We discovered this fascinating video from one of the bloggers on Tea Trade. It is about the origins of Tie Guan Yin, the processing of it and the Chinese cultural importance of it.
No explanation does this video justice. Just grab your teacup and enjoy!
We are: A very large tea company with small garden values. Small values in a garden, really.
We seek: Happy people, but this isn’t Disneyland. You’re not dead in paradise yet, so we’ll just settle for “people.”
Residency: Preferably from some former colony; because that means you’re not doing so well now.
Suitable candidates: We like Tamils from Sri Lanka, and lower caste Indians. Impoverished pluckers from Japan and China are quite acceptable. Model tea pickers from Africa? We could use some more. White skinned natives need not apply at all. Not that we think you would. Click through to see more qualifications
When Gary, Kevin and Jesse get together to taste tea and wine the result is an interesting mix of humor, intelligent discourse, and fascinating instruction. The trio met up at Jesse’s, Samovar Tea, to taste tea, wine and share their passions about each. The below video is nearly 80 minutes long, but is filled with excellent information. There are lengthy discussions about tasting wine and the similarities when it comes to tasting tea. Gary, in his usual laid-back style, makes it accessible and understandable. Jesse and Kevin bring a great combination of personal and professional knowledge about tea, tea brewing and tea cultures.
Grab a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy as these three men take us through the internet’s first combined tea and wine tasting!
Steven Smith is an iconic figure in the American tea industry. In 1972 he co-founded Stash Tea Company, nurturing it into becoming one of America’s most recognized tea brands. After selling the company over 20 years later, he moved on to form Tazo Tea. Within a few years, Tazo was acquired by Starbucks and became the premium brand of teas available in Starbucks stores worldwide. Smith continued to develop the Tazo Tea brand and line of teas until 2006.
Now, after a few years living in Avignon, France, Mr. Smith is back in America blending teas under his own name. Bringing with him over 35 years of expert tea-blending experience. The Steven Smith Teamaker brand represents the culmination of decades of blending and creating teas for American tea drinkers
Smith’s teas are exceptional, every ingredient in the tea can be traced back to the source by the consumer. Each box is printed with a unique code, which can be entered at Smith’s website to learn the origin of each of his special and high-quality ingredients.
Smith’s skill at creating excellent teas and premium brands is unmatched in the American tea industry.
In this video, released on CHOW.com in 2009, tea author James Norwood Pratt muses about tea. He comes across as a kind old gentleman in a brown leather chair, and has some cleverly quotable moments:
On learning about tea:
“The same way I would tell someone to start learning about lovemaking…”
On tea bags:
“Of course I use tea bags…it is the first line of self-defense…”
This video, produced by the Fair Trade Foundation, presents a portrait of Fair Trade that we want to be the truth. There are rumors, however, that Fair Trade is not all that it claims to be.
We are big fans of Henrietta Lovell, the Rare Tea Lady, she is doing some great things promoting loose tea in Britain. We’ve featured her a number of times in our forums. In this video, she pairs tea with cheese. Watch and let us know if you have ever tried combining the two and what your best pairings were.