Michelle Rabin

Michelle Rabin is the founder of T Ching. Two years ago, she left New Jersey where she'd been in private practice as a psychologist for 25 years, and moved to Hood River, Oregon with visions of tea in her mind, body and soul. Her mentors, Robert G. Allen (N.Y. Times best selling author) and Mark Victor Hanson (Chicken Soup For the Soul) taught her that she is limited only by the limitations she imposes on herself. It is her vision and drive that is the inspiration for this innovative new business. She was able to see, early on, the direction the tea industry was headed in this country and was drawn to every aspect of it. A former coca-cola addict, Michelle first discovered green tea as a healthier beverage choice to wean herself off of her coca-cola jones. Her love affair with tea began while studying the traditions of the Japanese and Chinese Tea Ceremonies. But it didn't end there. As a tea connoisseur herself, Michelle saw the need to educate consumers about tea and to provide products that would help make the preparation of tea an easy, mistake proof process. Keep your eyes open for a revolutionary new product for the preparation of tea which marries art, design and innovation. Currently patent pending, it's due to be released before the end of the year. Her prediction is that once Americans can make a delicious cup of tea quickly, painlessly, and perfectly, their consumption of tea will significantly increase bringing it in line with the rest of the world's enjoyment of tea. Second only to water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. The profound health benefits associated with tea consumption will have the potential to impact health and wellness in this country unlike anything before it.

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Sandy M. Bushberg

Sandy M. Bushberg is one of the original founders of T Ching and a member of the board of directors. Having been in the healthcare field as a psychologist for over 20 years and as a clinical herbalist, Sandy has a long term vision of promoting health and wellness and devoting himself to reversing the destructive trend of declining health in this country. He is driven by the realization that if more people don't start to do something soon to begin reversing this rapid decline in our health, then our nation's economy will be overwhelmed by the growing costs of healthcare. His interest in tea as an inspiration for promoting health was peaked during a trip to Southeast Asia where he began to study the myriad health benefits of ea. During the ensuing years Sandy has done in-depth research about tea; its history and health benefits, both physiological and psychological/spiritual and has obtained certification as a Tea Specialist through the Specialty Tea Institute. Sandys strong vision and creative insights have been key in the development of Tching.com.

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Elizabeth Knight

Elizabeth Knight is the author of several bestselling books on the subjects of tea and entertaining including Tea with Friends and Welcome Home. Her latest book, Tea in the City: New York - a tea lover's guide to sipping and shopping in the city has just been published. She writes for magazines such as Romantic Homes, Tea & Coffee Asia, and Tea A Magazine. Elizabeth is a frequent guest on national television and radio programs including WNBC's Today in New York, WOR's Food Talk, The Travel Channel, The Home Shopping Network and QVC. Sharing her love of tea and entertaining with others has been the basis of Knight's business, Tea With Friends, www.teawithfriends.com. As the tea sommelier for the historic St. Regis Hotel, Elizabeth is much sought after for speaking engagements and workshops. She regularly speaks to national retailers including Bloomingdale's and Marshall Fields, cultural institutions including The British National Trust, historical and botanical societies including The Missouri Botanical Garden and schools including New York University. As spokesperson for the 40th anniversary of Royal Doulton's china pattern, Old Country Roses, she created and presented consumer programs in stores across the U.S. Her latest offering is a series of guided walking tours through New York City based on her new book Tea in the City. For the first time, Knight will share her expansive knowledge of Manhattan's “must sip and shop spots.” This unique experience is steeped in the expertise of one of the country's leading tea authorities.

