As part of the whole "tour guide" thing, I watch a lot of NYC movies. I love seeing familiar spots from my life here on film just as much as movie buffs love seeing the real-life spots they're accustomed to only seeing on the screen.
Some of the recent tea-related scenes I've spotted were in the Lower East Side (PBS's series New York shows a tea merchant's exterior in a photo of the neighborhood), The Russian Tea Room (in Woody Allen's Manhattan, his character (I say this as if he ever REALLY plays anyone besides himself!) visits with his son), in an Upper East Side apartment building (Breakfast at Tiffany's, in which Mickey Rooney performs a matcha ceremony as part of a racist portayal of a Japanese man), and in a Bronx police station (in Serpico, Officer Serpico offers a corrupt cop some tea, which the corrupt cop briskly declines).
Though I find these scenes to be entertaining because of the tea factor, it's not what I'm looking for in the films. I watch them to tap into the collective idea of what NYC is all about so I can share that concept with my tour groups more effectively. New York has such a rich history and so many diverse cultures and sub-cultures-- you could study it your whole life and never know enough! Though I don't intend to devote my life to the study of this city, when I'm not studying tea, I'm really enjoying learning all about New York!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Upcoming Interview
A major tea newsletter is going to interview me soon. It's a little different from my previous tea interviews, which were with local papers and (strangely) Fox News, in that it's an online publication.
I'm really looking forward to it! I love giving interviews because I love sharing information about tea. The fact that it's based online is great, too, because it can reach more people that way.
I'll post a link when it's published. Actually, I should just set up a media section on Vee Tea and post all my interviews and such there. Maybe later-- right now I'm way too busy!
I'm really looking forward to it! I love giving interviews because I love sharing information about tea. The fact that it's based online is great, too, because it can reach more people that way.
I'll post a link when it's published. Actually, I should just set up a media section on Vee Tea and post all my interviews and such there. Maybe later-- right now I'm way too busy!
Monday, May 7, 2007
New Article!
There's a new article on Vee Tea today. It's all about determining tea quality, but don't worry-- it doesn't get into grading and all that. It's for tea consumers rather than for industry use. Here's an excerpt:
"There is a complex system of tea grading that is used in tea auctions, processing, and blending, but for everyday buying, determining tea quality can be a simple affair. All you have to do is look, listen, smell, and taste.
Look
A good, fresh tea has a pleasing luster. White tea should have fine hairs on the surface. All teas should have large, uniform leaves and be free of foreign matter. If the tea is flavored (like Earl Grey, for example), pay special attention to the appearance, because flavors are often used to try to cover up a cheap tea's bad taste.
If possible, watch the leaves as they are brewed. Did they expand uniformly and slowly sink as they infused? If so, it's good quality. Also, look at the brewed tea. The liquor should be clear (unless, of course, it is a powdered tea) and free of any particulate matter after it is strained. If you are viewing a green tea it should be emerald or golden in color. If the brew is dark brown, it is stale."
For the rest of the article, click here. Enjoy!
"There is a complex system of tea grading that is used in tea auctions, processing, and blending, but for everyday buying, determining tea quality can be a simple affair. All you have to do is look, listen, smell, and taste.
Look
A good, fresh tea has a pleasing luster. White tea should have fine hairs on the surface. All teas should have large, uniform leaves and be free of foreign matter. If the tea is flavored (like Earl Grey, for example), pay special attention to the appearance, because flavors are often used to try to cover up a cheap tea's bad taste.
If possible, watch the leaves as they are brewed. Did they expand uniformly and slowly sink as they infused? If so, it's good quality. Also, look at the brewed tea. The liquor should be clear (unless, of course, it is a powdered tea) and free of any particulate matter after it is strained. If you are viewing a green tea it should be emerald or golden in color. If the brew is dark brown, it is stale."
For the rest of the article, click here. Enjoy!
Friday, May 4, 2007
Top Five
I was inspired by a recent rewatching of High Fidelity to compile a list of my top five teas. The question is, which KIND of top five? Here we go . . .
Current Top Five
5. French Verveine (Harney & Son)
4. Homemade Masala Chai (made by mewith ingredients from assorted distributers)
3. Super Premium Sencha (Welcome Station)
2. Lung Ching (Rishi)
1. Jasmine Pearls (In Pursuit of Tea)
As you can see, I'm on a bit of a green tea kick.
All-Time Top Five
5. High Mountain Gyokuro (Welcome Station)
4. Takashimaya Rose (Harney)
3. Super Premium Sencha (Welcome Station)
2. Spicy Ginger Yerba Mate (Rishi)
1. Earl Grey (Rishi)
Subject to change!
Caffeine-Free Top Five (a.k.a. "Top Five Tisanes")
5. Blueberry (Elmwood)
4. Mandela Masala Chai (SerendipiTea)
3. French Tilleul (Harney)
2. Soba-Cha (I've forgotten the distributer at the moment . . .)
1. French Verveine (Harney)
Delicious--check. Caffiene-free--check. All right . . .
