from local shops to online stores.<br />
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<i>This post will be continually updated as I discover more places to add, so please add your favorites in the comments</i><br />
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<b>Black-Owned Online Shops</b><br />
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<a href="https://www.adjournteahouse.com/" target="_blank">Adjourn Tea House</a>: Based in Virginia, this woman-owned shop specializes in limited edition, unique hand blended teas and accessories.<br />
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<a href="https://beaswellnessteas.com/" target="_blank">Bea's Wellness Teas</a>: Woman-owned shop with a focus on functional herbal blends<br />
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<a href="https://www.theblackleaftea.com/" target="_blank">The Black Leaf Tea And Culture Shop</a>: Woman-owned shop with uniquely formulated tea blends.<br />
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<a href="https://www.classyhippieteaco.com/" target="_blank">Classy Hippie Tea Co</a>: California based shop with many creative blends.<br />
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<a href="https://dwellteaco.com/collections/tea-1" target="_blank">Dwell Tea Co</a>: With a focus on tea and community, this DC based brand offers tea blends and accessories<br />
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<a href="https://ellisislandtea.com/" target="_blank">Ellis Island Tea</a>: Refreshing bottled iced tea and tisanes from heritage family recipes.<br />
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<a href="https://handsofsage.bigcartel.com/" target="_blank">Hands of Sage:</a> Mom-owned with a focus on wellness and herbal blends<br />
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<a href="https://www.thehealher.com/shop" target="_blank">Heal Her</a>: Woman-owned with a focus on healing, the site offers various herbal blends.<br />
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<a href="https://hollandandhollandent.com/" target="_blank">Holland and Holland Teas</a>: Family-owned company based in Virginia. Offering organic blends.<br />
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<a href="https://hellatea.com/" target="_blank">Hella Te</a>a: Inspired by both tea and Hip-Hop culture this shop offers fun and creative blends.<br />
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<a href="https://www.ivystea.com/" target="_blank">Ivy's Tea Co.</a>: Woman and herbalist owned shop inspired by pop culture and Hip-Hop. Focus on herbals and holistic health.<br />
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<a href=" https://www.kimbees.com/" target="_blank">Kim Bees</a>: Woman-owned shop with black tea blends and bottled teas.<br />
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<a href="https://www.kemiyahstea.com/" target="_blank">Ke'Miyah's Tea</a>: Woman-owned shop for relaxing blends and herbals.<br />
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<a href="https://ladyroseteas.com/" target="_blank">Lady Rose Specialty Teas:</a> Herbal teas for health and wellness, based in Virginia.<br />
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<a href="http://www.littleurbantea.com/" target="_blank">Little Urban Tea Co</a>: Loose-leaf tea company from Virginia. Focus on naturally flavored blends.<br />
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<a href="https://mymusicalitea.com/" target="_blank">Musicalitea</a>: Veteran-owned, Fl based loose leaf and herbal tea seller.<br />
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<a href="https://www.nirvana-tea.com/aboutus.asp" target="_blank">Nirvana Tea</a>: Woman-owned shop with loose leaf teas, blends and tisanes.<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.roseglowtearoom.com/" target="_blank">Rose Glow Tea Room</a>: CBD infused tea blends from a certified tea sommelier and herbalist.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://samayaherbals.com/" target="_blank">Samaya Herbals</a>: Herbal teas and infused honeys from a woman-owned shop based in Maryland.</div><div><br />
<a href="https://sistateas.com/" target="_blank">Sista Teas</a>: Woman-owned online store for tea blends and accessories.<br />
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<a href="https://www.tbydaniel.com/" target="_blank">T By Daniel</a>: Canadian tea company with wildly creative blends and a selection of pure teas.<br />
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<a href="https://www.trueserenitytea.com/" target="_blank">True Serenity Tea</a>: Offering monthly tea subscription boxes of loose leaf teas and herbal blends.<br />
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<a href="https://taylormadeholistic.com/" target="_blank">Taylor Made Holistic</a>: Independent Online shop offering herbals and tea blends<br />
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<a href="https://www.theteapractitioner.com/" target="_blank">The Tea Practitioner</a>: Woman-owned shop based in Canada, a wide range of teas and tea kits available.<br />
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<a href="https://www.withmeaning.org/" target="_blank">Teas With Meaning</a>: California based, woman-owned shop that specializes in hand-crafted loose leaf seasonal blends and herbals.<br />
<br /><a href="https://www.thetwenteacompany.com/" target="_blank">TwenTea Company</a>: Texas based, woman-owned shop with a large selection of teas and blends. 20% of all profits go toward raising awareness for suicide prevention and supporting organizations involved in suicide care.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.yesdarlingtea.com" target="_blank">Yes Darling</a>: Woman-owned shop with a range of useful wellness tea blends. Soothing bath tea (large teabags to steep in your bath water) is also available.<br /><div> <div>
<b>Black-Owned Brick and Mortar And Online Shops</b><br />
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<a href="https://brooklyntea.com/" target="_blank">Brooklyn Tea</a>: A well-loved shop in the community, they also offer pure teas and blends online as well as tea accessories.<br />
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<a href="https://www.calabashtea.com/" target="_blank">Calabash Tea and Tonic</a>: DC based shop with two locations. Offering loose leaf teas and blends with a focus on herbals.<br />
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<a href="https://cuplesteahouse.com/" target="_blank">Cuples Tea House</a>: Maryland shop run by a husband and wife team. Focus on tea blends and tea events.<br />
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<a href="https://inisips.com/" target="_blank">Ini Sips</a>: Veteran and family owed shop based in Connecticut. They sell a range of sell loose leaf pure teas, blends, and herbals as well as tea accessories.<br />
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<a href="https://justaddhoney.net/" target="_blank">Just Add Honey:</a> Based in Atlanta, GA. specialization in blends, holistic herbs and tea accessories.<br />
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<a href="https://jayidache.com/" target="_blank">Jayida Che</a>: Family owned shop with tea blends and herbals, based in Georgia<br />
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<a href="https://plentea.ca/" target="_blank">Plentea:</a> Toronto tea bar with an online tea company for unique blended teas.<br />
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<a href="https://serengetiteasandspices.com/" target="_blank">Serengeti Tea and Spice Company</a>: A community favorite tea shop on 125th street in Manhattan, and an online shop with everything from interesting blends to single-estate teas from Africa.<br />
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<a href="https://serenitytearoom.com/" target="_blank">Serenity Tea Room</a>: Family owned Maryland shop serving delicious food and teas. You can purchase loose leaf teas, bone china teaware, and even scones and curds in their online shop.<br />
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<a href="https://thesteepedleaf.shop/" target="_blank">The Steeped Leaf Shop</a>: Woman-owned shop offering a large selection of organic teas and teaware.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teatopiastl.com/" target="_blank">Teatopia</a>: Missouri based shop selling pure and blended teas as well as food for pick-up.<br />
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<a href="https://wellnessteatherapy.com/" target="_blank">Wellness Tea Therapy</a>: Woman-owned shop based in Brooklyn, NY. Specializing in wellness blends and tea accessories.</div></div></div>Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-78862057754141751022020-05-28T22:01:00.000-04:002020-05-28T22:01:41.367-04:00How COVID-19 Is Affecting Tea Vendors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's a difficult time for everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I've wondered how tea vendors have been faring in this unprecedented environment. I recently published a post about <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2020/03/novel-coronavirus-and-chinese-tea.html" target="_blank">how Chinese Tea Vendors were doing</a> during the pandemic, and I decided to check in with a few tea industry friends, to see how COVID-19 has affected their tea businesses.<br />
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I spoke with a few tea vendors and online sellers. I wanted to get a sample of individuals working with brick and mortar tea stores, and also those selling tea online. I had the pleasure of speaking with:<br />
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Elena Liao, co-owner of <a href="https://tecompanytea.com/" target="_blank">Té Company</a><br />
Kevin Gascoyne co-owner of <a href="https://camellia-sinensis.com/en" target="_blank">Camellia Sinensis</a>.<br />
David Campbell owner of <a href="http://www.tillermantea.net/" target="_blank">Tillerman Tea</a><br />
Martin Connelly owner of <a href="https://littleredcuptea.com/" target="_blank">Little Red Cup Tea Company</a><br />
Theresa Wong, owner of <a href="https://www.tshopny.com/" target="_blank">T-Shop</a><br />
Ana Dane <a href="https://www.inpursuitoftea.com/" target="_blank">of In Pursuit of Tea</a></div>
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They gave many observations and insights on how COVID-19 is affecting their tea businesses. Read about the concerns, issues, changes in sales, and surprises they've come across, below.</div>
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<b>What are your biggest concerns regarding COVID-19 and your company?</b><br /><br /><b>Elena Liao</b>: Our tearoom is closed during the NYC pandemic shutdown. Before the shutdown, the safety of the staff was our biggest concern. Once we closed, it was all about making sure we can stay afloat as the tearoom revenue was our main source of revenue. NYC is also the hardest hit area, so the duration of the closing is expected to be much longer.<div>
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<b>Kevin Gascoyne</b>: Due to the timing our first worry was, getting the Spring collection together without selecting the teas in the gardens as we have for the last 26 years. Then, on the home front, how will Camellia Sinensis survive this unknown journey into a new future? </div>
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<br />Government help allowed us to temporarily send 45 of our 62 staff home while we quickly restructured with a skeleton crew. <br /><br />At the Tea Studio we closed to follow lock-down instructions and sent the workers home with full pay as the Indian Government does not have the resources for such programs.<br /><br />Wholesale slowed right down with restaurants, hotels and many stores on our client list closing. We kept just one small store open and closed our teahouses, other stores and all school activities.<br /><br />Our current concern, as deconfinement approaches in increments, is putting it all back together in a new form that suits the new set of market variables. Looking after the staff by gradually re-hiring, as we tentatively test the new waters, with a system that makes sense economically.</div>
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<b>David Campbell: </b>I have been fortunate in that shipping channels between
Taiwan and the United States have remained open thus far. As a specialist in
Taiwanese tea, I would have nothing other to offer were the supply chain
interrupted. My biggest concern for Tillerman is maintaining access to my
growers and producers.</div>
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The other major concern is the cancellation of tea
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<b>Martin Connelly</b>: We are lucky in that we operate our business out of a building adjacent to our home and have no employees, it's just family members. Because of this we've been able to work straight through. Our biggest impact has been canceled trips to China to visit with our growing and processing partners and adding "classroom teacher for our children" to the list of things we do all day. Our biggest concerns are the same as everyone else's, that the world is a scary place right now. We're worried about ourselves and about our friends around the world. It is also especially difficult to make business plans right now in terms of how much tea we should be ordering, and where we should be devoting our limited time.</div>
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<b>Theresa Wong</b>: My biggest concern is (and some people has been asking me as well)- is the business going to be okay? And honestly at this point we really don’t know yet. People love our physical tearoom. This is a place where people can slow down and spend some time. They enjoy having tea there, it’s also a place for tea drinkers to meet, to share experiences, and to learn. When the business can open again, we will need to practice social distancing for the safety of everyone, so there will be a period of time we cannot run the tearoom like before. People love our tea events like Tea Making Monday or special tasting session, but we will not have events until we feel safe to do so. <br /><br />We don’t know how long will it take until everything can go back to normal. Of course sooner is better, but we cannot rush. We need to be extra cautious to protect us, our employee, and customers.</div>
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<b>Ana Dane</b>: Staying viable. It's been a truly unprecedented—and completely unforeseen—situation we've all found ourselves in here in NY. No one could have dreamed the entire hospitality industry would evaporate in 48 hours, but that's pretty much what happened. And it looks like it's going to be a bit more time before restaurants and hotels are back up and running here. As that market has been the bulk of our business for over twenty years, it's been a challenge to navigate.<br /><br />Obtaining 2020 spring harvest has also been difficult. For the most part, the tea is being made at origin, it's just that the breakdown of the supply chain and logistics of getting it over the U.S. is still a huge obstacle. However, we are expecting a few lots of Darjeeling 1st Flush (finally) in the next few days, so keep your fingers crossed!</div>
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<b>If you have a brick and mortar shop, how long has it been closed? For online, have you seen any changes in your online sales?</b><br /><br /><b>Elena:</b> We have been closed since the middle of March. Yes we have seen very positive online sales. Many of our guests, some live 2 blocks away, are now purchasing our teas and cookies online! We are lucky to have such wonderful customers who are incredibly supportive of us.<br /><br /><b> Kevin</b>: Naturally a large amount of retail switched to web sales which initially saw a heavy increase in traffic. The small store that remained opened also saw an increase in sales. The company however saw a reduction in overall sales eased slightly by the reduction in salary expenditure. </div>
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<b>David:</b> No, my year to date sales have increased over last year by exactly $2.44. Fulfilling orders has been a challenge given that I am not at home during this crisis.</div>
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<b>Martin</b>: Our internet sales have been quite steady. Our sales to restaurants, cafes, and stores are down considerably.<br /><br /><b>Ana:</b> In terms of our customer base, no more restaurants, of course, but a lot more retail sales—folks are at home, and perhaps some are for the first time incorporating tea into their daily routine or learning how to prepare it themselves. What types of tea people are buying hasn't shifted all that much, it's a healthy mix of the crowd pleasers (Assam, Earl Grey, Genmaicha, matcha) and some of the smaller lot, more limited or unusual picks (Thunder Dragon Green, Taiwanese high mountain oolongs).</div>
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<b>Have you heard any feedback from your customers regarding the coronavirus and buying tea?</b><br /><br /><b>Kevin:</b> In the one small trusty store that remained open clients were so relieved to find us open as an essential food product but also as a small beacon of normality.</div>
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<b>Martin:</b> Really early on we had customers expressing support for Chinese products as a small anti-racist action. Beyond that we've been hearing more from customers who are used to shopping in stores. Some of them are buying tea online for the first time. </div>
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<b>Has there been any surprising positive or negative effects to your business during this time?</b><br /><b>Elena:</b> I think people have been doing a lot more teatime at home to break up the day, which is great! We also get overwhelming amounts of love notes from our customers asking about our health and safety which was so kind. We are very thankful!</div>
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<b>Kevin:</b> We felt that having the diversity of sales channels, retail-wholesale-internet etc, allowed us to move our clients from one form of purchase to another to suit their new needs and situation. It will continue to be an advantage as we move forward. Once the restaurants and other stores open and a new normality is established we will have more of an idea as to how the overall picture has changed for us.</div>
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<b>David:</b> All of my business is done online so I am insulated from the effects that those who have brick and mortar must be facing. For me it has been very much “business as usual.” That will change, of course, once the festival season begins.</div>
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<b>Martin:</b> We often get nice notes from customers, but I think the number of notes is up. People are appreciative of both our service and our comforting products. </div>
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<b>Theresa:</b> Surprising but not so surprised, some people have spent more time on tea at home. Tea drinkers have virtual tea gatherings. Tea sales have gone up due to higher consumption. <br /><br />The negative effects are more on the supply and sourcing side. The supply becomes a little unstable due to the issues with shipment. Earlier last month I had a farmer did not want to sent me tea because shipping takes much longer time and higher risk of missing. A couple of my shipments from other farmers took longer time to arrive. On the sourcing side, we usually do our annual tea trip in spring or Fall. This year I was planning for the tea trip in Fall, I still don’t feel comfortable about traveling, so I might have to cancel that for safety reason. The tea trip is when we can develop relationships and have better communication with the new sources.</div>
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<b>Ana:</b> Let's just focus on the positive...it's not the most exciting aspect, but operationally this has been a complete gift, in one way: we've all had to so severely curtail normal operations that it offers a chance to examine what has or hasn't been working in your business. Like with any small business, the days are normally so hectic that time rushes by and large-scale or foundational changes to how your company functions are very difficult to implement. We have the opportunity now to examine what we can do better: how can we support more tea farmers by getting their incredible harvests into the hands of more tea drinkers? How can we improve our offerings, our packaging, our educational tools?</div>
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Each tea company has been affected by the pandemic in different ways, but everyone noted tea drinkers are buying tea online as much as, or more than before. We are also finding new and creative ways to share tea together during this crazy time. Thank you to everyone that took the time out to answer my questions. I know it isn't easy to find the time and focus, and I'm so glad I can share all of these important tea insights with everyone.</div>
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-55457009970931615512020-03-26T15:31:00.000-04:002020-03-26T15:32:29.710-04:00Tea Activities To Do At Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been a tough few weeks, and I know many people have it far worse. Living in the middle of a huge COVID-19 outbreak in NYC has been tough, but my family and I are trying to take it one day at a time. Sometimes one minute at a time when even a day becomes too much.<br />
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Blogging has been tough lately as I'm working from home while making sure my family is healthy and safe. But I thought it would be helpful to put together a few tea-related things to do if you are staying at home as much as possible.<br />
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<b>Support Small Tea Vendors</b><br />
Independent tea vendors need our help now more than ever. Brick and Mortar stores have had to close, but most places are doing online sales. Pick your favorite vendors and either purchase tea, teaware or gift cards if you don't need any products right now. There are so many places to choose from. I will work on a post highlighting a few vendors soon. If you have a favorite vendor, let me know in the comments of this post and I'll include it when I write about them.<br />