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Dan Greenfeld

Dan Greenfeld grew up in Brooklyn and was an attorney for 35 years. Now he's a New York City potter-ceramic artist (a hyphenate he obsesses over) specializing in teapots — porcelain, wood-fired, wisteria handled — that are as functional as they are beautiful. His interest in ceramics was kindled 7 years ago when he met his spouse, a ceramicist, artist, and creativity educator. Having no real knowledge of ceramics, but fascinated by the pieces she was making in her studio and from which they were eating and drinking, Dan began looking at ceramics in museums and galleries, and reading and asking questions about, and ultimately collecting, ceramics. Feeling he could never really understand ceramics without some experience in making them, Dan started taking classes and had the good fortune to receive instruction from some potters during his first trip to Japan. He progressed by taking workshops with potters whose work he admired, and refined his techniques, forms and materials by using the wisdom and experience they so graciously and selflessly imparted. Dan chose to explore the teapot because he was challenged by the form's inherently conflicting aesthetic and functional issues. As his thinking evolved, he began to understand that a teapot of sufficient beauty and functionality could enhance people's lives. The teapot can be the focal point of a daily ritual (used in the best sense of the word) encompassing aesthetic contemplation, tea connoisseurship, considered and focused utilization of the senses, and most importantly, discourse and human connection — the essence of the tea ceremony.

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James Norwood Pratt

James Norwood Pratt published his first book on tea in 1982 and is widely acknowledged as an instigator and prophet of America's present tea renaissance. With numerous columns, articles and interviews in overseas tea periodicals and books which have been translated into French, German, Czech and Chinese, he is perhaps the world's most widely read author on the subject today. He was made Honorary Director of America's first traditional Chinese tea house, was instrumental in creating APTI (precursor of the current Specialty Tea Institute), has been editor-in-chief of two tea magazines and leads tea tours to China and India. In 2005 he was chosen International Juror in India's first-ever tea competition. His entertaining talks and tea classes reach growing audiences each year and James Norwood Pratt's "New Tea Lover's Treasury", his now classic "bible of tea", remains the most comprehensive compendium on tea in English. Besides his "International Tea Dictionary" for the tea trade, his works in progress include "All About Black Tea: For those who've given tea a thought but not a try." T Ching will preview selected excerpts.

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Milton Schiffenbauer, Ph.D.

Dr. Milton Schiffenbauer is a microbiologist and assistant chairman of the Department of Biology at Pace University's Dyson College of Arts & Science in New York City. Dr. Schiffenbauer's current research focus has been looking at the antiviral, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties of white tea.

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Pearl Dexter

Pearl Dexter is the editor and publisher of TEA A MAGAZINE ®, now in its twelfth year of publication. It is dedicated to a worldwide audience, informing, educating, and entertaining its readers with articles exploring the history, culture, consumption, and dramatic health benefits of the venerable beverage. Its raison d'être was the passion for the way of tea (she calls it "pachado"). Her tea enthusiasm and spirit are felt throughout the magazine, and is carried over in her lectures on many aspects of tea. In 1999, Pearl founded The TEA Schoolâ„¢. It was established to give people who are serious about tea a firm foundation on the subject. Many of the school's guest speakers have included distinguished leaders in the tea community. Also in 1999, Pearl co-authored TEA with Presidential Families. It gives a fascinating look at the tea history of America's first families. It is lavishly illustrated with photographs, prints, and original works of art—many never before published. Her second book, a compilation of tea poetry, debuted in November 2003. And her third book, a compilation of recipes, Scones, Shortbread, and more, released in March 2006. Pearl has lived in San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C., Providence, and London, and has travelled throughout Europe. Visits to Sri Lankan, Indian, and Azores tea estates afforded her the opportunity to learn about tea from bush to cup. Working with everyone in the tea business, from small tea-room owners to the president of large companies like Lipton, she keeps her finger on the pulse of the fast-growing specialty end of tea. Although tea is just a beverage to some, to Pearl it is a way of life. For further information, contact TEA A MAGAZINE ® 3 Devotion Road ~ Scotland, Connecticut 06264 1.888.456.8651or Email: teamag@teamag.com

