Tea Talk Tuesday

Hello again: Sorry for the delay today, I am focusing so completely on the NW TEA FESTIVAL that I am having difficulty doing anything else. It is going to be a terrific event! Norwood Pratt is arriving Friday and his presence will be felt throughout the festival. His Tea Somalier and Organoleptic Tea Tasting Classes are filling rapidly! Lisa Boalt Richardson will be staying for the weekend after helping with the Specialty Tea Institute Certification Class and her Paring Tea with Chocolates is filling quickly as well. Tea Chemistry, Roasting Tea, The Cupping and Tea Blending classes are all on schedule to be full and well attended. If you have an interest in expanding your knowledge and experience of tea, this one event will set you up for the year! At least, until our next one.

I will be out of the shop next week but will be back Friday, October 8 for Tea Fact Friday.

See you at the Festival,
Julee

Tea Fact Friday

Hello and welcome to Tea Fact Friday, again! Today's fact is about Hagi stoneware.
Hagi-yaki is high fired stoneware that originated in Korea and was brought to Japan in the 1550's by two Korean potters, Li Sukkwang and Li Kyong. The Daimyo Lord Mori Tenumoto gave them permission to buil a kiln in exchange for Hagi pieces which could be used in the tea ceremony and for gifts. Hagi-yaki is made from soft clay with a milky white glaze.

At the NW Tea Festival next weekend (October 1-2) at Fisher Pavilion the World Green Tea Association will demonstrate the Japanese Tea Ceremony on Sunday afternoon, October 2. Come see this pottery used in it's intended manner by an expert in the ancient art of tea!

Thanks also to James Norwood Pratt's Tea Dictionary for this information. Published by the Tea Scoiety Press, San Francisco, Calif. Printed in India 2010.

Talk to you Tuesday,
Julee

Tea Talk Tuesday

Good Morning, or afternoon it appears!

Welcome to Tea Talk Tuesday. Today all the talk is about the NW Tea Festival which takes place Saturday and Sunday, October 1 & 2 at the Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center - right beside the fountain! Many things are coming together for this event, the Tea Room is planning big things! Lots of tasting Coconut Pouchong and Peppermint Bark. Samples of many teas to take home and try! A Book signing with Lisa Boalt Richardson immediately following her presentation on Teas paired with chocolates on Saturday afternoon!

As if that weren't enough, There will be a tea blending class in which participants will get to create their own signature tea blend! Teas for this are coming from the Perennial Tea Room. You can sign up for this class at their website: NWteafestival.com and go to the program link.

Make sure you have these dates marked on your calendar!! October 1-2, (10:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday, 10:00am - 4:00pm on Sunday). We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Julee

Tea Fact Friday - Longjing - Dragon's Well

Hello again and welcome to Tea Fact Friday. I am sipping a cup of Buddhist Tea while I contemplate the fact(s) of today, Longjing or Dragonwell Tea. One of China's 10 Most Famous Teas and certainly, the best known of all China Greens. First grown in Hangzhou in the west lake region of Zhejiang. It is known for its "four uniques" - jade colour, vegetative aroma, mellow chestnut-like flavor and singular shape. The pan fried leaf is flat, slick to the touch and smooth; a classic leaf style for many pan fried green teas. Besides different seasons, there are up to 8 grades of traditional Longjing: "Lotus Heart" is the rarest, consisting of bud only; then comes "flagged spear." a bud and single leaf; then "bird's beak," a bud between two leaves. Much Longjing is now produced in Fujian and elsewhere outside the classical area of origin and much of this is very good quality tea.

Thanks again to The Tea Dictionary, by James Norwood Pratt, published by Tea Society Press, San Francisco, California; printed in India.

See you Tuesday for Tea Talk,

Julee

Tea Myth Tuesday - Revamped

Hello, welcome to Tea Myth Tuesday. Sorry to say, I am out of myths at the moment, so I thought I would just do a regular tea chat with this space.

Today I want to talk about the NW Tea Festival and how excited I am to be coordinating it! The Perennial Tea Room has been a sponsor of the festival since we were thinking and planning how to do it! Now the festival is in it's fourth year! And, we have moved from the NW Rooms at Seattle Center (we took them all over last year) to the Fisher Pavilion, a much larger space and much easier to find. More space for people to walk around in, more tea to taste and more interesting people to meet and talk tea with.

This year we are presenting workshops as well as open presentations and tea tastings! Two of these, which are most exciting to me, are the Tea Somalier and Organoleptic workshops being presented by Norwood Pratt, the most knowledgeable tea person I know. The classes were originally designed for restaurant staff and now are available for anyone with a serious interest in tea! Imagine 2 hours with him in a group of 10 - 20 people! Plenty of time to ask questions and generally discuss tea with this master of the art. Check out the website: nwteafestival.com to find out how to register for these workshops along with pairing tea with chocolate, a tea cupping class, a tea blending class and much, much more.

Check back on Friday for Tea Fact Friday! See you then,

Julee

Tea Fact Friday

Hello welcome to Tea Fact Friday:
Today's fact is about the London Tea Auctions which operated from 1679 - 1998. The world's first tea auctions began as quarterly events controlled by the East India Company. In 1835 they became independent from company control. By the mid 19th century tea had become so popular that auctions took place monthly and ultimately, weekly. Tea was sent from India, China, Sri Lanka and Africa for sale at the auction and as the auction grew busier a practice developed of devoting particular days of the week to the sale of teas from each individual country. By the 1950's, a third of all the world's tea was bought through these auctions. The sales finally ended because tea was increasingly being auctioned in the producing countries.

Thanks to James Norwood Pratt, Tea Dictionary, Tea Society Press, San Francisco, CA. Printed in India, 2010

Tea Myth Tuesday - No More Myths

Good Morning: Here we are at Tea Myth Tuesday and I have no myth!
I could talk about tannins in tea (there aren't any) but I don't have the information to back it up.
I have emailed my friend Nigel Melican and when he gets me the information I will get it to you.

In the meantime, if you have myths you would like verified or debunked send them to me as comments on this page and I will have a go at it.

See you Friday - there are endless facts about tea.

Julee

Tea Fact Friday - Oolong

Hello and happy Friday:
Oolong is one of China's six categories of tea, originating in Wuyishan (Fujian).
Oolong tea falls between the green and black tea categories with degrees of oxidation ranging from 7% to 70%. Oolong has been produced since the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Thanks to James Norwood Pratt's Tea Dictionary, Tea Society Press, San Francisco printed in India, 2010.

See you Tuesday
Julee