Friday, November 20, 2009

East/West Tea Tour Ends: Tao of Tea

My last stop on my East/West tea tour/move was my new home, Portland, Oregon. I visited Tao of Tea's gorgeous location in the Portland Classical Chinese Gardens. Here's an excerpt from my review on World Tea News:

The buildings, plants and pond interacted in a distinctive way, completely unlike Western gardens (which often come across as more rigid and controlled) and classical Japanese tea gardens (in which tenuous structures play up a Wabi-Sabi sense of impermanence, while ponds and plants may appear more manicured).

The garden was bustling with visitors, yet a sense of tranquility permeated the space. Peeking into one pavilion, I saw Verinder Chawla, Tao of Tea’s owner, instructing two-dozen people how to grow, process and brew tea. Outside, people gazed at the lake, crossed covered bridges and observed the plants. On our way to the tea house, Marko and I stopped to shake Chinese fortune sticks with other visitors. Mine said something about being tempted; it must have foreseen where I was headed!


It was a lovely end to my journey, and a great beginning to my new journey of tea in Portland. You can read more about Tao of Tea and my visit there on World Tea News.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tempted? Is that because you were headed in to choose among many different varieties of tea? I'm not sure what I would do in that case. Which is the tea for me? So many alluring options.

Vee said...

Yes, there were a number of great teas and snacks to choose from. It was a tough call! I hope to go again soon and try more.