Drinking tea at work is one of those things that sounds simple, but can be aggravating if not both easily accomplished and good tasting. I feel that it is well worth some time, effort and a little money to find a set-up that provides a perfect cup of tea any time throughout the workday. As [...]
I remember my introduction to Gongfu Cha quite well. My friend and I happened into a smallish shop in the Chinese section of the International District in Seattle called “New Century Tea House & Chinese Classical Furniture,” not knowing much about what we were after, but always interested in new tea experiences. It was a [...]
As the new year gets rolling, I’ve found it a good time to dig through the baskets and drawers and shelves full of tea and decide what to keep and what to toss. Judging by the odor of my desk drawer at work, some of my stash had gone stale. Others were just abandoned in [...]
For the past eight or nine years my tough little copper-bottomed German kettle has been perfectly adequate to my needs. It has survived considerable abuse and has never allowed me to destroy it by boiling it dry, due in large part to a ferocious whistle that becomes brain-bleedingly loud just seconds after the water reaches [...]
When I posted asking for a translation on some tea purchased for me in Osaka, Takuro responded with a link to the boutique where the tea was purchased, and some names to put with the flavors. The one in the purple “Okame” package was sencha, so my nose and taste buds were on the money. [...]
It’s really been a rollercoaster of a year so far. Seattle has been hit by several storm systems that have wreaked havoc with wind, rain, snow, and ice. I’ve never experienced this many Snow Days in one season! So while waiting for a bus that never came, a friend and I decided to get out [...]
I can’t think of a better way to start here than by writing about a gift. This Christmas I received my very own mate (a gourd used for drinking yerba mate) and bombilla (a metal straw/filter used to drink from the gourd) — from none other than Colleen, the original Gongfu Girl. (See her earlier [...]
I will confess to you that I’ve had a hard time identifying with oolong tea. But I’ve had some new experiences with it that are slowly changing the way I think about it. We live fairly close to a Seattle restaurant called Lemongrass, Taste of Vietnam and I was in there over the holidays with [...]
