Today we're continuing with our periodic series of shorter episodes focusing on one tea, one producer or one region that may be new to the tea stage or that we're excited about and want to explore further. We're joined by our frequent guest Kevin Gascoyne, co-owner of Montreal's Camellia Sinensis Tea House and one of the world's leading experts on Indian tea,  to explore Lakyrsiew, a young boutique tea garden in India's very wet Meghalaya state. Kevin chats with us about the history of tea growing in the Meghalaya region, from its origins in the mid-19th century to its revival in the early 21st century. Meghalaya is situated just south of Assam and has some of the highest rainfalls in the world. We discuss the effects of the climate, soil and altitude of Lakyrsiew on the Darjeeling plants being grown there and the cultivars finding success in this terroir. Kevin gives us some tips on comparing the Lakyrsiew autumnal flush with other teas, particularly Darjeelings, to see how the same cultivars can exhibit different qualities when grown in different terroirs. And we look at the recent development of the Lakyrsiew garden and its efforts to find what Kevin calls the "magic" to unlocking what's unique to the leaf. Kevin also gives us a brief update on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Himalayan tea production regions and updates us on Camellia Sinensis' online and in-person programs and operations during the pandemic.   For more info on Camellia Sinensis, including its online store and blog, go to its website at camellia-sinensis.com. Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Image of the Lakyrsiew garden courtesy of Camellia Sinensis. Adapted from original.  

Talking Tea

Lakyrsiew: Unlocking the Magic of the Leaf

 When a friend who's a longtime Buddhist meditation teacher asked me recently if "emptiness" comes into our study and practice of chado, the Japanese way of tea, I didn't quite know how to answer. On Talking Tea we had chatted a bit about emptiness in a Daoist context, and its relation to tea, in our episode Tea & Daoism: Adjacent Connections, and we touched on some of the connections between tea and Buddhism in a few of our earlier episodes. But I hadn't thought about how, or if, emptiness comes into play in the specific practices of the Japanese way of tea. To explore this question further, we asked Drew Hanson, an instructor in the Urasenke school of chado and founder/owner of the Boukakuan Japanese Tea House in New Jersey, to join us again on Talking Tea. (Drew was our guest in two earlier Talking Tea episodes, Tea, Heart to Heart and Chabana: Flowers for Tea.)  Drews begins by talking with us about what emptiness might mean in the context of tea: about thinking and non-thinking in our tea practice, about being and breathing, physicality and non-verbal communication between the host and guests at a tea gathering. Drew discusses how, through all of this, there is "mindfulness but also emptiness". We look at spatial components of emptiness in chado, from the pathway leading us to the teahouse, to the space in the tea room, to the "spaces between" (you'll have to listen to find out what that means), and how these components allow us to let go of everything that defines us in the "outside world". Drew chats with us about the importance of dropping our agendas in tea practice, about what our objective (if any) should be, and how the emptiness pervading all of this ultimately leads to joy. For more info on Drew Hanson and the Boukakuan Japanese Tea House, including info on Japanese tea ceremony classes and demonstrations, go to the Boukakuan website at njgreentea.com. Some resources on emptiness or other works mentioned in the episode are: Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness, by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated and arranged by Lama Shenpen Hookham, 2016 edition, available as an audiobook on Audible or in paperback/Kindle editions on Amazon. The audiobook version was narrated and produced by Talking Tea's Ken Cohen. Baisao, The Old Tea Seller, translated by Norman Waddell.  The commentary mentioned on the Heart Sutra is The Heart Attack Sutra by Karl Brunnholzl.   Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.

Emptiness in Tea Practice

There's a certain novelty factor to bamboo pu'er - sheng or shou pu'er packed and (usually) aged in a bamboo tube. It's not the way we usually acquire our pu'er, and it can be both challenging and fun to crack open the bamboo log and see what's inside. But aside from the novelty, are bamboo pu'ers worth exploring for serious tea drinkers? To look inside the bamboo log a little more deeply, we're joined once again today on Talking Tea by John Wetzel, founder and owner of Stone Leaf Teahouse in Middlebury, Vermont. Specifically we're focusing on one bamboo pu'er, a 2016 sheng from Naka Shan.  John chats with us about the location in Yunnan Province this tea is from, and how the bamboo used in the processing of this tea is a link to the culture, natural environment and life of this region. We discuss the process used to make this particular bamboo pu'er and the flavor profile that results from it, as well as some of the challenges in making bamboo pu'er. We talk with John about how and why this tea evolves rather quickly after unpacking it from its bamboo home, and John gives us some suggestions on how best to store it after unpacking.  More information about Stone Leaf, including the location of the teahouse, its online store and special event info, is at its website, stoneleaftea.com. You can  also find Stone Leaf on Instagram at stoneleafteahouse  and on Facebook at Stone Leaf Teahouse. And for the backstory behind Stone Leaf, check out our episode "A 'Tea Cave' In Vermont". Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.   Image of Naka Shan bamboo pu'er courtesy of Stone Leaf Teahouse. Adapted from original. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.

