Favorite Things (Holiday Tea Gifts)

 

If you're looking for gifts for the tea lovers in your life, here are a few that I recommend. These support small businesses, people whom I know personally and respect deeply.

TEA

Young Mountain Tea - Try the tea bundles! 15% off sale through Dec 12. Support sustainable futures for Himalayan tea farmers and families.

Jasmine Pearl Tea Company - Among many great choices, they have just released a Sampler Set, blended in partnership with Young Mountain Tea. Jasmine Pearl has a wide range of herbal options for those in your life who prefer caffeine-free deliciousness. 

Floating Leaves Tea - Carrying some of the best Taiwanese oolong teas available in the US! I recommend Oriental Beauty (sweet), Dong Ding Traditional A (roasty), and 2021 Winter Smooth Water Baozhong (light, excellent broth).  Sale Fri 11/26 - Mon 11/29.

OTHER 

Papaya Bento - Art prints inspired by Camellia Sinensis, along with notecards of the same prints (I LOVE these!).  Artist Mitra Nite

Vintage Christmas Cookbook - Cookbook by tea lover and author Angela McRae.

Padded Tote for Gaiwan/Small Teapot - If you sew, you need this pattern! Snuggle in that precious tea ware.

Note: I received no products or compensation for this post.

Tea and Books Sustain Me > Helping the Sellers

Tea and books help sustain me in these unprecedented times.  (OK, Star Trek too.) 

I buy my teas from small specialty shops, and they need our help right now.  So do the independent bookstores.  Below are some of my favorites. If you are in the fortunate position of financial security, perhaps you can send some love to yourself, your mom, your neighbor, your favorite nurse, in the form of tea and books...

Jasmine Pearl Tea Company: A wide range of quality teas, including herbals.  I'm a fan of Bombay Breakfast, African Grey and Yoga blend.

Floating Leaves Tea: A shop that specializes in exquisite Taiwanese oolongs. If you like light teas, try a high mountain oolong. If you like dark, roasted flavors, try Charcoal Dong Ding. 

Young Mountain Tea: Working in India and Nepal to make not only amazing teas, but also to build vibrant local communities. Try the Black Orchid and the Ruby Oolong.

Powell's Books: A Portland icon! Or support your local bookstore.

Lovejoy's Tea Room, Portland

Me, in a fabulous chair at Lovejoy's in Portland
Thank you @mitranite for the photo!

Portland has a new tea room, and I think (hope!) it’s here to stay!  Lovejoy's Tea Room on Killingsworth is a blend of traditional and cheeky, serious about the food and tea with the right blend of quirks and welcome to keep it interesting. 

The Queen's Tea ($29.95) comes with a scone and a crumpet

I've been here twice, and both times I enjoyed myself. The tea room attracts the traditional ladies who do tea, but also a young, diverse crowd. I think this could be the key to the tea room's sustained success. When I visited recently, a table entirely of young men sat just behind me. Owner Brendon Constans sets the tone for the environment, where one can be welcomed for who they are. All best wishes!

Brendon Constans, Owner

Tempting petit fours

Captain Picard watches over the tea room

Heathman Tea by Vitaly Paley

It's been open for awhile now, but I have not written about the re-envisioned afternoon tea at the Heathman Hotel in Portland, OR. Chef Vitaly Paley relied on his heritage (Belarusian) to inspire the experience. I had the opportunity to enjoy tea here recently, and am happy to share a few moments with you. 

The Tea: Paley collaborated with Steven Smith Teamaker to curate a small but mighty list. I chose the Georgian Caravan, served only at the Heathman. It's smoky but not overwhelming, bold but allows for the jam (do add!) to be distinct. Plus the tea is served in a pretty glass cup with fancy metal cutwork. 

The Setting: I was visiting alone, something I enjoy. I was given a lovely seat near the fire. The restaurant manager rearranged things to ensure my view was of the fire - I made note! It's a gift to have such care. 

The Food: Bolder than one normally finds at afternoon tea, but delicious and unique! Find the full menu here. 

Some of my favorites: The middle tier shown below, including a deviled egg, walnut-stuffed eggplant, blini with caviar and mushroom piroshki (stuffed potato bread). The khachapouri (Georgian cheese bread - not shown) was amazing, and I was touched by the steopka (sour cream and walnut cake), based on his grandmother's recipe.

If you're in Portland and love afternoon tea, I recommend this experience. Be sure to take in the lovely surroundings, too - the tall bookshelves and the interesting large-scale art.

Mrs. Su's Dong Ding Tea

Today I am drinking a beautiful Dong Ding tea made by Mrs. Su. You can see her making tea at 7:00 in this wonderful short documentary. My friend and tea guide Shiuwen of Floating Leaves Tea, with her talented partners, have made the video. Please watch!  

About the documentary: "This is a portrait of farmers Mr. and Mrs. Su, their dedication to their land on Dong Ding mountain and their family business of oolong tea making. The land on Dong Ding itself is incredible for tea production, which is the land that Mr Su's forefathers passed down to them. The Su family have preserved the art and land of their ancestors for many years.
This short film also features Mr Zhan, a tea roasting master that inspired our tea journey. His teas are like magic. He also works with Dong Ding oolong. We plan to produce a full length film to preserve his legacy and share his story with a wider audience."

If you love Taiwanese oolongs and want to help preserve the history and tradition of charcoal roasting, please consider donating to the making of the full-length documentary.

Otsukimi

Photo by Marjorie Yap, of Issoan Tea School

This photo captures the peacefulness of our recent tea gathering at the Portland Japanese Garden, for Otsukimi, or moon viewing, an event I look forward to every Autumn.  Read more here. (That's me in profile.)

