This is how the conversation went last night between my husband and me:

Him: “Hey, y’know. I’m feeling like a cup of tea right now.”
Me: “Really? You usually drink coffee.”
Him: “I know, but my nerves are a little jangled.”
Me: “Cool.” [re: the tea, not the jangled nerves]
Him: “You’ve got a bunch of tea right? I want something sleepytime-ish”
Me: “Yeah, grab that box and I’ll find you something”

He proceeds to pull out my Art of Tea collection of teas, then pauses and looks back in the cabinet.

Him: “Oh, wait. I don’t want this fancy stuff. I just want to throw a tea bag into a cup.”

Upon this I rise from the sofa (ok, actually I stand on it in)

Me: “WHAT!?!?! That’s not fancy! That’s everyday tea. You can’t drink tea from a tea bag! Didn’t you read my last post!!!”
Him: “But that teapot you have is so tricky to use.”
Me: “No it’s not” (I promise it’s not – my next post should be a video showing how very simple it is)
Him: “Yes it is”
Me: “No it’s not” (and so on…mature right?)

At this point I’ve gotten up from the couch, pulled down the tea pot, picked out some Amore tea (I’ve decided to end the disagreement after all) while he’s put the kettle on to boil.

When the water is ready I show him how to place the leaves in the central chamber of the pot. He pours the water in. We settle back on the couch and resume watching a movie.

Three minutes pass.

Him: “How long do I have to wait!?! See I told you this takes FOREVER.”
Me: “It’s ready”

He pours. He sips. He smiles sheepishly, realizing, of course, that I was right and the Amore Tea is much better than the old, tired bagged tea at the back of the cupboard that he would have had. But the truth is that we both won: he got a much better cup of tea, and I got to be right (as usual ).

Having recently started working at Art of Tea, I have embarked upon a tea-sampling journey. For an avid long time tea lover like myself. this is like being a kid in the candy store! A couple of nights ago, I brewed a variety of teas including Jasmine Pearl, Kauai Cocktail, and Assam Gold. Each unique tea brought me to a different place and time. Jasmine Pearl reminded me of waking up in the morning at my grandmother’s house, whereupon I would find her in the kitchen, sipping on premium Jasmine tea. The Kauai Cocktail made me feel as if I was on vacation. This was tangy yet sweet and fruity, like the island itself.

I was overly ambitious in my tea selection that night and so I didn’t get to drink the last cup of tea, which was a sweetened cup of Assam Gold. I ended up refrigerating it before I went to sleep. In the morning I woke up in dire need of a caffeine fix, but I also wanted a refreshing ice cold beverage. The dilemma was palpable. Then I opened my refrigerator and found the solution: the now-cold Assam Gold. I added some nonfat milk to it, and the result was stunning. The rich, yet mild (compared to coffee) flavors made me actually happy to be up at 7AM. What a nice alternative to coffee! I personally love milk tea, and this drink was a treat because it brought me right back to my childhood in Taiwan where street vendors sold milk tea, which sometimes contained boba.

These three cups of tea brought me so many good memories, that I can’t wait to see what my next cup will bring!

It is ubiquitous: that tea-filled gauze bag attached to a string with an identifying tag at the end. The tea bag is perhaps one of the great injustices thrust upon tea drinkers everywhere. It wasn’t always so. In fact, the tea bag wasn’t invented until the 20th century. The story goes that an American tea purveyor named Thomas Sullivan began sending out samples of his teas to customers in little silk bags. His customers, thinking this was a more convenient way to brew tea, placed the packets directly into their cups of hot water rather than dumping the tea into the pot directly, as was the tradition. Thus the tea bag was born. Silk eventually gave way to gauze, and today approximately 90% of tea prepared in Britain and America is from such bags.

There are inherent problems with the reliance on tea bags as a means for tea enjoyment. The most glaring is that some of the worlds best teas are not produced for tea bags, so to drink only bagged tea is to miss a huge selection of fabulous teas. A second and related problem is that the tea that is bagged is often no more than the dust from good loose tea. This is often not even bagged in sufficient quantities. The result is a cup of weak tea that lacks the depth of an authentic cup of tea.

