Tea Travels and Adventures

So, once again, I disappeared from blog world. I know I promised you a proper review of Clipper Merchant Tea Shop in Limerick. It is coming. With lots of pictures. I promise (again.)

I've been in a frenzy of tea-related activity lately which hasn't left me a great deal of time to blog. But I certainly have plenty to share when I get back here! I've also been getting a few more freelance assignments which is always exciting. The next two are going to be tea pieces so I'll be sure to pass along the links when (if) they go to print.

Last week I had the chance to attend the Natural Products Expo/World Tea East in Boston. I was there primarily to check out the vendors to make some contacts for future articles so the only part of World Tea East that I was able to experience was the Tea Pavilion. I was crushed to miss out on the workshops but, alas, I couldn't do it all. I had actually planned to go to the 9 a.m. workshop with Beth Johnston. I left my house at about 7:30. When it isn't rush hour it only takes 45 minutes to get to the Convention Center. So I gave myself 1 1/2 hours. It took me TWO and a HALF HOURS to get there. Arriving at 10 meant I missed both her workshop and the next. BUT, let's talk about the good things rather than the annoying.

I did notice that not all the tea vendors were in the Tea Pavilion. That's fine, but I think it gave the appearance of a much smaller tea presence than there actually was. I stopped by the Adagio booth briefly to say hi. I had a fantastic conversation with Beth Johnston of Teas Etc. She was so generous with her time and enthusiastic about her business and tea in general. She also introduced me to another new company - Village Tea Company. The other highlight was spending time over at the Tea Classics booth with Yoon Hee Kim. I met her briefly at the Tea & Coffee Expo in NY in the spring and it was great to get more time to experience her passionate love of tea. She is absolutely charming. If you've never been to her site, I highly recommend you visit it and check out her "Tea Pix." Spectacular.

My other tea news is that I just completed a two day, three state tea adventure. Yes, I jumped in the car and traveled hundreds of miles through southern New England in search of good tea. And I sure found it.

Since it is late, I'm going to save the details for another day. BUT, I can at least give you a list of the places I happened by:
* Mrs. Bridge's Pantry - Woodstock CT
* Mainly Tea - Wethersfield CT (some of the best food I've ever had at a tea shop...)
* Savvy Tea Gourmet - Madison CT (I cannot recommend this place more highly!!!)
* Tealuxe - Providence, RI
* Molly's Tea Room - Falmouth, MA
* Tea Shoppe at Mashpee Commons - Mashpee MA
* Beth's Special Teas - Sandwich, MA
* Dunbar Tea Room - Sandwich, MA

See. I haven't forgotten you. I've been drinking endless cups of tea just for you. :) You'll just have to wait a little longer to hear the results!

Give Me All Your Pu'erh

Seven Cups Fine Chinese Tea in Tucson had an unfortunate experience that many businesses have - a break in. But, this one was a little different. The people who smashed their way through the front window at 3:00 in the morning weren't just seeking cash. Actually, they didn't touch the cash at all. Y, they stole the computer that they use for the sales. BUT the also stole the storage container of Silver Needle Tea and some cakes of aged P'uerh! Someone certainly knew their tea. You can read the Seven Cups blog story about it here as well as an amazing story about how their neighbors stepped in to make sure the thieves were caught.


Also from the blog world:
Tea Goober has been having an online teaware sale on his site. If you're looking for any new yunomi, gaiwan, teapots, and more, check out what Bret has on offer. (Scroll to the post labeled "Teaware Garage Sale pt. 2. There are several posts that follow with items for sale.)

Tea Finds in Maine and NH

Hi all,

I've been on the road a bit lately...in search of tea. OK, I've actually been traveling with my family and have made it a point to see if I could discover some new tea spots. To this end, I'm going to start developing a Google Map to show you where I've been, where I hope to go, and places I've been that are no more. A link should go up this weekend.

Now, here are a few of my finds. (I decided over the weekend that I really need to be the Jane and Michael Stern of tea....Doesn't SOMEONE want to hire me to just travel around and report on all the great tea spots there are? Come on. Lynne Rosetto Kasper - Can you show me a little love?)

Two new discoveries came my way in the grand old state of Maine. One is a cafe in the Munjoy Hill area of Portland and one is a completely fabulous tea house that's a bit more off the beaten track.

