Marcela Figueroa held a vision and a mission to convince the people of El Salvador to become tea drinkers. Twelve years ago, she began experimenting with local herbs and flowers in blends to meet the demands of consumers seeking health benefits. Four years later she started LAFIROA tea to realize her vision. Marcela spoke with South American correspondent Horacio Bustos about her award-winning teas.
Marcela Figueroa held a vision and a mission to convince the people of El Salvador to become tea drinkers. Twelve years ago, she began experimenting with local herbs and flowers in blends to meet the demands of consumers seeking health benefits. Four years later she started LAFIROA tea to realize her vision. Marcela spoke with South American correspondent Horacio Bustos about her award-winning teas.
Farmers and other locals run the five-hour tea-making workshop near Japan’s Yamazoe Village. Tea Journey contributor Greg Goodmacher attended to learn from teacher Kenichi Ikawa Sensei how to select, pan-fire, and hand roll freshly picked raw leaves transforming them into sencha tea using centuries-old techniques.
This Father’s Day give dad the gift of a new favorite hobby, pairing tea with alcohol.
Misako Lelong-Nohsoh shows us that Japanese green tea is nothing to fear. She takes away the formality of the Japanese tea ceremony and introduces us to Japanese green tea as she wants us to experience it: as a beverage like wine, coffee, or black tea that is woven into the everyday fabric of our lives. This is the delightful story of her journey from Japan to France and from violist to Japanese Green Tea Ambassador.
This book is for every person who has ever dreamed of having formal tea with the upper classes, perhaps at Downton Abbey. The photographs of bone China cups and saucers, three-tiered plates of scones, savories, and sweets, and settings for enjoying afternoon tea’s decadence will make you swoon — a true hedonist’s delight.
Use the magic of tea to delight and honor your mom this Mother’s Day. These tea-infused recipes are the perfect way to celebrate!
The perfect afternoon tea scone! Aromatic, flakey, and pillowy soft, Chef Shania Thomas-Floyd has created the ultimate scone. Bursting with […]
Karl Holl, the Culinary Director of Smith Teamaker, has created a match made in heaven. The simple yet exquisite combination […]
Loaded with the enticing flavors of cinnamon, cardamom, and pink peppercorns, chef Shania Thomas-Floyd has created the perfect tea cookie. […]
“Stepping into the teahouse should feel like stepping out of the daily world into a place of beauty – of carved wood, paintings, sculpture, calligraphy, and delicate porcelain. It would be lit with silk and stone lamps. Music would be playing at just the right volume, and the tea served must exceed the drinker’s expectations even more than the environment where it is done.” – Austin Hodge
This book is a sensual delight: in it, you learn to explore tea using your senses, including sight, smell, taste, and even sound. Dr. Lovelace describes experiments you can try at home with tea using budget-friendly materials. This is a fascinating journey into the science of tea you can take without leaving home.
The True History of Tea, a meticulously researched yet readable 280 pages of travel back in time. Reviewer Kyle Whittington, the founder of the TeaBookClub in London, describes the work of sinologist Victor H. Mair and journalist Erling Hoh as QUOTE “one of those rare instances where, rather than the dry read that the title suggests, the reader is instead treated to an engaging and captivating page-turner.”
Consumers who experience the origin, terroir, and processing of the leaves in the cup can engage more deeply by visiting tea-growing regions to learn about tea. Visiting origin forever alters one’s relationship to tea. But before delving into the myriad tour options it is important to reflect on how our actions may impact others. Namely, while simultaneously seeking an authentic, hands-on tea tour, one must also consider which programs are sustainable and respectfully engage the host culture(s).
Hosen-in is not just a gorgeous place to enjoy tea. The gardens are a marvel of meticulous care and attention to detail. The Buddhist temple, part of a group of temples on a hillside overlooking the village of Ohara, was founded 800 years ago. Hosen-in has stood the test of time.
Pairing tea with food is a less well-known art than wine pairings, but every bit as rewarding for cooks and connoisseurs. TeaBookClub founder Kyle Whittington reviews author Mariella Erkens’s comprehensive cookbook, Tea: Wine’s Sober Sibling.
Tender and juicy, this flavorful recipe uses the tannins in Assam black tea to draw out the pork loin’s moisture. Creating a succulent and satisfying dish that’s easy to prepare and delicious to enjoy. The leftover marinade is used to make a rich sauce at the end.
Make this Valentine’s day unforgettable by cooking a romantic dinner with tea as your captivating and alluring secret ingredient.