Bamboo Pu'er, Beyond the Novelty

For quite some time we've been wanting to explore Korean tea culture on Talking Tea, so we're very happy to be joined in this episode by Brother Anthony of Taizé, a prolific writer, translator and teacher and co-author of two notable books on Korean tea, The Korean Way of Tea and Korean Tea Classics.    Brother Anthony chats with us about the roots of his own passion for tea and his connections with the modern revival of Korean tea culture, and how that revival was spurred on in large part by the initiatives of the Venerable Hyodang, a Buddhist monk and tea maker at the Dasol-Sa Temple near Jiri Mountain (pictured), and his wife Chae Won-Hwa, who carried on the initiatives after Hyodang's death. We look at the history of tea in Korea and the connections between Buddhism and Korean tea culture, we discuss some of the unique aspects of how high-quality Korean green tea is processed according to the methods of the Venerable Hyodang and Chae Won-Hwa, and we look at why the quality of the tea and the tea-making process is central to Korean tea practice.  Brother Anthony gives an overview of some of the history of Korean tea literature, and also talks with us about the history and method of making balhyocha, a relatively recent innovation in Korean tea. And, perhaps most importantly, we discuss with Brother Anthony what he views as the essence of the way of tea, a practice of mindfulness, stillness and communion with nature, whose motto is: "No fuss." The Korean Way of Tea: An Introductory Guide and Korean Tea Classics  are both available on Amazon at this link.  For more info about Brother Anthony and his many translations and works on Korean tea and (non-tea) literature, visit his website, anthony.sogang.ac.kr. Morning Crane Tea, a vendor mentioned by Brother Anthony in the episode, is at teaatmorningcranetea.blogspot.com.   Follow Talking Tea on Instagram at talkingteapodcasts. Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.   more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Episode image "Jirisan 008"  of Jirisan mountain, a historic Korean tea growing region, by travel oriented, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.

The Korean Way of Tea, with Brother Anthony of Taizé

Today we're exploring connections between tea and Daoism, the millenia-old Chinese religious and philosophical tradition that has had such a profound influence on culture and history in and beyond China. We're joined by Robert Coons, who straddles both the tea world and the world of Daoism. Robert is a well-known tea vendor based in Canada and China and is also a writer, teacher and podcaster on Daoism, qigong and Daoist meditation.  Robert tells us a little about his own journey from martial arts and other Daoist-related activities into tea culture, and then we delve into the relationship between Daoism and tea. We begin by looking at some of the definitions, history and relationships of some key practices in tea - chado or sado, chadao and gongfucha - and Robert gives us an overview of Daoism, its core elements, its history and its cultural forms. We explore references to tea in Daoist texts as well as concepts of energy, or qi, in Daoist medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, and Robert explains how both tea and meditation are seen as elixirs in Daoist tradition. We chat about the Daoist role of harmonious energy in chado, chadao and gongfucha, and we look at Daoist concepts of "action", "non-action", "action without action", "knowing sufficiency" and emptiness, and how they can come into play in our tea practice.  Robert is the author of Internal Elixir Cultivation: The Nature of Daoist Medititation, published by Tambuli Media and available on Amazon at this link.  Info on Robert's teas, as well as some of his classes and teachings, is at his websites, chayotea.com and daoistmeditiation.com. Also be sure to check out Robert's new podcast Sinotexts, available on YouTube, and his older podcast, This Daoist Life, on Soundcloud. Note about Robert's classes: In the episode Robert mentions classes he holds in the Toronto area. During the COVID-19 pandemic, please check with Robert on the status of these classes. If you need to know how to contact Robert about his classes during the pandemic, reach out to us and we'll do our best to put you in touch.   Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Episode image "Teacup" by Cosmin Dordea, used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license. Adapted from original. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.

