Women in Tea: Shiuwen Tai

Shiuwen Tai of Floating Leaves Tea in Pinglin, Taiwan

It is from Shiuwen that I have learned the most about Oolong tea, particularly Taiwanese Oolongs. I am so grateful for her shop - Floating Leaves Tea - her teaching, her generous sharing of knowledge, her sense of humor and her friendship. I had the chance to travel with Shiuwen and a small group of tea lovers in 2015, to tea fields of Taiwan. There I met some of the most beautiful smiling faces I have ever seen.

And so with gratitude I share with you a little more of this tea woman's story. 

Q: Would you please share a childhood memory of tea?

A: When I was a child, I was close to a cousin who lived just across the street. Many times after school I would go in search of her. Whenever my cousin's father was home, he was always brewing tea, and he always asked if I wanted some. I would sit down and have tea with him for short moments. We never talked much. He would explain that we were drinking Oolong. I remembered that I enjoyed drinking tea out of a tiny tea cup. I would look at his Gong Fu tea setup and watched him brew for awhile. Then I would run away to find my cousin. He has already passed away. I wish I could have told him that I now have a tea business.

Q: When did you begin your tea business?

A: I started to do tea tastings at home in 2002. After our first tea tasting at home, friends were amazed with Gong Fu Cha tea service and asked how they could get tea like that. Shortly after, Floating Leaves Tea was born. We opened our teahouse in July 2005.

Q: What does your business offer?

Floating Leaves Tea is known for its Taiwanese Oolong. I travel to Taiwan once or twice a year to learn and source tea. I also offer a curated list of quality teas in other varieties, such as Chinese green and Pu-Erh.  I am excited to offer many tea education classes in the shop, every month. Please see the listing of tea classes here.

I am dedicated to learning tea from farmers and producers and pass on what I learn to the tea drinkers coming across my path.

Q: What brings you joy about this tea work?

A: I love learning tea from tea farmers, processors and tea professionals in Taiwan (and I reached out to Yunnan two years ago!). I consider it a privilege to be a bridge to share what I learn directly from the source to the tea drinkers in the States. Each time when I see that someone is excited with the tea I share, I know I have opened a door for him or her to the fun, exciting and fascinating tea world. From the sparkles in their eyes and the smile on their faces, I feel I have done right to connect them to the tea people to whom I am admire and am grateful.

Women in Tea: Jennifer Brenner

Today I would like to introduce you to Jennifer Brenner. She is leading the effort to bring a tea festival to Portland, and I am so excited to see this come to fruition!  Mark you calendars for July 22nd, and check out the website for details.  

Here's my interview with Jenn:

Q: I know that you were a Peace Corps volunteer, and that experience included tea.  Would you please tell us about that?
A: As a young adult, I traveled to Niger in West Africa for 3 years with the Peace Corps. It was there that I met tea. Tuareg people in Niger have a modified Moroccan tea ceremony that included three rounds of gunpowder tea and sugar, a small metal teapot, and a wire frame holding hot coals. The three rounds were for life, for friends, and for love. We would drink tea during the hottest time of the day, when the shade of the Neem tree beckoned.  These afternoons of drinking tea with my friends came to represent the spirit of Africa for me, where time was not to be hurried, laughter was abundant, and friendship and family prized above all.  

Q: You've taken on an exciting project with TeaFestPDX.  What will this be like?
A: TeaFestPDX is Portland's first tea festival, to be held at the World Forestry Center on July 22nd, 2017.  There will be a vendor area outside, selling tea and tea-related merchandise, as well kombucha, boba, and other tea vendors selling prepared tea.  Indoors we will have a variety tea tastings in the outer ring of the building, and the inner area devoted to exploring the larger tea cultures of the world.  Each area will have classes, tastings, and talks related to tea culture in that area of the world.  For example, there might be an area devoted to Chinese tea culture, with a Gong Fu ceremony, a talk on organic tea growing in China, or a tasting of Pu-er teas.  The first festival will be a one-day celebration.  Please check out our websites to sign up as a vendor, a presenter, or to volunteer - www.teafestpdx.com.

Q: What brings you joy about this work?
A: Tea is interwoven into the fabric of my life and I love drinking tea with strangers, friends and family. Tea brings people together and encourages a pause and a slowing down.  I experience the joy of sharing this pause with others, either through dropping in at my favorite tea shop, or through an event as large as a festival.  

A giant THANK YOU to Jennifer and the core team of volunteers working to make the TeaFestPDX happen.  I am excited to be a part of the event!

Women in Tea: Heather Agosta

For International Women's Month, I am featuring some of the hard-working and cool women who are leading the cause of tea. I'm starting right here in the Pacific Northwest.

Introducing Heather Agosta, the co-founder, CEO and Tea Blend Formulator of Jasmine Pearl Tea Company. 

Heather Agosta in a tea field, Shizuoka, Japan

Q:  Could you share a childhood memory related to tea?

