It all started one crisp October morning in 2003, when I discovered that a cup of coffee was not what pleased me anymore. So, it was off to a friend’s coffee and tea store where I purchased my first four ounces of Assam loose leaf. Of course, I had to … Continue reading
The Company’s returning China fleet laden with eight milion pounds’ worth of tea, silk and porcelain found an imposing French squadron laying in wait at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca (where fifteen years later Sir Stamford Raffles was to found Singapore for the Company). Commodore Nathaniel Dance had … Continue reading
It was 6:00 A.M. on July 5. I was on my knees on the ground between a large RV (mine) and about eleven ceramic garden figurines. Including, but not limited to: a puppy; a voluptuous frog in a bathing suit; a spotted cow in need of milking; a rabbit in … Continue reading
Here are the entries received from the tea haiku contest. The first comment on that post was just the incentive needed!mado no sotoha ga uzumakareocha wo nomuoutside my windowthe leaves are swirling aroundas i drink my tea I took a little liberty in translation with the second line, the original … Continue reading
I just finished the wonderful Matt Gross piece on Darjeeling in Sunday’s NY Times (Oct. 14, 2007). What a fine piece of writing! In it, Matt Gross repeatedly mentions Rajah Banerjee’s out-sized ego, but this is too facile and too easily misrepresents the man himself. People with less “patrician” self-assurance … Continue reading
I was invited to Hood River Valley High School to share some knowledge about, and taste, tea with a group of teens. These young people have asked for their own separate tea time, separate from the Tuesday Teas which have been so popular for the last five weeks. The Tuesday … Continue reading