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Joseph Simrany

Mr. Simrany is president of the Tea Association of the USA, Inc., the Tea Council of the USA, Inc. and the Specialty Tea Institute (STI). In this capacity, Mr. Simrany tracks trends, disseminates information, and represents the interests of the wholesale and retail tea industry on a broad spectrum of issues. As president of the Council, he leads the industry's educational and public relations' efforts relative to communicating the many attributes of tea to consumers. Joe Simrany first came to the tea industry in February of 1991 after 25 years in the biscuit industry, most recently as vice president of marketing for Sunshine Biscuits, Inc. At Sunshine, he was instrumental in evolving the company from a manufacturing driven strategy to a consumer driven strategy. In addition to significantly strengthening the companies' share and profit positions, he spearheaded the effort to expand and update the companies' product lines. Prior to his time at Sunshine, Mr. Simrany was a product group director at Nabisco Brands, Inc. where he was employed for nearly 20 years in a marketing and sales capacity.

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John Weisburger, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Weisburger was a commissioned officer in the US Public Health Service, assigned to a research program at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD. He was concerned with the mode of action of chemical carcinogens in general, and arylamines in particular. Some of these chemicals were important occupational carcinogens, and in more recent years it was discovered that they occurred in the environment of every consumer of cooked meats, since the cooking process generates heterocyclic amines. Between 1961 and 1972, Dr. Weisburger was also concerned with effective means to test for environmental carcinogens, as Head of the NCI Carcinogen Bioassay Program. With the discovery at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories that carcinogens could be mutagens, he organized national programs to develop rapid in vitro bioassay systems to test for carcinogenicity. Dr. Weisburger later left NCI to become Director of Research at the American Health Foundation. Dr. Weisburger is known for his research on the mechanisms of chronic disease causation, as a sound basis for prevention. The main theme of the research deals with disease prevention, the definitive approach to disease control. In particular, the research involves studies of the association between specific lifestyles anywhere in the world, and the locally prevailing chronic diseases, the area of geographic pathology. A number of chronic diseases stem from inappropriate oxidation reactions and the formation of reactive radicals. These can be prevented by ensuring the presence of antioxidants, such as are provided by vegetables, fruits and the beverage tea. Dr. Weisburger states that regular exercise is also a part of a healthy lifestyle. Based on sound research as described above, people anywhere in the world need to be provided with guidelines as to healthy lifestyles as a means of health promotion. This is important in view of the high cost of medical care to the individuals concerned, their families, their insurance carriers and their governments.

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Jack Bukowski, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Jack Bukowski is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a physician (rheumatologist), a scientist, and chief scientific officer of the Nutritional Science Research Institute (NSRI). He has been researching the immune system for over 30 years and became interested in tea when he discovered that tea boosts the immune system's ability to fight colds and flu.

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Dan Robertson

Dan Robertson is the founder and owner of The Tea House (www.theteahouse.com) in Naperville, Illinois. Born in New Haven, CT and raised in the Midwest, he also lived in Atlanta, GA and is a graduate of the College of Wooster, Ohio. Before venturing into the world of tea Dan owned FRAMEWORK Video & Sound, a video production company specializing in documentary and educational programming. Although traveling to the orient previously, involved in the freight industry, it was his career as a filmmaker that took him to China in 1994 to produce a documentary on tea. With two years of preparatory work he traveled across China for a month filming tea gardens, factories, teahouses, hospitals, universities, museums and historical sites interviewing tea experts in all areas. He returned again in 1995 for another month collecting more footage. As an unexpected result, he began his own tea business, drawing upon the resources he had developed during filming. Since then he returns to China nearly every year either to meet with suppliers, discover new teas, study and research. Since 1996 he has been organizing and leading the acclaimed China Tea Tour, where tea lovers from around the world get first hand experience in tea making, history, culture and business. As an importer, wholesaler, blender and retailer of fine teas and accessories, he is involved with many levels of the tea industry. Known for his informal and engaging style, Dan shares is passion for tea, lecturing around the country for business, educational and private groups. His recently released DVD The Art of Chinese Tea — The Tea Ceremony, is a demonstration and tutorial on the gongfu style of tea making.

