Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Changes...
A lot has happened since I last wrote here! I traveled to Japan and Taiwan. I spent over five months researching material for my first book in India. I stopped by London for a bit, and revisited my former hometown of NYC. And, oh yeah, I set up a new website that reflects my current body of work and introduces you to some of my collaborators: Copy & Taste. Enjoy!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Japan Trip
My trip to Japan was a success! I'm still catching up, both from the two weeks away from my usual tea work and with writing about what I learned during the trip. For now, here are a few tea highlights from the trip:
* Learned to brew super-premium gyokuro & sencha the old-school way.
* Hung out with organic tea farmers who market directly to clients (a rare thing in the Japanese world of tea agents, wholesalers, retailers, etc.). Harvested bamboo shoots, wild mountain herbs and tea with them.
* Tasted Japanese kocha (black tea, also very rare).
* Went to a tea museum in Shizuoka. It left me far more impressed than my visit to London's tea museum.
* Tasted more tea-based foods than I can even remember. Learned that if it's a greenish pastry, it probably has matcha in it.
* Saw what I'm gonna go ahead and call the most beautiful tea shop in the world. Three floors of dizzying caffeine highs and absurd attention to design detail. Drank delicious koicha (thick matcha), usucha (thin matcha) and ocha-presso (sencha brewed like espresso) amongst the gorgeous sights there.
* Interviewed a tea researcher whose institution discovered theanine, an amazing sado (Japanese tea ceremony) specialist from one of the revered (but lesser-known outside Japan) tea families, multiple tea farmers (one of whom started a collective to fight for fair tea prices and increase organic production), a chanoyu museum curator, a famous tea production expert, people from one of Kyoto's most famous tea shops and other amazing tea people.
* Got my mind blown on multiple occasions, including a visit to a tiny tea shop in Kyoto (it looks humble, but was amazing enough to be featured in the French Michellin Guide) and a chic Tokyo tea cafe (where the tea sommelier is perhaps geekier than me about tea -- he even designed a custom tea brewing vessel for his cafe that's unlike any I've ever seen).
And here are a few non-tea-related highlights:
* Visited "Okonomiyaki Street," where most of the restaurants serve pizza-like okonomiyaki or its gooier relative munja. My friend Yuka (who works for one of Japan's top restauranteurs) and I ate at one of those you-make-it kinds of restaurants. She brought her okonomiyaki-making skills on in full force. Sooo good...
* Made new friends and reconnected with old ones. Had a great time hanging out with a long-time tea penpal (who makes an iced tea that tastes like a gin gimlet) and with several close friends from high school/college.
* Saw a massive protest in the yakuza part of Tokyo. Apparently this kind of thing is quite rare in Japan, so it's unusual that I saw it during such a brief trip there.
* Ate raw egg, natto and other crazy (and often slimy) foods.
* Talked food politics with farmers, tea retailers, a bottled drink blender, tea auction buyers and various restaurant industry people.
One of the things that struck me the most about this trip wasn't actually the trip itself. It's the uniformity of the response from almost everyone I've mentioned it to. Almost every person said something along the lines of, "I'm so envious!" To that, my response is this:
Japan is not that difficult of a travel destination. Most signs are in English. It's very safe and clean. If you're connected in the tea industry, you can meet enough people to make the trip very educational and enjoyable, and relatively inexpensive. If not, you can still have a great time. Also, if you live on the West coast, there are some very reasonable deals for flights. (I got a direct flight to and from Portland for about $800.) And, if money is an issue, there are deals to be had through youth hostels, work-live experiences, sales and the like. Honestly, the most difficult thing for me was the jet lag, and even that was OK on the way there. So if you really want to go to Japan, stop wishing you could do it and make it happen!
Side note -- You can see some of the treats I picked up on my About Coffee/Tea blog. I've posted about green tea caramels, green tea yokan (a gift from my tea penpal friend), green tea bath salts (which I gave to my mom) and three kinds of tea toothpaste. Other tea finds included all kinds of wagashi, green tea Kit Kats (which I'll review on About) and some new crop green teas that were harvested during my visit.