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<b>Host A Virtual Tea Gathering</b><br />
It's important to stay connected to our friends, and taking some time to raise a cup with a few is a great way to connect. You can use programs such as <a href="https://zoom.us/" target="_blank">zoom</a>, <a href="https://houseparty.com/" target="_blank">houseparty</a>, google hangouts or facebook messenger hangouts to get together. I'd love to set up a few hangouts so let me know if you're interested.<br />
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<b>Take Some Tea Outside</b><br />
For those of us that are able to get out of the house and walk through a park or other outdoor space, try to take your tea outside. Or even just have tea on a fire escape, balcony, or by an open window. All you need is a thermos of hot water, a brewing vessel and a cup. I've been trying to do this as much as possible, and it has helped tremendously. Feeling the crisp fresh air, listening to birds, and sipping tea while staying socially distant.<br />
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<b>Try A Tea Meditation</b><br />
I recently wrote a post about <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2020/02/how-to-do-your-own-tea-meditation-any.html" target="_blank">doing your own tea meditation</a>. Just take a few minutes for yourself and really focus on your tea. No matter how you do it, give yourself a little bit of time to completely unplug from the world. I promise it'll help.<br />
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<b>Dig Deep Into Your Tea Stash</b><br />
I'm sure most of us have a sizeable tea stash at home. This is the perfect time to go through it and try some teas you've forgotten about. Or maybe teas you were saving for a rainy day. Those expensive samples? Break them out! Why not treat yourself!<br />
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<b>Share Your Tea Knowledge</b><br />
If you live with family, teach them a little bit about tea. Host a little family tea tasting. Or host a zoom session with friends who may be curious about tea. Sharing what you know is a great way to interact.<br />
<br />
<b>Create Tea Pairings</b><br />
You know I'm all about tea pairings. It's fun to get creative and see what flavors work together, and what doesn't. Get some snacks, maybe cook or bake a few things, and get pairing! You can read a little bit about tea pairing 101 <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2018/05/tea-pairing-101-black-tea-and-tea-sandwiches.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2018/07/world-tea-expo-2018-tea-pairing.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<b>Use All Your Teaware</b><br />
Let's admit it, we all collect teaware. If you're like me you've got your favorite pieces and those that usually get left behind. It's time to dust off the things haven't used in ages. You may just find you have a new favorite that's been lurking in your cabinet, waiting for its time to shine.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Create With Tea</b><br />
Do something creative with your tea. I mentioned tea pairings earlier, but you can also take tasting notes, write a tea-inspired story, paint with tea, or take photos of your tea. I look forward to my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tea_happiness/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> sessions, and my Tween Tea Critic has been joining me most days. I love to see what my fellow Instagrammers are doing!<br />
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<b>Find A New Tea Book</b><br />
I have a library of tea-related books, and I haven't opened every single one. When I'm ready to focus I'll probably crack a new one open and get reading. There are endless tea books out there, and even tea-focused stories. In that future post I mentioned, I'll also be listing tea books to read. Feel free to suggest your own in the comments and I'll include them.<br />
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<b>Accept That You Won't Be Productive</b><br />
Finally, please note this post is a list of things you can do, but it's not a list of things you must do. Accept that these are difficult times, and we can't focus and accomplish things the way we did before. Yes, we're at home, but that doesn't mean it's easy to get things done. We're all stressed, anxious, and distracted. Let's find ways to try and make things enjoyable, but it's not important to write a novel, become a tea scholar, or even clean the whole house. Just do what you can to get through the day.<br />
<br />
So what ideas have I missed? I'd love it if you shared some of your tea-themed stay-at-home entertainment tips!Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-53048602679774008852020-03-12T12:06:00.000-04:002020-03-12T12:06:16.524-04:00Novel Coronavirus and Chinese Tea Vendors<br />
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I've been reading articles about how the novel coronavirus has impacted the tea industry, and decided to find out how tea vendors have been faring. To start, I sent questions to various people selling Chinese tea to see how their business has (or hasn't) changed since the outbreak began in China.<br />
<br />
Before we get into what I learned, let me be clear: this isn't an article about COVID-19 with regards to health or safety issues. This is an article focusing on Chinese tea vendors and how they have been impacted by the virus. Of course other vendors around the world have been affected as well, but I decided to limit the interviews to keep the post within reason. The people I interviewed are just a few small examples of how this pandemic is affecting tea.<br /><br />As I mentioned, I thought I would check in on a few Chinese tea vendors to see what their tea-selling experience has been like lately. I had the chance to correspond with 5 tea vendors, and ask them a few questions. Below I've shared some of the answers I received- please note some of these interviews were done 1-2 weeks ago so responses may already be a bit outdated:<br />
<br />
Glen, from <a href="https://crimsonlotustea.com/" target="_blank">Crimson Lotus Tea</a>:<br />
<br />
<b>Have you heard concerns from your customers regarding the coronavirus and buying tea/teaware?</b><br />We've heard concerns from a few customers, but not many. I think we were ahead of the curve in awareness and posted information to social media and our website early. (<a href="https://crimsonlotustea.com/blogs/news/china-post-shipping-update-and-concerns">https://crimsonlotustea.com/blogs/news/china-post-shipping-update-and-concerns</a>) There is little to no reason to be concerned about getting the virus from a package since the virus can't live for long outside of a biological host. <br /><br /><b>Have you noticed a change in sales since the onset of the coronavirus?</b><br />I think that we're starting to. Not so much from fear of contamination but because there is so much uncertainty and delay for orders shipping from China. Nearly all of our orders are fulfilled and shipped from our warehouse in Kunming, Yunnan, China. We have seen very few packages successfully delivered since quarantines started a few weeks ago. Many packages get returned and others are just stuck. Again we wanted to be open with our customers and have warned them as soon as we started to see issues. We've ramped up the ability to ship from our Seattle inventory to compensate. <br /><br /><b>What is your biggest concern about the effects of the coronavirus on your company?</b><br />Obviously our first concern is with the safety and well being of our associates in Yunnan and all the citizens of China. This is a scary time for everyone and if it is safer to wait a few more weeks for packages to be delivered then to try to rush deliveries and maybe increase infection we're all for delaying things. We have a really amazing group of customers and we feel that they understand and agree with our values. It's going to be a difficult year for anyone whose business has any tie to China. We'll do what we can and see where it goes.<br /><br /><b>Are you concerned that the virus will have an impact on your business in the long term?</b><br />We do have our concerns. It's not so much the virus itself but the long term economic effects for the whole world. The ripple effects of the impact to the Chinese economy could be long lasting and far reaching. <br /><br />
Paul, from <a href="https://white2tea.com/" target="_blank">white2tea</a>:<br />
<br />
<b>Have you noticed a change in sales since the onset of the coronavirus?</b><br />It’s been more or less the same for us. Some customers have expressed concerns, but I think most people understand that a virus would not survive a week or more journey without a host, so it’s been pretty typical business for white2tea /teaware.house other than the shipping delays.<br /><br /><b>Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about the Chinese tea industry related to the effects of the coronavirus?</b><br />One thing to consider is whether workers will be able to safely pick and process tea during the spring. With travel between provinces and countries hampered by the virus there is a possibility that workers will not be able to travel safely or have safe work environments. That being said, China has taken some aggressive measures to get the situation under control; hopefully that will help both China and the rest of the world keep the situation under control.<div>
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Jonah from <a href="https://www.bitterleafteas.com/" target="_blank">Bitterleaf Teas</a>:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Have you heard concerns from your customers regarding the
coronavirus and buying tea/teaware?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We received a number of questions during the Coronavirus. It
has died down a little more recently (end of February), but early on it was
daily. The concerns ranged from whether there is risk of infection by buying
products from China, to whether we are continuing to ship orders or whether
China Post/Customs are still processing orders. We had the same response each time, which has been that
there is 0 risk, we are operating (almost) as normal, shipping 1-2 times per
week in order to minimize how much time we spend outside and that China Post
and Customs are operating as normal. For us, we let our employees stay in their
hometowns and my partner and I processed all orders ourselves. We also didn’t
hear anything from China Post about delays, and haven’t experienced any yet,
based on the packages that have been sent since late January.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even with all of this, we’ve noticed misinformation and
unnecessary concern still popping up online.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Have you noticed a change in sales since the onset of the
coronavirus?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have noted a significant drop in sales since the start of
this scare. This is obviously not something we like to see, but it is to be
expected. We have tried to stay positive and accept that it will be temporary,
as well as consider ourselves lucky compared to the many other businesses in
China that have had to fold during this period due to lack of revenue.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Being a small company can be an advantage or disadvantage,
depending on how you look at it. We don’t have the resources of large
companies, but we also don’t have the same overhead and responsibilities. As a
fairly small, independently operated company, we can be flexible and even make
lifestyle adjustments to offset short terms setbacks. If we had high rent, a
retail shop, a large payroll, etc, then we would be feeling the financial hit
much more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>What is your biggest concern about the effects of the
coronavirus on your company?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our biggest concern right now is not for our immediate
revenue (although reduced cash flow when heading into the biggest purchasing
months is not ideal), but how it will affect those we work with and our ability
to source new spring tea this year. So far it seems everything is improving,
and just in time. But if our ability to travel to the tea mountains and source
new teas is restricted, then it will make it difficult to find new teas,
inspect gardens, liaise with farmers, etc. It wouldn’t “cancel” spring tea, but
it could limit our buying, if trying to maintain our typical standards.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other concern has been with teaware. We have not been
able to restock very much teaware as the small studios and artists we buy from
have not been back to work. Jingdezhen was blocking any non-locals (including
those from other provinces who live and work there) from returning. Many
artists and their workers couldn’t return, although I think this situation is
improving as well. There may be a backlog of orders for them though, which we
anticipate will cause delays for us to restock.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other aspects were affected too. During this time we
couldn’t even restock cardboard boxes for shipping. We barely made it through
though, and found another supplier to send us some boxes just in time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again, I feel we’re in a fortunate position where we have
been able to maintain, but there has definitely been disruption. We do
anticipate things will be returning to normal soon though, so hopefully things
like spring tea are unaffected. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Are you concerned that the virus will have an impact on
your business in the long term?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To be honest, we’re not too concerned that this will affect
us in the long term (1+ years). If it spreads outside of China and affects the
global economy, then we can anticipate it impacting our business for several
more months. Again, this is not something we want, not just for ourselves but
for all the other businesses and people who will suffer. But if it does happen,
it won’t be forever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re optimistic that in a year from now this will be history.
We can’t see into the future, but if the course of this is similar to SARS or
other scares from the last 20 years, there is typically a good recovery period
that follows shortly after. We’re also fortunate that our customer base is very
supportive. Many of them have continued to support us during this time, even
with the uncertainty and fear that’s all around. We’re quite lucky to be part
of a community like this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about the
Chinese tea industry related to the effects of the coronavirus?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The one thing that we have stressed during this period is
that there is no risk of being infected through tea or teaware purchased from
China. I think most people are aware of this by now, but the question occasionally
still pops up, and we want people to be informed. We also are not experiencing
any shipping delays at this point, so if purchasing from a China based vendors
that is still processing orders, it should arrive within a normal timeframe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Otherwise, just try not to fall prey to the fear and media
scare. That’s not to say dismiss the threat, but try not to get overrun by
emotions. Do your best to stay safe if it’s spread to your country, and try to
have compassion for those affected, whether they’re close or far. This has been
a difficult time for many, and a lot of innocent people have been affected.
We’re all in this together, on some level.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Angel from <a href="https://www.teavivre.com/" target="_blank">TeaVivre</a>:<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Have you heard concerns from your customers regarding the
coronavirus and buying tea/teaware?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, a small number of clients have the concerns and send us
emails to cancel the orders. But many clients think the coronavirus have no
effect on the wrapped and packed tea and teaware. Anyway, we totally understand
these feelings and concerns and also we respect them and their choice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Have you noticed a change in sales since the onset of the
coronavirus?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because the spread of coronavirus occurred during the
traditional Chinese Spring Festival, my first reaction was that no matter what
the circumstances, I must guarantee the safety of each colleague and each
client, so we decided to extend the holidays for Xiamen warehouse and did not
ship the packages. All staffs work online from home. We also sent emails to our
clients who were still waiting for the delivery to explain the current
situation. During the past 1 month, we only retained the US warehouse. Frankly
speaking, our sales fell by more than 50% during this period, but I think the
health of our staffs and clients is more important than sales. Health and life
are always my first consideration.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about
the Chinese tea industry related to the effects of the coronavirus?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope readers can know I have been in touch with our
cooperated tea gardens and tea farmers. From their information, tea gardens are
in good condition, like the town of Qiandao Lake tea garden, the Longjing
producing area, the whole area even has no one case. Other areas may have sporadic
cases, but they all occur in densely cities. The tea gardens are far away from
cities, even among high mountains, so the tea gardens are not affected. At
present many tea gardens are preparing for 2020 Spring teas. Thank you for your care and support. We have carefully
read every emails and messages that you sent to us. During the difficult days,
your kind words, understanding and support give me and my team great encouragement,
comfort and confidence. At present, considering that Xiamen has no new cases
for 18 days from Feb. 18 and all the 35 coronavirus<span class="tlid-translation"> patients</span> have been cured on March 4, we consider
gradually resuming the delivery of the Xiamen warehouse. We will continue to
pay attention to the situation and provide good tea to you based on measures to
guarantee safety. It is you who gave us the courage and confidence to go
through the darkness. Thanks again for being with us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Daniel of <a href="https://helloteababy.com/" target="_blank">Tea Baby</a>:<br />
<b>Have you noticed a change in sales since the onset of the coronavirus?</b><br />
Yes, a lot. People are encouraged to stay in home, no one go to tea shop; Luckily online sales still available but some people can not enter their warehouse and shipping speed is much slower.
The good is we drink more tea at home.<br />
<br />
<b>What is your biggest concern about the effects of the coronavirus on your company?</b><br />
The post affection worries me more than what happing now, people will be cautious to gather together, and try to stay in home as long as they can. When the tea harvesting begins, the shortage of labors will be a big problem.
Last year, the salary for the labor was about 30USD/DAY per people, right now it’s about 60USD, and workers come from other region needs to be quarantined for 14 days before start work.<br />
--<br />
<br />
I think these answers give some perspective to the tea vending situation, and I hope to speak with more people around the world as things develop. I do know that since these interviews took place, many companies have been able rectify shipping issues they've had. Thank you to Glen, Paul, Jonah, Angel, and Daniel for taking the time out to answer my questions!</div>
Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-55758011345191638712020-02-20T15:58:00.000-05:002020-02-20T15:58:36.667-05:00How To Do Your Own Tea Meditation Any Time Of Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's tough to find mindfulness in our busy lives. I try to set aside a few minutes for tea and quiet every day, but often there is only time for a few sips. Taking just a short few moments from the day to pause, make tea and breathe will help the day improve. Here are a few tips on how to create your own form of tea meditation no matter where you are, or what you have with you.<br />
<br />
<b>Tea Meditation- Stay In The Moment</b><br />
First, it's important to point out that no matter what you do, staying in the moment is key. I personally look at it as a moment for myself, and nothing else. It doesn't need to be anything greater than this!<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I've been slowly reading the book <a href="https://amzn.to/39QPvHD" target="_blank">Every Day a Good Day</a> by Noriko Morishita which is about the author's 25 year journey of learning chanoyu (the Japanese way of tea), and how it has shaped her life. One of the main things she learned is to always stay in the moment, and fully experience.<br />
Morishita is constantly reminded by her sensei "When you sit in front of the kettle you have to <i>be</i> in front of the kettle...pour your heart and soul into each and every movement". We can bring this concept to our own tea meditation, no matter how casual. If you're having tea, even if it's just pouring hot water into a mug with a teabag, you can slow down, and be present while it steeps.<br />
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<b>Tea Meditation- The Setup</b><br />
As I mentioned before, you don't need any special tools. Whether you have a full gongfu set up or just a mug and some hot water, go with it. The main thing is to pause your day and try to focus on your moment. This isn't time to multitask, or take tasting notes. Just be with your tea!<br />
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If you can find a quiet place, great! If not, go with what you've got. Maybe you're in a cubicle in a large office or a similarly noisy environment. If you have headphones, I'd suggest using them. If not, just try to be in the moment and breathe (and try to ignore Janet from accounting).<br />