Tea & Daoism: Adjacent Connections

In this episode we're at the 2020 Toronto Tea Festival and its kick-off event, Kevin Gascoyne's Rare Tea Tasting. Kevin is an internationally recognized leader and innovator in the tea industry,  a co-owner of the Montreal-based Camellia Sinensis Teahouse and a frequent guest on Talking Tea, and this is just the second time Kevin has presented a tasting in this format. Kevin's Rare Tea Tasting was the most unique tea tasting experience we've ever had, and we think it's safe to say, probably unlike anything experienced before by most everyone attending the event. We were able to chat with Kevin after the event about the inspirations for and origins of the evening, its connections with sports and wine training, and what Kevin hopes to accomplish through these carefully planned tastings. In a nutshell, through the course of the evening we tasted six teas in a darkened room, with no information given to us about any of the teas until after the event was over. But this nutshell summary doesn't begin to describe what really happened that night, in that space. Because of the unique nature of the event, we're avoiding any spoilers. But to get a sense of what went on we're including in this episode short chats we had with five attendees just after the event concluded. Their reactions and comments give some great insights into the event and tell a story of our connections with tea, and with each other. We don't yet know where or when Kevin Gascoyne's Rare Tea Tasting will pop up next,  but you can check out Camellia Sinensis' website and social media feed to get updates. Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.

Sensory Immersion Into Tea

When a listener requested an episode about teapots. we realized that this was a topic we haven't really delved into on Talking Tea. And having attended one of tea blogger, writer and teacher Scott Norton's incredibly comprehensive seminars on yixing teaware, we invited Scott to join us for an in-depth overview of teapots, their design elements, their history and how to best match your teapots with your teas. You may remember Scott from our episode Glimpsing Tea's Past, Finding Tea's Presence, at New York's Floating Mountain.  Today we begin by chatting a bit about Scott's "teapot journey" and his background collecting, curating and teaching about teapots. And then we begin to explore various styles of Japanese and Chinese teapots. We start by comparing two very different teapots from 19th century Japan, a larger blue and white porcelain teapot and a small lotus-leaf design kyusu, and we discuss the advantages offered by small teapots in control over the brewing process and obtaining more pronounced flavors from our teas.  As we move to Chinese teapots, we compare porcelain, glazed ceramic and unglazed clay teapots and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. Scott chats with us about how to tell if an unglazed clay teapot is highly fired or low fired, and how the levels of firing and coarseness of the clay can create distinct differences in flavor and the results of our brewing. We also touch on the history of teapots and the influence of the Silk Road trade on teapot design and evolution in China. Scott has some rather large teapots in his collection, and we discuss when we might want to use a larger teapot and how to best use a large-size pot. Finally we chat with Scott about the questions we need to consider in matching our teapots to our teas, and Scott gives us tips on buying teapots and how shopping for a teapot can and should be an extension of our tea practice. Scott Norton's blog is at  scotttea.wordpress.com. You can find Scott on Instagram @cutechajin, and videos of a number of Scott's workshops and seminars are available on his YouTube channel. Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   All images on this episode page, other than the header image, are courtesy of Scott Norton. This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.

Talking Teapots, In-Depth with Scott Norton

Today we're exploring a bit of tea science on Talking Tea. We're joined by Eric Scott, a a tea scientist and researcher at Tufts University, to chat about some of the many ways a basic understanding of the science of tea can benefit us as tea consumers and tea professionals. Eric tells us a bit about his own tea journey and the work he's doing in tea chemistry, the chemical ecology of tea and the effects of climate change on tea. We chat with Eric about how even a little knowledge of tea chemistry adds to the story behind the tea we're drinking, can enhance our enjoyment of tea and our perception of flavors, and, if we're working in the tea industry, can help us educate consumers. We look at tea's relationship with caffeine, the importance of caffeine to the tea plant and how understanding this can bust some myths about caffeine and tea. We touch on two topics relating to shou pu erh and heicha: we look at why you might want to rinse your leaves if you're drinking shou pu erh or heicha, and we look at "fermentation". Most of us in the tea world have probably heard that oolongs and black/red teas are oxidized, not fermented, but we go a little deeper into what "fermentation" actually is and why it's not what actually happens in the processing of dark teas and shou puerh, even though those are often called "fermented" or "post-fermented".  Eric also gives us a peek into his research on the impact of climate change on tea. We chat about the effects of climate change on the monsoon season in Yunnan, and it's potentially game-changing effects on pu erh the pu erh market. We touch on the effects of drought on tea farms in India and Taiwan. And we look at Eric's work on climate change and bug-bitten teas, and how bug-bitten teas may help tea farmers succeed and innovate in the face of climate-change. Eric's Tea Science Tuesdays video series is available on the Tea Geek YouTube channel (and sometimes on Instagram). Eric is on Instagram @leafyeric and on Twitter @leafyericscott. More on Eric and his work is at his website, ericrscott.com. Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   Image “Chemistry is Awesome!!!”, by erika.hicks, used under a Creative Commons CC By 2.0 license.  Adapted from original. This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.  

