As part of T Ching’s quest to turn teens on to tea, a matcha tasting was scheduled for Thursday, January 17, at noon at the local high school. Eleven students signed up; eleven invitations were sent; and seventeen eager teenagers showed up.Never dismayed by variations from routine, Sandy and Michelle … Continue reading
I want to remind all novices about the simplicity of brewing tea. I typically find that new comers to tea feel a bit overwhelmed by the process and I’d like to demystify it. Here’s the abridged version for the formula W+3T to the perfect cup.W = water. If you don’t … Continue reading
The ship, a fragment detached from the earth, went on lonely and swift like a small planet. -Joseph Conrad (1857 – 1924), The Nigger of Narcissus The 1840s saw the beginning of the last and most exciting chapter in the history of the China tea trade. The Rainbow, the first … Continue reading
Five miles of hiking uphill would land you at the cabin I was raised in. Water came from a hand pump, light from a kerosene lantern, heat from a wood cook stove, milk from a series of goats – always inexplicably named “Billie,” and fresh greens from our garden. My … Continue reading
Dan Chiu was an ImmortalWho cared nothing for rich foods.But, after picking some tea & drinking it,he sprouted wings,And flew to the Abode of The Immortals,To escape life’s emptiness.Now he lives among the cloudsIn a palace unknown to humans.His tea is brewed in a golden teapotBy a young immortal who … Continue reading
On a bright and sparkling New Year’s Day, 2008, with the temperature hovering right around 40 degrees, a group gathered down at the Metz family farm, which is snuggled just above the the beautiful Delaware Water Gap. Nestled in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains Ranger District, Stockertown, Pennsylvania, our … Continue reading