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<b>A Sample Tea Meditation</b><br />
As I mentioned, it's important to go with what you've got. Maybe you don't even have a few minutes for a full tea meditation. I often pause in the middle of a workday for just enough time to grab some hot water and steep my tea. I'll use the precious seconds while my tea is steeping to breathe, enjoy the tea's aroma, and clear my mind. Even if it's brief, give it a try.<br />
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If you can spare a few more moments, here is a sample tea meditation that you can use as a guide and tailor to you own needs. The key is to do everything mindfully. Be aware, focus, and try to clear your mind of everything else (if you can- and if you can't, just acknowledge how you are feeling).<br />
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If you have a hot water kettle, let's start there. While you are heating the water, take a listen. What do you hear around you? Can you focus on the different sounds the water makes as it starts to get warmer? Can you slow your breathing while you wait for the kettle to boil?<br />
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If you are near a window, maybe take a few moments to observe. What's the weather like? How does it make you feel? Can you hear anything outside? If you're in a crowded area, it's important to still stay in the present. Focus on where you are, and the act of making tea.<br />
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When you add your leaves (or tea bag) to your vessel, take a moment to observe. How do the leaves look? Smell? Feel? You can take your time with this, or simply give it a quick glance, whatever time allows.<br />
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Add your water to the leaves and observe with all your senses. Enjoy the aromas and warmth of the vessel. Observe the tea and how the colors and aroma change while it steeps.<br />
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When it's time to taste, observe the flavors and aromas and how they make you feel. Enjoy the warmth (or refreshing cold, if you have an icy brew). Do the flavors remind you of anything? Particular foods or past experiences?<br />
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All of this can take a few seconds, or much longer, depending on what you can spare.<br />
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<b>Tea Meditation- Take a moment to reflect</b><br />
Once I've taken a few sips, observed, and perhaps taken a few slow breaths, I like to focus a moment on gratitude for the tea. Thankfulness to all aspects of tea- from the plant, to the earth, to the people growing, plucking, processing, shipping, etc. You can of course show gratitude for whatever you like. Or don't... like I said, do whatever works for you in your tea moment.<br />
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<b>Tea Meditation-Go Easy On Yourself</b><br />
To be honest, I'm awful at meditation. I have a hard time clearing my mind and sitting still. But I find that through a tea meditation I can briefly calm my nerves, stop the world, and focus on mindfulness. I don't approach it as zen meditation or connecting with a higher universe. It's just to give time back to myself. And fully enjoy a good cup of tea. It's a time to be with yourself, and push the world out of your mind for a few moments.<br />
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-12324239659670004272020-02-13T14:31:00.002-05:002020-02-13T14:31:55.912-05:00The History Of English Breakfast Tea<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOrw3lRaK26kEuFLAdy7VsuxOJ7q9l59BnjDPgbeh1hQz1axSG1mVAol6SrQunfIx6lAx82Og60ZSNWn9wRVUfEmTT1AMXnmDo-pbNqloA2FIt7u8BukfFABR5-f-zBqJrrhWXGBcsS_9/s1600/English+Breakfast+Tea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="932" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOrw3lRaK26kEuFLAdy7VsuxOJ7q9l59BnjDPgbeh1hQz1axSG1mVAol6SrQunfIx6lAx82Og60ZSNWn9wRVUfEmTT1AMXnmDo-pbNqloA2FIt7u8BukfFABR5-f-zBqJrrhWXGBcsS_9/s640/English+Breakfast+Tea.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">English Breakfast Tea, no milk or sugar for me</td></tr>
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Chances are you've had English Breakfast tea before. Its a staple in many restaurants and often the only black tea choice on the menu. But have you ever wondered why it's called English Breakfast tea? Is it because it came from England?<br />
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Tea didn't become a breakfast beverage until sometime in the mid eighteenth century. Up until this point tea was a pricey beverage, reserved for afternoon tea affairs. But when prices lowered it became more of an 'all day' drink. Also, it's recorded that around this time Queen Anne started taking tea instead of ale as her morning drink, which started the fashion of tea at breakfast.<br />
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If you think about it, if English Breakfast tea was named in England they probably would have called it 'Breakfast tea', not 'English', right? So maybe it makes sense that the name for this blend was actually coined elsewhere, perhaps in the United States. But was the actual black tea blend itself created here, or elsewhere? Well, various sources seem to have differing opinions.<br />
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<b>English Breakfast: NYC, or Scotland?</b><br />
Many sources point to tea merchant Richard Davies having invented 'English Breakfast' in New York City in 1843. Davies was a British immigrant working in NYC and supposedly combined Chinese teas to create the famous blend. Later, in 1884, American Robert M. Walsh published <a href="https://archive.org/details/cu31924023998184/page/n8/mode/2up" target="_blank">A Cup of Tea</a>, and mentions breakfast teas:<div>
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They are a distinct variety, differing in color, liquor, and flavor from the Oolong species, and known to trade in this country as “English Breakfast” tea, from its forming the staple shipment to England. They are produced in the province of Woo-e-shan, and derive their name from the Bow-ui (bohea) Mountains, where they are grown...bohea teas comprise Capers, Pekoes, Souchongs, Pouchong and Congous.</blockquote>
This quote indicates Chinese black and oolong teas were often enjoyed for breakfast at this time, but it doesn't really help us figure out if Davies coined the phrase. It's important to note green tea was also widely consumed during this time, but it seems that 'breakfast' teas were mostly black or oolong. A typical English breakfast during this time period was savory and meaty, so black teas would have worked well to balance out the richness.<br />
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Some sources say 'English Breakfast' was actually a Scottish invention by Scottish tea merchant Robert Drysdale in 1892 (which would also make sense, since it's called English Breakfast and not just Breakfast tea). From <a href="https://amzn.to/3bBdk84" target="_blank">Breakfast: A History</a> by Heather Arndt Anderson<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Most credit the invention of so-called English Breakfast Tea goes to one Scottish tea master called Drysdale, who purportedly developed the blend of Ceylon, Keemun, and Assam leaves to market as "Breakfast Tea" in the late 1800s.</blockquote>
Sources say Queen Victoria sampled this blend during her stay at Balmoral (the Scottish royal residence), and she returned to England with a large supply. Thus it was renamed as 'English Breakfast Tea'.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irish Breakfast Tea, no milk or sugar for me</td></tr>
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<b>English, Irish, and Scottish Breakfast</b><br />
If you look around for breakfast teas you'll see English, Irish, and Scottish breakfast blends. They all vary in flavor and strength (with Scottish supposedly being strongest). Even though English Breakfast started out as a Chinese tea blend, all three blends may contain teas from China, India, Sri Lanka and Africa (and sometimes other areas). Since there isn't a standard formula out there, it's tough to know what you're going to get.<br />
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No matter where the name comes from breakfast teas are created to stand up to milk and sugar, so they're often heavy on strength and lacking in nuanced flavor. But that's not always the case. I've found a few breakfast blends that I really enjoy and often brew them up in the morning.<br />
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I look for blends that are full loose leaf tea, with a nice balance of flavors. When you get a good one, milk and sugar isn't necessary. Since you never know how a breakfast blend is going to taste, it's best to try as many as possible!<br />
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-54635729021607018412020-01-30T13:16:00.001-05:002020-01-30T13:16:26.830-05:00Interview: Nazanin Yousefnejad of Tea Thoughts<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nazanin Yousefnejad<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">, Photo Courtesy of Tea Thoughts</span></i></td></tr>
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Tea people are the nicest people I've come across, and today's interviewee is no exception. You may have seen Nanzanin of Tea Thoughts on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/teathoughts/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> posting her beautiful tea photos, or perhaps you've visited her adorable <a href="https://www.teathoughts.shop/" target="_blank">online store</a> (I love her pins!!) or ordered her Steep It Real box. I'm so pleased to present our interview!<br />
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I had the pleasure of receiving January's Steep It Real box, and I've been enjoying it all month long. I love that the tea themed products are all useful, fun, and high quality. She even includes hand-made items. There was only one tea included in the box, but it's a full-size package and very high quality. I much prefer this over boxes that give you many sample sizes of lower quality teas and blends, many you don't really want.<br />
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Learn all about Nazanin and her passion for tea, her wonderful creative side, and her personal tea rituals in the interview below.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo Courtesy of Tea Thoughts</i></td></tr>
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<b>I know you’ve grown-up drinking tea. Can you tell us a little bit about your tea journey?</b><br />
I grew up drinking traditional Persian style tea which is usually just a black tea and in my family, mostly ceylon! I really consider my journey starting when I started my blog because when companies would send me teas to review that’s when I started drinking different types. I got several books on tea and learned more about history, cultivation etc. I think my journey took a real turn (for the better!) 1-2 years ago I was given a pu’er which prompted me to look into gongfu style practice!<br />
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<b>Why did you decide to start a tea-related blog and business?</b><br />
I’ve always been creative and loved to make things. My mom is an artist and always encouraged artistic expression through craft classes, kits and taking me to school with her while she worked. I’ve been a card maker, doll maker, jewelry maker and much more! When I got to college I really wanted to start a business of some sort but was too afraid. After graduating, I felt creatively stifled in my full time job so with a lot of encouragement from my family I started my blog on tea. It was meant to be a way for me to explore but being immersed in that world encouraged me to start my business a few months later too. I decided to open a tea themed shop to go hand in hand with my blog.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of Nazanin's pin designs. Photo Courtesy of Tea Thoughts</i></td></tr>
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<b>I love your tea pins! How do you come up with the designs?</b><br />
I am inspired by everyday practices and items. A lot of my designs in pins and other shop items are from my own photographs or items I own! Recently I have also been creating designs based off of things that have great meaning to me like the pomegranate gaiwan (two of my favorite things!) and a pin to come that has cherry blossoms. <br />
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<b>There are many subscription boxes out there, why did you decide to start Steep It Real?</b><br />
The Steep It Real Box is more like a gift box because you don’t have to subscribe to it! I will come out with 2-3 a year and they can be purchased or not. I decided to make it because I don’t feel like the tea lovers of the world are really being served by other brands. <br />
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<b>Speaking of Steep It Real, I loved my first box! I like that everything in it has a connection, and that you included one high-quality, full-sized tea instead of a bunch of ‘so-so’ teas. How do you decide what to put in the box every month?</b><br />
The Fall steep it real box was the first one where I truly tried to tie in everything with a theme and others will be the same! I basically start with the tea and go from there. I had tasted hojicha from Hojicha Co and thought it was really high quality and I wanted to support the business. From there I think about what time of year it’s being released and what are people feeling at that time? Stress? Joy? From there I tried to pick items that could address those feelings with brands that I have personally tried and liked and items that I design to fit the theme as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2krFxxSH3g1ivOfSWAWaXN5-nZ9r2GLOHrCjK_bnWlM0HzDHpSz_owtyLS9uer3dwHtBx5fHTKB31As6_z0FwW99vgoffuoGdJsM-zBKgNHsaaZ80H7_zAEeL8dYP9kvHwqhEiHCHKA7L/s1600/Steep+It+Real+Box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2krFxxSH3g1ivOfSWAWaXN5-nZ9r2GLOHrCjK_bnWlM0HzDHpSz_owtyLS9uer3dwHtBx5fHTKB31As6_z0FwW99vgoffuoGdJsM-zBKgNHsaaZ80H7_zAEeL8dYP9kvHwqhEiHCHKA7L/s640/Steep+It+Real+Box.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">The January Steep It Real box I received</i></td></tr>
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<b style="text-align: center;">Is it difficult to manage finding time for designing and blogging amidst everyday life?</b><br />
It can be! I still work a full time job so most of my off time is used to work on Tea Thoughts. I have a flexible schedule which helps but lots of late nights and weekends shut in help to bring a lot of my ideas to life. I feel so passionate about Tea Thoughts that it feels normal though, I’m not sure what I did with all my free time before Tea Thoughts :)<br />
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<b>I love the tea recipes you create. Do you have a favorite?</b><br />
Thank you! I really love to bake and cook so I wanted that to be the focus of my blog so that people could see that tea can easily be incorporated into everyday life! It’s really hard to pick a favorite but I think the tiramisu is one of my favorites. On my blog I used a chai blend but I also made it with matcha for my mom and it was so good. <br />
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<b>What inspires you in your daily life?</b><br />
Nature is a large part of my inspiration because I live right next to a creek and there are trees everywhere so I often go for walks. Nature isn’t an inspiration in the sense that I see a tree and then I want to create a tree, it’s more like a way to ground myself and help bring good ideas to the front of my mind. I think the other big inspiration for me are the people in my life. My family and friends are a mix of incredible people and being around them inspires me in a way to be the best version of myself and to continue on with my work. <br />
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<b>What do you see in the future for Tea Thoughts?</b><br />
Starting this year I am creating a slightly new path for Tea Thoughts that includes more creating with intention. In the past, I was trying to figure out what works and there was lots of experimentation. I have a clearer vision for Tea Thoughts now that includes more functional items like an increase in my ceramics and possibly a tea related course in the future! I will of course continue to create favorites like pins and tea shirts. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo Courtesy of Tea Thoughts</i></td></tr>
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<b>Can you share some of your personal tea rituals with us?</b><br />
I have two very distinct rituals for tea. In the morning and evenings I have a simple brewing routine that is reminiscent of my childhood. I use a simple tea pot to brew a ceylon tea that I drink with a bit of honey. This is how I’ve started and ended my day for as long as I can remember. It’s not about caffeine, it’s about the movements, the timing and the smells of the tea. <br />
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The other ritual is one I do most days between the other two tea times and this is where I practice gongfu style tea. I try to do this at home and I like to sit in front of my balcony door. If it’s not too cold, I will open the door so I can hear the sounds outside. I use a tea tray, pitcher and usually a gaiwan to brew one of the many teas in my stash. This is like my meditation time. Sometimes I do take photos to share but usually I will mark a day to do that so that all other times, I get to sit quietly and reflect on the day as I brew my tea. I don’t usually speak to anyone, it’s a time where I’m looking inward to kind of check in on myself.<br />
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Thank you Nazanin for taking the time out for this interview! I really enjoyed getting to know you better. Check out her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/teathoughts/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.teathoughts.shop/" target="_blank">website</a> for more Tea Thoughts!</div>
Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-79375825810434808772020-01-23T16:53:00.000-05:002020-01-23T16:53:19.348-05:00Review: Tea: A Nerd's Eye View<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are tea nerds, and then there are Tea Nerds. The folks that get into the details of the leaf and then go deeper into the science of tea. The new book <a href="https://amzn.to/38xBQVi" target="_blank">Tea: A Nerd's Eye View</a> by <a href="http://virginiaspairteas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace</a> brings together information for Tea Nerds of every kind. Everything from tea chemistry and plant biology, to how our senses perceive the flavors in tea. Below is a little bit about the book, and what I thought while reading it.<br />
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<b>Who Is The Book Really For?</b><br />
This book is for anyone curious about the science behind tea, from leaf to cup. It may seem daunting to open this book and see so many chemical diagrams and charts, but Virginia does a great job of taking her wealth of knowledge and break it down for readers to understand. This is a book for anyone interested in getting deeper into tea. And it's enjoyable to read!<br />
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<b>Flavor And Perception- Personal and Botanical</b><br />
Flavor is of course key to enjoying tea. As tea drinkers we talk endlessly about flavor and aroma, what we like and don't like. The book goes into depth on flavor- how we as humans perceive it, and how it's created both within the plants and through processing. Virginia touches on how taste perception is super personal, and genetics plays a huge role.<br />
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I may perceive something as bitter but enjoyable, but someone else may find it repulsive. I may notice something as sweet, but someone else may find it pungent. I love how she discusses the perception of flavors, and how our personal memory and knowledge will change how we taste a tea.<br />
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The book also focuses on how flavors in tea are manipulated from the grower but also the tea brewer. When we brew at home, our parameters have an effect on the flavor we taste in the cup. This is all quite logical, but not something I normally sit and deeply think about. Virginia gets into the science behind all of this, and she keeps easy to follow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-UonNRmYbtNAPioONmwPliiEK_2OZdMzKE8mrMJccCbICA8DLvuq0fco3MI2scYuQ6TSuRhRmhkyT4Ayt7usziF2V_YEZrfyGew3G9iobfK2xf1cbFV2H90ZwOOztf5IaqVzVVk_gy6k/s1600/Tea+A+Nerds+Eye+View+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-UonNRmYbtNAPioONmwPliiEK_2OZdMzKE8mrMJccCbICA8DLvuq0fco3MI2scYuQ6TSuRhRmhkyT4Ayt7usziF2V_YEZrfyGew3G9iobfK2xf1cbFV2H90ZwOOztf5IaqVzVVk_gy6k/s640/Tea+A+Nerds+Eye+View+2.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Plant Biology</b><br />
The book really gets down to the tea leaf on the cellular level. The plant biology is fascinating and even though I didn't understand every concept, I gained an understanding of how the plant's survival influences the development of flavors.<br />
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Virginia examines the different flavor compounds in tea plants, and how they present differently in each type of tea. She discusses basic chemistry properties in tea leaves, and I think it really helps in understanding the flavors we taste in our tea.<br />
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<b>Caffeine</b><br />
Caffeine content in tea is such a misunderstood thing and I'm glad Virginia covers both how it's produced, and how it may change during processing. And if anyone tells you delicate green and white teas have less caffeine than other teas, just tell them this:<br />
