When I first realized that the responsibility of training my new staff members on tea would ultimately fall in my lap I think I wanted to cry. Please understand it had nothing to do with tea. I love tea and one on one I love to talk to people about tea…but to have to stand in front of anywhere between 10-20 new staff members and teach them everything about tea was a different story, it really overwhelmed me.

There is so much to cover and so much to tell them, how in the world I was going to hold their attention for 3-4 hours and have them walk away with the knowledge was beyond me. I see a window of opportunity when I only have two staff member joining our team. Two, the perfect size to start off with, I could sit with them instead of stand and lecture; make the training more casual and conversational.

Well as luck would have it the class started to grow. Staff members were finding out that I was conducting at training so they would stop by my office to see if they could come. What could I say; I had to say yes they were excited; they wanted to learn about the tea program a very important aspect of our spa, turning them down will only make them think that the program was not that important.

Training day is here the class that I was planning to hold on the balcony of one of our treatment rooms, has now moved to the Front Desk Training Room. It is officially a training class there are only 8 people in the class so it is not that large in size but still more then expected. Starting the class was rough I kind of stood there awkwardly and stared at them as they stared back at me.

Once I realize that breathing was important, I relaxed, and the class started to relax as well. Most of my associates seemed to enjoy themselves. They asked a lot of questions, had fun tasting and describing the teas. The class was a success and not only did it help my associates get to know about the tea program but it also helped me get to know them a little better.

About the Author of this Post: Melissa Fielding has undergone extensive Tea Sommelier Training with Art of Tea and is the now residential Tea Sommelier for an award winning and Conde Nast recognized Spa in Las Vegas, NV. Melissa was instrumental in developing the tea program and cutting edge concepts in line with all the treatments offered at the spa.

Today while I was working, an imposing man of about six foot three bombarded me with questions about our tea. He wanted to know about everything. Which tea was the healthiest, what jasmine tea was, what the difference between green and black tea was, what it was to have bubbles in your drink, and eventually he settled with a melon jasmine tea with bubbles. It was unusual and I could tell right away something wasn’t right; he had an unusual smirk on his face as if he knew something I didn’t. A few minutes later my boss walks up behind me and lets the man into the preparation area. It was Steve from Art of Tea. He was brought into Dallas to educate the Fat Straws employees on teas. You can imagine I felt like a genius…

Later that night we began our tea clinic. We started out with white teas, moved to green teas, to oolong teas, to black teas, to pu-erhs, to tisanes. We were inundated with information. About halfway through our lesson we came to the most interesting tea to me. It was the Pu-erh. The leaves are steamed quickly and then stored in caves where they ferment. Steve informed us that Pu-erh is similar to a fine wine and that it grows and changes as it ages.

And in a similar way it is a connoisseurs tea. It can be stored over fifty years old. I’m in love with it. It has an earthy taste that changes slightly with each brew. I’ve steeped the same leaves three times now and it is evolving every time. The first brew was my favorite, but it relaxed my body and managed to clear my mind every time; the perfect way to wind down a long day. Pu-erh is the perfect evening tea for me.

This post is written by Jake Windahl, an aspiring tea enthusiast and team member at Fat Straws in Dallas, Texas.

Yamashiro is an institution in Los Angeles. Sitting atop a hill in Hollywood, the restaurant serves up CalAsian inspired food, in a Japanese setting. The structure was originally built in 1911 to house the priceless collection of Asian treasures for the Bernheimer brothers. Over the years, the site has housed clubs, military schools & apartments. It’s original and highly decorative details were vandalized around the start of WWII and subsequently painted over. The name “Yamashiro” means “mountain palace” and it was built as an exact replica of a palace in the mountains near Kyoto. Yamashiro serves up some creative dishes using teas from Art of Tea.

We recently asked Executive Chef Jason Park, and Chef de Cuisine Brock Kleweno about tea and the many ways Yamashiro incorporates tea into their menu.

Q: Yamashiro has a pretty intense and tumultuous history. Is the history something that all employees know about?
A: Yes – the servers are trained to know the history of Yamashiro as they get many questions from guests who are interested in knowing more about the location. Interesting note, Yamashiro houses the oldest structure in California, a 600 year old Pagoda that was brought in from Japan.

Q: Tea is a huge part of Asian culture. How important is tea for Yamashiro, and your clients? Is there a favorite among them?
A: It is very important for Yamashiro, and a recommended part of all of our guests’ dining experience. I would say our top sellers are the Sencha and Plum Oolong.

Q: Yamashiro serves up some pretty interesting dishes that involve the use the tea for an aspect of their flavor. Where did that come from, and how does one actually use tea in a dish?
A: Tea provides a unique flavor palette that gives dishes more complex dimension compared to other spice ingredients. You may use teas in several different ways – you can use it to smoke ingredients and impart flavor, as a liquid ingredient in sauces, vinaigrettes, ice creams, sorbets, mousses, etc., or as a crust on food items. We have used the Art of Tea for our Lapsang Souchan Crusted Salmon, our Oolong Smoked Trout Salad and theTea and berries dessert where we macerate the berries in oolong tea and create a mousse from tropical pineapple tea.

We have also used it for dish components such as an oolong orange marmalade as well as rices that have been infused with Art of Tea’s teas.

Q: Is there a certain tea that you drink during or after work, and why do you choose to drink it?
A: Plum Oolong tea - it’s a good refresher during the middle of service. Chef Jason also enjoys the Amore blend.