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Mark Shapiro

Mark is an award winning American potter whose work can be seen in the permanent collection of the following museums around the country: Mint Museum, Charlotte NC; Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; Racine Art Museum, Racine WI; International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred NY; Newark Museum, Newark NJ; Arkansas Arts Center Decorative Arts Museum, Little Rock AR; Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH. "The town is sacked. Silver and gold, even bronze, are beaten into crude billets to be hauled off and melted. Houses burned; prisoners taken, or not. And in the wreckage: bones, stones, and pot-shards. Clay's low material intrinsic value and fragility, ironically, make it endure as one of the most compelling records of the human touch on the earth. The bottom of the ovoid jug is marked by the potter's two-hundred-year-old fingerprints, just as the earth's strata are uniquely marked in clay fragments by all the peoples who struggled here to endure. Where will my pots end up? In the landfills with the lawnmowers and TVs and silicon chips—the giant middens of our insatiable desires? No matter. I am glad just to leave a record of my own touch in this most receptive fragile and enduring material."

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David Beeman

David Beeman is Chairman of the Board of Cirqua ® Customized Waterâ„¢. More than 29 years ago after graduating from University of California, Santa Barbara he founded Cirqua ®. For 15 years he has lead cutting edge research on formulated water and remains the acknowledged expert and inventor of the concept of ingredient-grade water for the beverage industry. David and Cirqua ® are members of the Water Quality Association, America Water Works Association, Pacific Water Quality Association, Specialty Tea Institute, and the California Restaurant Association. David lectures for the Specialty Coffee Association, the Specialty Tea Institute and the World Tea Expo on subjects, pertaining to water formulation and treatment technologies, that reduce costs, protect equipment and enhance flavor profiles. David is a frequent talk radio and TV guest expert on water-related matters.

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Brian Takeda

Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda first began business in the North American tea industry with a concept called INFUZE in Vancouver, Canada. Within 2 years of operations, INFUZE was acquired by AIYA, the world's largest grower, manufacturer and supplier of premium Japanese matcha green teas. Brian is now the regional director for AIYA Corporation's US operations as well as president of muzi tea, the ultra-premium merchandise tea line launched by AIYA for the specialty tea industry. Since joining AIYA, Brian has been instrumental in creating the matcha green tea phenomenon in North America. He oversaw the major contracts that have resulted in over 4000 retailers throughout North America now serving matcha green tea in some fashion. For over 8 generations, Brian's paternal ancestry have all practiced the art of tea as formally trained tea masters in the Edo Senke tea school, the 3rd largest tea school in Japan. His great aunt is the highest ranking tea master in Gunmma Prefecture who continues to teach at her school at the young age of 90.

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Donna Fellman

It was the ceremonies of tea that first intrigued Donna Fellman and moved her to look deeper into tea. It was the wisdom of the spirit of tea, informing our traditions and rituals, that inspired her to learn more about this enduring drink. And it was the discovery of the world of tea and a healthful beverage that infused her life with a sense of well-being and centered energy that motivated her to share that knowledge with others. As director of the Tea Education Alliance (T·E·A), she offers professional consulting and staff training programs, and publishes educational materials about tea. She is the co-author of Tea Here Now, (Inner Ocean Publishing, December 2005) exploring tea as a lifestyle and written for everyone who wishes to infuse uncomplicated spirituality and mindfulness into his or her tea drinking. And she is Chairman of the Specialty Tea Institute's Education Committee where she is working to expand the structure as well as cohere the educational core of the STI Tea Certification Program to meet the needs and demands of the rapidly growing tea industry. She studies chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony through the Urasenke Foundation.