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Caffeine is a poison for many insects that would otherwise consume tea leaves. The younger more tender leaves are easier for herbivores and insects to attack, so younger leaves produce a greater quantity of caffeine. Older leaves are stiff and hard, thanks in particular to their greater content of woody compounds such as lignin. They are much less inviting to insects so they don't need as much caffeine to defend themselves.</blockquote>
<b>Processing And Brewing</b><br />
The book goes through the chemistry involved in each step of tea processing, and how it changes the flavors and aroma. It then examines how the brewing process changes the flavors as well. Virginia says that out of all the ways to brew tea, there is really only one main thing you need to have...<br />
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What is fascinating to me now is how many acceptable ways there are to brew tea, and how few true imperatives there are- in fact there is really only one <i>absolute </i>imperative: you must use good water. Or modify your approach if you have poor water.</blockquote>
Traditional brewing techniques are discussed such as tea ceremonies around the world, and how everything from the vessel, to the cup shape, to the brewing parameters will change the flavors in the tea prepared. She also writes about water temperature at length (for both hot and cold brews) and even touches on the tea serving temperature.<br />
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I think <a href="https://amzn.to/2TSm0Ao" target="_blank">Tea: A Nerd's Eye View</a> is a fascinating read for the tea lover looking to learn more about the science of the leaf. This book does get quite scientific with everything covered, but it's all very digestible. And, if you're not really interested in the nitty gritty of the science, it's easy to skip paragraphs and jump around the chapters. It's a great book to have on hand as a reference, and for learning more about flavor and chemistry.Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-13407995152438672882020-01-09T17:13:00.000-05:002020-01-09T17:13:08.278-05:00A Little Bit About Korean Teaware History<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtI6vPf0BppHGEeZLvULq-rpDPK0kdMPfAECdHRL9FnZoh0U81jWNUjRdyz0bzetxCxngt4TK6l64saHccoyTQDs8XG3GgQISo-nLxSYP9BqUl5uESHL2tKpl-53oDcYQme57lLn4CsqmK/s1600/GiJin+Song.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtI6vPf0BppHGEeZLvULq-rpDPK0kdMPfAECdHRL9FnZoh0U81jWNUjRdyz0bzetxCxngt4TK6l64saHccoyTQDs8XG3GgQISo-nLxSYP9BqUl5uESHL2tKpl-53oDcYQme57lLn4CsqmK/s640/GiJin+Song.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cup and Teapot by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gijinsong/" target="_blank">GiJin Song</a></td></tr>
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Teaware is an integral part of the tea experience. I love learning about teaware and teaware history. When I went on my Korea tea adventure this fall, we learned a little bit about Korean pottery and had the pleasure of meeting some incredible potters.<div>
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Korean pottery has a long, very interesting history which has influenced Korean's modern teaware artisans.</div>
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<b>A Little Bit About Korean Pottery History</b></div>
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Philosophy, spirituality, and geography shaped Korean teaware history. When you think about Korean teaware, you may imagine something made with a <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cela/hd_cela.htm" target="_blank">celadon</a> glaze with its distinctive jade-green color. Celadon (Cheong-Ja) is an important part of Korean pottery, and is one of the earliest glazes used. Celadon was originally inspired by Chinese Yue-ware in the early 900s and artisans worked to create a new, specifically Korean style. From <a href="http://www.korean-arts.com/about_korean_celadon.htm">Korean Arts</a>:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"> The Koryo Dynasty, which lasted from 918 to 1392 AD had a strong Buddhist influence which shaped many of it's cultural achievements. Buddhist temples flourished during the </span><i style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.korean-arts.com/timeline.htm">Koryo</a></i><span style="background-color: white;"> period, and with them grew a need for fine vessels to be used during the many ritual ceremonies. In the middle of the 10th century Korean artists, some who had been schooled in China, began creating celadon by using inlay and copper glazing techniques which were developed first in China but only fully developed and perfected by Korean artisans. </span></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1vdc0fQ_bz6I0D4_8NQL0cjwKBM3A9MuneWg0a05ICzBsyDiVY0Rj4_PUNe_KiezSj2Qvhy8AuSz10ObmWD8FXTTuOHC60UNmdoSNh7eL872y_gX8l8ulpzzitr-h4593KL-3F476Etv/s1600/Celadon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="417" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1vdc0fQ_bz6I0D4_8NQL0cjwKBM3A9MuneWg0a05ICzBsyDiVY0Rj4_PUNe_KiezSj2Qvhy8AuSz10ObmWD8FXTTuOHC60UNmdoSNh7eL872y_gX8l8ulpzzitr-h4593KL-3F476Etv/s400/Celadon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Celadon Ewer, photo from <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cela/hd_cela.htm" target="_blank">The Metropolitan Museum Of Art</a></i></td></tr>
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Delicate celadon creations were originally used by Buddhist monks, royalty, and wealthy aristocrats. By the 15th century artists started creating 'brown porcelain' (Bun-Cheong) which was rougher than celadon and made for daily use for everyone, not just the monks and higher classes. White porcelain (Baek-Ja), was developed in the 16th century, also for the masses and not just the upper class. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism">Confucianism</a> was the popular philosophy of this time and artists used austere, simple lines and forms to reflect this.<br /><br /><b>Japanese pottery was influenced by Korea</b><br />
History has also played a role in shaping Korean pottery. In 1592 during the Japanese invasion of Korea, entire villages of Korean potters were forced out of the country and relocated to Japan. The Korean artisan pottery industry took a huge hit at this point, as all of the masters were sent to Japan.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnz9OxUNAuX3eJ9bUJagznR7hfG27V5eGLWIAlJzyOxTM1jVVRTqs8iUsfkrCr4rShwm9tP-YXSc7cBrn6s3ITO4w14oN596_V5_eUKnnYVP3KR1TwtUoqcne_VhNEiFugvJythtE_RV4N/s1600/leechiheon2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnz9OxUNAuX3eJ9bUJagznR7hfG27V5eGLWIAlJzyOxTM1jVVRTqs8iUsfkrCr4rShwm9tP-YXSc7cBrn6s3ITO4w14oN596_V5_eUKnnYVP3KR1TwtUoqcne_VhNEiFugvJythtE_RV4N/s640/leechiheon2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pitcher, Cup, and Teapot by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/leechiheonpotter/" target="_blank">Chi Heon Lee</a></td></tr>
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The Korean masters worked in Japan and influenced the Japanese styles of pottery. In fact, Japanese tea master <a href="https://www.myjapanesegreentea.com/sen-no-rikyu" target="_blank">Sen no Rikyū</a> used Korean style pottery as he perfected his style for the Japanese tea ceremony. Not only did the Korean styles influence Japanese pottery, but the kilns were used as well. From <a href="http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/koreans-who-potted-in-kyushu-j.html" target="_blank">e-yakimono.net</a>:<br />
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The noborigama (chambered climbing kiln) was introduced from Korea to Japan -- via Karatsu -- in the 17th century and forever changed the ceramic landscape. It allowed various glazed wares such as madara-garatsu (speckled straw-ash glaze), chosen-garatsu (Korean-style, two-tone glazing), e-garatsu (painted) or kuro-garatsu (black) to be created on these shores.</blockquote>
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If you'd like to learn more about the Korean influence on Japanese pottery, you can search for info on Hagi ware, Satsuma ware, and Arita ware.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUAOUKqlF5-vllHtJhtvY2xy_abtIgaxqVjv14RhHQc0Ur54Vh0PtFHxxwOHFrXI762Za7omtCMjLAVKXvl1yIYVWDCXe3cHqHe_ppAFSjsDJtb3MeAPgO2R_-3LGPRRWbI6PSUADycXP/s1600/leechiheon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUAOUKqlF5-vllHtJhtvY2xy_abtIgaxqVjv14RhHQc0Ur54Vh0PtFHxxwOHFrXI762Za7omtCMjLAVKXvl1yIYVWDCXe3cHqHe_ppAFSjsDJtb3MeAPgO2R_-3LGPRRWbI6PSUADycXP/s640/leechiheon.jpg" width="638" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Teapots and tea boat by </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/leechiheonpotter/" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Chi Heon Lee</a></td></tr>
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<b>Back to Nature</b></div>
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As I've mentioned in <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/12/a-tea-blogger-in-korea-people-of-korean.html" target="_blank">previous posts</a>, nature plays a huge role in Korean culture and is reflected through pottery. Form, shape, and color are all borrowed from nature. Before the 17th century, Korean potters looked for perfection in their creations. But then the style became to cherish the imperfect, as it is found in nature. </div>
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Potters I met on our trip used traditional ideas and forms, with a modern twist. If you look at the first photo above, you can see how ceramic artisan <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gijinsong/" target="_blank">GiJin Song</a> uses organic elements in his work. And right above you can see the delicate, gentle lines with traditional forms and interesting glazes found in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/leechiheonpotter/" target="_blank">Chi Heon Lee's</a> work.</div>
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Do you own any Korean teaware? Before my trip I didn't know anything at all about how diverse Korean teaware styles can be. This post only scratched the surface on the history and artistry. I can't wait to learn even more about it, and keep my collection growing.</div>
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-6431081108863251462019-12-19T14:38:00.001-05:002019-12-19T15:29:24.627-05:00Korean Yuja Byungcha (yuzu stuffed with black tea)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9d8pMAyg5q0m6WrTx1AEvD7Y93S_CqAM2KcTHiXwr_7e5eymNym-VJRIxpcIPZ8v_70QlKMb4EaJ4-h7rle633vbeEczZHX75fTgSwRr1QGGUr3qVEM9jfA4HBcMUH4HsIyepC_NbfF2/s1600/yuja1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9d8pMAyg5q0m6WrTx1AEvD7Y93S_CqAM2KcTHiXwr_7e5eymNym-VJRIxpcIPZ8v_70QlKMb4EaJ4-h7rle633vbeEczZHX75fTgSwRr1QGGUr3qVEM9jfA4HBcMUH4HsIyepC_NbfF2/s640/yuja1.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I'm sure you've had tea with citrus flavors added in, but have you tried a citrus stuffed with black tea? I had many interesting kinds of Korean tea on my recent trip, and it was tough to pick which one I wanted to share with you first. Given the holidays and frigid temps, I think it's the perfect time of year to talk about Yuja Byungcha. A Yuzu stuffed with black tea.</div>
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Yuja Byungcha tea has an amazing natural citrus flavor and aroma. The steeped black tea with crushed bits of yuzu rind is a lovely warming tea for winter, and the flavor is quite festive for the holidays. I've been drinking this tea almost every day, I find it flavorful and invigorating. When I had a sore throat, drinking this with a bit of honey was incredibly soothing.</div>
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Please note, this tea is different from <a href="https://www.ohhowcivilized.com/korean-citron-yuzu-tea/">yuja cha</a>, which if you search online usually brings back recipes for a delicious herbal recipe for yuzu, honey, lemon, and often ginger, to keep in the fridge all winter long. I actually have a jar in my fridge and have been drinking it in the evenings. Now, on to the byungcha...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEick4mbfHtYoHIcACyml6fixPKoeEXHLX2_59bfbPoeuSpwzBBEyqpJxHycvV6POrU9W0PDFE-vidpQVhgan-08DJImQlhHcVfkLRx2w8I4qksfqObZp39qo1dRtwRzo33WjojvcEWYprXq/s1600/yuja4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEick4mbfHtYoHIcACyml6fixPKoeEXHLX2_59bfbPoeuSpwzBBEyqpJxHycvV6POrU9W0PDFE-vidpQVhgan-08DJImQlhHcVfkLRx2w8I4qksfqObZp39qo1dRtwRzo33WjojvcEWYprXq/s640/yuja4.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Making Yuja Byungcha Korean Yuzu Stuffed Black Tea</b></div>
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This tea has two basic elements, yuzu and black tea. The yuzu are harvested at the end of November. They are washed, and the inside is scooped out and juiced. The juice is reserved and used to flavor the tea. The tea used is black tea (referred to as hong cha or balhyocha) harvested and processed in the spring. The processed leaves are sprayed with the yuzu juice, just enough to soften the leaves and filled inside the hollowed out yuzu. Byung means to bottle, which makes sense since the black tea is basically bottled inside the yuzu.</div>
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About 30-40 grams of tea fit inside one yuzu. Once filled, the top is put back on and the yuzu is tied with twine. After the yuzu are prepared with the tea, they go through a steaming and drying process 6 times, and each time the twine is tightened. Then they are left for a final drying outdoors in the breeze and sun. </div>
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In my <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/12/a-tea-blogger-in-korea-people-of-korean.html">previous post</a>. I mentioned how Korean tea is deeply tied to nature, and this is no exception. Drying the tea outside in the natural elements in a crucial step. The whole process takes about 2 months. This is a slow process that allows layers of flavor to build inside the tea. The finished product is about 1/2 the size of the original fresh yuzu!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">crushed yuzu and black tea</td></tr>
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<b>Steeping the Yuja Byungcha</b></div>
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To prepare this tea, you need to crush up that beautiful tea-stuffed yuzu. Do not steep the whole thing in a pot! First, remove the twine from the yuzu and take off the top. Then place the yuzu on its side on a paper towel, and gently crush it. You shouldn't need too much force. The citrus will break into pieces, and the black tea will spill out. You can crush the yuzu into smaller pieces as well. </div>
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Add 3-4 grams total of tea and small bits of yuzu in about 200ml of water that's just off the boil. I steep mine for about 3-5 minutes. This can be re-steeped about 5 times. Take the rest of your yuzu tea and put it in an opaque, air-tight canister for later. You can also age the yuzu whole, if you can avoid temptation and wait!</div>
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It's tough to find these teas for sale in the US. I have been able to purchase them at World Tea Expo, but an internet search doesn't come up with much. Right now <a href="https://www.screentea.com/yuja-byungcha-citrus-bottled-tea-or/">Screen Tea</a> is selling a few, she was on the Korea trip with us and she brought them back for sale. I'm waiting to hear from another source that may be selling these teas soon, and will update the post with a link when that happens.</div>
Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-687873631730545122019-12-12T15:56:00.001-05:002019-12-12T15:56:46.105-05:00Interview: Zhao and Ronald of Tea.L<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_8wHJQEXKIklvwM5DCruHkCFzFhZo7c90kpH45lbk0urAaFtTqfWpDNufJeZjxTivd2pj8p2u2c4rpk17kzSW0UOCUpG5EBPy38eFBLEZzMJIqmHcgzO0_lg8O9j0qX5DUk_MmlNEPbx/s1600/Tea_L.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_8wHJQEXKIklvwM5DCruHkCFzFhZo7c90kpH45lbk0urAaFtTqfWpDNufJeZjxTivd2pj8p2u2c4rpk17kzSW0UOCUpG5EBPy38eFBLEZzMJIqmHcgzO0_lg8O9j0qX5DUk_MmlNEPbx/s640/Tea_L.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zhao and Ron (photo courtesy of Tea.L)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
As I've gotten older, I've become picky about my skincare. I'm always looking for natural products that don't have any harsh ingredients. Recently the folks from <a href="https://tealotion.com/">Tea.L</a> reached out to see if I'd like to try their tea-based skincare products. A company that sells natural products made with tea? And we're talking, real, loose leaf tea with minimal processing? I was all-in.<br />
<br />
I've been using the <a href="https://tealotion.com/products/yerba-mate-green-tea-eye-cream" target="_blank">eye cream</a>, <a href="https://tealotion.com/products/guayusa-green-tea-face-lotion" target="_blank">face lotion</a>, and <a href="https://tealotion.com/products/rooibos-green-tea-body-lotion" target="_blank">body lotion</a> for a few weeks, and I've really enjoyed them. I love the texture and scent (they really smell like tea!), and my skin feels super-soft. Over these last few weeks questions about the products have popped into my head, so I thought it would be fun to do an interview with founders Zhao and Ron. Below you'll find out all about why they made tea-based skincare products, the importance of using real tea, and the beauty of tea and self care.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">photo courtesy of Tea.L</span></td></tr>
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<b>The skincare industry
is a crowded space. Why did you decide to make tea infused skincare products?</b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is indeed a very crowded space. Per NPD group, the past
two years have seen over 100 new luxury skincare brands debuting in department
and specialty stores. Many of these brands have tea claims in their products, however
as tea lovers, we are having an extremely hard time finding one authentically
made with real tea, everybody seems to be hiding behind ‘tea extracts’ and
‘fragrance’. We found ourselves asking, why can’t we treat tea in skincare as
who they are when we drink them? That was really the genesis of TEA.L, if we
can’t find one, let’s create our own! As we started our R&D process, we
learned that each tea has its unique profile when it comes skincare benefits,
just like their profile of color, texture, aroma and taste. Who knows rooibos
and yerba mate each contains polyphenols not found in green tea? And this
further reinforced our belief that all the tea lovers, regardless of where they
are in their tea journey, they deserve to enjoy tea on their skin with the same
authenticity in their drinks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How did you choose
the types of tea you use in your products?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We did the intuitive thing which is diving into our root as
tea lovers. Ronald worked for a major Canadian tea brand for years when the loose-leaf
tea movement just started to take hold in the US consumer market. Zhao came
from a Chinese family with tea drinking habits that lasted for 3 generations
(one of the things he packed with him when he moved to the US was a jar of his
family’s favorite dragonwell). We have our favorite teas to drink but we knew
from early on that we need to put in the hard work and expand our knowledge in
understanding how these teas can benefit our skin. So, we spent 2 months
digging into academic papers on dermatology and cosmeceuticals to learn
everything there was about studies on tea’s effect on skin (with some help from
friends in the skincare industry). And we lined up about 8 tea candidates
including 3 green tea varietals (Gyokuro, Dragonwell and Sencha) based on our
research. The next 6 months was endless trial and error on the other ingredients
(oils, butters and extracts) and the infusion process. We had friends and
families who volunteered to test our early prototypes, so we were very
fortunate to have their feedback to improve on. The biggest challenge was to retain
the scent of the tea while maximizing the effectiveness of the antioxidants. 8
months later, we finalized the teas and tisanes that are currently in our
product: dragonwell, rooibos, guayusa and yerba mate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Qb8DHYZWGkbNx__muj4y_GbDSehhmx1H7EzIscGoW8VYQIRNVbNxHfAY8ANk_OAt1TM_DUuMwjUqu8o3NvqNUs_ea3kEnhpV4CuclOP4YG-O4CKi1_y3Y7itmzdvoux_9WKFFDjspu2y/s1600/Tea_L5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Qb8DHYZWGkbNx__muj4y_GbDSehhmx1H7EzIscGoW8VYQIRNVbNxHfAY8ANk_OAt1TM_DUuMwjUqu8o3NvqNUs_ea3kEnhpV4CuclOP4YG-O4CKi1_y3Y7itmzdvoux_9WKFFDjspu2y/s640/Tea_L5.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">photo courtesy of Tea.L</span></td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How do you source the
tea and herbal tea used in your products?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We work with local vendors who demonstrated sufficient
knowledge in tea and passed our own taste and infusion test. Once we reach the
scale with early adaptors of our products, we plan to expand our partnership to
work directly with farmers from the tea’s origin countries.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What sets your
products apart from other skincare products that include tea?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact that we are a tea-first skincare brand who uses
organic loose-leaf tea and tisanes with minimal processing and maximum
preservation in our products. And this is driven by our vision to bring
tangible value to our customers’ self-care routine, whether they are looking
for more ways to benefit from tea or introducing tea as a new element in
promoting a youthful look. There’s so much hype and so many new trends out
there in skincare, and we aspire to help our customers create authentic
self-care rituals that actually work for themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How long did it take
to create your formulations?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The formulas we put into production took about 8 months to
develop, and formulation process does not end there. We’ve already received
feedback from early adaptors and started improving certain aspects of the