Chemistry, Climate Change, Bugs & Tea

We're delving into some sticky topics today on Talking Tea as we look at the roles mass marketing, gender, racism and modern British history have played in shaping tea markets and tea culture in the West. Joining us is historian Erika Rappaport, author of the recently published book A Thirst For Empire: How Tea Shaped the Modern World. Erika's work as a historian focuses in the areas of gender, consumer culture and British history, and "A Thirst for Empire" delves into all of these areas in looking at the forces that shaped tea culture and tea markets in the West. Erika talks with us about how tea can shine a spotlight on the role of mass marketing in shaping modern tastes and trade. We discuss the origins of her book, exploring the long association of tea with women and feminine culture in the UK and the US. We chat about the influence of the "temperance" movements of the 19th century, promoting tea and tea culture as a healthier and spiritually beneficial alternative to alcohol, and the role of industry lobbies in promoting sweet tea in the West and especially iced tea in the US. We look at the reasons for the shift in Western consumer preference from green tea to black tea in the 19th and 20th centuries.  And we look at the disturbing use of racism and nationalism in advertising by British tea planters to promote "Empire" tea over Chinese tea, and how this eventually led to the widespread preference in the West for industrialized, mass-produced commodity tea. A Thirst for Empire is published by Princeton University Press, and is widely available at retailers.    Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.   Image of British soldier drinking tea in 1944 India, © IWM (IB 1882), courtesy of the Imperial War Museum. More information on the photo is available at https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205193624 Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.  

Gender, Empire and the Making of the Western Tea Market

Today Talking Tea is in Middlebury, Vermont, at Stone Leaf Teahouse, a unique tea space in this bucolic town. Joining us is John Wetzel, founder and owner of Stone Leaf. The town of Middlebury may be best known for being the home of Middlebury College, but since its founding 10 years ago Stone Leaf has also become well-known in and beyond Middlebury for the quality of its teas and for the warmth and tranquility of its teahouse. We chat with John about Stone Leaf's origins, how he developed his vision for the space and for the company, and how he drew on both US coffee culture and tea culture in Asia and Europe as influences for his design. The teahouse sits partially underground (it's built into a slope), and though John half-jokingly calls it a sort of "tea cave", he also explains how he used this feature as part of his design, to create a space well-suited for the storage, preparation and enjoyment of tea, a space that allows for both focus and connection. Stone Leaf carries a wide variety of teas, and we chat about one of their newest teas, a hongcha (red tea, known as black tea in the West) from Alishan in Taiwan. Alishan is usually known for its oolongs, and this tea is in fact made from the oolong Jin Xuan cultivar. We talk about the use of this cultivar in making a hongcha, the influence of cultivar and terroir on the tea's flavor, aroma and appearance, and about emerging trends in making new styles of teas from cultivars and regions traditionally associated with different varieties. More information about Stone Leaf, including the location of the teahouse, its online store and special event info, is at its website, stoneleaftea.com. You can  also find Stone Leaf on Instagram at stoneleafteahouse  and on Facebook at Stone Leaf Teahouse.    Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.   Image of interior of Stone Leaf Teahouse, courtesy of Stone Leaf Teahouse. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.        