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Kristin Sloan

Kristin Sloan is a dancer with the New York City Ballet and founder of thewinger.com, a community oriented dance website that shows the lives, insights, and personalities of professionals, students, experts and pioneers in the dance world. Growing up, Kristin's mom was always drinking tea, but it wasn't until she was accepted into the New York City Ballet and felt the rigors and physical demands of being an elite athlete that she came to realize the benefits that tea could offer her. Kristin hopes to help T Ching readers understand the importance of health and nutrition for athletes as well as help dancers understand the performance and health benefits of tea.

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Susan McKeen

Daughter of a Japanese mother and a French-American father, Susan Yachiye McKeen's connection to tea began at birth. Graduate of Duke University (1986), Susan served in the United States Navy, experiencing tea in two dozen countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and Indonesia. Active in the tea industry, Susan shares her extensive knowledge of tea in person and in print. Long-time instructor at Emory University's Center for Life Long Learning, Susan McKeen's Tea 101 and Tea 102 classes are rated by attendees as “educational and entertaining.” As Editor-in-Chief of Tea Experienceâ„¢ Digest, the premier magazine for tea enthusiasts, she takes the mystery out of tea with informative articles, health facts and feature articles about tea around the world. The best-selling tea magazine on Amazon.com for 17 straight months, it was recently chosen by Borders Bookstores for distribution nationwide. Actively involved with tea in the South, Susan McKeen was the first President of the Southern Association of Tea Businesses, Inc. a non-profit business organization for owners of tea-related businesses established in 1998, and drawing members from nine states. Susan Yachiye McKeen is a Level III Certified Tea Professional and member of the Specialty Tea Institute of the Tea Association of the USA.

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Richard Guzauskas

Richard entered the specialty tea industry in 1991 by founding the Leaves Pure Teas. Since selling that line, Richard has been employed as a consultant within the industry, developing tea lines, traveling to the countries of origin and promoting, buying and lecturing about teas. On May 15th, 2006, Richard commenced work with Tea Forte', a high end specialty tea company, on an exclusive and full time basis. An avid traveler, contributor to many tea publications and lecturer, Richard has taught many overflowing classes on the subject of tea. He continues to lead seminars on teas across the country and abroad, serve as Chairman of the Specialty Tea Institute and sits on the Board of Directors of the Tea Assn. of the USA.

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Grégoire Vion

Grégoire creates illustrations, symbols, ornaments and documents and from time to time writes a little poem in Berkeley, California. He likes his daily maté strong and unsweetened. His graphic design work can be seen at grgwr.com.

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Ankit Lochan

A graduate from St. Pauls, Darjeeling, Ankit Lochan has tea in his veins. Starting his tea career at the ripe old age of 15, Ankit has developed a keen sense of the value of this local product. Having been trained at Doke Organic Tea Farm, he has become the main tea sourcing brain for Lochan Tea Limited. Our strategic location at Siliguri gives us an edge over others since this place is the centre of tea growing areas of Assam, Dooars, Terai, Darjeeling and Dinajpur districts of North East India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh. All 500 million kilos of tea produced in this area passes through this town and 100 million kilos is sold through the Siliguri Tea Auction, of which we are an operating member. The small tea growers movement has led to the establishment of scores of Bought Leaf Tea Factories (BLF), which in addition to single estate teas gives a wide spectrum of choices for a buyer, sourcing teas from this town.

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Phyll Sheng

Phyll is an avid tea and wine enthusiast who enjoys discussing and inquiring about the two subjects as much as drinking them. He was exposed to finer Chinese teas at the age of 15 by his late martial arts instructor in Singapore. He mostly brews tea using the Chinese gongfu method. Phyll is an author of his own blog: Adventures in Tea & Wine. He also co-moderates a lively wine discussion forum called Winexiles, in which passionate members come from all walks of life and professions. He writes independently out of personal enjoyment, and he owes much of his knowledge to the many people he is/was acquainted with and will meet during his ongoing “adventures”. He hopes that his contributions and inquiries will add to a better understanding about these culturally rich and healthy indulgences. Phyll resides in Los Angeles.