Homegrown Herb & Tea - 195 Congress Street, Portland
One of their tag lines is "Herbal tea handblended in the traditions of the old world apothecary." The owner, Sarah, is a former Spanish teacher who found a passion in tea. Her goal is to really connect with her customers and to help them find the blend that is their perfect match. She is a strong believer in ayuverdic medicine and creates herbal combinations to assist people in finding balance. Now, all that being said, I am generally not a big consumer of herbal tisanes and while I do have a great deal of respect for alternative medicine, I did not go into Homegrown Herb seeking a "tonic." I just went looking for a good tea experience. And I found it.

Walking into this place immediately feels like home. The warmth and style of this tea shop is striking. It is so comfortable that I just wanted to curl up in a corner with a book and a cup of tea. In addition to her herbal blends, she also offers a range of blacks, greens and whites including a few Darjeeling, Formosa Oolong, Gen Mai Cha, Sencha, and more. I ordered a Blarney Black. This was a Barry's Irish Tea with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and orange. Instead of simply pulling a container off the shelf with a pre-blended mix, I watched Sarah get the tea and add a cinnamon stick and spices to my cup. She then proceeded to slice the most beautiful, juicy orange to add to the cup. The freshness simply radiated from this cup of tea.

I cannot say this more strongly. You MUST give Homegrown Herb & Tea a try.

Clipper Merchant Tea House - 58 Main Street, Limerick, ME
Wow. All I can say is wow. I am going to devote an entire post to this place in the near future, but I had to make sure everyone knew about this place. Clipper Merchant opened about 3 years ago in Limerick - a town that is about an hour outside of Portland. This tea house is definitely a destination - you're not likely to just happen to be in Limerick. (I should say, that this is a gorgeous part of Maine and the drive out is simply beautiful.)

Clipper Merchant is in a restored Victorian home that was built sometime between 1830 and 1860. The architecture is striking and the owners have decorated with tremendous care and style. The tea menu is spectacular and the food is all made in-house. Again, I'll give you all the detail later but here are a few photos to get you started.









After my travels around Maine I had the chance to visit three spots in New Hampshire - 2 in Portsmouth and 1 in nearby Somerset.

Breaking New Grounds - 14 Market Square, Portsmouth, NH

This cafe moved into a new location within the last couple of years. The new space is much larger with some real charm. I kind of miss the coziness of the old space, but I am sure this would be a spot I would frequent regularly if I was a local. BNG offers an excellent tea menu and a great selection of food as well. I also like the addition of outdoor seating in the square outside.



Popovers on the Square - 8 Congress Street, Portsmouth, NH
This bright, airy space was a brand new find for me. With its light colored furniture and big windows Popovers had a hip feel to it. This spot serves a large selection of Portsmouth Tea Company tea, as well as sumptuous looking bakery items, an interesting menu of soups, sandwiches, and small plates, and a full bar. A tea shop that is also a bar. Wow. Now that could help me find friends to go out for tea. I'm looking forward to giving this place a more thorough look the next time I'm in town. They are open 7 days a week from early morning until 9 p.m. most nights (11 on Fridays and Saturdays.)

Portsmouth Tea Company - 475 B High Street, Somersworth, NH
There is no small bit of irony that Portsmouth Tea was the only one of the three tea shops I went to that wasn't IN Portsmouth. It's actually nearly 30 minutes away. I was also a bit surprised when I actually arrived at their location. I've always thought of the company's style as elegant - the fonts, the logo, the website. Imagine, then, how I felt when I found their store on a busy road full of strip malls, sitting next to a Mattress Giant. It was absolutely counter to the experience I had anticipated. I'm sure the location affords tremendous exposure but it definitely detracted from the shop in my opinion.

That being said, my experience inside the shop very positive and that's really what's important. The interior design was pretty modern/stark with concrete floors and caned chairs. Where Portsmouth Tea really shines is the presentation of the tea itself. The variety is tremendous and they provide glass sample canisters that allow you to see and smell the teas. I find this a very helpful addition with a tea selection of this size. The staff member who assisted me was extraordinarily friendly and made for a nice experience. I tried a very nice Oriental Beauty and purchased a rooibos chai to try later.

