Make no bones about it, understanding the health benefits of tea is a challenge—communicating your hard-won understanding to others is trickier still.  And yet—as tea professionals and tea drinkers—we dance our way onto this conversational tightrope nearly every week.  We strive to keep our words measured, our evidence balanced, and our message conservative—to inform our [...]

In 1839, following an economic conflict, Great Britain declared war on China.  The main issue concerned the exchange of Chinese tea for opium, coming from India.  Following the Chinese government’s prohibition on opium, English warships were sent to the bay of Canton, one of the most important opium trade ports in the country.  The British [...]

When we recently made two short musical videos about tea, the intention was to help fund an educational course.  But the process ended up being educational in itself.
Elizabeth was looking around for scholarships that could help fund her Master’s in Liberal Arts at Reed College in Portland, when she discovered the Calm-a-Sutra competition run by [...]

The English Afternoon Tea style of making tea is for black tea, suitable for larger groups.  The point is refreshment - abundant tea as hot as possible as long as possible, and ease of replenishment.  Always use forgiving, no-fuss teas which mistreatment cannot make undrinkable, for mistreatment is what this tradition teaches unless one resorts [...]

Consumer spending is down, millions are out of work, and businesses around the country are struggling to survive.  I can predict with confidence that - absent a surprisingly strong holiday buying season - hundreds of physical and online tea retailers across the U.S. will close their doors early next year.  There has never been a [...]

Late last month I returned from Montreal after spending a week working with the owners of an incredible new tea bar opening in the downtown core.  Having aptly named it “Téh Bar – the new face of tea”, Renoi, Olivier, and Jean Marc are set to change the perception of premium loose-leaf tea in French-speaking [...]

This month, I have the pleasure of introducing some new tea seasonings and recipes developed by The Tea Spot’s own chef, Karen Harbour, who recently returned to the Cooking School of the Rockies to further develop her culinary skills.
General Instructions for Making a Tea Seasoning
To make a tea seasoning, use a grinder to finely grind [...]

With an Opening Reception on Saturday, September 26, 2009, the Vessels Gallery in Boston kicks off its Out of the Anagama: Kilnmasters and Stokers exhibit.  In case you are wondering what a stoker is and how a stoker relates to a kilnmaster, a notice about the exhibit at MySouthEnd.com provides the answer:
If kilnmasters are the [...]

At the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, California, you could spend hours examining exhibits with titles such as “Garden of Eden on Wheels: Selected Collections from Los Angeles Area Mobile Home and Trailer Parks”, “Lives of Perfect Creatures: Dogs of the Soviet Space Program”, and “No One May Ever Have the Same Knowledge [...]

I’ve been reading some articles recently about how “modern conveniences” - everything from packaged foods to cameras to social networking - have made people lose touch with actual experiences in favor of simply checking the box and moving on.  When I was in Paris a couple years ago, I saw this phenomenon in every museum [...]