Top Five Iced Teas
5. Jasmine Pearls (In Prusuit of Tea)
4. Earl Grey (Rishi)
3. Jamacia Red Bush (Rishi)
2. Blueberry (Elmwood)
1. Tropical Blend (Urbana Cityspa & Teabar)
I brew these at double strength, add some tupelo honey, cool, and serve over ice. Icy AND tasty.
If you think of any top five tea lists you'd like me to compile, drop me a line here, or in the contact section of VeeTea.
Current Top Five
5. French Verveine (Harney & Son)
4. Homemade Masala Chai (made by mewith ingredients from assorted distributers)
3. Super Premium Sencha (Welcome Station)
2. Lung Ching (Rishi)
1. Jasmine Pearls (In Pursuit of Tea)
As you can see, I'm on a bit of a green tea kick.
All-Time Top Five
5. High Mountain Gyokuro (Welcome Station)
4. Takashimaya Rose (Harney)
3. Super Premium Sencha (Welcome Station)
2. Spicy Ginger Yerba Mate (Rishi)
1. Earl Grey (Rishi)
Subject to change!
Caffeine-Free Top Five (a.k.a. "Top Five Tisanes")
5. Blueberry (Elmwood)
4. Mandela Masala Chai (SerendipiTea)
3. French Tilleul (Harney)
2. Soba-Cha (I've forgotten the distributer at the moment . . .)
1. French Verveine (Harney)
Delicious--check. Caffiene-free--check. All right . . .
Top Five Iced Teas
5. Jasmine Pearls (In Prusuit of Tea)
4. Earl Grey (Rishi)
3. Jamacia Red Bush (Rishi)
2. Blueberry (Elmwood)
1. Tropical Blend (Urbana Cityspa & Teabar)
I brew these at double strength, add some tupelo honey, cool, and serve over ice. Icy AND tasty.
If you think of any top five tea lists you'd like me to compile, drop me a line here, or in the contact section of VeeTea.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
About Me and VeeTea
Here's a little rambling on how I got into tea and why I started VeeTea.
Tea is something I've loved for a long time. I grew up in the South, where no meal after 11 AM is complete without sweet tea. The first time I tasted hot tea, I was 7 years old. To my parents' horror, I went vegetarian for about a year at that age, flatly refusing to eat anything that contained meat on ethical grounds. After a while, they got used to it, and my dad took me out for some tofu at a nice Chinese restaurant near our house. I don't remember the tofu. What I DO remember is this-- at the end of the meal, I got to try green tea. My dad said the tea tasted like the essence of the earth after a heavy rain and for the first time in my life, I noticed the complexity and subtlety a taste can carry.
When I was in college I became a vegetarian again (though this time it stuck!) and started working at Whole Foods. With my hefty employee discount, I could, despite my college-student status, afford to buy foods other than ramen. The thing that made me happiest, though, was being able to purchase high-quality loose-leaf tea. I started to explore the wondrous tastes and aromas of a world of tea I hadn't even known existed a year prior. I began my obsession with tea.
After I graduated, I took my accumulated tea knowledge and a good deal of bartending experience to Urbana Cityspa & Teabar. In its developmental stages I was a consultant and once it opened I became the teabar manager. My passion for tea deepened as I saw how I could use my expertise of it to educate and entertain others. I gave seminars, held tastings, trained employees, and learned as much as I could about tea. Later, my art (I'm also an artist, which makes me different from all the other New Yorkers, who are actors) brought me to New York. I spent my time working at Takshimaya in their tea department and hunting down the city's best tea resources.
At work, I helped those who were lost in the sea of tea. I proved to be a terrible salesperson, but an exceptional educator. Customers raved about my expertise and explanations; one went so far as to write the manager of the U.S. division of the company about how much she had enjoyed learning about tea from me! It was obvious to everyone that I adored entertaining people with tea facts and anecdotes and that they learned a lot from talking with me, but I couldn't very well become "Professor of Tea" at NYU, so I stayed in retail.
In my spare time I delved into New York's incredible array of tea houses and shops. Some of them were beyond compare, while others were unbelievably banal or just plain bad. I began to wonder how the average New York tea drinker had the time and energy to find the gems amidst "the rest" while living a normal life (which is to say, one that is partially rather than entirely tea-centered). And if it's hard for New Yorkers, it must be nearly impossible for the tourists. With a chain coffee store on practically every block, I could see how the travel-weary might give up on finding the local tea haven hidden away on the second floor and settle for one of the worms in The Big Apple instead. I knew there had to be some way to illuminate natives and tourists alike to the joys of tea in NYC, but how?
Gradually, I came to realize that New York was ready for a unique blend of learning and leisure. What it needed was someone offering an entertaining and amusing romp through the city with a carefully selected sampling of the wide spectrum it has to offer, from the fun of a fruity Taiwanese bubble tea to-go, to the serenity of a Japanese matcha ceremony, to the "so right it has to be wrong" hedonism of perfect tea and chocolate pairings . . . with all the trial-and-error testing of places (and tasting teas and foods!) done in advance. With my zeal for tea, love of teaching, disdain for the "trite and true," and love of all that makes tea hot, who better to do the job?