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Charles Rothschild Lev, L.Ac.

Charles Rothschild Lev practices classical acupuncture, traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Qigong, and a pursuit of harmony and happiness in Portland, Oregon. He enjoys a daily practice of tea with family, friends, and patients. His latest tea teacher, his 4-year-old son, enjoys feeding oolong tea's steam vapors to their very special dragon puppet. His wife is ever lovingly telling him that there's way too much tea in the house, as they discover yet another fascinating new leaf to share together.

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Eric Sternfels

Eric Sternfels is an artist and architect working in Philadelphia, PA. Always intrigued by the design of household objects old and new, Eric has taken special interest in teaware design since he recently began creating functional lighting sculptures which incorporate tea or coffee paraphernalia. Using gravity and a twist of electrical wire, he animates orphaned cups, saucers, teapots and kettles to create whimsical sculpture which also serve as lamps, chandeliers, pendants and wall sconces. For the past year he has been scouring East Coast thrift shops, flea markets and auctions to find components for his unique lighting designs. He is also working to expand his artistic output and his business to include other items which celebrate the rich wealth of design evident in his growing collection of handsome vintage teaware.

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Rajiv Lochan

Life provided Rajiv Lochan opportunity to experiment with tea, and that he did in Darjeeling and China, and now working on a project to find original tea cultivars which were brought from China to India to establish a parallel tea industry to cater to the needs of Imperial trade in early 1800s. After serving as a tea planter for 23 years, he started a tea business, which has helped him find more and more about tea, and finally made him into a tea researcher. Deciphering Chinese tea scriptures is the only key to success. Born in 1953 in Aligarh, in northern India, he planted about 1000 hectares of tea for his company which he served till 1997 and for his own small plantation, which he is using as an experimental plot in non-tradional tea growing area of Bihar, the land of Buddha. Promoting Indus Foundation to look after the educational needs of local children, who should grow to be better citizens, is the social aspect in his mind. www.doketea.com www.lochantea.com www.indusfoundation.com

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Regena Rafelson

Regena Rafelson was born and raised in the Columbia River Gorge, witnessed all the memorable weather events: Columbus Day Storm of 1962; floods from 1964 to 2006; the blowing of Mt. St. Helens in 1980; and the first visit of Thomas the Tanker Train. She has summitted most of the Cascade Volcanoes, including 6/7 of Mt. Rainier. Formerly an avid backpacker, and telemark skier, gravity has taken its toll. She is content with hiking the Columbia River Gorge, "You could take a different hike every day for 75 days, all of them uphill at least one way." Fearing that her stepchildren will place her in an assisted care facility in Rockaway, Oregon, Regena has recently switched to tea after a thirty year affair with espresso. She is an English teacher at the high school level, and coaches the speech and debate team. She has also taken her new found love of tea and become a kind of Pied Piper for tea amongst the teen set.

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Joey Roth

Bio coming soon.

 

William Lengeman

William I. Lengeman III has been writing professionally since 1989. He has published hundreds of articles, essays, reviews and short stories in a wide variety of print and electronic publications, including trade journals, consumer and general business magazines, and newspapers.

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Mary Rasbach

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shenoa robinson

Bio coming soon.

 

Aaron Fisher

Aaron Fisher graduated with a Bachelors degree in anthropology and philosophy. He then spent the next decade traveling through more than forty countries, primarily in Asia—living for some time in India, Japan, and China before finally settling in Taiwan where he currently resides. He is the Senior Managing Editor of all English Publications at Wushing Publications, Ltd. Wushing is the largest name in Asia with regards to the publication of tea and tea culture books and magazines (with a broad base in Chinese art as well). For several years, their Chinese books and magazines have set the standard throughout the Chinese speaking world. One tea magazine, "Tea Art, Puerh Teapot" has a distribution of over 50,000 copies. It would be difficult to find a tea shop in Asia without Wushing books. And they have recently entered the English speaking market with "The Art of Tea Magazine", which is distributed to more than thirty countries. The magazine offers more than 150 pages of in-depth articles per issue, on everything from cooking, spirituality, teaware and Yixing to tea processing, the tea market, and preparation—all written by the most renowned tea masters on Earth. "The Art of Tea" is the only magazine of its kind, for the tea connoisseur. Mr. Fisher will also be publishing two books this year, and translating several other important tea works in the coming years. He is the founder of a school for English, Music and Art, spending his free time there, working on his own paintings, or drinking tea.