I think I have said more than my fill in this very, very long post. I hope it provides a few helpful tips for you. And, as I said, a longer post will follow about Clipper Merchant so you can get a better sense of that particular spot.

Have a great day all.

Big Week and Announcements

Hello tea friends,

It's a big week here in our household. The four year old starts preschool this week. It is such a huge moment for all of us. Last night I sat in his classroom for parents' night, looking at his name on his cubby, in complete disbelief that he's old enough for this. And we waited about a year longer than most of his friends. It's time and he'll adjust, but it is hard to see him so anxious. I am glad for a small class and two very kind, enthusiastic teachers.

The other big news is that I just had a piece published in the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. The piece, "Tea Packaging for Impact and Sustainability," examines the many packaging options for teabags, ready-to-drink-tea, and loose leaf tea and the environmental impact of each. You can view the complete article here.

The rest of today's post is going to focus on some great tea opportunities you may want to check out!
* September 20, 2009, 1:15 - 2:00 - Boston Park Plaza Hotel (Boston, MA)
The Park Plaza's Tea Sommelier, Cynthia Gold, will be offering a FREE Tea 101 class featuring teas from southern India's Nilgiri Blue Mountains. Gold will cover tea preparation, food and tea pairings, and tea cocktail preparations. Attendees receive a free sample of tea, a discount on a future afternoon tea service, and recipes. Call for reservations: 617-654-1906.
--Note that the Park Plaza offers one of my favorite services. You can call in advance and arrange for Cynthia Gold to offer a guided tea tasting for your party as part of your afternoon tea service. I know it's become quite popular so you may need some lead time, but it's a wonderful opportunity.

* October 3 - 4, 2009, 2nd Annual Northwest Tea Festival (Seattle, WA)
Sponsored by The Puget Sound Tea Association, the Northwest Tea Festival will be held at the Seattle Center, offering classes, lectures, tastings, and sales of tea, teaware, and other tea accoutrements. The event will be opened with a Tea Dinner at Wild Ginger, featuring foods from the world's major tea-growing regions. Guests such as Norwood Pratt and John Harney will be offering lectures.

* Now through November 29, 2009, "Steeped in History: The Art of Tea" exhibit at the Fowler Museum (Los Angeles, CA)
The description on the Fowler site is as follows: "Hot or iced, bagged or loose, black or green—whatever form it takes, enjoying a cup of tea is an act performed at least three billion times a day. Tea has played many profound roles on the world scene—as an ancient health remedy, an element of cultural practice, a source of spiritual insight, and even a catalyst for international conflicts—so naturally the ubiquitous beverage has been a prevalent theme in the visual arts. Steeped in History brings together magnificent art from three continents and many centuries, including rare Chinese ceramics and paintings, 18th- and 19th-century Japanese ceramics and prints, extraordinary English and Colonial American paintings, historic photographs and documents, tea-serving paraphernalia and furniture from many countries, and much more—to tell the fascinating story of tea." This exhibit was curated by Beatrice Hohenegger, author of Liquid Jade. Admission is free. The exhibit is open Wednesdays through Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m.; and on Thursdays, from noon until 8 p.m.

* Tragedy in Taiwan
In 1999, the small island of Taiwan sustained 921 earthquakes causing significant topographical changes that some call "mountain move." The resulting changes have led to an epidemic of mud slides any time there is flooding. These mud slides have wreaked devastation to many villages (particularly aboriginal villages) throughout Taiwan. In early August of this year, Typhoon Morakot devastated the island, with winds reaching between 90 and 100 mph and rainfall of more than 100 inches. Then came the mud slides. These horrific mudslides wrought far more damage. One mud slide covered an entire village. It is estimated that more than 600 people were killed by Morakot.

There are two important things about this story:
First - For those of you interested, Aura Teas of Vancouver, which specializes in tea from Taiwan, is assisting in the effort. A percentage of their sales for the next few months will go to relief efforts. You can help by purchasing tea from Aura or by donating directly to the agency they are supporting: Tzu Chi. (Thank you to Fionna at Aura Teas for keeping me apprised of the situation.)

Second - This disaster has also brought renewed attention to tea growing practices. There is concern that the world's demand for high mountain teas has resulted in unsustainable farming. The farmers are moving crops higher into the mountains, removing more trees in the process. Without the trees, mud slides become more prevalent and damaging. The farmers are in a difficult position as their financial survival depends on growing these teas and keeping up supply (and demand) is critical. However, it is clear that something will need to change to prevent greater and greater devastation to the island.