formulation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZf7ic8Y4GONW06qn-HmLH-eEZEdhnto63tPzM0f7EOtXggrn8PeUB2MfxwFcXsh4ANMPegZsmAexSYehyunW2wc3jQdf6TJrIbjU5hx6LWwZemP3OwHhaUWmzbz0aIyRGRXiEyA914wEy/s1600/Tea_L3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZf7ic8Y4GONW06qn-HmLH-eEZEdhnto63tPzM0f7EOtXggrn8PeUB2MfxwFcXsh4ANMPegZsmAexSYehyunW2wc3jQdf6TJrIbjU5hx6LWwZemP3OwHhaUWmzbz0aIyRGRXiEyA914wEy/s640/Tea_L3.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">photo courtesy of Tea.L</span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Your website mentions
you also include ‘tea infused oils’ in your products. What kind of oil do you
use, and how does it get infused with tea?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">We infuse 7
different types of premium oils with organic dragonwell green tea, including Cranberry
Seed Oil, Rose Hip Oil,</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Squalane,</span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jojoba Oil, Kukui Oil, Oat Oil, and Argan
Oil. We chose these oils as they are proven to promote a youthful glow without causing
acnes. You can check out the </span><a href="https://tealotion.com/pages/ingredients"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ingredients page</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> on
our website to learn more about the benefits of these oils. We use the warm
infusion method which involves soaking tea leaves in these oils at a precise
temperature for at least 2 hours to help extract polyphenols, catechins and
other vitamins from tea leaves. We have </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4NczbbgZyh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a short video</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> on our Instagram showing the end result, the
infused oil takes on a gorgeous amber color!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On your site I love
that you mention in your About Us, ‘</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Everyone deserves self care and every tea has a role in
providing that care, regardless of how they are commonly labeled (yes, the tea
and the people).” Can you elaborate a little more on this?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This statement came
from a place really close to our hearts. Both me and Ronald learned the
importance of self-care, both physically and mentally, while growing up gay in
small towns. And I personally immigrated to the US 10 years ago from China with
limited language skills and zero acquaintance. As we stumble and tumble to
establish an authentic self in our adulthood, we have to fight the stigma and
prejudice associated with the labels put on us. I think a lot of people nowadays
can relate to that experience to a certain extent, and that experience
continues for all of us. Through TEA.L, we want to empower everyone with labels
on their backs by giving them an authentic way to heal after they work so hard
to establish their true self. Tea, for the longest time, instead of being known
by their names, origins and unique profiles, carries a color category and lives
in a teabag. So I can’t think of a better vehicle to carry that message.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbcH7hm7Cz6Or_Lw_8E_YbIjopn6F6OmS9vZRtQxUGexnj_0oATUVM8RKUuXpXgW9FekrWuFCOx0gdsUiYY9O4x6WIVivfTznHLpk1ATNTCkMb-ZfePmfpetmMtx-ZwEUuNVVgbg8O4c9/s1600/Tea_L2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbcH7hm7Cz6Or_Lw_8E_YbIjopn6F6OmS9vZRtQxUGexnj_0oATUVM8RKUuXpXgW9FekrWuFCOx0gdsUiYY9O4x6WIVivfTznHLpk1ATNTCkMb-ZfePmfpetmMtx-ZwEUuNVVgbg8O4c9/s640/Tea_L2.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zhao and Ron (photo courtesy of Tea.L)</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Do you have your own
personal tea rituals?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes! I (Zhao) usually have 4 cups of dragonwell a day and I
changed it up once in a while with Guayusa (if I need more caffeine) or some
sort of Chinese black tea. Ron, on the other hand, prefers Gyokuro or Yerba
Mate in daytime. We do enjoy Rooibos together after dinner to aid digestion or
mellow down before bed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What do you see for
Tea.L in the future?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">We hope that TEA.L
will lead another wave of tea awakening for its role in skincare, just like how
loose-leaf tea did with drinking tea. We believe this can be achieved when we
connect with the tea lover community through their skincare routines and
refresh the definition of tea in people’s lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
---</div>
Thank you to Zhao and Ron for taking the time out for this interview! If you are interested in trying the Tea.L products, they are currently running a holiday promotion of 30% off your entire order which is taken automatically at checkout, no minimum. The sale ends at 12am on 12/26. These are great products to give as holiday gifts, or to keep for your own self-care.<br /><br />
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-62220664594326750772019-12-05T15:49:00.001-05:002019-12-05T15:49:45.646-05:00A Tea Blogger In Korea- The People Of Korean Tea<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGFVodkh7Lmop2dO3ucdPN35kgB7t2oEhkF9VUl-TvVl-pJHQjVLy-TvnMNJSsOqKYb_fdAahFfSZiR1mOEj9k2lcNywO6j93uHlxajs7iatdHtgeuGS8FUrpn-blVNb8sUk4J5FbNkcS/s1600/Korea5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGFVodkh7Lmop2dO3ucdPN35kgB7t2oEhkF9VUl-TvVl-pJHQjVLy-TvnMNJSsOqKYb_fdAahFfSZiR1mOEj9k2lcNywO6j93uHlxajs7iatdHtgeuGS8FUrpn-blVNb8sUk4J5FbNkcS/s640/Korea5.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tea field in Boseong</td></tr>
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<br />
As many of you know, I went on an incredible trip to South Korea led by <a href="https://www.teaclassics.com/" target="_blank">Yoon Hee Kim</a>, where I had the opportunity to meet tea farmers, spend time in tea fields, and even make my own tea! As an American tea blogger that has never traveled to Asia before, it was a life-changing trip.<br />
<br />
After this 8-day tea and culinary tour, I have so much to share but it's been tough to get my feelings into words. I've decided to break it down into a few posts. I recently read an article about Mr. Rogers, and in it he was quoted saying 'Point out the beauty when you can'. So I decided this first article will be about the beauty in everyone we met. The people that create Korean tea. I hope you can get a glimpse of what it felt like to meet such caring, dedicated tea people.<br />
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<b>The Korean Tea Farmers and Producers</b><br />
The people we met have a humble sense of pride. They all have a deep respect for tea, and take great pleasure in sharing what they do with others. Tea tastings that should have lasted for 30 minutes ended up going for multiple hours, as there was so much to tell us, and everyone wanted to share their beautiful teas. Here are just a few of the people we met:<br />
<br />
I loved meeting the many people at the <a href="http://borimtea.com/" target="_blank">Borim Tea</a> farm and research center in Boesong. A beautiful facility where we felt right at home, I had my first experience here walking through tea fields, and plucking leaves and flowers. We were given a lesson in the history of Korean tea, and I learned so much! I laughed when we learned about the 'bromance' between two ancient Korean tea scholars (more on that soon!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWCe3ul6yJ4BmoCG45Uatm17zihwOllYSzogzvVxG31FtvtUCns5qGDczDLOg6z_cUejS1GwIp87aMSUlM0S9HABYSoW40bFahSKiBvPj0hnsXHHwzG2JgaCmgs5byy1QKUgRLbWCB4WV/s1600/korean+tea+making+ddoek+cha.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWCe3ul6yJ4BmoCG45Uatm17zihwOllYSzogzvVxG31FtvtUCns5qGDczDLOg6z_cUejS1GwIp87aMSUlM0S9HABYSoW40bFahSKiBvPj0hnsXHHwzG2JgaCmgs5byy1QKUgRLbWCB4WV/s640/korean+tea+making+ddoek+cha.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">steamed leaves ready to be pounded for ddoek cha</td></tr>
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One of my favorite activities at Borim was learning how to make our own ddoek cha (cake style tea), where we pounded steamed leaves in a huge vessel that looked like an over-sized mortar and pestle, then shaped the leaves into cakes (mine weren't the most uniform, but I had so much fun!), and left them to dehydrate (I'll be writing a more in-depth post about Korean teas, including the ones we made).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecMbcf1vh-W1H0TxWs7xbXq_WgHHIkjxB1jytbqTP2nfbDxSILZtt-sHJwk4qve_cBIvmPaR6qMAvZnM531CWOIoxGO32_qFiRD3q829wASYKDRoSnZPJzGT55NZQwwUe7DESw_rhoyHm/s1600/Korea6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecMbcf1vh-W1H0TxWs7xbXq_WgHHIkjxB1jytbqTP2nfbDxSILZtt-sHJwk4qve_cBIvmPaR6qMAvZnM531CWOIoxGO32_qFiRD3q829wASYKDRoSnZPJzGT55NZQwwUe7DESw_rhoyHm/s640/Korea6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">MongJoongSan Dawon</span></td></tr>
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We also had the opportunity to make our own tea flower liquor. We took the tea flowers we plucked in the fields and added them to a bottle with soju. In a few short weeks I'll have special liquor to make cocktails with! Throughout our time at Borim, everyone made sure we were comfortable, and well fed. One evening they even held an outdoor BBQ where everything was grilled: various seafood and meats, veggies, even rice cakes and chestnuts.<br />
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I'll never forget the cheerful folks at MongJoongSan Dawon, a large tea plantation in Boseong where the majestic fields are bathed not only in mist, but in sound. The farmers play music to their tea plants to keep them happy. It was surreal to be walking through the misty fields, listening to hauntingly beautiful music and feeling the energy of the plants. We were given a ride through the tea fields with a very jovial tea farmer, and we later had a lively tea tasting with him and a few of the other tea garden employees. Check out my pinned <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tea_happiness/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> story about Korean Tea, you'll be able to hear the music played in this tea field.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQxbpNvur6bqbqPGNTQVQcQ6WeofXVG3CtapHGWPg9aFVSHQlxLclNxSqFLFT-PfQgmQrd33_Y-U4USefVI_gq0A5NEQ_HNGSKuxfybqiIUGVimzv7Q4xcOpSP6jlpg54C1vOHLC6o4ET/s1600/korean+dasik.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQxbpNvur6bqbqPGNTQVQcQ6WeofXVG3CtapHGWPg9aFVSHQlxLclNxSqFLFT-PfQgmQrd33_Y-U4USefVI_gq0A5NEQ_HNGSKuxfybqiIUGVimzv7Q4xcOpSP6jlpg54C1vOHLC6o4ET/s640/korean+dasik.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">korean dasik and a dasik mold</td></tr>
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Another cherished memory is spending time with the tea grower who showed us how to make Korean tea sweets (dasik). She was patient as we took the time to roll out different types of dough and press them through traditional molds. We later had a lovely walk through her tea fields where she serenaded us with a beautiful opera performance while we sat by a creek. All the tea people we met have a connection to the arts, whether it's singing, playing an instrument, dance, or other visual arts. I love how they not only grow tea, but have a connection to it through the arts as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADoGtsOd9zWsqbg8GNqKq8uwfsuhFLrUjHcwGoYP66amOrkle-HJg3MbO-KbiOgog-Z6RFoMd5o-7TF5X8H_XMkJ-3cHddtylSLP88Z3rHmWzQzxNo6Hnv7dypKhmwB8AVSKRg1-vtnu5/s1600/Korea1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADoGtsOd9zWsqbg8GNqKq8uwfsuhFLrUjHcwGoYP66amOrkle-HJg3MbO-KbiOgog-Z6RFoMd5o-7TF5X8H_XMkJ-3cHddtylSLP88Z3rHmWzQzxNo6Hnv7dypKhmwB8AVSKRg1-vtnu5/s640/Korea1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hongcha at the top of a mountain</td></tr>
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Then there is the tea farmer in Hadong that let us ride his monorail, a little vehicle (and I mean little!!) meant for hauling tea leaves from mountain (not humans!). Riding on a tiny platform scraping the sides of tea bushes up a mountain was definite a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We were laughing and cheering the entire time, while desperately holding on! Once we were at the top, he brewed cup after cup of hong cha for us, while we gazed at the sloping tea fields below us. Drinking tea in nature is a key part of the Korean tea experience. Korean culture is deeply connected to nature, and it is expressed in every way possible.<br />
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In Hadong, we met the owner of BuTea who introduced us to his family. After showing us his tea production area, his young son drew us pictures as we sipped tea. We also enjoyed treats and his wife and daughter had prepared for us to eat. Snacks kept appearing as we had more and more tea, and the little boy shyly sat near us while we all chatted. It was such a sweet afternoon.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here I am attempting to roll tea leaves</td></tr>
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While in Hadong we also went to a tea farm and research and education center where we processed our own green tea! It was such fun to get our hands on the leaves, and learn how to pan fire and roll it. I knew making tea was a laborious process, but doing just a small bit of it really showed me how much time and effort it takes.<br />
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Before my trip, most people asked me if I was going on a 'green tea' tour, as Korea is mostly known for green tea. But my favorite teas of the trip turned out to be hwang cha (semi oxidized teas also referred to as balhyocha) and hong cha (black tea). We also tasted the ddoek cha I mentioned earlier, and fermented teas along with various green teas. I can't wait to talk about them further.<br />
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<b>Tea Chefs and Artisans</b><br />
While in a Southern province, we met a master baker of Korean sweets who owns a tea house with her husband. She creates all of the food, and he built the entire place and maintains the gardens. She welcomed us with a tour, explaining every little detail of the tea house, and kept bringing us added extra treats. We learned about the art of Korean tea snacks. This tea house was such a special place, tucked in a remote rural area that I never would have found on my own. Every little brick and stone was brought in by her husband, and meaningfully placed. The tea house is a true marvel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_mmeG2oSFlj3qAzN02K8kPC0bzy6KlW3gZ8uT_DYCes6xF85awCcTrG6VedaKNNkzCjvtfZxhbRjM717wyc-9RNGUTcew9XZEVOPScbAl52iwZLGD2xc1YQC82aAlGR4TUNLDFV9boXV/s1600/korean+tea+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_mmeG2oSFlj3qAzN02K8kPC0bzy6KlW3gZ8uT_DYCes6xF85awCcTrG6VedaKNNkzCjvtfZxhbRjM717wyc-9RNGUTcew9XZEVOPScbAl52iwZLGD2xc1YQC82aAlGR4TUNLDFV9boXV/s640/korean+tea+house.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautiful Korean tea house</td></tr>
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We met a well known potter that invited us to his studio and insisted on making us endless cups of tea while talking about the history of Korean pottery. He taught us the importance of nature in Korean art and culture, and throughout the trip I was able to see how nature reflected in every person we met.<br />
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Later in the trip we met a potter and his wife in Gwangju that not only spent hours chatting and pouring us tea, but when we had to rush off to the train station, they took the long drive with us, helped carry our bags, and made sure we were all safely on the train. They didn't leave until the train departed, waving to us as we pulled out.<br />
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I can't forget to mention the kindness of our guide Yoon Hee, who went above and beyond to make sure we had a stellar experience. She drove us all throughout the country, translated every word, made sure we were happy and comfortable. She gave us tea experiences we will never forget!<br />
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Korean teas can be difficult to find in the US, and I feel fortunate to have tasted teas on the farms where they are grown and processed. Whether it was a large plantation or a small scale garden, every tea farmer we met welcomed us with open arms, eager to tell us about their teas and give us many tastes. When I sip tea I often think about how many people were involved in bringing these leaves to me. It's even more special now that I have met the people behind my Korean teas. In the coming weeks I will dive deeper into the Korean tea experience.Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-33861497122389407902019-11-07T21:05:00.001-05:002019-11-07T21:05:34.000-05:00Interview: Tatjana and Tom of Teapro UK<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gQIm6LSd4hfepcxbh2yy4ESPyvlaBP8yaPL_HaMF6TCsxhXwhcZ6vW55LFaKRZU6eF8sgMUIGKZbHCT66l6-OPpbn9ZcoQTSHoN3Hl5Sp9GfCVpfZmLeBNFiKOl9KhZHMtiEGMu07Gpw/s1600/teapro-tea-chat5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gQIm6LSd4hfepcxbh2yy4ESPyvlaBP8yaPL_HaMF6TCsxhXwhcZ6vW55LFaKRZU6eF8sgMUIGKZbHCT66l6-OPpbn9ZcoQTSHoN3Hl5Sp9GfCVpfZmLeBNFiKOl9KhZHMtiEGMu07Gpw/s640/teapro-tea-chat5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tatjana and Tom, photo courtesy of Teapro UK</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/tea_happiness/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> is by far my favorite way to connect with tea people, I love looking at all the creative tea photos! One account that always entertains and amuses is <span id="goog_595615763"></span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/TeaProUK/" target="_blank">Teapro U<span id="goog_595615764"></span>K</a>. Founders Tatjana and Tom are incredibly whimsical and artistic. They do a great job of illustrating the joys of tea. <a href="http://www.teapro.co.uk/" target="_blank">Teapro UK</a> is a virtual tea shop where you can browse tea and teaware, or order tea subscription boxes. Our interview below gives you a peek into the life of two tea-entrepreneurs, and how they keep the creative juices flowing.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><b>There are many tea subscriptions out there, why did you decide to start one?</b><br />Tea is both simple and complex. Tea subscriptions are getting increasingly popular and yet finding a product you want to have every month is not as easy as you’d think. We wanted to create an experience that is designed to increase your enjoyment and knowledge of tea and inspire you on your tea adventure, not just to deliver tea We wanted to be loose leaf only, healthy, educational, environmental, personal and enjoyable.<br /><br /><b>What sets Teapro UK apart from the other tea subscriptions?</b><br />Little details, like our insert cards, hand paper packing of glasses, sticker albums and stickers bring a sense of completeness to your tea experience. <br />Medium details, like our loose leaf only mantra and exquisite tea-ware.<br />Bigger details, like our relentless quest to discover the finest organic, authentic premium loose leaf teas from around the world and our plastic free ethics down to every detail.<br /><br /><b>How did you both get into tea?</b><br />We were stumbling together through North London and had a loose leaf Dragon Well green tea from a now closed tea shop and the moment we had our loose leaf tea-piphany.<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqw9G2fiymgzXWHQ0hLfu84bPcvkSmlopjaMkzxWpvbOJ9g7wx8JgUTKmep3uAYn5kb6VUXDpgMYad03hAbQZzHHpyHwvgyk8qibtGBBbsjfDinpZjq4WO3eIZJnuYc-Egmj5jde7SKkHZ/s1600/Shades+of+Green+teapro+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqw9G2fiymgzXWHQ0hLfu84bPcvkSmlopjaMkzxWpvbOJ9g7wx8JgUTKmep3uAYn5kb6VUXDpgMYad03hAbQZzHHpyHwvgyk8qibtGBBbsjfDinpZjq4WO3eIZJnuYc-Egmj5jde7SKkHZ/s640/Shades+of+Green+teapro+box.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Teapro UK</td></tr>
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<b><br />How do you decide the teas to add to each box?</b><br />We started by structuring the tea-verse. We mapped out 12 themed boxes to match the seasons and tea experiences we feel people must try including: Black and Yellow, White Gold and Herbalism boxes. These tea boxes were then filled by our ongoing relentless refining, discovery and sampling of the best teas emulate the experience of the box in particular focusing on the traditional growing areas. Our Dragon Well for example comes from near to THE Dragon Well (Long Jing in Chinese) where a village water well has high mineral water content. They call it Dragon Well because when it rains, the mineral water creates the appearance of Dragons dancing inside the Well.<br /><br /><b>How do you source your teas?</b><br />Sourcing is probably harder than sampling. We have to get our feelers out across through word of mouth and hard graft research to ensure we unearth the treasures we are looking for. We ensure we have drunk all of our teas (with re-steeps) before we would agree to sell it and unlike other subscription companies work with different farms for our different teas and source from around the world, often from China but including China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Rwanda and even Thailand.<br /><br /><b>Do either of you have any personal tea rituals? </b><br />Tom likes to listen to Alan Watts and have a herbal tea such as Greek High Mountain tea in the evening before going to bed. Tatjana is always trying to take an elegant shot for our instagram before tucking in to her brew.<br /><br /><b>I love all of your fun photos. How do you come up with the ideas?</b><br />Coming up with ideas is easy sometimes, other times we seem to need lots of help and research. Luckily photography is a bit of a side hobby for Tatjana, so she just loves experimenting and trying out different ideas. Sometimes, we get inspired by other content creators. There is so much creativity and talent on Instagram - it’s a great place to get inspiration. Other times, we think of a theme and than try to figure out how we can tie tea into it.<br /><br />We are trying to better get our message across about the pleasures of loose leaf tea and quite often the tea is so interesting we can let it be the star of the photo.<br /><br /><b>What has inspired you lately?</b><br />We are inspired by TrashTagging as well as our growing network of friends and influencers. Also our customers' photos and reviews, especially when out of nowhere - you wake up to beautiful blogs and articles. It’s incredibly heart warming and it inspires us to keep going :) <br /><br /><b>What is in the future for teapro UK?</b><br />We would like to further our environmental, homelessness and community work (we have big plans!), while trying to establish teapro as the best luxury loose leaf tea company in the Universe.<div>