There is another less obvious and more philosophic problem with bagged tea. It has to do with how we as modern people approach life. At this point it’s pretty much a given that the pace of our lives has quickened. Everything from information and communication to food preparation has sped up dramatically in the past decade. More and more people rely on fast food for their sustenance (this issue alone is topic enough for another post, or whole blog, or really doctoral thesis) and the results are obvious. Our population is becoming increasingly obese and unhealthy. How do we counteract this epidemic? I believe that one way is to slow down. Take time to prepare a meal, instead of wolfing down something from the golden arches as you drive in your car. Stop and take the ten minutes required to brew a pot of authentic loose-leaf tea and then breath and enjoy it. If we spend our lives racing around, by the end all we’ll remember is the race and not the life.

I, for one, would prefer to savor the pot of Earl Grey I shared with my husband over breakfast of eggs strata and fruit, given the option between that and a breakfast McSandwich grabbed on the fly with some burnt coffee. And there is always that option. We live the lives we choose for ourselves. If we don’t actively decide to slow down and live a life more balanced, then we will get swept up into the sped up flow of contemporary life. So put down your travel mug, ignore your microwave for a week, stop buying tea that come in bags, and try brewing a pot of Monk’s Blend; you might just find that slowing down and creating a little ceremony in your life is good for you. I know I have.

Let’s take a closer look at Fucha in all of its splendor. Fermented teas come in many forms, but Pu-erh is the most common tea for these unique shapes. Fucha follows in Pu-erh’s footsteps with its popular compressed shape and structure. Two of the most popular forms of Kurocha are Toucha, which is compressed into a bowl shape, and Heicha, which is compressed into a disc shape. Korucha presents itself in a myriad of ways, not simply these two, whose forms we will expand upon in another post.

Kurocha (koo-ro-cha) is a highly valued post-fermentation tea, which is kept in conditions of high temperature and high humidity where airborne microbes cause the tea to further ferment. As time passes, this tea increases in mellowness, depth and flavor and becomes easy to drink. Kurocha is a fairly new tea in the Western market, appealing to health-minded individuals because it promotes digestion and is an effective at washing away fat inside the body.

The miraculous Fu Cha is produced during the final stages of the Kurocha fermentation process. During the final forty days of the manufacturing process, the tea is dried, creating Fu Cha. The fine yellow powder, called the Golden Flower, which Fu Cha yields, is unique to this tea. High-grade Fucha is harvested by selecting only young leaves that are three to a stem. The long fermentation process coupled with the unique property of the Golden Flower creates a type of metabolic and digestive harmony, supplying a rich content of catechins, dietary fiber and amino acids. Because of Fucha’s abundance of vitamins and minerals, such as calcium iron and zinc (it is very gentle on ones body with the extremely low caffeine content – less than that of green tea), many cultures recommend a daily drink for adults and children.

The conditions must be perfect to create the Golden Flower. If they are not, the Fucha tea will lose its function and the Golden Flower will not form. The diet of our modern western society has come to resemble that of the Northwestern Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan nomadic people, in that their diet is mainly composed of heavy oily foods with lots of meat and milk products and a reliance on saturated fats. In these regions this seemingly unhealthy diet is maintainable because they burn so many calories living in a high altitude and dealing with extreme weather conditions. However, our similar diet is not counter balanced by our environment and so it throws our bodies out of whack. By exploring the diet and choices of other tribes around the world perhaps we can find healthy alternatives in our society. By drinking Fucha in conjunction with a natural diet it is possible to maintain one’s health and to offset the disturbance to the balance of nutrients and minerals that occurs during improper dieting.

One of the many things I do to help pay the rent (I live in LA after all!) is to tutor high school students planning to take the SATs. Remember that time in your life? You’ve just spent the summer lazing around the pool, avoiding your summer reading lists and forgetting every mathematical function you ever learned. Then suddenly, it’s September and you’re thrust back into the grind. Only it’s now your Junior or Senior year and everything everyone’s telling you is that this is it: this test and these grades will determine which college you can attend and subsequently the quality of your ultimate career. Basically this one test will make or break your life. Obviously there are some fundamental flaws to this reasoning, but it’s nonetheless prevalent in households of teenagers. It’s no wonder that by the time these students meet me for tutoring they are bundles of pure stress and nerves.