* Learned to brew super-premium gyokuro & sencha the old-school way.
* Hung out with organic tea farmers who market directly to clients (a rare thing in the Japanese world of tea agents, wholesalers, retailers, etc.). Harvested bamboo shoots, wild mountain herbs and tea with them.
* Tasted Japanese kocha (black tea, also very rare).
* Went to a tea museum in Shizuoka. It left me far more impressed than my visit to London's tea museum.
* Tasted more tea-based foods than I can even remember. Learned that if it's a greenish pastry, it probably has matcha in it.
* Saw what I'm gonna go ahead and call the most beautiful tea shop in the world. Three floors of dizzying caffeine highs and absurd attention to design detail. Drank delicious koicha (thick matcha), usucha (thin matcha) and ocha-presso (sencha brewed like espresso) amongst the gorgeous sights there.
* Interviewed a tea researcher whose institution discovered theanine, an amazing sado (Japanese tea ceremony) specialist from one of the revered (but lesser-known outside Japan) tea families, multiple tea farmers (one of whom started a collective to fight for fair tea prices and increase organic production), a chanoyu museum curator, a famous tea production expert, people from one of Kyoto's most famous tea shops and other amazing tea people.
* Got my mind blown on multiple occasions, including a visit to a tiny tea shop in Kyoto (it looks humble, but was amazing enough to be featured in the French Michellin Guide) and a chic Tokyo tea cafe (where the tea sommelier is perhaps geekier than me about tea -- he even designed a custom tea brewing vessel for his cafe that's unlike any I've ever seen).
And here are a few non-tea-related highlights:
* Visited "Okonomiyaki Street," where most of the restaurants serve pizza-like okonomiyaki or its gooier relative munja. My friend Yuka (who works for one of Japan's top restauranteurs) and I ate at one of those you-make-it kinds of restaurants. She brought her okonomiyaki-making skills on in full force. Sooo good...
* Made new friends and reconnected with old ones. Had a great time hanging out with a long-time tea penpal (who makes an iced tea that tastes like a gin gimlet) and with several close friends from high school/college.
* Saw a massive protest in the yakuza part of Tokyo. Apparently this kind of thing is quite rare in Japan, so it's unusual that I saw it during such a brief trip there.
* Ate raw egg, natto and other crazy (and often slimy) foods.
* Talked food politics with farmers, tea retailers, a bottled drink blender, tea auction buyers and various restaurant industry people.
One of the things that struck me the most about this trip wasn't actually the trip itself. It's the uniformity of the response from almost everyone I've mentioned it to. Almost every person said something along the lines of, "I'm so envious!" To that, my response is this:
Japan is not that difficult of a travel destination. Most signs are in English. It's very safe and clean. If you're connected in the tea industry, you can meet enough people to make the trip very educational and enjoyable, and relatively inexpensive. If not, you can still have a great time. Also, if you live on the West coast, there are some very reasonable deals for flights. (I got a direct flight to and from Portland for about $800.) And, if money is an issue, there are deals to be had through youth hostels, work-live experiences, sales and the like. Honestly, the most difficult thing for me was the jet lag, and even that was OK on the way there. So if you really want to go to Japan, stop wishing you could do it and make it happen!
Side note -- You can see some of the treats I picked up on my About Coffee/Tea blog. I've posted about green tea caramels, green tea yokan (a gift from my tea penpal friend), green tea bath salts (which I gave to my mom) and three kinds of tea toothpaste. Other tea finds included all kinds of wagashi, green tea Kit Kats (which I'll review on About) and some new crop green teas that were harvested during my visit.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Off to SF Tomorrow
I'm headed out to San Francisco for a week starting tomorrow. Planning to meet with a number of tea people, which is always a treat. I'll also be checking out a few more coffee places for my work with About.com's Coffee/Tea site. If you have any suggestions for places to visit, I'd love to hear them!