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Thank you Tatjana and Tom! To learn more about Teapro you can visit their <a href="https://teapro.co.uk/" target="_blank">website,</a> check out their creative <a href="https://www.instagram.com/TeaProUK/" target="_blank">Instagram feed</a>, or visit their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/teapro" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>. </div>
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-28499258144255273822019-10-10T14:54:00.000-04:002019-10-10T14:54:02.111-04:00How To Grow Tea Pt. 3- Getting Camellia Sinensis Ready For Winter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEdtykQZkzA7-jxkNpm3VfRtwSl2pswsO_hVZYWfN8kqbhX50xndaf9TP4rUUeVePhyoSnsQpjCzioDJuyJ_7n3duMrEN8Jgnt15sErgaajbQWGL-toknn1w3dF04vVYLBoTpE53Dt9Sf/s1600/TeaPlant1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEdtykQZkzA7-jxkNpm3VfRtwSl2pswsO_hVZYWfN8kqbhX50xndaf9TP4rUUeVePhyoSnsQpjCzioDJuyJ_7n3duMrEN8Jgnt15sErgaajbQWGL-toknn1w3dF04vVYLBoTpE53Dt9Sf/s640/TeaPlant1.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One Of My Happy Tea Plants</td></tr>
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It's been over a year since I've started my tea seeds and they are growing quite happily! I <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/01/how-to-grow-tea-pt-1-growing-camellia.html" target="_blank">started them indoors</a>, and once the summer hit I <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/04/how-to-grow-tea-pt-2-from-inside-to.html" target="_blank">brought most of them outside</a> for the season. They really shot up during the summer, and grew lots of hardy green leaves. The crisp autumn weather is starting to creep in, so it's time to start thinking about how to care for the plants during winter.<br />
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I decided to put several of my plants directly in the ground on my Brooklyn patio, but a few are outside in pots. It gets quite cold in NYC, and the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/27/weather/farmers-almanac-weather-forecast-2020-wxc-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">Farmers' Almanac apparently is predicting a tough winter</a>. I need to ready the tea plants!<br />
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<b>Getting Tea Plants Ready For Winter</b><br />
To figure out how to get the tea plants ready for the winter, I contacted Jason McDonald, co-founder of <a href="http://www.greatmsteacompany.com/" target="_blank">The Great Mississippi Tea Company</a>, and founding member of the <a href="https://usteagrowers.com/About-Us" target="_blank">United States League of Tea Growers</a>. He and his partner Timmy sent me my tea seeds, and he's been super patient with all of my tea growing questions.<br />
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Jason recommended letting the tea plants adapt to the weather. He said that even though NYC gets very cold, it should be fine for the plants, and it's important for them to adjust to the climate they are living in. If it gets cold and stays that way, the plants will adapt. But, the one thing he said I needed to worry about was a sudden drop in extreme temperature, and freezing winds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCpTeD1te4qLNzuqp94iAWj7CsBMisazxuv4OhsMMRiuvT2jTPUAgVQV4eOM_K4QVx50b8XbMSIgBGVPKCKYXyO4olo90nMQWqdKal7-FspB94rNn8SKf1HwSQ9e5tlKCP1pU1JHF9iPw/s1600/TeaPlant2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCpTeD1te4qLNzuqp94iAWj7CsBMisazxuv4OhsMMRiuvT2jTPUAgVQV4eOM_K4QVx50b8XbMSIgBGVPKCKYXyO4olo90nMQWqdKal7-FspB94rNn8SKf1HwSQ9e5tlKCP1pU1JHF9iPw/s640/TeaPlant2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The plant in the large pot grew much bigger than the one in the small pot!</td></tr>
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<b>Getting Tea Plants Ready For Winter- What To Do Outside</b><br />
To combat an extreme temperature change and also frigid winds, Jason suggested I use <a href="https://amzn.to/3265Aph" target="_blank">horticultural fleece</a>. Horticultural fleece is lightweight material used to cover the plants. It's basically a plant blanket to keep out the extreme wind. The wind is the real problem, as combined with frigid weather it can cause the leaves to freezer burn, which in turn can kill the plants.<br />
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<b>Getting Tea Plants Ready For Winter- What To Do Inside</b><br />
For my potted tea plants, I had to decide if I would bring them inside or leave them out for the season. I decided to bring two large and one small pot indoors, to compare the indoor and outdoor plant progress. I may bring one large more pot inside if I can find a good spot for it. I have huge radiators right by my best windows, so there isn't much prime plant space. I want to make sure the plants are as far away from the radiators as possible so they don't get too dry and overheated.<br />
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When I first sprouted my seedlings I kept them in a little greenhouse to trap in some humidity. But I'm not going to seek out a larger greenhouse for the indoor plants this time. Hopefully they'll adapt to the slightly dryer environment and I'll just give them an occasional misting (but I won't keep them too wet as that can lead to <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/01/how-to-grow-tea-pt-1-growing-camellia.html" target="_blank">fungus gnats</a>). It will be interesting to compare the progress of the indoor and outdoor plants. I'll post an update sometime midwinter.<br />
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A quick note on the potted plants- if you look at the above photo, you'll see the plant in the larger pot grew much taller than the one in the little pot! Something to keep in mind if you're thinking of growing tea for yourself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmz22nLWslZ7rvr4WWaWwGK3r_mx8CI2YwvHz2JP7u6WzwbR4YalBJztqWdxBKpimItv2n-F-m9NKVUJ3Hh5EGzuse8FNWjnvV6YZvmmJ8nITozCtbSMK1tOvOeMPknitFnlG34WIq2zGW/s1600/TeaPlant3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmz22nLWslZ7rvr4WWaWwGK3r_mx8CI2YwvHz2JP7u6WzwbR4YalBJztqWdxBKpimItv2n-F-m9NKVUJ3Hh5EGzuse8FNWjnvV6YZvmmJ8nITozCtbSMK1tOvOeMPknitFnlG34WIq2zGW/s640/TeaPlant3.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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If you keep tea plants, let me know what you do over the winter. Do you protect them outside? If they are inside, do you do anything special? For more tips on growing your own tea, check out my <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/01/how-to-grow-tea-pt-1-growing-camellia.html" target="_blank">original post</a> and my <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/04/how-to-grow-tea-pt-2-from-inside-to.html" target="_blank">follow-up post</a>!Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-78216558309629677372019-10-03T12:13:00.000-04:002019-10-03T12:13:01.388-04:00Teaware History: The Mote Spoon<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JjMtYNBPvRCLJk_lNc0jNPhGaWppRIF9c43PZ00aQzoyUDhRYU6gIEoZygCKb6Y1a5xBbJ_wGUW3FXfkwzwoeH2AgJaLdUANqdXLFNxV2z3VFQ3K1KGIaWmrvfsobjQOw28tu5ll9Api/s1600/mote+spoon+history+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1466" data-original-width="980" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JjMtYNBPvRCLJk_lNc0jNPhGaWppRIF9c43PZ00aQzoyUDhRYU6gIEoZygCKb6Y1a5xBbJ_wGUW3FXfkwzwoeH2AgJaLdUANqdXLFNxV2z3VFQ3K1KGIaWmrvfsobjQOw28tu5ll9Api/s640/mote+spoon+history+6.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(not a mote spoon)</td></tr>
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I love sharing the random tidbits of teaware history that I pick up in my reading, and today's post is on the mote spoon. The mote spoon is a tea accessory with an influential history. In fact, authentic mote spoons are so coveted that it's tough to find a real one.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8AJW9fnWGtJ_YRjvxRWTbcW3yGyhIKv5KpKYMIOW5hRHUpin9k3SeX1CS77QGyq2CRlxQHoyVCSzCBG0DBDlj7FuJzzROQWnwHiFWXLMnIDUDi7ijkiJxWeNjX1JhPKEL2ls7G5w9bmg/s1600/mote+spoon+history+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8AJW9fnWGtJ_YRjvxRWTbcW3yGyhIKv5KpKYMIOW5hRHUpin9k3SeX1CS77QGyq2CRlxQHoyVCSzCBG0DBDlj7FuJzzROQWnwHiFWXLMnIDUDi7ijkiJxWeNjX1JhPKEL2ls7G5w9bmg/s640/mote+spoon+history+5.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not a mote spoon- but used like one</td></tr>
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<b>History Of The Mote Spoon</b></div>
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This little spoon was actually a very handy tool! Originally called a 'tea strainer spoon', mote spoons were used in the 17th and 18th centuries. A 'mote' is a speck or tiny piece of something, and in this case a bit of tea leaf. As with many tea accessories, there is a bit of a debate on how it was originally used. </div>
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Mote spoons were in use before tea-caddy spoons were created. They may have been used to lift the tea leaves out of the canister and into the pot. This would sift the tea dust away from the leaves, keeping the tiniest bits out of the teapot. The mote spoon had another important feature, a tapered pointy end, which was used to dislodge leaves from the teapot's spout. </div>
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The second reported use was to scoop out errant tea leaves floating in the cup (the 'motes', if you will). In the 17th century, tea leaves were added to the pot and the brew poured directly into cups. Leaves were always escaping into the tea cups, causing the tea to continue steeping and taste bitter. The pierced mote spoons could easily scoop up the little rogue floaters, saving that delicious cup of tea. The tea was 'demoted', but in the best way possible.</div>
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It's tough to say if mote spoons were used to sift the dry tea leaves from the caddy, as the piercings could be quite small and wouldn't sift much of the tiny leaves out. But it would have been well suited to skim the leaves off of the poured tea.</div>
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<b>How The Mote Spoon Evolved</b></div>
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According to master teaware historian <a href="https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/video/mote-spoons" target="_blank">Bruce Richardson</a>, the mote spoon paved the way for the victorian tea strainer, which we still use today. In an <a href="https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/video/mote-spoons" target="_blank">interesting video</a>, Mr. Richardson mentions:</div>
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...and they did away with the mote spoon because as you know you just put the strainer on top of your teacup and then pour your tea through the strainer and all those wonderful holes catch the any errant tea leaves or motes and demote your tea easily and then you place it back into this wonderful little catch basin that catches any errant drips and keeps your table nice and tidy</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHj3X1hZcMs-h4BxQFAgkBthXEAoiNlHvyuE7LF-LRzWweF-jdPw_5xiJcyXXQXKZUItNVA2Z72Tz03kgSpkGnOV20Sunwz3kiVOFU2r9i-3zffUChKINd5YkXWBZgWbVFzF0uE2RN1591/s1600/mote+spoon+history+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHj3X1hZcMs-h4BxQFAgkBthXEAoiNlHvyuE7LF-LRzWweF-jdPw_5xiJcyXXQXKZUItNVA2Z72Tz03kgSpkGnOV20Sunwz3kiVOFU2r9i-3zffUChKINd5YkXWBZgWbVFzF0uE2RN1591/s640/mote+spoon+history+4.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">possibly a tea strainer</td></tr>
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<b>Collecting Mote Spoons- Beware Of Fakes!</b></div>
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Mote spoons can be difficult to find if you're interested in collecting them. Because of this, they have a high price attached and are often faked. Real mote spoons start at well over $100, and can be quite a bit more depending on rarity and decoration.</div>
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Looking through online auctions and antique sites, I found many mote spoons that ranged from possibly real, to definitely not. There are a few important things to look for if you are interested in collecting them.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYr3TW4bAWX9gMuiqrTxxNOs0LlYLQasbl1_0p2W_OAqT-tUlVNV-TmKrgtVs1lPB68YNpUEYoVAK59NNPbBfz6YmFvRkGGXdlIMdeR50wxsws_YYkSSc5ntToWioKPp2t_eyWVwH1gyIh/s1600/mote+spoons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="600" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYr3TW4bAWX9gMuiqrTxxNOs0LlYLQasbl1_0p2W_OAqT-tUlVNV-TmKrgtVs1lPB68YNpUEYoVAK59NNPbBfz6YmFvRkGGXdlIMdeR50wxsws_YYkSSc5ntToWioKPp2t_eyWVwH1gyIh/s640/mote+spoons.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(from top to bottom) spoon, fake mote spoon, genuine mote spoon (<a href="http://www.ascasonline.org/articoloMAGGI113.html" target="_blank">photo from ASCAS online</a>)</td></tr>
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Fakes are easily made by taking an 18th century silver spoon and piercing decorations into the bowl and re-shaping the handle to a point. The photo above gives a good example of a spoon, a faked spoon, and a real mote spoon. Faked spoons are (obviously) the size and length of a teaspoon. Mote spoons are generally longer, and the bowl of the spoon is also longer and more narrow than a typical teaspoon. The piercing on the spoon can also sometimes help determine if it's fake or not. But again, all of this is very difficult to authenticate.</div>
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I'm not sure if the spoon I have (and use in all the photos) is a tea strainer (it doesn't really fit over the cup at all), or more likely a fruit or bonbon spoon. It's definitely not a mote spoon as the bowl is rounded, and the end is flat, not tapered to fit into a teapot's spout. Whatever it is, I enjoy the way it looks.</div>
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So if you see something you like, just go for it. You should enjoy your collection, not just stress about authenticity. But if you're looking for the real thing, now you know what to look out for. Do you have an authentic mote spoon? I'd love to hear more about them!</div>
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-54845401919890514872019-09-19T21:24:00.001-04:002019-09-19T21:24:53.119-04:00History Of The Teapot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8FKv-KD2hQw-kIcqUpE4nwy3tTYdFG8-a1GJF0j0FS_TwB_U0scTZOq91eq4EFh0EEFub4gaidSpHstcEoOcLqV2fiX-4Egb65sF02gqox-Pfp8oWj8MUxokQ0ZeBrNcE8ami4jAls3d/s1600/teapothistory.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1176" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8FKv-KD2hQw-kIcqUpE4nwy3tTYdFG8-a1GJF0j0FS_TwB_U0scTZOq91eq4EFh0EEFub4gaidSpHstcEoOcLqV2fiX-4Egb65sF02gqox-Pfp8oWj8MUxokQ0ZeBrNcE8ami4jAls3d/s640/teapothistory.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It may seem as if teapots have been around as long as tea itself, but that's not actually the case. We all use them, but do you know when they originated? Let's get a little deeper into the history of teapots.</div>
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<b>Teapot History- Song Dynasty to Ming Dynasty</b></div>
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Teapots may not have been around as long as the tea steeped in them, but the design is still quite ancient. We need to look to Chinese tea history to learn more about teapots, as the leaves themselves shaped the need for a steeping vessel.<br />
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During the Song dynasty (960-1279) tea leaves were not processed they way they are today. Leaves were steamed, ground, and molded into brick forms. In order to prepare the tea, pieces of the brick were broken off and boiled in cooking vessels.</div>
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A little later during this time period tea was pulverized into powder form and whisked, just like matcha. Since the leaves were either boiled or whisked, a teapot-like vessel wasn't needed. Porcelain was invented in the Tang dynasty (618-907) and was largely the material used for tea cups and bowls used for tea, but teapots hadn't been in use yet.<br />
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You may be thinking you've seen teapots from this time period in books or museums, but these were most likely ewers used for water or wine. The shape of these vessels will play an important role, however.</div>
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It appears that the teapot was created during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) when changes in tea processing style led to steeping loose leaf tea. From the book <a href="https://amzn.to/2OaKy4R" target="_blank">The True History Of Tea</a>:</div>
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Instead of the age-old custom of steaming the leaves, the monks on Songluo Mountain in Anhui province discovered that stir-roasting them in a dry hot wok improved the color, fragrance, and flavor of the finished tea. </blockquote>
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Tea production in the Wuyi mountains used the new method the Songluo monks created, and after much trial and error semi-oxidized oolong teas were born. The loose leaves needed a vessel for delicate brewing, in order to extract the right body and flavor of the tea. Through this necessity, the teapot was born.</div>
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<b>Teapot History- Yixing </b><br />
Small teapots resembling the ewers I mentioned earlier were developed in the city of Yixing, in Jiangsu province of China around 1500. It seems likely that the water and wine vessels were used as a model for tea.<br />
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If you're a Yixing pot collector you know the vessels are made from reddish or purple 'zisha' clay (zisha translates to 'purple sand pot'). The clay has a special mineral composition that makes it ideal for brewing tea, and creates a porous material perfect for capturing the essence of the tea. The teapots were very small (and still are today), made for personal use. Small porcelain cups were used to sip with, but I've also seen mention of people drinking directly from the teapot's spout. I need to give this a try! Maybe at home when no one is looking...<br />
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It's actually tough to say for certain if teapots were really created in 1500, as the great James Norwood Pratt argues in the <a href="https://amzn.to/30A8GQW" target="_blank">New Tea Lover's Treasury</a>:<br />
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It strains credulity to believe so inventive a people as the Chinese never thought to brew tea in their so-called wine ewers.</blockquote>
That makes sense, doesn't it? Since teapots look so much like an ewer, wouldn't someone have thought to use one for tea before 1500? But, I'll leave that for Norwood to debate.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzF3MwhtezsKi_rOrOL3o4BmYhkhv0zpT0bmrikRDFpxrElzIpXIXbpxJVRIzwXu0mJOnEUG4VaroEkB97_4Lmasuh2MN-Xftxry2hgdfDA_Or4QxCSrc6khw0Z6Vx3Na5TsxggLUpCTn/s1600/Chinese+Ewer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzF3MwhtezsKi_rOrOL3o4BmYhkhv0zpT0bmrikRDFpxrElzIpXIXbpxJVRIzwXu0mJOnEUG4VaroEkB97_4Lmasuh2MN-Xftxry2hgdfDA_Or4QxCSrc6khw0Z6Vx3Na5TsxggLUpCTn/s400/Chinese+Ewer.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese Ewer, image from the <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/460716" target="_blank">Metropolitan Museum of Art</a></td></tr>
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<b>Teapot History- Western Europe and Beyond</b><br />
Once Chinese porcelain started making its way to European countries (to learn more about the history of European porcelain you can check out my <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2019/01/teaware-history-what-is-bone-china.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>), Europeans couldn't get enough of the beautiful porcelain. They raced to figure out how to create their own porcelain, which eventually led to designing teapots and other teaware.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1803lq5mMGcSPq7EdRaXJL54lSZI0mBESKpsZKZol3TorHnXvAZXKCq2OJ_ZrsyBUsXxR9z5uFX0FTCl4FryuQP45kolk53QCzSuxs42BwULWnzrdft0VgMO9lgOuwvDlpKzPyIB0NPSC/s1600/teapothistory+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1513" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1803lq5mMGcSPq7EdRaXJL54lSZI0mBESKpsZKZol3TorHnXvAZXKCq2OJ_ZrsyBUsXxR9z5uFX0FTCl4FryuQP45kolk53QCzSuxs42BwULWnzrdft0VgMO9lgOuwvDlpKzPyIB0NPSC/s640/teapothistory+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The pots originally exported to Europe were small with straight spouts, similar to the Yixing styles. The large porcelain and silver styles seen today came much later, when tea drinking became part of the European lifestyle.<br />
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There is so much more to learn and discuss about teapot history and design, but it'll need to be saved for later posts. Next time you use a teapot think about how it evolved and where it came from. Maybe even have a sip from the spout!Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-69228594619245315092019-09-05T15:59:00.001-04:002019-09-05T15:59:45.649-04:00Matcha Watermelon Cocktail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2v6FOu6RxepxZW7c1I9LxiuQP46FzxrIlt-0xVRZsvGvTzIhiDwm-o1zUSwoOxxpVkscyd62hWUln9FgObI1N-ufkjvKntoyv9FCMqdg5hTbkKhRV7XwiRFYUb_1vesUpuCK1qA5JtmBR/s1600/Matcha+Watermelon+Cocktail+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1070" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2v6FOu6RxepxZW7c1I9LxiuQP46FzxrIlt-0xVRZsvGvTzIhiDwm-o1zUSwoOxxpVkscyd62hWUln9FgObI1N-ufkjvKntoyv9FCMqdg5hTbkKhRV7XwiRFYUb_1vesUpuCK1qA5JtmBR/s640/Matcha+Watermelon+Cocktail+6.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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It feels like the summer is officially over, but you can keep the warm-weather feelings alive with a Matcha Watermelon cocktail. Freshly blended watermelon juice is combined with a boozy, matcha-y, citrusy elixir that is delicious and refreshing. The additions of basil and a touch of salt make this more than just your average matcha cocktail.<br />
