It's a big week here in our household. The four year old starts preschool this week. It is such a huge moment for all of us. Last night I sat in his classroom for parents' night, looking at his name on his cubby, in complete disbelief that he's old enough for this. And we waited about a year longer than most of his friends. It's time and he'll adjust, but it is hard to see him so anxious. I am glad for a small class and two very kind, enthusiastic teachers.
The other big news is that I just had a piece published in the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. The piece, "Tea Packaging for Impact and Sustainability," examines the many packaging options for teabags, ready-to-drink-tea, and loose leaf tea and the environmental impact of each. You can view the complete article here.
The rest of today's post is going to focus on some great tea opportunities you may want to check out!
* September 20, 2009, 1:15 - 2:00 - Boston Park Plaza Hotel (Boston, MA)
The Park Plaza's Tea Sommelier, Cynthia Gold, will be offering a FREE Tea 101 class featuring teas from southern India's Nilgiri Blue Mountains. Gold will cover tea preparation, food and tea pairings, and tea cocktail preparations. Attendees receive a free sample of tea, a discount on a future afternoon tea service, and recipes. Call for reservations: 617-654-1906.
--Note that the Park Plaza offers one of my favorite services. You can call in advance and arrange for Cynthia Gold to offer a guided tea tasting for your party as part of your afternoon tea service. I know it's become quite popular so you may need some lead time, but it's a wonderful opportunity.
* October 3 - 4, 2009, 2nd Annual Northwest Tea Festival (Seattle, WA)
Sponsored by The Puget Sound Tea Association, the Northwest Tea Festival will be held at the Seattle Center, offering classes, lectures, tastings, and sales of tea, teaware, and other tea accoutrements. The event will be opened with a Tea Dinner at Wild Ginger, featuring foods from the world's major tea-growing regions. Guests such as Norwood Pratt and John Harney will be offering lectures.
* Now through November 29, 2009, "Steeped in History: The Art of Tea" exhibit at the Fowler Museum (Los Angeles, CA)
The description on the Fowler site is as follows: "Hot or iced, bagged or loose, black or green—whatever form it takes, enjoying a cup of tea is an act performed at least three billion times a day. Tea has played many profound roles on the world scene—as an ancient health remedy, an element of cultural practice, a source of spiritual insight, and even a catalyst for international conflicts—so naturally the ubiquitous beverage has been a prevalent theme in the visual arts. Steeped in History brings together magnificent art from three continents and many centuries, including rare Chinese ceramics and paintings, 18th- and 19th-century Japanese ceramics and prints, extraordinary English and Colonial American paintings, historic photographs and documents, tea-serving paraphernalia and furniture from many countries, and much more—to tell the fascinating story of tea." This exhibit was curated by Beatrice Hohenegger, author of Liquid Jade. Admission is free. The exhibit is open Wednesdays through Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m.; and on Thursdays, from noon until 8 p.m.
* Tragedy in Taiwan
In 1999, the small island of Taiwan sustained 921 earthquakes causing significant topographical changes that some call "mountain move." The resulting changes have led to an epidemic of mud slides any time there is flooding. These mud slides have wreaked devastation to many villages (particularly aboriginal villages) throughout Taiwan. In early August of this year, Typhoon Morakot devastated the island, with winds reaching between 90 and 100 mph and rainfall of more than 100 inches. Then came the mud slides. These horrific mudslides wrought far more damage. One mud slide covered an entire village. It is estimated that more than 600 people were killed by Morakot.
There are two important things about this story:
First - For those of you interested, Aura Teas of Vancouver, which specializes in tea from Taiwan, is assisting in the effort. A percentage of their sales for the next few months will go to relief efforts. You can help by purchasing tea from Aura or by donating directly to the agency they are supporting: Tzu Chi. (Thank you to Fionna at Aura Teas for keeping me apprised of the situation.)
Second - This disaster has also brought renewed attention to tea growing practices. There is concern that the world's demand for high mountain teas has resulted in unsustainable farming. The farmers are moving crops higher into the mountains, removing more trees in the process. Without the trees, mud slides become more prevalent and damaging. The farmers are in a difficult position as their financial survival depends on growing these teas and keeping up supply (and demand) is critical. However, it is clear that something will need to change to prevent greater and greater devastation to the island.
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That's all for me today. Sorry to end on such a serious note, but, as we always discuss here, the geography of our tea is really important. We must not always focus on what is in our cup. We need to also think about what it took to get it there.
Have a great day.
Taken from http://teapages.blogspot.com/
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