Happy sipping!
~Lindsey
PS -- If you want to follow my SF coffee/tea adventures, you can check them out on the VeeTea Twitter page.
Happy sipping!
~Lindsey
PS -- If you want to follow my SF coffee/tea adventures, you can check them out on the VeeTea Twitter page.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
East/West Tea Tour: House of Cha
Part two of my East/West Tea Tour is up on World Tea News. The trip may have ended, but the reviews go on! Here's an excerpt of the article on House of Cha in Lawrence, Kansas:
...
Perhaps it is this combination of college-town surroundings and international influence that resulted in the tea room’s unusual dichotomy of tea: bing cha puer cakes line the walls, shelves are filled with large Chinese-style canisters of oolong from the owner’s in-laws’ tea farm in Taiwan and Yi Xing tea ware adorns the counters, yet bubble tea is heavily featured on the menu and the store signage.
It’s rare that a tea business crosses the line between “serious” and “fun” so boldly, so I inquired about it. Freeman informed me that the claim of “the best bubble tea guaranteed” on the banner outside isn’t just ad-speak. Forget artificially flavored syrups – at House of Cha, they brew fresh tea concentrate for their boba three times a day and cook imported, raw Taiwanese tapioca pearls daily.
Even I was temped to try it (despite having sworn off bubble tea forever after a particularly terrible experience), but I opted instead for some of their directly sourced Snowy Moon Oolong (from the last picking of winter in the Chinese calendar), a bowl of house-made soup and a side of matcha-dusted pumpkin seeds.
...
It was a lovely visit. If you're ever in the area, be sure to check them out! In the meantime, you can read the full article on World Tea News.
...
Perhaps it is this combination of college-town surroundings and international influence that resulted in the tea room’s unusual dichotomy of tea: bing cha puer cakes line the walls, shelves are filled with large Chinese-style canisters of oolong from the owner’s in-laws’ tea farm in Taiwan and Yi Xing tea ware adorns the counters, yet bubble tea is heavily featured on the menu and the store signage.
It’s rare that a tea business crosses the line between “serious” and “fun” so boldly, so I inquired about it. Freeman informed me that the claim of “the best bubble tea guaranteed” on the banner outside isn’t just ad-speak. Forget artificially flavored syrups – at House of Cha, they brew fresh tea concentrate for their boba three times a day and cook imported, raw Taiwanese tapioca pearls daily.
Even I was temped to try it (despite having sworn off bubble tea forever after a particularly terrible experience), but I opted instead for some of their directly sourced Snowy Moon Oolong (from the last picking of winter in the Chinese calendar), a bowl of house-made soup and a side of matcha-dusted pumpkin seeds.
...
It was a lovely visit. If you're ever in the area, be sure to check them out! In the meantime, you can read the full article on World Tea News.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
East/West Tea Tour: French Broad Chocolate Lounge
During my move across the country, I had the pleasure of visiting a number of tea businesses. I'll be chronicling my visits to six of them in World Tea News. The first visit was French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Asheville, NC. Here's an excerpt from my article:
French Broad Chocolate Lounge is on Asheville’s artsy Lexington Avenue, just south of the vintage clothing stores and eco-chic boutiques. It’s named for the local French Broad River, aptly, since the lounge focuses on the flow of liquid – “liquid truffles” (drinking chocolates), more than a dozen teas and tisanes, and various coffee drinks and local beers. Its specialty is chocolate, which it serves in liquid form and as solid truffles and other confections.
Walking into French Broad Chocolate Lounge from the street, I was struck by how fitting the title “lounge” is. Lush surfaces, low lighting and a laid-back vibe permeated the atmosphere. The shop was crowded even thought it was about 3 p.m. on a weekday; the day after I visited, the Lounge opened a second level to accommodate the burgeoning patronage.