Katrin Rougeventre’s journey is a singular one. She is France’s leading expert on Chinese tea and Chinese culture and has contributed to its diffusion in Europe. Among all the great French tea experts, what distinguishes Katrin is undoubtedly her roots in Asia, where her entire gustatory and sensory training took place.
It is demanding to do justice to the “good teas” in their characterization and description, to capture and describe the nuances accurately and all the work that goes into these teas. It is also crucial to find a price that does justice to the work that the tea pickers, the tea makers, and the garden management put in. – Stefan Gieschke
Before the advent of electricity, all oolong tea was charcoal roasted to reduce moisture in the leaf. It’s only natural that many producers choose the gentle, stable heat of electric burners and ovens. It makes tea roasting easier and more consistent. The tea makers who remain loyal to the charcoal fire often learned by tending the coals at a young age as part of a long-standing family tradition. Others find that they simply cannot resist its captivating call.
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.
Community Driven Tea Nestled in the Adam’s Peak mountain range of Sabaragamuwa Province, in the tiny village of Erathna, Kuruwita, […]
Tea plays an essential role in Kazakh culture, as no celebration or family feast is held without drinking tea. Sharing tea is a ritual of unity. When someone visits a Kazakh family, tea is served first. The custom, called syi-ayak, begins with the washing of hands. The tea is ladled into a ceramic drinking bowl called a Piyala (Piala). The head of the family (husband) is the first to be served; the guests thereafter. Tradition holds that after dinner, everyone remains seated until the last person has finished drinking their tea, then everyone leaves together.
“Our stores have always offered the option to smell the tea, and clients really appreciate the opportunity to select their tea sensorially. We are done with the impracticalities of the sit-down visit, but we wanted to capture that special tasting moment and offer the possibility to take it further.” – Kevin Gascoyne, partner Camellia Sinensis, Montreal.
The world of smells is closely linked to our experience. We work on memory, and so everyone describes tea with different terms. My role as a tea taster is to understand each one and say, “you are actually talking about the same compound.”
Spring begins a romance as jasmine flowers meet the newly plucked tea. Spring green tea and summer jasmine flowers are mixed at a strictly-calculated ratio. Hundreds of processes exist to make the miracle tea. The bitterness of tea and the sweetness of flowers are a perfect compliment. Jasmine grown in Hengzhou meets the high expectations of famous brands at home and abroad.
A pioneer tea sommelier in France and the author of several reference books on tea, Lydia Gautier has been a consultant for many international brands. Her 25 years of experience and proximity to producers have led her to become one of the major figures in tea expertise in the world, and in 2107 to create her own brand, Lydia Gautier Thés et Tisanes.
Mountainous Suichuan county in Jiangxi Province offers an incomparable microclimate for local cultivars, producing an exceptionally tender leaf. Gou Gu Nao Green Tea is highly prized. The processing method is quite complicated. It is refined through eight processes. The shape of Gou Gu Nao Tea is tight and rolled to a slight curl. The color is bright green, the aroma is fresh and elegant, and the taste is fresh and thick with a sweet and long aftertaste.
Depending on the variety and quality, the price of local tea in the domestic market ranges from $4.70 to $29 (8-50 manats) per kilogram. Recently, farmers say, the demand for higher quality has increased markedly. People have discovered that local products are of better quality, and therefore they are willing to buy Azerbaijan tea, despite the apparent high cost.
What’s changed is what I hoped would change. There is no such thing as ‘Tea Cuisine;’ it is no longer an oddity or a fad. It’s just another palate of ingredients and techniques that can and do inspire many chefs and mixologists. – Cynthia Gold
Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) is a cutting-edge organization in the Agro-technological sector in agricultural research, extension, and innovation. The institute is a decentralized state organization with operational and financial autarchy, associated with the Ministry of Agroindustry. INTA operates in the five ecoregions of Argentina (Northwest, Northeast, Cuyo, Pampeana, and Patagonia) through a structure that includes: a central headquarters, 15 regional centers, 52 experimental stations, six research centers, 22 research institutes, and more than 350 Extension Units.
Meitan Cuiya is an early spring green tea oxidized for a few hours in the shade before processing. It is made from high-quality fresh and tender tea leaves and undergoes 20 complex processes, including spreading, fixing, shaping, and drying. The leaves appear straight and flat. The aroma is long-lasting above a bright green liquor. The tea has a fresh taste with abundant amino acids, polyphenols, and vitamins.
