Archive for category Tea Culture / Ceremony

16-Year-Old Creates Dress from 4,000 Tea Bags

Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on December 24, 2011

Oddity Central, 8 Dec 2011

The latest in bizarre dresses has arrived. After paper napkins, newspapers, and even condoms, we now have a dress made of tea bags. This one was made by a 16-year-old from Kuala Lumpur, and she used a whopping 4,000 tea bags to create her masterpiece. She won the top prize at the Green Awards 2011 held in Kuala Lumpur in October.

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India: Tea Should Be Declared as the National Drink

Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on December 7, 2011

Times of India, November 2011

Tea got a new ambassador, when former President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam said that the brew can be the official drink of India on Tuesday.

Even as the chief minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi declared tea as the State Drink, Kalam said that on the basis of the size of its consumers tea can be declared the national drink of India. Kalam was inaugurating the three-day World Tea Science Congress at Tocklai Experimental Station (TES), Jorhat, Assam.

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China: Tea exports rise but domestic consumption on the decline

Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Industry News on November 28, 2011

China Daily, by Li Woke, 21 Nov 2011

Tea exports rise but domestic consumption on the decline

Two European travelers examining green tea products at a tea shop in Beijing

The Chinese are gradually losing the traditional tea-drinking habit in favor of coffee, largely because of the length of time it takes to brew a decent cup, experts say.

“I prefer coffee to tea,” said Wang Yan, a 25-year-old downtown girl in Beijing. “Drinking coffee refreshes me and makes me feel chic.”

The history of Chinese tea is a long and gradual story of refinement. The original idea is credited to the legendary Emperor Shennong, who is said to have lived about 5,000 years ago. One summer day in 2737 BC, while visiting a distant part of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. During the break, his servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and became infused. Being of a scientific nature, the emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it tasty.

Thereafter, tea and China developed an extremely close relationship, with a culture springing up alongside its consumption based on a combination of Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist traditions.

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The subtle mystique of Japanese tea bowls

Posted by Admin in Tea Culture / Ceremony on November 28, 2011

Boston Globe, by Nancy Shohet West, 17 Nov 2011

Among a select subset of potters, the Japanese tea bowl is an object of some mystique. As Belgian artist Lou Smedts once wrote, the tea bowl embodies the Zen concept that the value of art should lie not in its monetary value but in its function. “Usefulness holds the true value of both objects and human beings,’’ wrote Smedts. “Who and what is used is what has value. Think of that when you see a tea bowl.’’

With this notion, Smedts curated an exhibition of tea bowls shown in numerous venues throughout Europe, but among the 70 artists invited to contribute work only one was an American: Newton potter and instructor Steven Branfman, author of several books on the Japanese ceramic technique known as raku. And Branfman was further honored when Smedts invited him to curate the first American version of the show, now on exhibit at Branfman’s Needham gallery.

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Xixiang, the Northwestern Tea Town

Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on November 28, 2011

City Channel of CRI Online, Nov 18 2011

XIXIANG COUNTY, China: The people of the county have been growing tea for 2,200 years and have developed a deep and distinct tea culture. Tea is also the theme of many local art forms, including songs, dances and poems.

Xixiang, the largest tea growing county in Northwest China, today has tea gardens covering a total area of more than 150 square kilometers, producing 5,500 tons of tea a year, with annual output value of 650 million yuan ($102.4 million).

It has received a number of honors, such as national base of high-quality tea, China famous tea town and excellent government contribution for tea industry development. As China’s top eight teas, the Xianhao tea has won nationwide fame for its color, shape and taste.

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How to make Masala Chai (Indian Chai Tea)

Posted by Admin in Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Recipes on November 28, 2011

Instructables, Nov 2011

How to make Masala Chai (Indian Chai Tea)

Commonly called Chai tea by westerners, a name which is kind of like saying ATM Machine, Masala Chai or Chai is a distinctive style of milk-based tea consumed through-out the Indian sub-continent and into southeast Asia. Chai has a warm spice note in combination with the heat and soothing properties from the warmed milk that make it very relaxing to consume. In India, chai is consumed at any time and weather. It is not only consumed with meals but is also commonly served to customer in shops (such as jewelry stores) or purchased from roadside vendors called chai wallahs.

» Recommended Chai: Yogic Chai

This drink is incredibly simple to make and is the perfect drink for a cold winter day. The recipe I am following was taught to me by my wife (who is from India), who learned it from her mother (who still lives in India). It is a more simple, everyday, home version of the chai encountered in Indian restaurants.

For those who are looking for a fun and easy alternative to the traditional holiday drinks. Try adding cinnamon and nutmeg to the ginger and cardamom for a festive, rich and warming holiday drink.

» Buy Loose Leaf Masala Chai, Chai Teabags or Masala Chai Mix at Chai Buyer

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Cultural thirst drives China’s high-end tea boom

Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Industry News on November 14, 2011

AFP, by Judith Evans, 2 Nov 2011

Fifteen years ago the Lam family business picked up a consignment of aged tea from a defunct Hong Kong restaurant. Its value has since risen by a factor of 10,000, as the Lams have found themselves part of a boom that is both investment fad and cultural obsession.

“It’s like magic,” managing director Sam Lam told AFP as he prepared tea according to the Chinese ritual, pouring boiling water through rough leaves and then into tiny cups to drink, and spoke of the profits to be made.

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Tracing China’s ancient Tea-Horse Road

Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on November 14, 2011

Lonely Planet, 26 Oct 2011, by Catherine Bodry

Farmers work in the fields of Xishuangbanna.

From the steamy, subtropical lowlands of Xishuangbanna (“shee-shwang-bah-na”), to the crisp highlands of the Tibetan plateau, China’s Yunnan province has been a link between tea growers and drinkers for more than 1,200 years.

Years ago, tea growers and horse traders met in markets along Yunnan’s Tea-Horse Road, an old trade route also called the South Silk Road, between Xishuangbanna and Tibet. Today, you can travel the ancient route and find remnants of the caravan road in old market squares, patches of cobbled lane and still-thriving tea plantations.

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More Tea Tees

Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony, Tea Product News on November 8, 2011

Tea News Direct Exclusive

Here are some more of the new exclusive TEA shirts from Tea Selector, the tea comparison website. They’ve created 26 unique, cool designs for you to pick from. Each design is available in a variety of styles, colors and sizes. They make ideal gifts for tea lovers.

Check out the other 22 designs at the Tea Selector T-Shirt Store!

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Simplify Your Tea Brewing by Making It in a Coffee Pot

Posted by Admin in General Tea News, Tea Culture / Ceremony on November 5, 2011

Life Hacker, by Whitson Gordon, 28 Oct 2011

If you need to make more than just a cup or two of tea, you can brew it all at once (and keep it warm) by making it in a coffee pot.

DIY web site WikiHow details how to do it, noting that it’s quite useful if you need a large volume of tea—like if you’re sick. It isn’t all that different from making coffee, except you don’t use a filter and you place a tea bag or two in the filter basket. Hit the link to see the step-by-step instructions.