Hand-written chalkboards listed the gourmand-centric food offerings, including local cheese plates and vegan options, but what had drawn me to there was the tea. Like other more adventuresome gourmet chocolatiers, the Lounge’s owners have opted to use “trufflefy” (as the menu put it) tea as a culinary ingredient for chocolate. Its tea truffles are White Jasmine (white chocolate and jasmine green tea ganache covered in dark chocolate), Earl Grey (Earl Grey-infused dark chocolate covered with milk chocolate and topped with Earl Grey tealeaves) and Masala Chai (milk chocolate ganache infused with traditional masala chai spies, vanilla bean and Darjeeling black tea).
It was a really fun visit! You can read the full article on World Tea News.
French Broad Chocolate Lounge is on Asheville’s artsy Lexington Avenue, just south of the vintage clothing stores and eco-chic boutiques. It’s named for the local French Broad River, aptly, since the lounge focuses on the flow of liquid – “liquid truffles” (drinking chocolates), more than a dozen teas and tisanes, and various coffee drinks and local beers. Its specialty is chocolate, which it serves in liquid form and as solid truffles and other confections.
Walking into French Broad Chocolate Lounge from the street, I was struck by how fitting the title “lounge” is. Lush surfaces, low lighting and a laid-back vibe permeated the atmosphere. The shop was crowded even thought it was about 3 p.m. on a weekday; the day after I visited, the Lounge opened a second level to accommodate the burgeoning patronage.
Hand-written chalkboards listed the gourmand-centric food offerings, including local cheese plates and vegan options, but what had drawn me to there was the tea. Like other more adventuresome gourmet chocolatiers, the Lounge’s owners have opted to use “trufflefy” (as the menu put it) tea as a culinary ingredient for chocolate. Its tea truffles are White Jasmine (white chocolate and jasmine green tea ganache covered in dark chocolate), Earl Grey (Earl Grey-infused dark chocolate covered with milk chocolate and topped with Earl Grey tealeaves) and Masala Chai (milk chocolate ganache infused with traditional masala chai spies, vanilla bean and Darjeeling black tea).
It was a really fun visit! You can read the full article on World Tea News.
Friday, October 2, 2009
East Meets West Tea Tour
I'm in the process of moving to Portland. My husband (Marko) and I are driving across the country in a moving truck. Along the way, we're making a few stops for tea. Right now, I'm discussing the particular s of tea and travel, as well as chronicling every cup of tea I drink during my trip, on Twitter (@LindseyAtVeeTea). Later, I'll write more detailed accounts of several cross-country tea spots for World Tea News.
So far, I've stopped for amazing masala chai drinking chocolate. Tonight, I hope to stop at two Kansas City tea shops. From there, it's on to Denver, (hopefully) Boulder and Salt Lake City. And, of course, after I've settled into Portland, I'll be visiting local tea businesses ASAP!
There's always something very exciting about making the journey as important as the destination. I doubt I can achieve that goal, given that I'm making a cross-country move, but I can always try. :)
What's your favorite tea travel memory? Have you ever happened upon a great tea spot by chance while traveling?
So far, I've stopped for amazing masala chai drinking chocolate. Tonight, I hope to stop at two Kansas City tea shops. From there, it's on to Denver, (hopefully) Boulder and Salt Lake City. And, of course, after I've settled into Portland, I'll be visiting local tea businesses ASAP!
There's always something very exciting about making the journey as important as the destination. I doubt I can achieve that goal, given that I'm making a cross-country move, but I can always try. :)
What's your favorite tea travel memory? Have you ever happened upon a great tea spot by chance while traveling?
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tea in LA
For me, tea and travel go hand in hand. I love checking out the unique tea culture in each place I visit. This July, I'm heading out to LA. To prepare, I'm looking for tea recommendations from my fellow tea lovers. So far, I have:
The Tea Garden & Tea Emporium
Leaforever in Pasadena
Bamboo Tea House in Pasadena
Palace of Tea in Beverly Hills
Tranquil Tea Lounge in Fullerton
SipTea
(Thank you for your suggestions, fellow Twitterers!!!) Do you have any suggestions to add? I'd love to hear them!
