The final [...]

A friend presented me
With tender leaves of Oolong tea,
For which I chose a kettle
Of ivory-mounted gold,
A mixing-bowl of snow-white earth.
With its clear bright froth and fragrance,
It was like the nectar of Immortals.
The first bowl washed the cobwebs from my mind -

The whole world seemed to sparkle.
A second cleansed my spirit
Like purifying showers of rain,
A third [...]

Our apologies to all, but we made an editorial decision and felt we shouldn’t bump the Friday post 2 weeks in a row. As a result, the final tasting notes will be absolutely, definitely, most assuredly and without a doubt published on Monday. The silver lining here is that if there are any tasting stragglers [...]

After receiving advice last June - and then again in November - to purchase a small traveling tea set to take to speech tournaments and other tea-free events, I finally broke down and purchased a tea set. It contains the gaiwan, the pouring pitcher, six tiny cups, and a handy tweezer . . . all [...]

As we find ourselves in the throes of the holiday season, it’s easy also to find ourselves rushed and stressed out. I was at the post office this week and had to wait 30 minutes on line for my turn. Everyone was grumbling, frustrated and angry.
I don’t think this is what our most [...]