bringing style to the art of tea appreciation
We all have friends and relations who love tea in a special way. We won’t call them tea snobs, but let’s just say that they are very particular about the teaware they use and the way they prepare and sip their tea. Does the following profile match the person whose gift you are puzzling over? not interested in expanding their teacup collection don’t do “Victorian” serious about the quality of their teawares and their tea hard-wired for style and […]
Bloggify! I had to get up bright and early for the first core session of the day. There was no missing this one as I was on the panel! I wasn’t sure how full Room 258 would be for the 8am panel discussion, “How to Use Blogging in Your Business”. The sign outside the door read “How to Use Bloggers in Your Business” – subtle difference in the semantics I think. The second implies that you can’t do it yourself, […]
H²O On Friday I had been given some Essentia Water while visiting the Healthy Beverage Show (conveniently co-located with World Tea Expo). Before heading over to the Convention Center Saturday morning, I decided to test it out by making some tea. I thought it would be fun to compare it with spring water that I bought at the hotel’s cafe. Essentia Water is quite scientifically formulated through purification, electrolyte infusion and ionic separation. Product info claims that “Essentia removes acidic […]
Yes it is and that’s how I prefer it! I’ve never been a big fan of iced tea, except during the throws of enveloping summer humidity when anything with an ice cube in it gets my attention. But I’ll be heading to Las Vegas in a few weeks to attend World Tea Expo and in the U.S., restaurants will serve you iced tea unless you specifically ask for “hot” tea. June 7, 8 and 9, Las Vegas, Nevada World Tea […]
Our arrival in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province was held up with delays on the tarmac, delays on the bus and delays finding a cab. Demand for cabs in this bustling city is so great during rush hour that some people have taken to accepting fares on the backs of their electric bikes. With all these back ups, I was becoming impatient and worried that our lateness might be insulting our host, Chris West of Min River Tea Farm. […]
Caffeine Science Maintaining one’s health and alertness can be challenging during Expo. After a busy day on the floor and in sessions there is barely enough time to make dinner plans. When relaxing with friends in the evening, my beverage of choice is a glass of wine. It helps to balance the day’s accumulated caffeine intake. Tasting upon tasting, moving from booth to booth, I wondered just how much caffeine I was consuming. I hoped to find some reliable information […]
World Tea Expo 2012 In a year where we saw tea retail grow and take over new ground, it should be interesting to notice subtle developments within the tea community at World Tea Expo. Teaopia in Canada was recently bought out by US chain Teavana which went public with its IPO in July 2011. Montreal-based David’s Tea opened 2 new shops in NYC. Starbucks hired Charles Cain formerly of Adagio Teas, to run their Tazo Tea operation. Wherever you […]
I am thrilled to be hosting an illustrated talk for the Bata Shoe Museum in midtown Toronto on Sunday May 13th (Mother’s Day). It’s entitled, High Style: A Fashionable History of Tea. In preparation, I’ve been considering the influence that tea has had on style throughout history. I’ve been delving into Asia’s ancient past, but also investigating tea’s introduction to society in Europe’s Baroque period and beyond. I’ve uncovered some interesting nuggets. During the early 1700’s 1 lb of tea […]