It is for these students (or really any student) for whom StuTea is perfect.

Let’s look for a moment at what comprises our oolong blend. First of all: oolong, which has been shown to be incredibly beneficial when it comes to health. Oolong tea is high in Polyphenol, which, as studies have shown, helps reduce the amount of free radicals in the human body. Beyond this, Oolong has caffeine, which can boost a student’s ability to stay awake and study, without the intense crash coffee so frequently brings on. Oolong also promotes weight loss, while perhaps not the main goal of a student focused on his or her work, is a nice added benefit.

Also present in StuTea are Ginseng, Licorice Root and Osmanthus flowers. It is generally believe that Ginseng has a stimulatory effect during times of stress and fatigue by helping to release a pituitary hormone. If stress and fatigue don’t aptly describe the life of today’s student, I don’t know what does. And if you’re anything like me, that stress has a tendency to sit right in your stomach. How many ulcers are caused by stress? In traditional homeopathic medicine, Licorice Root is often used to ease stomach troubles, which is yet another benefit for that student struggling with stress. And then there are the Osmanthus flowers. As far as I can tell, their main benefit is to create a delicious, eye-opening aroma. One whiff of that fruity, apricot aroma and you will be transported to a place free of everyday stresses.

Which leads me to my final point: you don’t have to be a student to enjoy the luscious benefits of StuTea. After all, aren’t we all students of life?

If there is a student or scholar in your life who’s away at school, maybe you could send her some StuTea in your next care package. Or if he’s upstairs right now studying, I recommend fixing him a cup and taking it up to him with some homemade cookies. Either way, it’ll help to relieve a little of the stress, if only for the duration of sipping. I promise you, your SAT tutors will thank you.

Oolong teas have been gaining popularity in Western Societies for the last several years. Many people have touted the health benefits of oolongs for their high level of antioxidants and increased metabolic effect. Personally, I like them because they are simply delicious.

Oolong teas are in between green teas and black teas with regards to the level of oxidation that the tea master allows the leaves to go through during processing. Most oolongs fall in the 40-70 % oxidized range. Oolongs are classically from either China or Taiwan. That tea you’re being served at a Chinese restaurant? It’s probably oolong.

Art of Tea offers some great oolongs but one of my favorites is our “99% Oxidized Purple Oolong”. This is a rare tea that seems to always generate a lot of interest whenever we travel to trade shows. When employees from other tea companies want to try it, you know it must be special. And it certainly is unique.

By taking the oxidation process almost all the way to the end, the tea master from our supplying estate has created a tea that is as close to black tea as it can be and still be an oolong. The look of the un-steeped leaves has the classic hand-rolled leaf appearance that you would find in any well-crafted oolong. However, the leaves in our tea are noticeably darker than what you may be used to seeing. In the sunlight it has a purple hue to it. Even the liquor is tinged with purple once brewed. Upon the first steeping the leaves barely begin to give in to their “agony”. The flavors are fantastic. The tea is wood roasted, and that smokiness gives you the first impressions of what you are about to encounter. The range of character is so unique that it is sometimes easy to forget that it’s an oolong. The smoky aroma and taste move onto musk and cinnamon spice. As I mentioned, the first steeping is just the beginning for this wonder of oolongs. For the leaves to fully unfurl, they need at least two, or even three, steepings. I find that there is a definite roasted-chestnut quality to the first couple of washings. This gives way to wonderful, fresh vegetal flavors with subsequent additions of hot water. I have washed the same leaves five times and still found enjoyment in the cup.

If you like oolongs and want to try something truly unique, I recommend our “Purple Oolong”. Use water that is around 195 degrees and be ready to enjoy several cups. For an adventurous tea drinker this will not let you down.