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Paul Rosenberg

Bio coming soon.

 

Scotia Bauer

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Virginia Wright

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Anne Lerch

Anne lives in the Hood River Valley in Oregon, USA, where she and her husband own and operate an orchard (pears and cherries), vineyard and winery (Hood River Vineyards) specializing in red wines, ports and sherries. Together they have also raised 5 children, 4 dogs, 1 cat, 3 rabbits, and 24 chickens. She has interests in writing, drawing, gardening, quilting, travel, Russian language and culture, and whatever the guy at the next table is drinking. Anne’s past with tea is checkered, including stints of regular tea-drinking while attending an English boarding school, a university in the ex-Soviet Union (Georgian tea is a favorite), and traveling. These days, she drinks copious amounts of iced tea in the Summertime, and occasional cups of various types of hot tea throughout the rest of the year. Although she prefers her tea “neat," she is not above putting a dollop of jam in her cuppa. Recently, she could not help noticing the many parallels between wine and tea culture. Unfazed by the arcane nature of the wine world, she is a little awed by the tea world, and wishes to learn more about it.

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Paul Fiske

Paul J. Fiske actually started in the institutional side of the Food Service and Beverage Industry, in 1950. Specializing in the Wholesale/Retail Dairy Business, he took a break for "Uncle Sam" in the late 50's, serving in the United States Air Force. Returning to the wholesale dairy business in 1970, he started selling coffee wholesale (on the side) to some clients in 1975. Retired from the dairy business in the early 80's, he entered the institutional coffee business at first. Moving "full bore" to the Specialty Coffee & Tea side a few years later, Paul sold his last venture, Valley Supreme Wholesale, in 2000/2001. His company was a Mid-Atlantic regional business with a territory that covered New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Semi-retired, Paul has been a consultant to the specialty beverage service industry ever since.

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Dharlene Fahl-Brittian

Dharlene Fahl-Brittian is the author of a Tea Trilogy; three books connecting tea and spirituality. She has also written over 100 healing prayers to enjoy while slowly sipping tea in sweet surrender. Her first book, "Sipping Tea - Celebrating Me" is available now and the other two will be available early in the New Year. She is a level three + certified tea specialist with the Specialty Tea Institute of America and has recently returned from the China Tea Tour with the Tea Association of the USA. She is an inspirational speaker with several heartfelt presentations she offers to companies, organizations, women's groups and churches. You can find her at www.takeupthecup.com

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Jo Bind

Jo started exploring the world of tea as a teenager after his father exposed him to the fascinating world of Darjeeling tea at the age of 15. During his time at university, Jo set out to try as many teas as he could find and developed a palate for the subtleties in tea. While his initial approach was purely directed by his sense of taste, he started investigating tea on a more scholarly level in recent years. A move to New Zealand in 2005 gave Jo and his partner the opportunity to convert a passion into a real business and they started the teahouse "Ya-Ya House of Excellent Teas." (www.yayateahouse.co.nz) Besides making rare teas available in New Zealand, a major focus of the business is education about tea and tea culture as well as a sustainable lifestyle in general.

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Kamal Muthuswamy

Bio coming soon.

