What’s Steeping: Tea Journey April 2017 Origins
Tea Journey annually publishes an “Origins” issue timed to the new harvest. Our intent is to introduce readers to how […]
Origin
Sri Lanka’s Tea Sesquicentennial
Sri Lanka celebrated its 150th anniversary of tea beginning in 2016 and culminating in the International Tea Convention and Expo in Colombo in August 2017.
On a Chai Trail: The Bengali and their Cha
That Bengalis love tea is now legendary and in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, tea is part of the social and cultural fabric. Our Chai Trail series takes readers up close and personal to the tea culture across India, and this story is a peek into the Bengali homes and the place that tea has in their lives.
Evolution on the Farm
Six years is not a long time to master tea with its centuries of development, so expectations visiting Westholme Tea Farm were not high. But the region’s combination of ideal growing conditions and a sensitive palate produced something worthy of the title: Canada’s First Tea Farm.
Harvest Review: Argentina
The harvest is just beginning in Argentina, the southernmost tea growing region in the world. This year November temperatures were unusually cool at the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
Modern Tea Trends Take a Decidedly Victorian Turn in London
The quintessentially English custom of afternoon tea is experiencing a serious renaissance in London with dozens of hotels and tea salons offering both traditional services and those updated for a modern palate and sensibility.
Teahouse Treks: Of Himalayan Hospitality and Tranquility
The aroma of sweet tea wafts through the air, that weary trekkers like us respond eagerly to. Over the years, I have taken to stopping by the teahouses on my treks, even if for a brief pause.
ORIGINS: Japan’s Higashiyama Tea Grass Gardens
In the foothills of Mt. Fuji lies the village of Higashiyama where Chagusaba agriculture, a UN-designated Globally Important World Agricultural Heritage System, is a way of life for tea farmers.
HARVEST REVIEW 2016: Indonesia The Evergreen Islands of Tea
Of the thousands of islands in Indonesia, just two make up the heartland for tea production: Sumatra, the largest of […]
Kanchenjunga: Five Treasures of the Great Snow Mountain
Parts of Nepal, Tibet, India and Bhutan are within view of Mt. Kanchenujunga a majestic icon whose five peaks look down on famous tea gardens in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Kalimpong, Pedong, Ilam, Hile and Taplejung.
Four Symbols Premium Chinese Tea
Four Symbols teas are sourced in the unique tea lands of China, harmonizing the artisanship of man with nature to produce authentic specialty loose-leaf tea.
Mary Cotterman: Entranced by the Spinning Wheel
At a very young age, Cotterman developed a passion for pottery, making pinch pots in the rocky Texas dirt of her yard. By the age of 12, she had her first formal experience with a throwing wheel during a summer camp class.
Wuyi’s Rock Tea: Treasure Mountain
Long into the night tea grower Yihua Luo keeps a watchful eye over the new harvest roast. It is the critical final stage of the most intricate processing technique of any tea. He hasn’t slept in 32 hours.
A Tale of Two Kathmandu Tea Shops
Bhairab Risal, a veteran journalist with a sharp memory at 94, speaks with ease and zeal of his memories of the early days of Kathmandu’s tea culture. In 1948, at the age of 20, he recalled his first cup of tea at Tilauri Mailako Pasal, one of Kathmandu’s earliest and best-known tea shops. In this article, Kathmandu journalist Prawash Gautam shares tales of two storied tea houses.
In Search of the Elusive Tai Ping Hou Kui
Every tea taster dreams of discovering a remote, virtually inaccessible growing region producing exceptional tea. The discovery of Tai Ping Hou Kui was just such an experience for us.
Where Trees Become Teas and Strangers Friends
Happenstance along a muddy uphill trail in Xishuangbanna leads to a long-time friendship sharing tea.
New Zealand’s Tea Evolution
New Zealanders are determined tea drinkers ranking 6th worldwide in per capita consumption. Supermarket teas dominate but offerings have evolved beyond canisters of traditional loose-leaf blends. Artisan merchants and entrepreneurs have found their niche in specialty tea blends so expect further expansion and innovation.
Nepal’s Specialty Tea Evolution
The Barbote tea farm is nestled in the steep hills of Ilam, Nepal. It was planted by Narendra Kumar Gurung’s grandfather and tended by his father. Narendra spent most of his working years with the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Like most of Nepal’s new-generation farmers, specialty tea is a new endeavor built on a century-old foundation of commodity production.
Garden Hopping in Queensland
Visitors to the Northern Queensland, Australia, can still find a handful of tea estates in an area called the ‘Wet Tropics’ – go there before the rest of the world catches on and lose yourself in the peacefulness and timelessness of a heritage that’s gone but not forgotten.
Rural Entrepreneurs Establish Nepal’s National Brand
Nepal’s eastern tea-growing region leads the country’s tea trade, but the landscape is changing as rural entrepreneurs expand the tea terroir. Upcoming tea brands are establishing Nepal Tea as a global brand offering premium differentiated products with a compelling story that is authentic and modern.
Kanchanjangha is Nepal’s First Certified Organic Tea Garden
Long before marketers labeled it organic, Nepal tea was grown with care. Harmony with nature was always the province of the nation’s 18,000 small tea farmers clinging to the mountainsides like the trees they nurtured.