Sunday, August 19, 2007. A blazing sun was in stiff competition with the brightness shining in the faces of the over 1500 guests at the SGI-USA LA North Region Family Fun Festival. SGI-USA is one of the largest Buddhist lay organizations in the United States, practicing the teachings of Nichiren, a 13th century Buddhist reformer. Fortunately, Art of Tea was there to help quench the thirst of this happy throng!

My involvement with the Family Fun Festival was extensive. Over 100 amazingly dedicated, creative, generous and energetic Bodhisattvas worked tirelessly to plan and execute this festival and in just six weeks, pulling off what I believe was the most explosively joyful and truly successful event in Los Angeles this summer. The 1500+ attendees had a wide range of exhibits to explore. Two stages featured performances ranging from traditional Japanese fan dancing to rock bands, beautiful musical numbers and youth bursting with raw joy and confidence, krumping their hearts out.

The surrounding festival’s theme was “Transform Myself, Transform the World.” Our goal was that every single person who attended would come away from the day inspired by their ability to transform their lives. I can tell you, without a doubt in my mind, we achieved total victory! Everyone was so unbelievably happy!

Last, but certainly not least, there was FOOD! You would not believe the spread we had, all of which was contributed by the members. This year, I chaired the Food Committee, which was no small task, let me tell you! Our committee’s theme was “Happy Tummies, Happy Families” and if you could have seen the smiling faces, you would know we lived up to our theme!

For me personally, it was an extraordinary experience of personal growth. I know that growth is a life-long process, but I feel more capable now than I ever have in my life, and I’m certainly the happiest I’ve ever been. This joy stems not only from the main event itself, which was spectacular, but also from all of the effort, care, determination and unity that went into its creation. I am filled with gratitude for this opportunity to expand my capacity and to contribute to the happiness of so many people.

What good fortune that Art of Tea was able to contribute to the Art of Happy!

Late summer is the perfect time for iced tea – a refreshing way to get all the benefits of your favorite tea. I’ve lately been playing around with making sun tea – different quantities of tea, changing the time in the sun, etc. – and I’ve been pretty happy with the results. Then I was talking with one of our partner restaurants about the “tea-cocktails” they make. The bar manager said that he puts the leaves in the liquor, lets the mixture sit overnight and strains it the next day. This led me to start experimenting with making non-alcoholic tea the same way.

I found that brewing iced tea in my refrigerator works really well. I also found various articles supporting the fact that this method could be safer than leaving the tea in the sun for a few hours. The fear is based on the notion that the method may breed bacteria (kind of like deviled eggs at a summer picnic). Scientific research aside, the cold filtered iced tea tastes good and is very easy to make.

I use the same ratio of tea to water that we recommend for all of our iced tea pouches. Most commercial machines brew 3 gallons of tea at a time. The teas that we sell are portioned between 3 and 4 ounces of leaves for each batch. The black tea based choices, like our award winning “Organic Classic” is closer to 3 ounces. The green tea and botanical based items are closer to 4 ounces. At home I use a 1 gallon glass jar for brewing, and to that I add about 1.25 ounces of tea leaves such as “Green Pomegranate”, fill with cold clean water, cover and put in my fridge overnight. Twelve hours seems to be the perfect amount of time. Once it is done, I pour it through a strainer to remove the leaves, and enjoy my iced tea.

One benefit of this method is that the tea is already cold when it is finished. Now I’m no scientist, but I think there’s something going on here that is making the tea less astringent. It seems as if by not boiling the water the tannins in the leaves are not released, so the end result is flavorful without having an acidic finish. Some people may find it not to their liking but I have been really enjoying it as the days are still pretty hot here. Give it a try, and let us know what you think. I’d also recommend our “Paradise Cove” for making this UN-SUN Tea.

Michelle is one individual who understands the power of packaging. She’s been working with Art of Tea for some time, helping with packaging and design. Michelle is also about to get married, which, as anyone who’s recently been through the process can attest to, can be a particularly expensive time. For my wedding a couple of years ago, I remember being at a complete loss when it came to favors. It seemed appropriate that there be something sitting on the tables for our guests, but what? In the end, I succumbed to buying individual chocolates. By that point my creative energies were zapped (I put off favors until two days before the wedding, and paid for it) and I was looking for a quick fix.