A "Tea Cave" in Vermont

Most everyone is familiar with pairing wine and cheese, but pairing tea and cheese is much less well known and less understood. (By the way, that's tea in the glass in the photo above, not wine.) Some tea drinkers may even find the idea of tea and cheese pairing a bit counterintuitive, if not a bit, well, odd. But at Talking Tea we've experienced some delicious pairings of tea with cheese, so we wanted to explore the issue more in depth. Joining us today to talk about pairing tea with cheese, and to do some pairings with us, is Lisa Boalt Richardson. Lisa is a tea writer and educator who has written and taught on the subject of pairing tea with cheese and other foods, making tea and food pairings accessible and easy to understand. We begin our chat by looking at the basic premises behind tea and food pairings from a common-sense perspective, and then we start to look specifically at pairing cheese with tea. Lisa explains why cheese and tea can pair very well together, and we chat about the importance of identifying levels of fat in cheese and astringency in tea, as well as other elements in the flavor and mouthfeel of each, in order to create excellent pairings. We discuss different goals in creating pairings, as well as different methods of tasting the tea and the cheese we're pairing. And then we do two pairings together: a triple-cream cheese paired with a first flush darjeeling, and then the same cheese with an assam, as we talk about the reasons Lisa suggested these pairings, the results of the pairings and why some pairings are likely to work better than others. More information about Lisa Boalt Richardson, including info on her book Modern Tea: A Fresh Look at an Ancient Beverage (referenced in the episode), is at her website, lisaknowstea.com. You can  also find Lisa on Facebook at lisaknowstea. Lisa is also an instructor at the World Tea Academy; info on their courses and programs is at worldteaacademy.com. The cheese used by Talking Tea was St. Stephen's triple-cream, made by Four Fat Fowl and purchased at DiBruno Brothers in Philadelphia. The teas Talking Tea used in our pairings were purchased at Camellia Sinensis Tea House and at Tea Dealers.   Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.   Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.  

Pairing Tea and...Cheese?

We've been wanting to explore chaxi on Talking Tea ever since we visited the Tea Institute at Penn State University back in 2016. Tea was prepared and served to us by students in the Chinese tea track at the Institute with a degree of artistry and calm precision we had never quite witnessed anywhere else, and when we asked some of the students where they learned to prepare tea in this way, they suggested we speak with one of their teachers and mentors, Stéphane Erler, to learn more about chaxi, an artistic expression of tea originating in Taiwan. It took us a couple of years, but we finally caught up with Stéphane recently on one of his visits to the US, and we're proud to welcome him to Talking Tea. Stéphane is a tea educator, seller and blogger based in Taiwan - he hosts the very well-respected Tea Masters Blog - and, among other things, Stéphane practices, teaches and writes about chaxi. We talk with Stéphane about his own beginnings in tea, his study and work with tea master Teaparker, and about the history of chaxi in Taiwan, and then we delve into the practice and principles of chaxi. Chaxi means "tea play", and Stéphane chats with us about how chaxi is a kind of performance but also a way of creating a tea mandala, a picture of a harmonious world through tea. We discuss the priorities of function and art within chaxi, and we explore the question of how the host can best express the character of the leaves as well as the host's own sentiments and feelings through the chaxi.  In this context we talk about the choice of teaware, the importance of colors and visual harmony, the use of flowers or plants, the addition of music or other background art, and most importantly the skills and mindset needed to prepare the best possible tea in a beautiful setting, finding resonance and harmonious connections between the tea, the teaware, the setting and the participants. Further resources for learning about chaxi are on Stéphane's blog, teamasters.blogspot.com. Stéphane's selection of excellent teas (we've tried several of them, and they were all fantastic), teawares and other items for use in chaxi are available at his online boutique, tea-masters.com.  You can  also find Stéphane on Twitter at @TeaMastersBlog and on Instagram at @stephane_erler.   Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events. Talking Tea's 2016 coverage of the Penn State Tea Institute is in our episodes Tea Goes to College and Tea, Heart to Heart.    The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Photo of a chaxi by Stéphane Erler, courtesy of Stéphane Erler. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.  