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I was recently sent a can of a bright and vegetal organic <a href="https://nioteas.com/collections/matcha/products/organic-matcha-sesui-1" target="_blank">Yabukita Matcha Sesui</a> from <a href="https://nioteas.com/" target="_blank">Nio Teas</a>, and decided to use it in a cocktail. After a few recent family gatherings I noticed we had an abundance of watermelon in the refrigerator, and the lightbulb went off. I knew I had to pull out my cocktail shaker and start recipe testing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcbIYO-uK20ON5FIyK9jp2A2anWOkh-YVqXU8hV99ehkUjMrFu3nEPh6YcBQBrZ-RWvLdThwzHUxJ-EzTee5wNutcJnVLeoFiIq3dRwJWTpCBAxmI1_2USNuHCapuV4nVGIVjF3vhPv3n/s1600/Matcha+Watermelon+Cocktail+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1469" data-original-width="982" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcbIYO-uK20ON5FIyK9jp2A2anWOkh-YVqXU8hV99ehkUjMrFu3nEPh6YcBQBrZ-RWvLdThwzHUxJ-EzTee5wNutcJnVLeoFiIq3dRwJWTpCBAxmI1_2USNuHCapuV4nVGIVjF3vhPv3n/s640/Matcha+Watermelon+Cocktail+2.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<b>Matcha Watermelon Cocktail- The Backstory</b></div>
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I wanted to make a matcha cocktail that was naturally sweet, and watermelon juice is sweet enough without the addition of any other sweeteners. The recipe took a bit of time to refine, however, because I just wasn't getting the right balance of sweet, tart, and smooth.</div>
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My husband helped me taste each concoction I made, through all sorts of ingredient combinations. I decided to use vodka as the spirit, as it has a clean flavor. Eventually we hit upon the perfect additions- watermelon, matcha, lemon, lime, fresh basil, and a very important pinch of salt. Without the basil, the drink just wasn't smooth and soft enough, and the pinch of salt really brightened the whole thing up.</div>
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<b>Matcha Watermelon Cocktail- The Pour</b></div>
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It also took me a few tries to figure out how to add each ingredient in, so the whole thing doesn't look like a foamy mess. After some trial and error, I discovered the right sequence to give it the most pizzaz. </div>
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<b>Matcha Watermelon Cocktail- Tips</b><br />
Be sure to use cold watermelon for this recipe for maximum flavor and refreshment. No need to freeze the watermelon though, as that will change the texture.<br />
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When adding the basil, make sure it's a little bashed up- I like to knead it a little with my fingers, to bruise it and allow the flavors to be released.<br />
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As you can see from the photos I didn't get too fancy with my pouring skills, but if you're up for it you can get some interesting swirly designs if you pour the matcha elixir slowly and carefully. Don't try to stir everything together, or you'll lose the nicely defined colors.<br />
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<u>Tea Happiness' Matcha Watermelon Cocktail</u><br />
Makes 1 cocktail<br />
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2 cups cold watermelon, cubed and seeded<br />
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1 oz. Vodka<br />
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice<br />
1 tbsp fresh lime juice<br />
2-3 fresh basil leaves bruised up a bit with your fingers<br />
1/2 tsp. matcha<br />
pinch of salt<br />
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<i>Tools you'll need: Cocktail glasses, a cocktail shaker, a blender.</i><br />
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First, take the two cups of cubed watermelon and blend it until smooth and frothy. It doesn't take very long and you'll get something a bit thicker than watermelon juice, with a nice liquid consistency.<br />
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Pour about 3/4 cup of the watermelon juice in your cocktail glass, and set it aside.<br />
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In the cocktail shaker combine the remaining ingredients: vodka, lemon juice, lime juice,basil leaves, matcha, and salt. Shake vigorously. The more you shake it, the more incorporated your matcha will be.<br />
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Gently pour the mixture into the watermelon juice but do not stir. Serve as is, or garnish with a few basil leaves, or fresh watermelon.<br />
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There you have it! The watermelon juice naturally sweetens the drink, and the matcha, citrus, and basil really come through. A sip of summertime any time of year. Cheers!Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-81395876177872905052019-08-22T15:45:00.003-04:002019-08-22T15:46:05.486-04:00Interview: The Renegade Tea Estate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Georgian white teas, photo courtesy of Renegade Tea Estate</td></tr>
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I love learning about the many passionate tea growers and producers around the world, and today I'm excited to present an interview with a fairly new tea company, <a href="https://www.renegadetea.com/" target="_blank">Renegade Tea Estate</a>. Western <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)" target="_blank">Georgia</a> (the country, not the state) used to be a large tea producing region before the industry collapsed in the 1990s. But the passionate young tea growers of Renegade Tea Estate are trying to rehabilitate Georgian tea. Read all about this new tea venture, the challenges they faced in rehabilitating a tea farm while learning how to grow and process tea in our interview below.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaves of Renegade's 'Berry Breeze' black tea</td></tr>
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<b>How did the Renegade team come together?</b><br />
All of us had good corporate careers in the same mid-sized transportation company, but what united us was that there was always this itch to do something more than excel tables and quarterly meetings. It may sound idealistic, but we all wanted to do something that would at the same time fulfill our personal dream of doing things with our hands, being free to challenge the status quo and to offer people something genuine and unique…While maybe making a world a little bit better place while doing it. <br />
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How the Renegade team ended up in Georgia and with tea was just a row of different coincidences - we were more drawn to the idea in general, Georgia and tea were in a way just the small pieces of the puzzle that helped to put it all together. <br />
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<b>How did you decide which tea plantations to rehabilitate? How long did it take to get them up and running?</b><br />
When we had found out about the history of Georgian tea and also got the information that the Georgian government had a project going on at the time to help to rehabilitate abandoned tea plantations, we started to look for the right plantations. Since there was no database of possible plantations we met with few of the representatives of local municipalities and they showed us a few options. None of them felt right though, so Hannes started to go over Georgia in Google maps satellite view- even if the tea plantations have been abandoned for a long time the rows are still quite clearly visible from the air. So a few weeks of going around Google satellite view and then a few more of driving to the dots marked on the map in Georgia and we ended up with two plantations that we really liked- they had quite different landscapes, were logistically in a good (kinda) accessible place and just felt right. So that’s how we ended up with our two first plantations- Renegade Estate and Mandikori Estate. <br />
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We started with the paperwork in the middle of 2017 and finished the rehabilitation of the first plantation in February 2018. This means that by that time it was an empty field without bushes and fern that were covering the plantation for the last 30 years and also tea. Everything above the ground was cleaned and then new tea plants started to grow from the old roots. By now most of them are around 30-50 cm tall, but the plantation will need about 4-5 more years to get to the full productivity. <br />
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<b>Please tell us a bit about the challenges of re-starting the tea plantations, and how you learned what to do.</b><br />
Since none of us actually had any previous experience in agriculture and especially in tea farming, everything was a challenge in a sense. We did a lot of Googling, reading books and consulting with some specialists around the world via the internet. In July of 2018, we also had a teacher from Nepal who helped us a lot- Sonam Paljor Lama. He was the first specialist who was actually on the place, and we learned so much during our time with him. Every hour taught us as much as we had learned previously within weeks. When he came to visit we were kind of afraid that he will turn right around and say that we have messed it all up and the whole project is crazy… Luckily our fears were not met and with the help of the Internet, books and out gut feeling we had managed to do everything more or less right. <br />
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<b>Are the leaves processed at the plantation, and are they all from your gardens or also from surrounding gardens? How did you all learn how to process your tea?</b><br />
Our factory is located about 4 km away from our biggest and first plantation Renegade Estate. Mandikori is about 40 minutes drive away and the third plantation that we are just starting to work with is just next to the factory. We also collaborate with the villagers nearby, since some of them have their own small tea gardens and our own plantations are just gaining strength and don’t give enough leaves nor work for the local people.<br />
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Processing tea is a continuous row of experiments for us. Sonam, who I mentioned before, helped us with some basics, but we soon understood that there is no fixed recipe. Our leaves are different from the ones in Nepal, China or Africa. Not even to start about the fact that every tea master has their own style of doing things… So we just test. A lot. Last year we ended up with 42 different teas (from just 100 kg of ready-made tea). This year we have tried to redo some basics that we liked from last year, but we are also still experimenting a lot to find new tastes. It’s actually incredible how many different tastes you can get from the same plant, without adding anything to it and just changing the way of processing!<br />
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<b>Do you know the cultivars of your tea plants? Does this impact how you process them?</b><br />
As I mentioned before nobody amongst us has very deep knowledge about agriculture and tea cultivars were something that we just learned about when Sonam came to visit us. Thanks to him we know that we have quite a mixture of cultivars in our plantations- there are Chinese, Assamica and Cambodian varieties that we know of, probably some other ones also that we have not detected yet. Way back in the day, these plantations were all planted from the seeds and now it’s a mixture of everything. <br />
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Processing those different leaves is of course somewhat challenging, because the leaves mature at a different pace and also act differently during the processing, but this also gives us a very unique combination of tastes. Also as we don’t have any previous experience about working with only one cultivar, we don’t really have a comparison moment - we do just what feels right with the leaves when they arrive in the factory. When our Nepalese teacher came, one of the first things he told us was that if you want to do it the artisan way as we do, then the tea making is always improvisation, there are no fixed operations. It’s especially true with this mixture of cultivars. It’s different every time and you just have to feel the leaf and hear what it wants you to do with it...<br />
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<b>What is one of the most important lessons you’ve learned about starting a tea farm?</b><br />
You have to have time and patience. In agriculture, you can not rush things. Plants are growing in their own pace and you just have to arrange your doings accordingly. Sometimes it means that tea grows slower than you’d like and fern grows 10 times as fast, but this is just the reality you have to accept and work with. <br />
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Also that there are no strict rules or easy answers. When asked for advice from different people we quite soon understood that everyone is very eager to help and has a very clear understanding of what should be done, the only thing is that their answers don’t usually match with the advice from some other person on the same topic. So all we really can do is just test a lot and see what works out for us the best. <br />
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<b>What is something that surprised you about running a tea farm?</b><br />
I think that the most memorable surprises are connected with Georgia and the cultural differences here. I am from Estonia and their people are very career-oriented and practical. Many Georgians, on the other hand, seem to value their community relationships and having a good time a lot more than money or making a career. This was hard to understand for us at first but now has actually taught us all a lot. We are more relaxed about things now, stress less and can enjoy life more I think. Georgians have one of the longest life expectancies in the world, even though their diet, alcohol intake and love for cigarettes would point to the whole other direction - I am pretty sure that this is just because they value their quality time with close ones and have lower stress levels due to that. <br />
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<b>How does the Georgian terroir have an effect on the flavour of the tea?</b><br />
Georgia is one of the most Northen places where it is possible to grow tea in such quantities. The plants have about 6-7 months of growth time during the year and then 5-6 months of resting time. This gives the plant time to gather it’s strength during the winter and the cold (December and January usually have some light snow and around 0*C) keeps all the diseases away as well, so there is no need to use different pesticides and it is quite easy to keep the plantations 100% organic as we do. <br />
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As a combination of the cultivars, soil and outside temperatures, the tea from Georgia usually has a naturally sweet and floral taste- all of us were actually very surprised about the black teas for example. Instead of the astringency and even bitterness that we all associated with black tea previously we found silky sweetness and this really changed my mind about black tea. That’s why we always advise trying the blacks from here even for the people who usually don’t go for black tea. <br />
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<b>I love the detailed information on your packaging. How did you decide on all the information to include?</b><br />
Thank you! Our idea has always been to be the personal tea farmers for all of our tea-drinkers. Like when you buy milk, eggs or potatoes from a farmer you know, we wanted people to have the possibility to do the same with tea and sharing as much information as possible about the process behind teas seemed like a good way to bring the tea closer to the consumer.<br />
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Also, we found that we previously didn’t really think what are those crumbles in the tea package, and how did they get there. We hope and believe that sharing this information will help people to connect more with the products that they are consuming.<br />
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<b>What makes your teas stand out from the many other teas available for consumers to purchase?</b><br />
Our aim is definitely not to become some next big corporation of tea sellers. We really would like to keep it small enough that we, with our 7 person main team and with the help of the local community could run it. No customer service centre, no row of resellers. We’d like to make the teas we enjoy ourselves, have an honest relationship with our customers and to build a community of co-Renegades so that the relationship between us and people who drink our teas is less of a company-client relationship, but more of a farmer-friend type. <br />
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And of course, we do always try to make the best teas possible and we’ll probably never stop testing with different options and sharing our successes (and failures) with our community.<br />
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Thank you so much to Miina and everyone at Renegade Tea Farm for taking the time to answer all of my questions! I loved learning so much about your tea gardens and the company. For more information on the tea gardens and all things Georgian tea, visit their <a href="https://www.renegadetea.com/" target="_blank">website</a>. You can also visit my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tea_happiness/" target="_blank">Instagram page</a> for more photos and info on the Renegade teas I've tried.</div>
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-6838599178933877282019-08-08T13:54:00.000-04:002019-08-08T13:54:29.905-04:00The Depths of Infusion at Camellia Sinensis Montreal<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Saying you're taking a 'tea class' at Camellia Sinensis really isn't the right turn of phrase. It's really more of a 'tea experience'. Yes, there is learning (quite a bit), and yes there is note taking (at least for me, the obsessive note taker). But this comes wrapped a relaxing sensory experience, getting lost in the leaf. Hours fly by unnoticed while you smell, taste, and feel the tea.<br />
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This is an intensive tea class, and I mean <i>intense</i>. As a group of 10 people we tasted nearly 60 teas over the course of two days, and some had multiple infusions. I was surprised that the amount of tea never became overwhelming, nor did it make me too caffeinated or tea drunk. This probably speaks to the calm atmosphere of the class, and the quality of the teas (and the tasty snacks).<br />
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I'm not going to get into the specifics of all the teas we had or curriculum we discussed, that would just be too much for anyone to read. But if you follow my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tea_happiness/" target="_blank">Instagram page</a>, I pinned a 'TeaSummerSchool' highlight, and I'll also be posting photos of many of the teas over the next week or so with a bit more information. I honestly didn't get that many photos (at least for a photo-obsessive like me), I wanted to try and focus on the experience<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Gascoyne making the tea</td></tr>
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<b>The Class</b><br />
Over two days, the class was led by three of Camellia Sinensis' best: <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2018/06/interview-kevin-gascoyne.html" target="_blank">Kevin</a>, <a href="https://camellia-sinensis.com/en/blog/team-portrait-sebastien-collin" target="_blank">Sebastien</a>, and <a href="https://camellia-sinensis.com/en/blog/team-portrait-alexis-bernard" target="_blank">Alexis</a>. Each instructor brought their unique knowledge and perspective, and had their own teaching style. I love that everyone was laid back, focused on the flavors and feeling of the teas while still conveying history, culture, terroir and processing (among other important tidbits). They gave a good foundation on each tea, and I enjoyed all the tasting notes everyone in the class shared.<br />
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<b>The Tastings- Day 1</b><br />
The class consisted of different types of tastings. We did group cuppings of multiple teas side by side, we sampled teas poured for us into small cups, and we infused others ourselves in gaiwans and gongfu pots.<br />
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We started the first day with a short group tasting of teas ranging from light to darker in flavor and color. The teas had a natural progression from delicate to dark and full bodied (they consisted of white, green, oolong, and black teas). When I asked Kevin why he put this varied group together, he said he chose them for the diversity of flavor and texture, but also as teas that weren't featured in the main part of the class. I appreciated the opportunity to taste these teas which, as Kevin mentioned, had a had a natural progression; similar to listening to songs carefully compiled onto a 'mix tape' (yes, I'm old enough to have made mix tapes. Many, many of them). They were very different, but worked well as a whole.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlpiYA3HSEwN6Mqn6oYMmGji5D-q5cR2JlpYq2g-jNvr3Hmvnls9pJp-oso5NniY61IegLfo1yb7_9LgXU6DldofdFWxzr7TGGVN2O890WWPPi3eyf6GXBOnckpGSizr4n4GMsYGnTvIA/s1600/camellia+sinensis+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlpiYA3HSEwN6Mqn6oYMmGji5D-q5cR2JlpYq2g-jNvr3Hmvnls9pJp-oso5NniY61IegLfo1yb7_9LgXU6DldofdFWxzr7TGGVN2O890WWPPi3eyf6GXBOnckpGSizr4n4GMsYGnTvIA/s640/camellia+sinensis+8.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darjeelings</td></tr>