The Tea Garden & Tea Emporium
Leaforever in Pasadena
Bamboo Tea House in Pasadena
Palace of Tea in Beverly Hills
Tranquil Tea Lounge in Fullerton
SipTea
(Thank you for your suggestions, fellow Twitterers!!!) Do you have any suggestions to add? I'd love to hear them!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
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?
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?
Monday, April 20, 2009
Phoenix
Went to Phoenix to speak about tea at a wellness conference last weekend. While I was there, I visited with some tea business owners and learned some very interesting things about tea in Phoenix, which I'll be sharing on World Tea News soon. In the meantime, here's a taste of my trip:
Prickly Pear Cactus "Tea"
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A "teatini" at Chandler Urban Tea Loft -- Yum!
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Chihuly glass pieces at the Desert Botanical Gardens -- Gorgeous!
I also got to eat at Quiessence, which is a local, artisanal restaurant. Loved their pan-seared cobia with pureed cauliflower and their caramelized onion soup with sorrel. Their menu changes daily, but I'm sure if you visit you'll find it to be as delicious as I did!
Prickly Pear Cactus "Tea"
.jpg)
A "teatini" at Chandler Urban Tea Loft -- Yum!
.jpg)
Chihuly glass pieces at the Desert Botanical Gardens -- Gorgeous!
I also got to eat at Quiessence, which is a local, artisanal restaurant. Loved their pan-seared cobia with pureed cauliflower and their caramelized onion soup with sorrel. Their menu changes daily, but I'm sure if you visit you'll find it to be as delicious as I did!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tea in Phoenix
I'll be speaking at a nutrition & wellness conference in Phoenix next month and I have just enough time for a handful of tearoom visits in Phoenix and the surrounding area. So far, I've got Urban Tea Loft, Souvia, Mandala, White August, Arcadia Farms... Where else would you suggest?
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Leaving SF...
So sad to be leaving San Francisco today... I can't wait to come back! It's on my short list of cities to live in once I tire of NYC, so we'll see -- maybe I'll end up there soon! :) In the meantime, I have a few goodies to take back with me -- amazing oolongs and an "eight treasures" herbal tea from Teance. (Next time I go to Imperial Tea Court, I'll have to be sure to save time for selecting pu-erhs, instead of just interviewing the owner (at the Ferry Building location) and enjoying the incredible hand-pulled noodle soup with friends (at the Berkeley location). Still, I'm very glad to have the teas I managed to pick up!) What's your favorite tea from a vacation/business trip?
Monday, November 17, 2008
In SF
I flew into SF after stopping off in Chicago on Friday night. It has been a busy trip so far: a tea tasting at Teance, interviews with tea professionals at Teance and Samovar, time with old friends and amazing food and tea. As always, I am very impressed with the approach to food here, and am glad to see many aspects of that approach (appreciative, contemplative, responsible) reflected in tea. Also, the weather has been fantastic. It was over 80 degrees this weekend! More soon...
Golden Gate Park
Winnie Yu at Teance in Berkeley
An amazing spread of sweets at Samovar (where I also had a phenomenal gyokuro and a great honey-aged phoenix oolong)
Golden Gate Park
Winnie Yu at Teance in Berkeley
An amazing spread of sweets at Samovar (where I also had a phenomenal gyokuro and a great honey-aged phoenix oolong)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Off to SF
Tomorrow, I'm flying out to San Francisco for about a week. It is, arguably, the best place for tea in the U.S., so I'll be doing lots of research while I'm there! I'll post as much as I can during the trip, and then add extras later. If you have anywhere to suggest I go for tea, vegetarian food, art or anything else you think I'd like, please drop me a comment and let me know!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Vacation
I'm off on a long weekend at a cabin upstate. I'll be back tomorrow. How do you take your tea on the road? Pyramid bags, flat bags, tea socks, The Teastick, RTDs, travel infusers, or ... ?