Luo Shi uses iron-rich Miaoli clay and traditional methods to bring his vision of nature to life. His work, such as his wonderful teapots, sell for hundreds of dollars each in his homeland and have earned him celebrity status in Taiwan’s fine arts and tea-drinking circles.
Peru’s tea industry is gradually expanding after decades of decline. Tea drinking has grown in popularity, but due to social and political problems and the economic crisis, commercial production in the late 1990s began a seemingly endless decline, compounded by bad administrative management and the arrival of less expensive Argentine tea. In the ten years since 2011, Peru’s tea market has increased 61% by value.
The Barbote tea farm is nestled in the steep hills of Ilam, Nepal, planted by his grandfather and tended by his father but grower Narendra Kumar Gurung 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.
Once the most productive growing region in Africa, Mozambique’s tea gardens lay idle during decades of war until investors realized the potential of rejuvenating millions of mature tea trees naturally purged of pesticides and chemical fertilizer.
Many tea drinkers enjoy the benefits of herbal teas, but are they receiving herbal tea’s health benefits? The critical question is, “are herbal teas good for you?” This article addresses the risks of herbal teas and aims to answer that question.
Knowledge of how tea is grown and processed came naturally to fourth-generation Argentine grower Carolina Okulovich but she observed that was not so for the tourists and visitors to the farm who found tea cultivation and processing fascinating. That was how the idea arose to create a learning experience for visitors touring the 15 hectares known as La Ruta del Té.
Tea drinking has evolved in the 75 years since George Orwell’s famous essay ‘A Nice Cup’ was first published. The variety of teas available today would likely astonish Orwell and certainly would have astonished his Evening Standard readers. The process of discovering what a great pot of tea means to you can and should be more nuanced and wide-ranging than it was in Orwell’s time.
What started as a conversation about the qualities that make the teas of Assam so appealing has since developed into a collaboration with marginalized, small-size tea growers to provide natural loose-leaf “home grown” tea.
Tea in Colombia was first planted 75 years ago. Joaquín Llano González and his son, Alberto Llano Buenaventura, became the first commercial tea growers and their farms La Sofía and Hacienda Himalaya, located in the mountains of the western Andes above the Pacific Coast, continue producing Colombia’s sole domestically grown brands.
The Tea History Collection fills a huge gap in the documentation of the history of the business of tea the world over. Very few individual tea companies possess archives that relate to their own history, and many other tea businesses simply disappeared when they closed or were bought out.
With its 1,800 hectares of soil, the Jersey Royal is spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding where to plant tea. The islands’ acid soil is perfect for the tea plant to grow. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, Jersey winters are mild, without any risk of frost, while summers are moderately warm and sunny. The island’s high humidity also provides ideal conditions for the tea plants to thrive.
For centuries, in southwest Anhui, Huangshan Mountain has endeared itself to scenic seekers, poets, and tea lovers. During the Five Dynasties, Shezhou Dafang tea was a tribute tea favored by the imperial family. In the Song Dynasty, at the onset of commercial trade, the acreage under tea expanded continuously and a variety of famous teas emerged.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew houses a remarkable cache of tea leaves and tea material culture collected over the past 174 years. Kew, a 326-acre botanical garden southwest of London opened in 1759 and today houses one of most diverse living and dried botanical and mycological collections in the world.
In 2011 Portuguese wine maker Dirk Niepoort and his wife Nina Grutkowski planted two hundred seedlings in their garden adding a little at a time until, in 2018, there were 12,000 seedlings. Last spring Camélia Tea processed its first commercial crop, with a distinctive flavor that is the result of a terroir of its own.
From Hwuy-Chow Foo, a tea-growing district in Anhui, China to Pauri, India, the Nilgiris, Munnar, and Chennai … the Ajoo family story traverses an untold chapter in the history of Indian tea, a road James Ajoo is trying to retrace, “to say I landed my feet where my ancestor had walked.”
Growers in Anhua county invented the dark tea processing technology before 1524, which led to the rise of dark tea production and marketing. The compact and easily transported tea was very popular locally and in 1595, Anhua dark tea was formally designated as the “Official Tea” of the Ming dynasty government making it a regulated form of currency.
The Bolivian government has invested in tea production as part of its Poverty Alleviation Program leading to the creation of ecological brands pioneered by ChaiMaté Tea, an IMO certified supplier producing teas competitive for export.
The Léonard region of Brittany in Northern France has been considered a land of plenty for centuries; but who would have thought that a tea perfectly expressing the alliance between land and sea would grow from its soil?