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We then had a presentation on Darjeeling teas, Kevin's specialty. We tasted a bunch of teas from different gardens and flushes, young gardens vs. old, seeds vs. clonal. One of my favorites from the group was a first flush from Singell, a garden planted from seed in the 1860s. It's an open, Chinese style garden with leaves manufactured from each separate patch grown, to keep the flavor profile intact. This tea was surprisingly complex, energetic, and vibrant.<br />
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From Darjeeling we went to Japan, and Alexis guided us through an immense amount of information with ease. We talked about cultivars, culture, serving styles, growing, plucking, and processing. One interesting tidbit I learned was that gyokuro and matcha are 'aged' for a minimum of 3 months before finishing. We tasted some memorable teas, with the Gyokuro Shuin being the standout for me. It reminded me of slow-cooked kale, collards, and mustard greens, without any bitterness but all the deep green flavor and umami.<br />
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<b>The Tastings- Day 2</b><br />
We started the day examining Taiwanese and Chinese oolongs. We slurped down a line from light to more oxidized and roasted. I usually find myself gravitating towards darker oolongs, and that day was no exception. I appreciated the greener oolongs but found myself in love with a mucha tie guan yin that was roasted for 60 hours (slowly and carefully of course). My love for Wuyi yancha continued to be fueled by Bai Rui Xiang and Rou Gui Ma Tou. The Rou Gui stopped me in my tracks with its complexity. Spicy, sweet, floral, so many different things to feel. 'Ma Tou' refers to the specific rock formation where this tea is grown- it looks like a horse's head.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgybubXrnRAaTvV2f3PU-78eHyI0zn-qhqlJ6hjvqh7U2qLP_ROFB7XlyqVI8CS8KFj-GNI7yJtXSNVbrqyUBIgj8JagdGm3-IcPOLRFLcVVfM-bG3fs2dMWMGoBSNpmC0S1d_FthlPgf/s1600/camellia+sinensis+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgybubXrnRAaTvV2f3PU-78eHyI0zn-qhqlJ6hjvqh7U2qLP_ROFB7XlyqVI8CS8KFj-GNI7yJtXSNVbrqyUBIgj8JagdGm3-IcPOLRFLcVVfM-bG3fs2dMWMGoBSNpmC0S1d_FthlPgf/s640/camellia+sinensis+4.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dark teas</td></tr>
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After the in-depth oolong discussion we went to black teas. We had a chance to get hands on with brewing and also did a side by side cupping for a few of the teas. My favorites were a super floral Chuan Hong that tasted as if it was scented with roses and peonies. It was sweet and delicate. I also loved the Mei Zhan Zhen, which was complex and surprising. I kept tasting all sorts of things, from lemon to lavender, to chocolate. I brought some of this tea home and I hope I can replicate the experience.<br />
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We finished the day with many steepings of dark teas. Pu'er, Liu Bao, and other dark teas are the ones I have the least experience with. I was happy to sample so many teas, and taste all the complexities. By this point in the day, my notes are super spotty, as I became more and more relaxed with each sip of pu'er. We discussed where you feel the tea as you drink it depending on the age of the plant (mouth feel, vs throat) and I was really able to notice the difference. And of course, that lingering kick of sweetness after the tea is gone.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xiaguan 1986</td></tr>
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We delved into teas with different storage, various ages, and of course different processing styles. There were many memorable teas but as I mentioned, I didn't note much with my pen. I do remember the Xiaguan 1986 as a standout, and it's a tea we were given to brew ourselves with a yixing pot. A 1994 7542 was also pulled out for us, and we all got lost in multiple infusions, taking us to new levels of flavor.<br />
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<b>Overall</b><br />
Having the opportunity to get deeply into these teas was quite a treat. The three instructors all used a good mix of fun, education, and flavor. They each had unique perspectives and the teaching was relaxed but very clear. I liked the balance of different ways of tasting the teas, from quick cuppings to more in-depth infusions. My one criticism would be to have more time with some of the teas. Since the class is only two days long, there is so much to get through. If it was possible to add a half-day to the class, I think it may allow for a bit more breathing room. But that also isn't easy for people to schedule.<br />
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A quick note on Montreal- it's a beautiful city that's very walkable, and super approachable. Everyone is friendly and most people speak both English and French. The food is also not to be missed.<br />
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Our tea group of 10 was a perfect size, we were able to get to know one another. I'm looking forward to staying in contact with many of my new tea friends. If you are curious about this program, feel free to send me a note and I'd be happy to talk more about it. I'm already wondering when I can go back!<br />
<br />Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-48828763698388373822019-06-27T16:07:00.001-04:002019-06-27T16:15:01.757-04:00History of Tiny Tea Sets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OL4KyH0X0R6k3EHL483RX7i47p3MrC1MippXj1sLMt218yxwBYCJVc1_mwGWgUst327lXPUytR2QyuyFf1mVl4uZ7LLHRGZWWxtR6ZaRR60QBQwJozcxo_GW8JK3ucPchsrCGXXuMeuq/s1600/miniature+tea+set.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="971" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OL4KyH0X0R6k3EHL483RX7i47p3MrC1MippXj1sLMt218yxwBYCJVc1_mwGWgUst327lXPUytR2QyuyFf1mVl4uZ7LLHRGZWWxtR6ZaRR60QBQwJozcxo_GW8JK3ucPchsrCGXXuMeuq/s640/miniature+tea+set.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I was recently gifted a vintage tiny tea set. The amazing attention to detail on the set had me wondering when these little sets became popular, and how I could start collecting more. As I learned about these beautiful little tea sets, I realized there was an interesting history to share.<br />
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<b>History Of Tiny Tea Sets- The Dollhouse </b><br />
Miniature tea sets are too small for traditional dolls, but the perfect size for a beautiful dollhouse. So to learn more about them, I started looking at the history of dollhouses. Sure enough, these sets were made for tiny houses. I was lucky enough to have a dollhouse growing up, and my daughter now has the grand Victorian house, hand build by my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/morrysilbiger/" target="_blank">artistic father</a>. Dollhouses can be little slices of history, and can take dozens of years to build and furnish.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpalILCg7MlfKW25z1P2BRMwKwhwws2g2z6wFG6ED4CSZ4VkezCnTSvAKC2N19PDr_bhMtf9saDNNop6esdfbzLIqp-xrCAie0-4e8SuTI6FQxdOgIFemoHOv2T20bCOfhdVWbkPPn2Rjh/s1600/mini+tea+set+dragonware.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpalILCg7MlfKW25z1P2BRMwKwhwws2g2z6wFG6ED4CSZ4VkezCnTSvAKC2N19PDr_bhMtf9saDNNop6esdfbzLIqp-xrCAie0-4e8SuTI6FQxdOgIFemoHOv2T20bCOfhdVWbkPPn2Rjh/s400/mini+tea+set+dragonware.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miniature Dragonware Tea set and photo provided by Jo-Ani Johnson</td></tr>
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I've written about the <a href="http://www.tea-happiness.com/2018/11/history-of-childrens-tea-set.html" target="_blank">history of children's tea sets before</a>, but these sets are much smaller. The first dollhouse tea sets weren't actually meant for children at all, but for adults. The history goes back to the 16th century, where Dockenhaus (small houses) or 'baby houses' were collected to display wealth. Just like early porcelain teaware, dollhouses were created to flaunt the riches of the owner. They could be replicas of the owner's home, or just beautiful houses in their own right. The rooms were furnished with painstaking attention to detail. Tea sets weren't a part of dollhouse collecting until tea became popular in Western Europe. From <a href="https://www.forbes.com/2001/09/12/0912connguide.html#1cbac227181d" target="_blank">Forbes magazine</a>:<br />
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Tiny tea sets or pieces of furniture weren't originally made as children's playthings, even though their small scale shares a natural affinity with the proportions of childhood. Miniatures have been made and collected in Europe since the 17th century, when miniature pieces of silver became one of the first great collecting crazes.</blockquote>
In Holland and other European countries these dollhouses looked more like grand cabinets, with rooms to display the treasures and trinkets acquired by their owner. Up until the mid 19th century, these 'baby houses' were costly as they were custom made for each owner. The tiny houses were also used for young women to learn how to manage the household.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-i-YAUEqOhilUaOpsCqYjoaB4d-oY5W4KUyQpo8vdFyjscFXUbTIWN9JggnI1WPoTfnpnB1Ar6abVyVLO91-ZmExwXVOOhUp01kMvwa8IzTheDSrEQJSeo5L8V7Vy9qDBGKnAvnEa8Kh/s1600/mini+tea+sets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="320" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-i-YAUEqOhilUaOpsCqYjoaB4d-oY5W4KUyQpo8vdFyjscFXUbTIWN9JggnI1WPoTfnpnB1Ar6abVyVLO91-ZmExwXVOOhUp01kMvwa8IzTheDSrEQJSeo5L8V7Vy9qDBGKnAvnEa8Kh/s400/mini+tea+sets.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">miniature tea pots and photo provided by Jo-Ani Johnson</td></tr>
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Miniature tea sets for dollhouses were created for grand collectors in silver and fine porcelain, but they start to pop up more frequently in the Victorian era, where they can be found in brass, porcelain, clay, and wood. Mini tea sets were mass produced in the 19th century which made them more affordable.<br />
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Once industrialization began, dollhouses became less expensive and were considered toys for children. At the time, if a child owned a dollhouse, they were encouraged to create the miniatures to furnish them instead of just purchasing premade pieces. Later, mass-produced furniture and houses became the norm.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpshn4GuoQLthLzuL4wwYk1jLIrKEtNcEiO3OHC-MfrgtCm8Qc3-1pMslxPf8ZsxN3nkDdGh-2r3yXJca34NwM94AE2olZMYiDb3KevwWq1oyT3Tn7meKElXuQtcA2m-ea_mhikcay-5An/s1600/doll+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1024" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpshn4GuoQLthLzuL4wwYk1jLIrKEtNcEiO3OHC-MfrgtCm8Qc3-1pMslxPf8ZsxN3nkDdGh-2r3yXJca34NwM94AE2olZMYiDb3KevwWq1oyT3Tn7meKElXuQtcA2m-ea_mhikcay-5An/s400/doll+house.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frans Hals Museum dollhouse. Credit Sailko, <a href="http://fiveminutehistory.com/the-magical-miniature-world-of-antique-dollhouses/" target="_blank">website</a></td></tr>
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If you're interested in viewing doll houses from the past, there are many museums that have them on display. Next time I'm in London I may need to see Queen Mary's Doll House from the 1920s. It was commissioned to have every detail of the royal home, including running water and flushing toilets! And my favorite part, from this <a href="https://medium.com/@julieshentonpeters/six-amazing-dollhouses-and-where-you-can-see-five-of-them-353a1a649246" target="_blank">Medium article</a>:</div>
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The Strong Room contains a complete set of miniature crown jewels; a flowery trellis on the ceiling of the King’s Bedroom includes the opening bars of the National Anthem in its design; and the Saloon holds a pair of miniature throne chairs. The Queen added her own items to the House, too, including a miniature dolls’ tea service in copper (presented to Queen Mary by her mother) and a small model of a mouse made by the firm of Faberge.</blockquote>
<b>Collecting Miniature Tea Sets</b><br />
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So, where to start collecting your own miniature tea sets? First you'll want to focus on a time period. This will also determine the quality you'll find. Pieces from the Victorian era and earlier are more likely to be handmade and have fine details. Anything post war through the end of the 20th century will more likely be mass-produced. But there are still hand made pieces to be found in all time periods, and really you should collect what speaks to you. It doesn't matter if it's mass-produced or hand made, look for things you enjoy. If you're purchasing online, you'll find sets of all sorts of quality on etsy, ebay, and ruby lane. Sets can run a few dollars for a 20th century set made in Japan, up to the thousands for an antique French porcelain set. You can peruse antiques stores and local auctions to find miniature sets as well, but they may be a bit difficult to find. Dollhouse stores sell new sets, and there's no reason why you can't start there. New sets such as <a href="https://www.dollhouseminiatures.com/Accessories/teasets1.htm" target="_blank">these</a> are lovely to look at, and aren't a huge investment.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mini yixing and mamma pot, photo provided by Jo-Ani Johnson</td></tr>
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I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for more vintage miniature tea sets in the future. Just like standard-sized teaware, once you're bitten by the collecting bug, it's tough to stop! If you have your own special miniature tea sets, I'd love to hear about them.<br />
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Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8235699030038570274.post-43095328781252229842019-06-20T17:16:00.000-04:002019-06-20T17:16:23.035-04:00World Tea Expo 2019- Memorable Vendors<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brewing Zuo Wang's Zheng Qi Tang</td></tr>
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Last week I had a blast at World Tea Expo. So much happens during the Expo and it's tough to document all the excitement into a blog post. This post is dedicated solely to the vendors that really stood out. I was so busy that I didn't get photos of every vendor, or even try every sample. I had a more relaxed vibe this year and I focused on enjoying time with my tea friends, instead of cramming in everything and just skimming the surface. Here's a rundown of the vendors that stood out the most:<br />
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<b>Avocado Leaf Tea</b>- We're starting with an herbal infusion! Crazy, right? I had no idea that you could make an herbal tea out of avocado leaves, and was skeptical that it would actually taste good. But the <a href="https://avocadoleaftea.com/" target="_blank">Avocado Leaf Tea</a> was really interesting. I'm not usually a big fan of herbals, but I could see myself drinking this one now and again. The leaves are from avocado groves in Temecula, California. I enjoyed the earthy flavor of the natural leaf, but they also have blends available. Now you know!<br />
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<b>Bitaco Tea</b>- I've been a fan of the <a href="https://bitacotea.com/" target="_blank">Bitaco</a> Colombian teas for a few years. This year I sampled the White Tea Especial, which was quite notable. I don't remember trying this tea in years past, and I really enjoyed it. They also have a more traditional white tea that was also delicious. I recommend trying out their teas if you haven't already. Their <a href="https://bitacotea.com/product/cacao-kisses-bulk-x-1-k-and-25-k/" target="_blank">cacao kisses</a> is a tasty crowd-pleaser.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The T-Master, photo courtesy of <a href="https://iheartteas.teatra.de/" target="_blank">Rachel Carter</a></td></tr>
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<b>Cha T-Master</b> - The <a href="http://www.teabuddy.cn/" target="_blank">Cha T-master</a> is basically a smart brewer, but looks far more interesting. This nifty little device garnered quite a bit of attention at the Expo. I tried to take a video of it in action, but I couldn't get a good angle. It's basically a smart brewer that calculates the right way to brew your tea of choice. With all the tea brewers on the market this doesn't sound notable, but it plays music while it brews, talks to you, and even warns you that the tea may be hot. I like that it's a compact size as well. You can visit the <a href="http://www.teabuddy.cn/t-plus.html" target="_blank">website</a> for more information. It looked like a 'smart gaiwan' to me, but the website calls it a teapot. We were desperate to get our hands on one, but they aren't available for purchase yet. The company also displayed the T-Nova smart bottle for travel brewing. The bottle vibrates when it's done brewing, which had us asking all sorts of questions... Thank you to Rachel of <a href="https://iheartteas.teatra.de/" target="_blank">IHeartTeas</a> for sharing her photo of the brewer!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guizhou green tea just released into the water</td></tr>
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<b>Guizhou Green tea in a bottle</b>- This nifty RTD grabbed my attention because of how the tea is stored and brewed. The leaves are stored in the cap, and with a twist they are released into the water. Wait 10 minutes, and the tea is brewed! A super fresh, cold-brewed tea. It's such a cool idea, but it was tough to get much information about the product. Everything was in Chinese (including the pamphlet I picked up) and it isn't sold in the US. But I was given a sample bottle which I have to say was quite refreshing. The green tea flavor really comes through in just 10 minutes, and it can be re-steeped once, although the second steep wasn't as flavorful. To see a video of the bottle in action, visit <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tea_happiness/" target="_blank">my instagram page</a>, where I pinned a video to my profile.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved all of the Korean tea displays</td></tr>
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<b>Korean Teas</b>: A few Korean vendors, particularly from <a href="http://www.bsjeda.co.kr/" target="_blank">Boseong</a> had booths- Korean teas are usually underrepresented, and it was nice to see a few vendors. They all had beautifully decorated booths, and I enjoyed sampling various teas. I ended up purchasing a tea-stuffed yuzu, because I missed out on it last year. There was also delicious <a href="http://www.bohyang.com/product/detail.html?product_no=70&cate_no=1&display_group=3" target="_blank">tea jam</a> to sample, but it wasn't available for purchase. It was quite delicious, and I'll definitely keep my eye out if it's ever available in the U.S.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara's Gyokuro Imperial, being held by <a href="https://scandaloustea.teatra.de/" target="_blank">Jo Johnson</a></td></tr>
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<b>Sara's Tea Caddie</b>: <a href="https://www.teacaddie.com/" target="_blank">Sara's Tea Caddie</a> has exquisite Japanese teas. We made ourselves very comfortable at her booth and tasted some of the most memorable teas of the Expo. The Gyokuro Imperial was so deep, savory, and satisfying, it really created a memorable moment. A few of us even got a bit misty-eyed over the experience. As in years past, we were <a href="https://jel.jewish-languages.org/words/289" target="_blank">kvelling</a> over the white leaf <a href="https://www.teacaddie.com/japanese-white-leaf-tea-kiraka" target="_blank">Kiraka</a>, which is so good that I make sure to have it every year I'm at the Expo. I'm hoping to order some of the teas we tasted so I can do a more in-depth post about them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark Tea Cookie from Teagather</td></tr>
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<b>Teagather</b>- The folks at the <a href="http://teagather.net/" target="_blank">Teagather</a> booth were super friendly and eager to talk instant dark tea (anhua heicha). I was intrigued by the idea of instant dark tea, and even more interested once it was mixed into warm instant oatmeal and presented to me. Would it taste good? It sure did. And, it gave me a burst of energy. I have a few samples of the instant tea, and I can't wait to brainstorm what to do with them. I didn't get a photo of the tea, but I did snag a picture of the dark tea cookies. I did get a sample (pictured above) which I have been saving. I will report back on how it tastes! Keep an eye on my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tea_happiness/" target="_blank">instagram stories</a> for more.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puerh from Zuo Wang</td></tr>
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<b>Zuo Wang Tea</b>- I found myself gravitating towards <a href="https://www.zuowangtea.com/" target="_blank">Zuo Wang's</a> booth, which had a large crowd of tea friends gathered around. I soon found out why- they were brewing up puerh teas with style. I tried both a sheng and the Zheng Qi Tang (photo in the beginning of this post) and they were both very enjoyable. Zuo Wang means 'to sit and forget everything'. I was certainly able to focus on the tea I was sipping, forgetting I was in a massive convention center. Based in Portland, OR, the company is new to me and I look forward to learning more about them in the future.<br />
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As I mentioned, these are just a select few of the vendors that really grabbed my attention. There are so many incredible people I spent time with, many seminars I attended, and even the Tea Bloggers Roundtable event. But I'll have to save all of that for another time! If you noticed anything in particular that you'd like to learn more about, please let me know.Sara Shackethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443916832400751717noreply@blogger.com2