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tay Home Visit
My man and I recently had the pleasure of visiting Nini Ordoubadi and her fabulous tearoom, Tay Home, upstate. As much as we love NYC, it's wonderful to get away every now and then, especially if it happens to be somewhere both beautiful and tranquil. (Bonus points for lots of tea and changing leaves!) Here are some photos of our trip:
The leaves. Stunning! It was strange to see them go back from red, orange and brown to green on the return trip. Who would have thought that going to NYC would make one feel as though traveling back in time!
The view of changing leaves and pumpkins from Nini's charming (and gorgeously decorated) farmhouse.
Amazing heirloom tomatoes from Nini's garden. They are sweet, with no acidity.
Nini, the woman behind the beauty of Tay. She's drinking Better Than Sex, one of their most popular blends. Note the joss paper on the wall -- beautiful!
Checking out the single-note teas at Tay. (Those of you who know me but haven't seen me lately will notice that my hair has changed drastically. I'm going back to my natural hair color. It's more sustainable!)
More of Tay. Can you tell Nini's background is in interior design? She has a great eye, and has collected a wonderful array of items in her shop from beautiful handmade candles (some cast after a statue of Buddha) and soaps (I picked up the white jasmine soap) to vintage teapots to soapnuts (natural alternatives to laundry detergent) to handcrafted jewelry.
My man and I checking out Tay's line of blends. They specialize in rooibos, but also blend other botanicals, as well as black, green and oolong. On the right, you can see their cool sampler boxes. The tea tins are also very well designed.
Tasting teas with Nini. Yum! On the right are a few soon-to-be-introduced teas. More on them later!
Persian Rose, my personal favorite from Tay -- sweet and complex, with a phenomenal aroma.
Me just enjoying Tay and good company.
www.taytea.com
The leaves. Stunning! It was strange to see them go back from red, orange and brown to green on the return trip. Who would have thought that going to NYC would make one feel as though traveling back in time!
The view of changing leaves and pumpkins from Nini's charming (and gorgeously decorated) farmhouse.
Amazing heirloom tomatoes from Nini's garden. They are sweet, with no acidity.
Nini, the woman behind the beauty of Tay. She's drinking Better Than Sex, one of their most popular blends. Note the joss paper on the wall -- beautiful!
Checking out the single-note teas at Tay. (Those of you who know me but haven't seen me lately will notice that my hair has changed drastically. I'm going back to my natural hair color. It's more sustainable!)
More of Tay. Can you tell Nini's background is in interior design? She has a great eye, and has collected a wonderful array of items in her shop from beautiful handmade candles (some cast after a statue of Buddha) and soaps (I picked up the white jasmine soap) to vintage teapots to soapnuts (natural alternatives to laundry detergent) to handcrafted jewelry.
My man and I checking out Tay's line of blends. They specialize in rooibos, but also blend other botanicals, as well as black, green and oolong. On the right, you can see their cool sampler boxes. The tea tins are also very well designed.
Tasting teas with Nini. Yum! On the right are a few soon-to-be-introduced teas. More on them later!
Persian Rose, my personal favorite from Tay -- sweet and complex, with a phenomenal aroma.