Purnima Rai’s Nepal Garden
Smallholders are the backbone of the tea industry, especially in underdeveloped Nepal. Here’s the story of one Nepali smallholder: a widowed grandmother who has spent a lifetime nurturing tea in turn with nature, faith and family.
HARVEST REVIEW 2016
Tea Journey’s first annual harvest review gives you the big picture on the global tea business in 2016 along with insider information from local experts on some of the year’s most interesting teas. Especially for tea enthusiasts in the West, we hope this issue brings you a step or two closer to your favourite tea gardens – and your next new favourites!
Nepali Tea Opportunity
A lack of infrastructure, a lack of capital, natural disasters, a pandemic, and a very tough competitor at the border – these are the challenges faced by Nepal growers.
Growers Hope to Revive Georgian Tea
For most of the past century, Georgia was one of the world’s leading tea producers, supplying the unremarkable brew that filled tea cups in the Soviet Union. The Soviet collapse and the country’s civil war virtually killed the industry, but it’s starting to make a comeback.
Tasting Notes: Georgian Tea
What kind of tea is coming out of Georgia these days? Well, it’s not your (Georgian) grandfather’s tea! We recently sampled a green and some black teas from producers reviving a tea industry that under the Soviet Union was once the world’s fourth largest producer.
HARVEST REVIEW 2016: China
The Chinese tea industry, responsible for a third of global tea production, will remember 2016 mainly for the challenge of recovering from severe spring frost. Early spring tea was hit hard but the late spring harvest made up somewhat for the early losses. It has added up to overall lower sales compared to 2015, especially for the higher grades.
HARVEST REVIEW 2016: Southern China
It’s never a bad year for tea in Southern China, home of Anxi and Wuyi wulongs and many more outstanding varieties. But a wet spring dampened this year’s harvest, especially in early May when heavy rain brought tragedy to the region. Recommendations from the region this year include two Dancong oolongs from Guangdong province, Rougui from Wuyi, and jasmine.
Hawaii: the Spirit of Tea is alive
A community of artisanal tea growers has taken root in Hawaii and it’s finding success in niche tea markets internationally. For one Chinese-American couple, their new career keeps them connected with their art and their family’s tea heritage.
Hawaii: Lifegiving Terroir
Hawaii’s climate, soils and topography make it a natural place to grow tea. But the rich physical and biological diversity of the islands pose both opportunities and challenges for the first generation of Hawaiian tea producers.
Origin India: Discovering The Wild Tea Forest of Assam
Pradip Baruah was born curious. He spends much of his time in the office and lab as chief advisory officer at the Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TRI) in Jorhat, Assam, but loves an adventure whenever the opportunity arises. In January he fulfilled one of his long held dreams on a walk into the jungles of Assam where he photographed an ancient wild forest of Camellia Assamica, a species of large-leaf tea distinct from China’s Camellia Sinensis.
HARVEST REVIEW 2016: Australia
2016 was a good year for the growing tea industry in Australia. Australians have a history of being black tea drinkers and following their mostly British heritage, but that is rapidly changing. Gardens there specialize in Japanese and Taiwan style teas with a reputation for high quality and distinctive taste from the continent’s varied terroir.
HARVEST REVIEW 2016: Jiangnan China
Jiangnan (literally means River South, refers to the area south of the Yangtze River in eastern China) region is the […]
Harvest Review: Jiangbei China
Photographs by Huiling Liang Jiangbei (literally means River North, refers to the area north of the Yangtze River in eastern […]
Hobbyists Building a Tea Industry
Hawaii is experiencing the birth of a new cottage industry: tea farming. The American state is taking advantage of favourable terroir to build an environmentally sustainable industry. Its development approach is based on research, innovation and cooperation.
HARVEST REVIEW 2016: Japan
Tamiko Kinezuka: “We make tea with great effort, and hope you will drink our passion with your tea. As my father says, ‘Please taste the tea in one half of your cup, and the heart of its farmer on the other.’ “
Taiwan: Off the Beaten Path
With Taiwan’s compact size and its modern transport and communication infrastructure, one can easily visit a tea grower anywhere on […]
Destination: The Wisteria Teahouse, a Cultural Treasure
Taiwan has teahouses of every sort, from Laoren (old man’s) style where common tea leaves are steeped in ordinary drinking glasses, to quiet Daoist establishments, to modern shops where scanning social media sites on mobile phones and laptops is OK.
Regal Rituals
The English, says author and tea historian Jane Pettigrew, “have forgotten a lot of the importance, significance, and history of our tea drinking habits.”
Destinations: Flagstaff House Teaware Museum
Nestled inside Hong Kong Park, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, formerly known as Flagstaff House, was built in […]
Harvest Review: Iran Is a Tea Opportunity
Tea first reached Iran by caravans traveling the Silk Road 450 years before the modern Christian era. Residents were largely […]
Harvest Review: Southwestern China
China’s southwestern region includes Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing. The southwestern region is the oldest tea producing region in […]
Harvest Review: South Korea Ujeon-Sejak (Early Season)
Many tea connoisseurs wait for this first harvest each year, which is usually only available in very small quantities, and will most likely be gone within the first few months or even weeks of its harvest.