And so Vee Tea came to be. It's company that brings you the best of the best in areas as diverse as chocolate decadence and vegan eats all the while with tea in the spotlight. My goal is to spread joy for and knowledge about tea, one small group at a time. In addition to customized and preset tours, I offer business consultation, employee training, tea tastings/seminars, one-on-one tea classes, and online tea lessons. Experience a tea tour. Learn how to build your tea business. Hold a tea tasting. Pick an expert's brain over a cuppa. Read up while sipping your favorite brew. Most of all, enjoy your tea!
Tea is something I've loved for a long time. I grew up in the South, where no meal after 11 AM is complete without sweet tea. The first time I tasted hot tea, I was 7 years old. To my parents' horror, I went vegetarian for about a year at that age, flatly refusing to eat anything that contained meat on ethical grounds. After a while, they got used to it, and my dad took me out for some tofu at a nice Chinese restaurant near our house. I don't remember the tofu. What I DO remember is this-- at the end of the meal, I got to try green tea. My dad said the tea tasted like the essence of the earth after a heavy rain and for the first time in my life, I noticed the complexity and subtlety a taste can carry.
When I was in college I became a vegetarian again (though this time it stuck!) and started working at Whole Foods. With my hefty employee discount, I could, despite my college-student status, afford to buy foods other than ramen. The thing that made me happiest, though, was being able to purchase high-quality loose-leaf tea. I started to explore the wondrous tastes and aromas of a world of tea I hadn't even known existed a year prior. I began my obsession with tea.
After I graduated, I took my accumulated tea knowledge and a good deal of bartending experience to Urbana Cityspa & Teabar. In its developmental stages I was a consultant and once it opened I became the teabar manager. My passion for tea deepened as I saw how I could use my expertise of it to educate and entertain others. I gave seminars, held tastings, trained employees, and learned as much as I could about tea. Later, my art (I'm also an artist, which makes me different from all the other New Yorkers, who are actors) brought me to New York. I spent my time working at Takshimaya in their tea department and hunting down the city's best tea resources.
At work, I helped those who were lost in the sea of tea. I proved to be a terrible salesperson, but an exceptional educator. Customers raved about my expertise and explanations; one went so far as to write the manager of the U.S. division of the company about how much she had enjoyed learning about tea from me! It was obvious to everyone that I adored entertaining people with tea facts and anecdotes and that they learned a lot from talking with me, but I couldn't very well become "Professor of Tea" at NYU, so I stayed in retail.
In my spare time I delved into New York's incredible array of tea houses and shops. Some of them were beyond compare, while others were unbelievably banal or just plain bad. I began to wonder how the average New York tea drinker had the time and energy to find the gems amidst "the rest" while living a normal life (which is to say, one that is partially rather than entirely tea-centered). And if it's hard for New Yorkers, it must be nearly impossible for the tourists. With a chain coffee store on practically every block, I could see how the travel-weary might give up on finding the local tea haven hidden away on the second floor and settle for one of the worms in The Big Apple instead. I knew there had to be some way to illuminate natives and tourists alike to the joys of tea in NYC, but how?
Gradually, I came to realize that New York was ready for a unique blend of learning and leisure. What it needed was someone offering an entertaining and amusing romp through the city with a carefully selected sampling of the wide spectrum it has to offer, from the fun of a fruity Taiwanese bubble tea to-go, to the serenity of a Japanese matcha ceremony, to the "so right it has to be wrong" hedonism of perfect tea and chocolate pairings . . . with all the trial-and-error testing of places (and tasting teas and foods!) done in advance. With my zeal for tea, love of teaching, disdain for the "trite and true," and love of all that makes tea hot, who better to do the job?
And so Vee Tea came to be. It's company that brings you the best of the best in areas as diverse as chocolate decadence and vegan eats all the while with tea in the spotlight. My goal is to spread joy for and knowledge about tea, one small group at a time. In addition to customized and preset tours, I offer business consultation, employee training, tea tastings/seminars, one-on-one tea classes, and online tea lessons. Experience a tea tour. Learn how to build your tea business. Hold a tea tasting. Pick an expert's brain over a cuppa. Read up while sipping your favorite brew. Most of all, enjoy your tea!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Weekly Articles
From here on out, I'll be adding a new article to Vee Tea every week. Here are the tea articles I have so far. Most technical-- Caffeine and Tea. Most fun-- Iced Tea. Best intro-- How to Brew Tea. Most advanced-- Bamboo Charcoal. Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Celebrate Food Service Workers!
This month, VeeTea is celebrating the people who provide the wonderful foods and drinks we love so much-- food service workers! From restaurateur to dishwasher, all food service workers get a 10% discount on tours and classes for the month of May. Take the opportunty to improve your knowledge and presenation of tea with a set or customized tour or class.
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