Plucking leaves in Guizhou China. May 21 is International Tea Day, a day when we believers in the communal cup of humanity gather to spread the good news of our favorite beverage. Teaists are all part of this colorful cult of tea that has simmered worldwide for over a thousand years. Although Westerners are new…
The mid-august tea auction in Calcutta witnessed an unusual event – there were no Darjeeling teas listed in the catalog. The 86 tea gardens of Darjeeling are often thrown into chaos as political strikes and climate change disrupt the harvesting of some of the world’s most prized – and often pricey – teas. 2017 saw one…
British Prime Minister William Gladstone If you are cold, tea will warm you; If you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you. This famous tea quotation is attributed to British Prime Minister William Gladstone (1809–1898) whose public career lasted…
Tea by any other name would not taste as sweetOne of the questions most asked of me is “What is your favorite tea?” I wish I had an easy answer for the reporters and audiences who ask me that question, but my travels along “the way of tea” tells me there can never be only…