“So what is a tea festival?” This is a question I get asked all the time, but I guess what we do must be quite unique, as I have to answer a lot of questions. Not that I mind it at all – after all, a large part of what … Continue reading
“So how many tea houses do you usually visit during one of your tea bus tours?” asked a visitor to our tea festival booth at the Abbot Kinney Street Fair in Venice, California, where we launch our tea cultural programming every September. “We don’t usually go to tea houses,” I … Continue reading
Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591) is undoubtedly the most renowned tea master in Japanese history. Born in Sakai near the end of Japan’s warring era, he performed tea ceremonies for powerful feudal lords Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and was the latter’s confidant. Sen no Rikyu collaborated with Hideyoshi in the … Continue reading
Sadly, as is often the case in LA, the stress accrued in getting to an appointment counteracts the relaxation the appointment is designed to deliver. But despite the fact that it was Parents’ Weekend at UCLA and the campus was teeming with proud parents and their UCLA sons and daughters, … Continue reading
Given the small turnout for opening day of the Steeped in History: The Art of Tea exhibit at UCLA’s Fowler Museum, my expectation for the turnout at the first of several lectures associated with the exhibit was low. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. When I entered the auditorium in the … Continue reading
What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon for the tea devotee than to drink in the objects d’tea at the new exhibit that opened August 16 at UCLA’s Fowler Museum, Steeped in History: The Art of Tea, guest curated by Beatrice Hohenegger? Definitely the next best thing to sipping … Continue reading