Me just enjoying Tay and good company.
www.taytea.com
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Last Day in Vegas
Visited Qua (the spa at Ceasar's Palace) for the steamroom, sauna, and tea lounge. Saw some Vegas sights. Arrived at the airport for a red-eye flight. I won't be posting tomorrow (I'll be sleeping), but I'll share some more Expo info when I'm settled back into NYC.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
World Tea Expo, Day 2
Random notes for the day:
Trends:
Many more young people in attendance than last year
Lots of tea factories, fair trade farmers' alliances, and plantations in booths (increased ability to source directly)
More organics
Class:
Tea and Meditation by the authors of Tea Here Now, very interesting presentation on the connections between the two
Highlights:
Meeting James Norwood Pratt
Getting to see all the booths up close
Snagging samples of some fantastic shaped/flowering teas
Talking tea with other tea people
Buying some recent translations on Chinese and Taiwanese teas (particularly oolong and pu-erh)
It was an incredibly full day. I'm taking a moment to relax in my hotel room (if you can call blogging relaxing!) and then I'm off to dinner with Rajah Banerjee of Makaibari and a night on the town with a bunch of tea kids. Fun! More tomorrow...
Trends:
Many more young people in attendance than last year
Lots of tea factories, fair trade farmers' alliances, and plantations in booths (increased ability to source directly)
More organics
Class:
Tea and Meditation by the authors of Tea Here Now, very interesting presentation on the connections between the two
Highlights:
Meeting James Norwood Pratt
Getting to see all the booths up close
Snagging samples of some fantastic shaped/flowering teas
Talking tea with other tea people
Buying some recent translations on Chinese and Taiwanese teas (particularly oolong and pu-erh)
It was an incredibly full day. I'm taking a moment to relax in my hotel room (if you can call blogging relaxing!) and then I'm off to dinner with Rajah Banerjee of Makaibari and a night on the town with a bunch of tea kids. Fun! More tomorrow...
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Vegas, Baby!
I'm about to leave for the airport and fly out to Vegas for The World Tea Expo. Never been to Vegas before and can't say I'm thrilled about visiting the city itself, but I am very much looking forward to the Expo, the teabar at Qua, and catching up with/meeting new tea people. I'll be doing short posts via iPhone during the Expo, and then filling in the details, photos, and links after I return. More soon!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
New VeeTea Article on TeaMuse
There's a new Vee Tea article on Tea Muse this month! It's a two-part article that covers my recent tea excursions in Austin and trends in tea in the US. Excerpt:
"In order to learn about tea trends in Austin, I started where coolness often originates-near the college campus. On Guadalupe near downtown ('The Drag,' as the locals call it), there are two boba tearooms on the same block, Tapioca House and Coco's Cafe II. Boba tea, for those who are unfamiliar, is a sugary concoction which is, as Douglas Adams put it, 'almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.' It is a frothy drink made of tea, sugar, milk, and (often, but not necessarily) tapioca flour spheres, it comes in a variety of flavors, and it is also known as 'bubble tea' and '(tapioca) pearl tea.' I jokingly refer to it as a 'gateway tea,' because young people try it, get really into it, and then move on to the more serious stuff. Although the two tearooms (and the boba teas I sampled from each place) are remarkably similar, they are both popular enough to be supported by a steady stream of college students seeking their sugary fixes. In many ways, this is indicative of the nascent stages of tea culture in the US-a sugary something for when you're on the go, like a cola but 'better for you.'"
Read more on tea in Austin on Tea Muse!
"In order to learn about tea trends in Austin, I started where coolness often originates-near the college campus. On Guadalupe near downtown ('The Drag,' as the locals call it), there are two boba tearooms on the same block, Tapioca House and Coco's Cafe II. Boba tea, for those who are unfamiliar, is a sugary concoction which is, as Douglas Adams put it, 'almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.' It is a frothy drink made of tea, sugar, milk, and (often, but not necessarily) tapioca flour spheres, it comes in a variety of flavors, and it is also known as 'bubble tea' and '(tapioca) pearl tea.' I jokingly refer to it as a 'gateway tea,' because young people try it, get really into it, and then move on to the more serious stuff. Although the two tearooms (and the boba teas I sampled from each place) are remarkably similar, they are both popular enough to be supported by a steady stream of college students seeking their sugary fixes. In many ways, this is indicative of the nascent stages of tea culture in the US-a sugary something for when you're on the go, like a cola but 'better for you.'"
Read more on tea in Austin on Tea Muse!
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