Fortunately, Michelle did not make the same procrastination-based mistake that I did. Instead she let her inner Martha Stewart come out (and really, don’t we all have just a little of the Martha waiting to burst forth). In fact, the idea was based on a suggestion from our lady of all things elegant. Using Art of Tea’s loose-leaf tea, Michelle created unique individual tea bags for her wedding guests.

The process is fun, simple and even something a soon-to-be-husband could help with. Here are Michelle’s steps:

1. Get yourself some tea bags. She used bags by T-sac purchased online from Paper Street Teas. These are perfectly sized for one serving and require a single teaspoon of loose-leaf tea each.

2. The tea’s the thing! She used Organic Breakfast, because they’re having a brunch wedding, and Amore – for the love! But you could use any tea that speaks to you.

3. How much tea? Each tea is a little different when it comes to the weight per teaspoon. For example, Organic Breakfast is composed of small back leaves that pack a punch, whereas fuller white leaves and rosebuds comprise Amore.

The folks here at Art of Tea can help you figure out just how much you’ll need based on how many bags you’d like to make.

4. Additional Supplies: you’ve got the bags and tea, so now it’s time to get really creative. Michelle used chocolate and white baker’s twine, which she bought online from Broadway Paper.

5. Make those tags! If you’re computer literate like Michelle (she is a graphic designer after all) you can use a computer program like Adobe InDesign, or if you’re a little more comfortable in the analogue world – nice handwriting or calligraphy will also be lovely. Either way, her tags were printed to be 1 inch by 2 inches when cut out, and 1×1 when folded in half.

6. Assemble: Using a teaspoon, load 1 teaspoon of tea into each bag. Trim excess paper from tea bag with Scallop or Ric Rac scissors. Using the baker’s twine, tie the bag closed. Fold tag in half, and using a glue stick or hot glue gun, adhere baker’s twine to tag.

That’s it! See how easy it is? And even better, you can match the colors of your twine and tag to the colors of your wedding.

Of course, you’ll want to make these tea bags as close to the event as time allows so that the tea remains fresh. Michelle made hers two months ahead of time and stored them in a dark airtight container. Just make sure you don’t get tempted to use these delicious samples before the big day!

It’s a fun word: Biodynamic. Break it down and it seems to mean life force or life energy, and in a way it definitely does. Biodynamic is a word that’s been popping up a lot lately around those in the know (people who recognize the importance of eating organically), and some are calling biodynamic “beyond organic” when it comes to how our food, or in this case tea, is grown.

It all goes back to this fellow named Rudolf Steiner, who in 1924, gave a series of lectures to local farmers in Poland who were frustrated that their soil quality was declining along with the health of their crops and livestock. Steiner recognized the interrelated nature of a farm. There is a fundamental link between soil, plants and livestock and when in balance, this closed circuit does not need the aid of fertilizers and chemicals. Sounds like organic right? No pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, none of that bad stuff that’s been proven to harm us at the end of the food chain.

This is where Steiner took the ideas a step further. His practice of biodynamic agriculture includes a certain degree of spirituality and mysticism. Seeds are planted at certain lunar phases, for example, because not only is the cycle between soil, plant and animal important, so too is the link between growth and the life force of the moon and sun. Biodynamic is a sort of stepping back to see the whole forest, rather than felling the whole forest to save a tree (which is kind of what contemporary standard agricultural practices look like from that distance).

On a biodynamic farm or estate, all of the fertilizer is made organically on the farm itself. Old bullhorns and vermiculite are added to the compost in a series of recipes cooked up by Steiner. One way to describe it is as a closed circuit of input and output. Sustainable, is another, perhaps more trendy, way to put it. Either way, it’s good for the land and good for the crops.

Biodynamic agriculture is about healing the earth. And healing is the one thing this planet and its inhabitants are in desperate need of. We at Art of Tea like to think that we’re saving the planet, one cup of Biodynamic Bai Mu Dan, First Flush Darjeeling and Biodynamic Breakfast Tea at a time.