A: When I was a little girl, my friend and I would have tea parties in her parents' greenhouse. We would make orange spice black tea with lots of sugar and we would eat gingerbread cookies. I am sure we would get really jacked-up on sugar and caffeine. It was a blast!

At a matcha manufacturer, Japan

Q: Tell us about your business.  When did you begin?

A:  I started The Jasmine Pearl in 2004 with my husband, Chuck. We started out blending teas in the basement of our home. We ran the business out of our living room and basement for six years before we moved to a commercial space.

Q: What does your business offer, today? 

A: We offer 100+ loose-leaf teas, all blended on-site using our proprietary recipes. We directly import teas and source ingredients from all over the world. Our teas are sold to cafes, restaurants, spas and natural grocery stores. Retail customers can also purchase our teas online and in our NE Portland tea shop.

Heather and Jasmine Pearl Tea Company co-founder, Chuck Bauman

Q: What brings you joy about this tea work?

A: I really love tea! I particularly enjoy formulating blends for our company and for other companies, as well. Creating new tea blends is a fun and challenging task. It is especially rewarding to teach others how to blend and to see what interesting combinations they can create.

Stephanie's perspective: Whenever I spy the Jasmine Pearl cans on a grocer's shelf or in a restaurant, I smile (and I order that tea!). If you're in Portland and a tea lover, this shop is a must-see. I'm particularly fond of the tasting bar and the line of Japanese green teas. Sign up for one of the classes to enhance your tea knowledge and skill, or get grounded as you quietly sip your tea in the welcoming seating area. 

Tea for the Muse and Me

Sometimes when I'm drinking tea alone, I will pour a second cup and invite someone special to join me in spirit. This time, I invited my muse. She appreciates flowers and beauty and quiet. She's helping me plan a writing workshop for the spring equinox.

San Diego: Shakespeare's Corner Shoppe

I recently had the chance to spend a lovely hour and a half at  Shakespeare Corner Shoppe & Afternoon Tea in San Diego. You might expect the sunshine photos, but I mostly experienced intense rain throughout the week, so the sunshine was very welcome.  

This British goods shop (tea, puddings, pastries, etc.) offers afternoon tea on its lovely front porch. The team excels at details, from the little flower shown above to the fact that as a solo diner, I was pampered even more vs. being pushed to the side. For example, I was offered two tea choices, one complimentary!

After I freshened my hands with a warm towel, I enjoyed a bowl of carrot and parsnip soup. It was delicious!

Followed on by the finger sandwiches: egg salad, cucumber with mustard pickle, rosemary chicken, roast beef with butter lettuce and horseradish.

Along with scones, double Devon cream and strawberry jam.  The owner is British, and these are the real deal. 

And then dessert... a dark chocolate raspberry tart, toffee cake, shortbread, black forest gateaux and sweet wine syllabub.  I knew of the old-fashioned dessert syllabub (it's like a mousse), but had never tried it. Delicious!

I definitely recommend this experience and hope to go back!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Iced Tea

 Here's another version of "iced tea!"  :-)  The Pacific Northwest has had quite the number of winter weather events this year, very unusual for us. This was taken last weekend after freezing rain.

My tea plant, Cami (short for Camellia), lives happily on the back balcony.  At least she did until last night when we had a snow storm!  I'm happy to report that the limb is bent, but not broken.

Mother Nature commands my attention, my respect, and my hard work to protect her.

Stolen Moments

I've decided that I need moments of creativity every day, or at least nearly every day. 

They can be spontaneous.

They can be brief. 

They can be stolen moments, in the middle of something else. 

Maybe it's picking out my socks

Or arranging the papers on my desk

Perhaps it's a doodle on the edge of a notebook

Or a new solution for a problem

Maybe it's placing a pretty fabric in a splash of sunshine

Or being inspired by someone else's creativity

It doesn't take long, but it does sustain me.

Toraya Cafe - Kyoto

Beautiful views of the interior garden at the Toraya Cafe

One of my favorite experiences while in Kyoto was wandering little streets, with my dear friend AM, and discovering the Toraya Cafe (Toraya Karyo Kyoto Ichijo). Returning to this little piece of heaven is a must-do the next time I visit. 

I had known of Toraya, a famous maker of Japanese confections and tea sweets, from my tea studies. The company has been around since the 16th century, and is well known for its yokan. At the cafe, you can enjoy these sweets and a delicious bowl of matcha or brewed tea. If the weather is nice (and in late October, it was perfect), sit outside and take in the peace and beauty of the garden. 

I love this photo!

Enjoy these photos, and imagine a peaceful breeze that gently ripples the water, delicious and artful sweets, tea that both stimulates and soothes, and nurturing conversation. This was my experience. 

Matcha and kuri (chestnut) yokan

Sencha, with an edamame custard with brown sugar glaze

I will close my eyes and go there too.