Chaxi: Harmony, Art & Expression in Tea

Today we're chatting with Zhen Lu and Phil Rushworth of Zhen Tea about a category of tea that's not widely understood outside of China or even within China, and that's heicha, or "dark tea", hailing from outside the pu erh region. You may remember Zhen and Phil from our earlier episode "Lapsang Souchong - Beyond the Smoke", and today we're chatting at the Zhen Tea headquarters in Ottawa, Canada. Now pu erh (at least shu pu erh) is a dark tea, and plenty of people know plenty about pu erh. But the many wonderful non-pu erh dark teas don't enjoy the same celebrity status as pu erh, and those teas are what we're focusing on in this episode. (We're intentionally avoiding the highly controversial issue of whether sheng pu erh is properly called heicha, which could be a topic for an entire episode on its own.) Zhen and Phil carry a varied selection of dark teas, and they chat with us about the sometimes confusing nomenclature of heicha, its somewhat murky history, its regions of origin and terroir, and "wet piling", the fermentation process that makes heicha unique among all teas. We sample and discuss two dark teas - an aged Fu Zhuan from 2013, and a new experimental take on traditional Tibetan tea - as we talk about the variations of flavor and mouthfeel in non-pu erh dark teas, how the flavors differ from typical shu pu erh flavor profiles, and how these variations are influenced by terroir and growing conditions. Zhen and Phil also brief us on some of the innovations we're beginning to see in heicha and the delicacy and difficulty of the wet-piling process, and we talk about the relaxing, almost meditative, physical and mental sensations many of us experience with heicha. Zhen also gives us some tips on storing dark teas at home. More on Zhen Tea, including its teas, teaware, online store and new online magazine Charen, is at zhentea.ca. Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Photo of Zang Cha-Gan Hong courtesy of Zhen Tea. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.        

Dark Tea Comes Out of the Shadows

Today we welcome back to the show Kevin Gascoyne, of Montreal's Camellia Sinensis Tea House, to chat with us in depth about how our choices of teaware impact the flavors, aromas and overall experience of the teas we drink. Kevin is often seen sporting his signature Royal Albert teacup, and that prompted us to ask Kevin what's the deal with this oh-so-English-looking cup. His initial answer inspired us to want to explore more fully how our choice of cup and brewing vessel affect our enjoyment of tea. In our chat we focus mostly on the effects of the cup on our tea experience (though we also touch on some elements of teapots). Kevin talks with us about how the shape of the cup controls the delivery of the tea to the mouth and the placement of the tea on the tongue, how the material, size and shape of the cup affect the thermodynamics of the tea, and how all of this impacts the flavors and aromas of the tea we're drinking. We chat about some of the design features of teacups that have evolved for comfort, warmth and delivery, and also how the visual elements and aesthetics of our teaware influence our enjoyment of tea. Contrasting tea served in wine glasses and in small tasting cups as examples, Kevin points out how different styles of teaware and brewing create different moods and spaces for our experience of tea.  We wanted to do these comparisons hands-on, so Kevin served us two teas in very different styles of cups: first with teaware from the Royal Albert collection, and then from the innovative Peter Ting tasting kit. Listen to the episode to hear the results of this tasting experiment. For more on Camellia Sinensis, including its teaware, teas, online store and locations, go to camellia-sinensis.com.     Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original. Photo of Kevin Gascoyne and his Royal Albert teacup courtesy of Camellia Sinensis. Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.

Choosing Teaware for Flavor, Aroma & Experience

As December comes to a close and winter deepens here in the northern hemisphere, we're continuing our turn inward as we conclude our two-part series on the spirit of tea as reflected in chado, the Japanese way of tea. Today we're focusing on chabana, the art of flowers so integral to Japanese tea ceremony. To chat with us about chabana we're welcoming back Drew Hanson, an instructor in the Urasenke school of chado and founder/owner of the Boukakuan Japanese Tea House in New Jersey. (You may remember Drew from an earlier chado-related Talking Tea episode, Tea, Heart to Heart.) We're with Drew in the tea room at Boukakuan, and Drew talks with us about the guiding principles of chabana and how the flowers in the tea room relate to us as humans, mirroring our own constant state of transition and transience. Drew gives us specific guidance on how to choose and present flowers for tea, and we discuss the history of chabana and its relationship to Buddhism in Japan. We chat about bringing nature into the tea room in a very focused way, relating the flowers and their container to the season and the differences between chabana and Western traditions of flower arranging so vividly pointed out in Kakuzo Okakura's The Book of Tea.   For more info on the Boukakuan Japanese Tea House, including info on Japanese tea ceremony classes and demonstrations, go to the Boukakuan website at njgreentea.com. Ken Cohen's audiobook edition of Kakuzo Okakura's The Book of Tea, published by Spoken Realms, is available at Audible.com , Amazon and iTunes.      Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.    more about Talking Tea  Sign up for our email list to get updates on new episodes and events.   The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.   This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.

hubhopper

Talking Tea

hubhopper