bringing style to the art of tea appreciation
I have always been captivated by the line in Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne “She feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China”. I recently learned that this line was inspired by Cohen’s introduction, by his friend Suzanne, to Constant Comment®, an orange spice tea blend from Bigelow. Constant Comment was one of the few teas (all loose leaf) that sat on my shelf when I set up house in a garage in Banff, Alberta (housing was scarce […]
Like a dream it arrived and then was over and now I’m home. I wish I could reconstruct the experience of World Tea Expo in order to give you a picture of what actually happened and when. At moments it was elating, challenging, fascinating, funny and puzzling. Every time I try to reassemble the days chronologically, however, my brain resists. This year, my reports will be based on random observations, capricious interludes and impressions. Quite unlike me really not to […]
Tiered cake stands, white linen, dainty sweets and bone china teapots are well-worn symbols of Afternoon Tea, – the popular, more formal approach to serving a cuppa. To that end, hotels and other venues have dreamed up all kinds of themed afternoon teas – the edible garden, Asian-inspired and ultra chic! Afternoon Tea is often erroneously called “High Tea”, a name which originally defined the meal that was served at a high (dining) table close to the supper hour. In […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]