bringing style to the art of tea appreciation
Several times a year my husband agrees to read my tea leaves. He learned the art as a young boy from his lovely eccentric aunt. I don’t know how much credence anyone gave this rather pagan pastime when he was a boy in England, but it provided hours of entertainment and a slight shiver of excitement if only a few statements came to reality. The key was to keep the predictions vague, general and open to interpretation. Teomancy, Tasseomancy, or […]
Tea Festivals seem to be popping up everywhere. Most are located on or near the West coast of North America. Los Angeles boasts two: The Tea Lovers Festival and The Los Angeles Tea Festival. The Northwest Tea Festival in Seattle has been around since 2008 and the Grand Dame of them all, The Victoria (Canada) Tea Festival held its first event in February, 2007. The Ottawa Tea Festival was held in Canada’s capital, Ottawa Ontario on Saturday Dec. 1st at […]
West Coast Envy Here in central Canada we envy those who are so lucky as to live on Canada’s west coast, specifically, Vancouver. There is a friendly rivalry between Toronto and Vancouver. They call Toronto “The Big Smoke”. We mockingly refer to Vancouver as “Lotusland” because of the laid back attitude of most of its populace. Whatever daily lethargy the inhabitants might feel is soon dispatched with a cup of ‘joe’ from a coffee shop on the corner, any corner. […]
I’ve been back for over a week and still not fully unpacked. Maybe not fully here. I feel as though I’m floating somewhere mid-Pacific. There are so many stories to tell, photos to share and teas to taste that it feels a bit overwhelming. The purpose of my trip was to spend time with our youngest son Malcolm who is teaching English in Korea. He was generous to spend his August vacation accompanying me to Korean tea regions, acting as […]
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 […]
A Taste of Korea I’ve been enjoying Korean green tea for a few years now. Last year I was introduced to some very fine green teas at WTE. This year Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. decided to step up their promotional campaign. Representatives of Korea’s tea industry have a “pavilion” on the Expo floor, where from booths 232 to 239 you can sample teas and visit with Korean delegates. This afternoon they invited influencers and tea writers to taste […]
This year the Expo has moved to the North Building of the Las Vegas Convention Centre. The orientation was confusing, but once I got my bearings and a cup of Oriental Beauty from Teas Etc. tea break lounge, I was in my happy place. Core Sessions “Competing with the Big Guys” was presented by Shabnam Weber, owner of The Tea Emporium with 4 locations in Toronto. Her advice was sage, constructed from 12 years in the business selling premium teas […]
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 […]
Pargeters by Norah Lofts My husband finds odd books in bins or at sales and occasionally comes home with some gems. Although he hadn’t read it, he thought I might enjoy a book called Pargeters by Norah Lofts, a prolific British author who wrote over 60 books. This was her last novel and it was posthumously published in 1984. The dust jacket was a bit faded and the cover illustration unsophisticated. 284 pages of historical romance in my hand with […]