I must say before I get to the tea-related topic at hand, that I really love the food at Wild Ginger. It is quite a melange of cuisines and styles without feeling incoherent, the menu is always interesting and the food, in my experience, has always been well prepared: fresh, high quality ingredients, savory and [...]
I spent the end of last week and the beginning of this week in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a far cry from Seattle on a lot of levels. The people in that part of the United States, at least the ones I was in contact with, are fueled by steak, overcooked previously frozen vegetables and soft-drinks/sodas/cokes (or [...]
To be perfectly frank, I prepared and drank a cup of Green Tea Tropical out of obligation as it was sent to us by the nice people at Mighty Leaf Tea. It is very unlike anything I ever drink – tea or otherwise. It is fruity, not strongly caffeinated, with a wide range of dissimilar [...]
I found Tao of Tea’s 100% Organic Mandarin Green unexpectedly subtle and lovely. I usually prefer teas that are unadulterated by non-tea substances, but this one deserves an exception. The tea is a green Darjeeling, lightly baked and blended with orange essence. I steeped the tea at about 170 degrees, and I would expect the [...]
Tea has been growing in northern Vietnam for over 2,000 years. The hilly terrain and ideal tea-growing climate are home to some of the oldest varietals in existence. Teas made from these plants have a character all their own. They are as distinctive and elegant as Vietnamese culture itself. Hand Scented: This is a traditional, [...]
This adorable Japanese commercial is for a green tea made by the Thai company Unif. The ads were done by BBDO Bangkok. More of them, with English subtitles can be viewed here. The award-winning commercial featured on that page, called “Mother’s Day,” is brilliant. These cute-as-a-bug’s-eye caterpillars are called “worms” in the English translation of [...]
Colleen’s post on Teavana’s nifty tea-making gadget reminded me that I had been meaning to find a tea thermos for work. A little bit of random net surfing happened to bring me to Yellow Mountain Imports, an online retailer specializing in Asian games such as Go and Mahjong. Their small Tea Shop focuses mostly on [...]
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. [...]
My latest ritual comes from having a series of lunchtime appointments about half a mile from work. I’ve been stopping at Cafe On The Ave on my return trip. They serve Caffe Vita, which is a popular local coffee roaster. It took me a long time to find any good information on the tea they [...]
A friend returned from a trip to Japan earlier this year, and brought me two packets of very good tea. The problem is that I can’t read Japanese, and I haven’t been able to figure out what they are. Here’s where I make an appeal to you – can anyone help me decipher at least [...]
