Sunday, February 01, 2015
Matcha: The Way of Tea
A travel style mini-documentary that uncovers the history, production and future of matcha tea. This spectacular journey takes you from amazing organic mountain tea fields, stunning forestscapes, and the natural spring fed wells of Kagoshima, to the bustling tea shop filled streets of ancient Uji City, Kyoto.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
On the Virtues of Thee or Tea (1690)
From The Virtues of Coffee, Chocolette, and Thee or Tea, Experimentally Known in This Our Climate. See the full version here.
Tea of the People - barrel aging teas like fine wine
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Tregothnan's English Tea Plantation
Tea of the People - Innovative teas made with a higher purpose
Sunday, January 04, 2015
Friday, December 26, 2014
Sunday, December 21, 2014
The Book of Tea, by Kakuzo Okakura
by Kakuzo Okakura
The increased interest in tea in recent years has resulted in many great books on the subject, with many more sure to follow. After all, tea is a vast topic and hardly one that can be dispensed with in the space of a few volumes.
If you'd like to look back to what some authors of yesteryear had to say about tea, you'd do well to start with The Classic Of Tea, by Lu Yu, a Chinese scholar of ancient times. Although, the last time I checked, this pioneering volume wasn't all that easy to get your hands on.
A work by another Asian scholar, The Book Of Tea, by Kakuzo Okakura, is also worth taking a look at and is not nearly so hard to locate. The book has been in print continuously since it was first published in 1906 and is still available in a variety of printed and electronic editions, including this one, at Project Gutenberg.
This is not the time or place to debate whether The Book Of Tea is one of the most influential books ever written on the topic, but most observers will probably agree that it ranks high on the list. Okakura's work is a slim volume that introduces readers to his opinionated notions and his concept of Teaism and takes a look at how tea became such an indispensable part of Japanese life, both as a beverage and as aid to spiritual contemplation.
Not surprisingly, given the role of tea in Japanese culture and the Japanese tea ceremony, much of what Okakura discusses in this modest work has to do with this link between spirituality and tea. Among the topics covered, great schools of tea, prominent tea masters of yesteryear and the link between tea and Taoism and Zen (which the author refers to as Zennism).
teaBOT - Robotic Tea Maker
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Sunday, December 07, 2014
Saturday, December 06, 2014
Advertise at Tea Guy Speaks
Nowadays Tea Guy Speaks has an active Twitter feed with more than 5,000 followers and registers about 15,000 page impressions per month at the Web site. Which is a modest number compared to many sites, but it's safe to say that as we embark on our ninth year we've amassed a rather substantial following in the tea community.
If you'd like to try targeting some of the tea lovers who visit us, either through advertising at the site, on our Twitter feed, or a combination of both, send an email to wileng3|at|gmail.com. We'll be happy to send information on our advertising rates.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Tea Business Spotlight 17 - Tea of the People
Tea of the People
Ontario, Canada
How long have you been in business?
Personally, my relationship with tea has existed for over a decade. While most of my friends gravitated towards coffee, I was attracted to tea because of it’s diverse variety and aromatic character. Only in my early twenties did I begin to understand the tea types, grades, and health benefits. Tea of the People has been in the making for over a year. Having launched recently, Tea of the People is a new company, with an old soul. Our innovative blends and socially conscious driven mission are built around providing honesty in every cup and empathy for the human condition.
What is the size/scope of your business?
When I spoke about Tea of the People, rarely used are words like “I” and “me”. Despite being the only person steering the ship, my family, friends and extended network were the best support system anyone could ever ask for. They acted as an advisory board and without their love and guidance; Tea of the People would not exist. Simply put, they are all co-founders of Tea of the People. In terms of scope, we are laser focused on getting our tea in health & wellness retail stores. Health & wellness grocery shoppers are among the most enlightened and passionate people when it comes to food and beverages. Winning over hearts and minds in this space is key because in doing so, you then have ambassadors and influencers spreading the word.
Why tea?
With the global economic recovery still lagging after the worst recession in close to a century and so much frustration with our political bodies, the general feeling is people are becoming increasing disconnected from one another. Tea is one of the few things that does the opposite. Consumed all over the world, tea connects men and women in our communities and with civilizations from the past and future. Tea transcends time and space and to help drive the tea industry in a more healthy and socially conscious direction feels incredible.
How did you get the ball rolling on your venture?
When Founder & CEO of Whole Foods Market, John Mackey, is asked what ought pre or current entrepreneurs do to be successful, the answer is “start”. Heeding to this simple, yet profound advice, the earliest roots of Tea of the People can be traced back to an impromptu trip to my favorite grocery aisle, the tea section. After much research, their appeared to be glaring issues with the tea space that few, if any, had thought about disrupting. From there we just “started” learning as much as we could about getting the company off the ground.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of your business?
We use only the most nutritious and meticulously produced ingredients in the world. Companies throw around the words “highest” and “finest” when it comes to quality but won’t tell you the “type” of green tea they use, for example, and often times, forgo blending real ingredients with their tea. When somebody buys our Acai x Goji Dragon Well green tea, not only are we excited to tell them that Dragon Well was once drunk exclusively by Chinese emperors and that it’s the most antioxidant-rich green tea in the world, but you are getting a huge handful of actual goji berries with your blend. Our biggest strengths are quality, nutritional value and flavour uniqueness.
What were/are the biggest challenges of getting into/being in the tea business?
Starting a business in any industry is painstaking and tea is no different. The biggest challenge was perfecting the blends. It took about 6 months to finalize our inaugural lineup. For months we worked with food scientists and tea experts, where we faced roadblock after roadblock. Truthfully, it wasn’t known if we could get Dragon Well to taste delicious with super fruit or where to begin with barrel aging Madagascar cocoa beans with organic rooibos. On top of that, we were met with a ton of opposition from the tea space because Dragon Well has never been blended with anything before. Nearly every major tea distributor and company, when discussing our vision, scoffed us at. But something beautiful happened in each of these moments. Very few teas excite and surprise us anymore because everything under the sun has been done, so when I received such passionate reactions, I knew Tea of the People’s was on to something.
How's business?
Since launching, things have been crazy. We did not foresee this much excitement around our innovative teas and story. Magazines, blogs and thought leaders in the health & wellness, foodie and social entrepreneurial spaces are writing about Tea of the People and that feels both amazing and humbling.
Tea of the People has advertised at Tea Guy Speaks
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Miito: The Electric Kettle "Reimagined"
Miito is an innovative product that heats liquids directly in the vessel to be used, hence eliminating the heating of excess water. Simply fill your cup with water, place it onto the induction base and immerse the rod in the liquid. The induction base heats the rod, which then heats the liquid surrounding it. Miito works with non-ferrous vessels of any size, for example a pot of tea when inviting guests. Miito can also heat your soup or milk for a coffee. The clean shape of the rod allows it to be cleaned easily.