If you visit Kyoto, here's a tip: One of the retail shops is near the west side of the Imperial Palace. The cafe is tucked about a block down the side street.

Japanese Breakfasts

I'm missing a lot about Japan, including Japanese breakfasts. Here are some examples of what we enjoyed. These photos make my mouth water with longing. 

Rice and miso, salmon, squash, tamago (a lightly sweetened omelette), greens with sesame, fruit - and not shown, tea

Made by the amazing Ikuko at Blodge Lodge

My version of the breakfast above

  

More deliciousness from Ikuko
Rice, miso, sauteed veggies, pan fried tea leaves, mushrooms and sausage, greens with sweet potatoes, fruit, tea

Big, giant pieces of toast, fried eggs, slices of meat, fruit, cole slaw and
black tea (below)

This interesting breakfast was what we received when we sat down at a small cafe in Kyoto. It was specially prepared for the Westerners - it's just what you got, no options. It was fun and good!  The beverage options were tea or coffee. Tea was black, served with milk or lemon. 

Kyoto Sweets

I recently visited Kyoto, Japan with my Chado (Japanese Tea Ceremony) Sensei and three other students. I learned so much about Chado and Japanese culture.  We had lovely weather and incredibly generous local hosts.  A primary goal was to have sweets and tea every day (often more than once).  And so... an obvious way to start summarizing is through a sweets play-by-play!  Here's most of them, with a bite of context for each.  (Not included are some very special sweets from events we attended that will live on in our hearts, but not in photos.) 

Photo credit: Marjorie Yap

These sweets hold a special place in my heart. They were from our first tea experience in Kyoto, at Ochaji Cafe. Yamaguchi-san gently guided our jet-lagged bodies and minds through a lovely light meal, thick tea (koicha) and thin tea (usucha).  The sweets above are the traditional kinton style of wagashi ("wet" sweet), soft sweet bean or sweet potato paste that has been grated. It's served before koicha. So delicious and lovely.  The sweets below (higashi, "dry" sweets) were served just before the usucha. Crunchy apple-flavored sugars, chewy jelly strips and senbei (crispy rice crackers, lightly sweetened, with a thin film of miso paste).

Photo credit: Marjorie Yap

We enjoyed the persimmon mochi sweet below in Arashiyama. The outer dough is soft and chewy, filled with a persimmon/bean paste.  The tops are from real persimmons.

This beauty is from a sweets bar (think sushi bar), where the expert makes the sweet right in front of you.  If you haven't figured this out, sweets in Japan are all about seasonality!  This is a chrysanthemum. 

The sweets below were from an assortment served to us at the famous Ippodo shop on Teramachi.  Kinton (upper left) in autum colors, wrapped yokan and on the bottom,  manju - a rice bun filled with - you guessed it.   Bean paste!

A friend and I visited the Kyoto Confectionery Museum. While the descriptions were in all Japanese, we still learned and enjoyed from the experience, especially the tea and sweets at the end. Lucky us, it's chestnut season. We savored a glazed chestnut and a bean paste chrysanthemum.  

Now on to Toraya, which is worthy of a post unto itself!  For now, let me say that it's a bit of heaven - serene and with great tea and sweets.  The two delicacies below are from there.  The first, a green soybean (edamame) and silken tofu square, in a brown sugar sauce.  The second, yokan with chestnut pieces. (Since being home less than a week, my friend has replicated this yokan with success, I am delighted to say!)

Next up - a sweets class!  We got our chance to practice hand forming the sweets.  One of these below is the professional ginko leaf, one is not.  It's easy to tell.  :-)

I did a little better with the persimmon sweet.  They all four tasted great.  

And here is another (professional) variation of the chrysanthemum.  Notice the delicate fade of white to purple in the center.  The secrets: lots of patience, practice and precision.

The sweet below is another favorite among favorites.  My girlfriend and I were wandering the back streets near Daitokuji temple. We found a tiny little sweets shop (many of them are), which seemed to specialize in this interesting mochi.  It's filled with bean paste, with some whole beans to give texture, and a savory/saltiness to the mochi. Unusual and delicious!

Photo credit: Ana Martinez

Another trip to Toraya...

And then a day trip to the famous tea-growing region and tea-company town, Uji.  During an informative tour at the matcha company Marukyu-Koyamaen, we enjoyed this dango sweet. 

Later that day, after I wandered through tea shop after tea shop, I enjoyed this sweet at the Kanbayashi cafe. It's hard to tell in the photo, but there is a chestnut at the center, and it's surrounded by what might be kudzu-gelatin-based "leaves." that wrap around.  Of course, delicious.

Next, a small pause in our schedule before we headed to the countryside for the final leg of the trip. Four sweets below from the Japanese Tea & Gallery Kyoto Saryo in Kyoto Station. 

And finally - a feast of sweets to close out our last dinner in Japan.

What an indulgence - to live where there is a Japanese sweets shop within easy walking distance of wherever I go!