iPhones for Tea

My iPhone died over the weekend. I have been a Mac user for as long as I can remember and I never had any problems with my computers or my first generation iPhone. Also, I use it for my business quite a bit -- calls, texts, email, interview recordings, photos.... I need this phone pretty much any time I want to get work done. Fortunately, when I took it to the Apple store, they were AWESOME! Great customer service. They replaced my iPhone within an hour, despite the fact that I didn't have an appointment and they were slammed with customers. No hassle, no rudeness, just support. I wish more companies ran like that! It made me respect Apple all the more.

Apparently, Apple thinks my kind of business is pretty cool, too... or at least something their customers would be into. A new iPhone commercial features the operation of a tea business as an example of how you can use your iPhone.

Cool Tea Gadgets

I love cool new teaware (more here and here). This post is dedicated to techie teaware and other tea-related gadgetry.

Williams-Sonoma variable temperature kettle -- OK, so the "a temp for b class of tea, c temp for d class of tea" thing is a gross generalization, but selecting specific temperatures for your water is incredibly useful for making tea if you know what temperature you should actually use

Yanko Design's Turtle Tea Kettle -- Best for blacks and tisanes, as it reaches a full boil

Three award-winning tea kettle designs -- Very cool concepts! I wish the first one could indicate more than one temperature, but it is undeniably awesome anyway. I love the magnetic trivet idea! The second one seems a bit dangerous (how do you avoid spilling boiling water when you release the switch?), but is a novel idea. The third is cute, but I wish it had a built-in strainer for us loose-leaf tea drinkers. Which is your favorite?

"Sonic Boiler" -- Quite possibly fraudulent, but interesting nonetheless.

Tea Forte's "Tea Over Ice" Pitcher -- Cool, but not as cool as Hario's "Ice Brew Teapot," which I saw for the first time at Sungarden's booth at the World Tea Expo. Ice slowly melts in the top compartment, filters past tealeaves and then collects in the bottom compartment. It's a similar concept to their "coffee water dripper". Sadly, I couldn't find an image on their site...

A mug that cools tea sip-by-sip -- Very clever...

Handpresso for handmade espresso -- I suppose you could also use it for "Redpresso" or rooibos that's ground espresso-style, and maybe even for other partially-ground teas and tisanes. What do you think?

Cute, Unbreakable French press mugs and tea infusers -- There are lots of options like these on the market these days.

Collapsable travel strainer for tea -- I like that the strainer can also store tealeaves for reinfusions.

What are some of your favorite tea gadgets?

Tea in SF

Tea in SF is boomsploding right now. Not sure what I mean by "boomsploding?" Check out these links:

diggnation talks tea

Samovar/Kevin Rose tea starter kit

SF Chronicle's new piece on tea (This went up today and includes quotes from yours truly.)

New Article: Tea & the Internet

I have a new article out on using the Internet as a marketing tool for your tea business. Excerpt:

Twitter is sometimes referred to as “micro-blogging” because it has informal, blog-like content and a 140-character maximum. For each tweet (Twitter message), Jacobs said, he averages less than 10 minutes of writing and more than $500 in revenue.

Cason launched a Twitter campaign in March to reach 10,000 followers (readers) by April 1. Although he failed in the goal, he did generate publicity and reached 1,100 followers – enough to temporarily crash his site when he tweeted a 40 percent off sale.

“The best thing about Twitter is you get to follow who you want,” Cason said, “so you know that everyone who is receiving your tweets wants to know what you have to say. All you have to worry about is telling them what they want to hear.”

Dake recommended Twitter over other social media, video and blogging, explaining that it’s efficient, easy, free and effective for immediate connections with people. At the recent SXSW festival in Austin, TX, he used Twitter for a Tweet Up (get-together) where he gave away Mighty Leaf. He said it generated word-of-mouth publicity that lasted weeks after the event.

Sources gave these tips for using Twitter:

*Put content before sales.
*Keep posts educational, casual, unique and personable.
*Give it a face, but don’t make it overly personal.
*Follow Twitterers in related areas.
*Tweet often.


You can read the full story on World Tea News. Enjoy!

iTunes U

iTunes has launched a very cool new feature: free educational podcasts from major educational, research and cultural institutions like MIT, CMU, NASA, MoMA and Asia Society. My current playlist:

Water for Tea (NASA)
Sustainable Business (CMU) (Great quote... "It's completely consistent for self interest to be aligned with the public interest and where doing good is synonymous doing well. There's no contradiction between doing something that is good and making money.")
The Myths of Innovation (CMU)
Launching and Building an Entrepreneurial Venture (CMU)
Interaction Design (CMU) (This one has a bit about ordering coffee in a coffee shop. As you can guess, these concepts apply to tea as well!)
The Role of New Technologies in a Sustainable Energy Economy (MIT)
Eva Hesse (MoMA)
Arshille Gorky (MoMA)
Living in a Global World (Research Channel)

They have fascinating, illuminating podcasts on a wide variety of topics. As a consultant, I LOVE this kind of thing. It's a great way to get the best information from top experts from many fields in a condensed, hassle-free and clear manner... which is what I always try to do for my clients. If you're a business owner or just interested in learning more, I highly recommend you check it out!