bringing style to the art of tea appreciation
I have just returned from a convivial ‘Meetup’ of the Henderson/Las Vegas Tea Lovers Group, featuring the book launch of “The Infusiast – Diatribes from the Devotea”. The Devotea being Robert Godden, the Australian Tea Merchant and writer who has gained a following through his blog Tea Sprouts. A pocket of old Las Vegas The venue was a 1940’s cottage converted to an artist studio in a part of Las Vegas I had never seen. A small miracle that these […]
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 […]
I don’t like the term “blog”. It sounds like a gurgled choke. Or an onomatopoeic comment on the quality of my writing. Can’t we come up with a more sophisticated term for what we do? When I started my tea sommelier business 3 years ago I wanted my “blog” to be a vehicle to prove that I had something to say, that I could build on my past career and fuse it into the new. I also hoped that I […]
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 […]
A Unique Afternoon Tea As part of this event, I will be giving a talk on the History of Teaware: Form, Function and Style. If you are in the Toronto area, please consider attending. See details on the poster below.
My visit to Hong Kong this August opportunely coincided with the Hong Kong International Tea Fair. It is one of dozens of trade events produced every year by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. I was only available to attend on Sunday which was open to the public, so it was crowded. As luck would have it though, it was also the day of the 4th Annual International Hong Kong-style Milk Tea Championship. I thought this would be a small […]
Hwagae Market, Hadong County, South Korea Hwagae Village is located in the heart of the Hadong County tea growing region of Gyeongsangnam do (nam means south, do means province) at the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. Most of the tea is wild-grown on Jiri Mountain surrounded by bamboo groves. In the centre of this village is Hwagae Market, a colourful bazaar of produce, plants, household goods and most importantly for me, locally-crafted tea ware. I’m a relaxed shopper. I’m […]
Download Printable PDF I know you can do it! However, if you get really frustrated, here’s the solution © The Tea Stylist Solution available here
Mochi Fusion A favourite treat around my household is a sweet rice cake known as Korean Chapssalddeok or Japanese Mochi. It’s texture is soft, silken and slightly gooey (in a good sort of way). Traditionally it would have taken many hours to make as it required steaming and pounding of rice, cooking and mashing of red beans or lotus root. In today’s kitchen it can be prepared in under an hour. All you need is some fine sweet rice flour […]
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. […]