Upcoming Tea Events in the Pacific Northwest

Bowl-style Brewing

Join my colleague and me for this free tasting/class at the NW Tea Fest!

A few upcoming events in the Pacific Northwest. Let me know if you'll be there!

Sept 29 - 30, 2018

Northwest Tea Festival

Seattle Center

As part of the Global Tea Tour Series, I'll be teaching a class on the
Art & Etiquette of the British Afternoon Tea at the Jasmine Pearl.

Sunday Oct  28, 2018

Global Tea Tour - England

1:00 - 3:00 pm

Jasmine Pearl Tea

Let me know if you'll have the opportunity to be at either of these events.  I'd love to see you! Also, I'm on Instagram @stephwtea. 

NW Tea Fest 2017

 A fantastic year at the NW Tea Fest 2017!  We celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the event in a larger venue, allowing for new vendors and instructors.  I've been fortunate to attend 7 out of 10 years, and my love of tea has grown with each year. Here are a few highlights from 2017:

Ephemeral filter, from the skeleton of a Bhodi tree leaf

Miro Tea

Ingrid explains the Indiegogo Campaign for a Global Tea Exchange

from Young Mountain Teas

(I've donated!  Consider an investment in tea's future.)

Brewing in the Wu-Wo tea ceremony, gifted with glorious sunshine

Celebrating friends - Shiuwen and staff from Floating Leaves Tea

The vendor floor, and Portlanders drinking tea

Zuo Wang Tea

Oolong Owl Blogger Char

Aged white tea that Char brewed up

Excited to taste teas from Colombia, too!  More on that to come.

I was a panelist in a Blogger forum, and co-taught a class on Bowl Style Brewing.  Fun!  And thanks to my co-instructor Ana!

Congratulations and thank you to Julee, Doug and the team that has made this event fantastic for 10 years.  Lifting my teacup to many more!

Totem Teas

I recently spent a lovely afternoon drinking tea with friends. I'm hard-pressed to find a way I'd rather spend my time. In this gathering, Phillip, of Totem Teas, guided us through his current selection. Phillip's business model is to sell teas he's excited to drink. It's a great plan! He also sells very fine incense.

I enjoy hearing about people's tea journeys, and Phillip's began with a passion for Japanese teas. Below is his first teapot, well-loved and used. 

We tasted a number of teas together, making our way from a light Lishan oolong to a deeply oxidized Bai Hao.  Note the lovely multi-colored leaves below, one hint of a good  Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty).

All very good teas! I was particularly drawn to the Floral Mountain Tie Guan Yin. I found this to be a liminal tea. It had the light, top notes of the modern, competition styles (Anxi, greener) but with a depth of roasty groundedness (more like my preference, Muzha style). Another point of interest for this tea - it hails from Ali Shan.

Now let's talk incense.  I used to avoid it. It made me sneeze or gave me a headache. Then I discovered the amazingly delicate pleasures of Japanese incense. I was hooked, and my love of incense has grown. Finding the type of incense I appreciate isn't an easy thing from the US, and I'm delighted to recommend Phillip's line. He's got some really nice incense here, folks.

I appreciate the well-curated line of teas and incense from Totem Teas. Buying teas via the internet is always a risk - you don't get the benefit of sampling. What I can say is that you're in good hands with Phillip's choices.  

Eclipse Viewing and Tea

I was lucky, here in Portland, to be in 99.2% coverage during yesterday's solar eclipse.  I enjoyed the viewing from a park near my home.  I went old-school with a pinbox projector.  I also brewed tea grown near Sun-Moon lake in Taiwan.  ;-)

Old Growth Tea, Black, from Sun-Moon Lake in Taiwan

Sun and Moon cups

As the eclipse was beginning
Due to the optics of the pinhole projector, the image is inverted

Crescent shadows through the trees

The twilight was beautiful, and I was lucky to see the shadow bands dancing on the sidewalk.

Did you enjoy tea with the eclipse?  Tell us about it!

Tea Fest PDX: A Great Celebration for Us All

Wow - last weekend's Tea Fest PDX was amazing!  Raising my teacup to the core planning team that worked for over a year to bring this to fruition.  So many invisible tasks and challenges to meet. We are grateful! To the people who kept this dream alive over the years, thank you! To the volunteers who ensured the event ran well, you are awesome! To the NW Tea Fest team that not only loaned us equipment, but also came down to offer guidance and cheers, we are in your debt. 

Here are some photos.  Can't wait for next year!

The Vendor Showcase

Such an interesting mix of vendors!

Jennifer Petersen, local author and tea mentor

Richard Brandt, Portland potter who specializes in teaware

Babette Donaldson, promoting her endearing books and Sip for Peace coming in January, 2018

Reps from Brew Dr. Kombucha

Classes

Pearl Zhuo Zhang, Red Rob Teahouse and Cafe, Gong Fu tea ceremony

Marjorie Yap, Chado demonstration

Yoga, meditation and tea on the lawn, taught by Anja Sofia Churchill

Tea Tastings

David Galli, PDX Tea

Laurie and Charles Dawson, amazing tasting tea! 

Steven Odell in his custom tea van, Rabbit Moon Tea Arts

The Crowd and Staff

Jennifer Brenner (Tea Fest PDX leader) along with NW Tea Fest coaches,

and other friends

I loved seeing these women dressed in their beautiful Regency costumes

Friends dressed in Japanese kimono

These last two photos bring me to my final thoughts. Tea is a friend to all of us. Such diversity represented at this conference - in age, gender, clothing choice, ethnicity, tea preference, and much more. Tea brings us to commonality across these differences. What a truly beautiful thing.