bringing style to the art of tea appreciation
When I first embarked upon my tea studies at George Brown College in Toronto, I was introduced to an odd little tea vessel – the gaiwan – which looked like a wide-lipped sugar bowl with lid and saucer. I struggled to use it – the lid needed to be positioned in a way that allowed the tea’s liquor to flow in a stream without letting any (or not many) leaves to escape the vessel. The index finger had to control […]
In mid-August 3 years ago, I was fortunate to be in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province during Jasmine harvest season. My host, Chris West, formerly of Min River Tea, arranged for us to visit the old factory of Master Yu on the outskirts of town. We would be accompanied by the provincial Minister of Agriculture. He was to be present during the filming of CCTV’s beautiful documentary series, 茶,一片树叶的故事 06 一碗茶汤见人情, which roughly translates as “Tea, the Human Story”. […]
Myths and Vagaries A few months ago I watched uncomfortably as a fellow tea sommelier asserted that the reason they had presented White Tea first was that “it was unoxidized”. I know this to be untrue, but I could understand how they might believe it. There is wide spread misunderstanding of White Tea with inaccurate information lounging everywhere on tea retail websites eg. “white tea contains almost no caffeine”. Another eg. “try our Anji Bai Cha White Tea”. Nope. It’s […]
An Interview with Chris West The tea community in the western world is still relatively small. So small that most of us follow and interact with the same people on social media sites like facebook, Google+ and Twitter. This is where I initially met Chris West of Min River Tea. He has lived in China for 9 years and became a tea drinker gradually. Living in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province he is surrounded by neighbours and friends who invariably […]
Part I: The Garden “I do not know anything half so refreshing on a hot summer’s day as a cup of tea; I mean pure and genuine as the Chinese drink it, without sugar and milk, It is far better and much more refreshing than either wine or beer.” Ch VII, pg 116, A journey to the Tea Countries of China, Robt. Fortune, 1858 London was hot in August – not as oppressively hot as my August trip to […]
When planning my visit to Hangzhou I wanted to be sure to include some ‘Silk Sightseeing’. I knew that Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, was central to China’s development of the silk trade. Through a series of water canals and rivers, its precious cargo was ultimately transported to the Ancient Silk Road, starting in Xi’an and ending in Persia, the gateway to Europe. Hangzhou’s Silk Market is popularly known as Silk City, an outdoor pedestrian shopping area located at Xinhua and […]
Xiangji Yard Boutique Hotel Booking a hotel room online can be a stressful experience particularly when you only have one week ’til lift off. I knew there was a chance that I might be disappointed by my hasty selection, but really I had given up on expectations the closer I came to departure. Several hotels were candidates for my short stay in Hangzhou, the capital city of China’s prosperous Zhejiang province. On the short list was a boutique hotel which […]
Carpets fit for the Runway When Korhani Home rolled out the carpet at Toronto’s Fashion Week, they had no intention for it to be walked on. Instead they found ingenious ways to evoke style eras through history, reflecting the seasonal designs they are offering. Who would have thought that you could make carpets into capes for masquerade balls or evoke Genghis Khan? Their new collection of home carpets were wrapped around models in ways that would make my fingers bleed […]