 

J.D. Mason

J.D. Mason started his own tea trading firm in 1968 at age 16. This firm grew to be one of world's five largest tea trading firms by 1985, when he resigned and sold his equity interest to his former partners. J.D. has had equity interests in tea auctioneer companies at origin, tea producing firms at origin and tea exporting firms at origin. He has been a manager or assistant manager of tea estates / factories in Kenya, Burundi, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Argentina. J.D. received his BS in Organic Chemistry and MBA / MIA in International Business & Affairs and has been a Chairman of and Lecturer at the International Trade Department at one of the USA's ten largest universities, where he wrote the curricula for the Bachelor's through Master's Degree programs in International Trade and Affairs. He has been a Consultant to tea producers, governmental agencies and futures trading exchanges globally. His great grandfather and generations previous had been tea planters at origin; to this day, he has family in the business at origin. His career in tea has been devoted to putting the ownership and control of tea in the hands of the indigenous countries and J.D. is a strong proponent of Single Origin Teas. "If you don't know where the stuff was grown and the tea brand refuses to share this information with you for alleged competitive reasons, don't buy it and definitely don't drink it!" This is his best advice to the quality-conscious consumer.

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Rosalinda Pussietoes

Rosie Pussytoes was born in a cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the mid 1970's. Her parents were seeking a simpler life, and believed that five acres and hard work would allow them to remain independent of the city and its wicked ways. Rosie spent the first four years of her life without a name. Her parents simply called her "Baby Girl," or "Baby" or "Girl." When her parents gave birth to another baby girl in 1979, they began to see the necessity of a name. Later that spring, Rosie found her name while backpacking with her parents along a section of the John Muir trail that traverses Yosemite National Park. A particularly spectacular section was beautifully arranged with Antennaria microphylla, or Rosy Pussytoes. The little girl was enthralled with the soft and fuzzy blossoms, stopping every few feet to admire them. Her father told her the common name, and was treated to three miles of a four-year old singing out, every minute or two "Roseeeee Pussytoes!" When the hikers stopped, at the base of Mt. Marshall, to pitch camp and make dinner, her mother jokingly said, "Miss Rosy Pussytoes has a bowl of rice and vegetables with her name on it." Little Rosie was delighted, the name stuck, and five years later when her parents returned to civilization and paying taxes, her identity was legalized. Rosie works in an office of cubicles at one of those very large "DotComs" in a forgettable city near you. She reads a lot of historical fiction, runs half-marathons, and is partial to matcha.

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Kristin Schoonveld

Kristin Schoonveld has loved tea for as long as she can remember. As a child she was given cinnamon tea in a china cup painted with strawberries. Today she drinks tea in any cup she can get, the larger the better! She is fascinated by the connections between her love of tea and her other interests: food, mountaineering, polar studies, travel, yoga and haiku. A military veteran and compulsive traveler, she has lived a life of almost constant whirling motion and welcomes the solace and stillness she finds in her daily tea rituals. Kristin recently completed the Le Cordon Bleu Masters of Arts in Gastronomy at the University of Adelaide in Australia. She wrote about such diverse topics as the history of tea and coffee consumption in the United States, and the gastronomic experiences of Heroic Age Antarctic explorers. Kristin spends half the year in the Pacific Northwest and the other half in the Finger Lakes region of western New York with her coffee-drinking husband.

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Brett Boynton

Brett Boynton is the manager and assistant tea buyer for Seattle's Teacup store. In 2004 he began a side business called Black Dragon Tea Bar, which provides Chinese tea education, sales and catering. He is often hired by private clients to provide personalized Chinese tea demonstrations around Seattle. His hobbies include studying Mandarin, and vegan cooking.

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Pete Moss

Bio coming soon.

 

Chris Cason

Chris Cason is the author of hundreds of tea articles, as well as the book "A Guide to Tea," Chris' work has been featured in The US National Archives as well as many other museums and publications. When he's not writing about tea, Chris is the Tea Sommelier and Co-Founder of NYC's tea sensation, Tavalon, where he creates unique blends, delicious tea treats and intoxicating tea cocktails.

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