----------------------
That's all for me today. Sorry to end on such a serious note, but, as we always discuss here, the geography of our tea is really important. We must not always focus on what is in our cup. We need to also think about what it took to get it there.

Have a great day.

AntiquiTeas - Londonderry, NH

I'm back from an end of summer family vacation. Next week my oldest begins preschool for the first time. I am trying not to panic. I know he'll love it and will adjust well. But will I?

Our vacation took us near a few very unexpected tea finds. I'll be writing more about those later this weekend.

For now, I wanted to talk about the teashop I mentioned in my last post. I've been scouting out tea shops in the area to get a better sense of what is available for an article I'm working on. I was trying very hard to find places in New Hampshire with afternoon tea service. It is actually much harder than one might anticipate! I called an acquaintance of mine who owns a teashop in New Hampshire to get her recommendation. She didn't hesitate before recommending AntiquiTeas in Londonderry.

My friend and I drove up on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. AntiquiTeas is located on a pretty busy road not far from I-93. I had read in one review online that it was located in a converted house -- a ranch. You can see an image of it on the left that I pulled from Google Maps. The entrance to the teashop is up the ramp with the white railing on the right. The lower entrance (next to the building that looks like a garage) is an entrance to the gift shops on the lower level.

There were three different rooms where one could have tea. The front room, appearing to be the house's original living room, had a large bow window, bold floral wallpaper, and rose colored tablecloths. (Pictured right). There were two other rooms, including the one we were seated in, that had antique white walls and delicate floral tablecloths.

There was something incredibly comfortable and welcoming about the atmosphere. My friend and I both generally favor more contemporary styles, but were both taken by the warmth of the space. We immediately settled in and relaxed. The staff could not have been friendlier. There were a number of other parties having tea that day, including a mother with her young daughter who were clearly making a very big day of going out to tea.

The tea menu was quite complete. They have a house blend that is always their first suggestion. We, however, were very excited to see Soderblandning (called Swedish Tea on the menu) and made that our choice for the table. The teapot was held in a tea cozy and the tea was warm and plentiful. We were each served in a vintage teacup.

The tiered tray arrived and the food was both plentiful and extraordinarily well constructed. Every single thing we tried was fabulous. The bottom tier held four different types of sandwiches: cucumber, ham, tuna salad, and an amazing chicken salad with cranberry. The sandwiches were all moist and flavorful. They all seemed quite fresh.

The middle tier held an amazing assortment of sweets. We found carrot cake, chocolate brownies, jam filled pastries, cheesecake, and something that I think was a pineapple tart.

The top layer consisted of fresh fruit (grapes, cantaloupe, and strawberries) and a mini-quiche topped with a bacon-wrapped apricot. The mini-quiche was the one thing that I couldn't decide if I liked. I did, however, applaud the creativity.

We spent an hour and a half enjoying our tea and the time simply slipped by. I forgot where we were and what I was supposed to do later. I just reveled in the moment with a dear friend. That, to me, is the sign of a good teashop.

We spent a little time after tea exploring The Shoppes at AntiquiTeas on the lower level. There were tea-related items like tea cozies and jams and jellies, but there was also glassware, clothing (including a big collection of Red Hat items), and jewelry among other things.

There was so much about AntiquiTeas that at first glance I would have said wasn't "me." I'm not usually interested in those types of gift shops and I would have thought that the teashop target audience was much older. HOWEVER, my mind was changed completely. I never felt like we were the least bit out of place and I enjoyed every minute of my visit. I definitely couldn't picture going here with my husband (he's enjoyed tea at places like Boston Park Plaza but this definitely wouldn't be his speed) but it was a fantastic place for an afternoon with a friend. I had moments where I could picture bringing my children for their first tea when they're older. I had other moments when I could picture bringing my husband's grandmother. Truly enjoyable.

The details:
Tea is generally served every day except Tuesday, with hours changing by season.
You are asked to call ahead 24 hours for morning tea or afternoon tea. Lunch is also available.
Currently Morning Tea is $14, lunch is $10.95, and afternoon tea is $18.
A minimum of two people is required for afternoon tea. (Lunch is available to parties of one.)