Good...Really Good...Wow!

I'm so glad to be writing today. It's a spectacularly beautiful day. The sun is shining. It is warm. One child at school, one playing next to me (happily singing aloud without even realizing it), and the baby is exploring the toys on her playmat. It is a moment I want to capture...to stop time...In the midst of all the craziness in the world outside the house, it feel like drop of liquid gold.

I'm continuing to update my last post as tea companies announce efforts to support Japan. You can see the most complete version here.

The tea cabinet spring cleaning continues. Yes, I'm up to 25 teas. Just so you have some idea of the scope, here's a picture of the cabinet. And there's also a few shelves elsewhere. Again, much of this is tea that I've received as samples or gifts. I'm getting excited as I see space freeing up. My hope is to get down to one shelf of teas I really love, space for new samples coming in, and a place to display teaware.  I must say though that this is my favorite cleaning project to date. So fun to revisit teas I've loved. You can follow the progress on my twitter feed (username Teapages) or on our Facebook page. Since my last blog report here's the status:

Keeping:
Adagio's Anhui Keemun
Equal Exchange Darjeeling 1st Flush
Persimmon Tree Tea Company Mandarin Silk
Tavalon Tea's Genmai Cha
TeaZone Very Berry
Yogic Chai Coconut Masala Chai


Finished:
Indonique Earl Grey
Mighty Leaf Okayti Darjeeling Autumn Flush


Sharing:
Adagio Ceylon Sonata
Berrys' Tea English Breakfast - Shared this with my neighbor too
Mark T. Wendell Formosa Keemun - Gave to a neighbor


Tossing:
Aura Teas Formosa Mingjian GABA tea
Tealuxe Tiger Hill Nilgiri
Virtuous Teas Pu-er


Now, on to the title of today's post - Good...Really Good...Wow! This refers to some new samples I received from Persimmon Tree Tea Company. This California-based company offered to send me some samples and, even with the tea declutter, accepted. The first thing I want to mention is how beautiful their packaging is. The teas arrived in tall slender cylindrical tins. There's something elegant about the shape to me. The labels use earthy soft colors - sand, taupe, and cream with a bolder colored box for the tea name. Packaging doesn't usually receive this much attention from me, but this was just so well done. I noticed the prominent note about recycling, but was thinking that this is one I will certainly reuse, making it even more environmentally friendly.

I received four teas, but will only address three today. Let's start with the "Good." One package was labeled "Classic Black." It is a Nilgiri/Yunnan blend. It has a beautiful scent - fresh and slightly earthy. The leaves are a nice bold brown with some curl and some gold from the Yunnan. This black had a nice flavor, some strength but not astringent. It was a perfectly pleasant black. I didn't flip over it, but on the other hand, I don't always have to flip over it. "Good" is not a criticism. It is a very solid everyday tea. Classic Black is well-named and nicely representative of a daily tea. I'll likely share some of this one (but I'm keeping the container.)

Tea two I call "Really Good." It was the Coconut Cream, a white tea with coconut, safflowers, and cornflowers. You probably know by now that I'm a sucker for coconut tea. Usually, though, it has been in black teas and chai blends. I don't know that I've had a white tea/coconut combination before and it's a winner. The white tea is delicate enough to enhance, but not compete, and to add some sweetness. The coconut feels fresh in flavor, not cloying. It's a beautiful light tea that I think would be phenomenal iced. Sorry friends, I'm keeping this one for sure.

Number three is my "WOW!" This was the Mandarin Silk. It is a pouchong (a super light oolong - one of my favorites anyway) with lemon myrtle, marigolds, and vanilla. The vanilla sent was strong but I was also picking up a creamy aroma that I couldn't put my finger on. The leaves are long with green edges, with the golden marigold petals mixed in. When I brewed the tea the kitchen was filled with an absolutely heavenly scent. Then it hit me - BUTTERCREAM FROSTING. That's exactly what this tea smelled like to me. The taste did not disappoint. It reminded me of buttercream with a touch of orange. I have had other silk teas with very mixed results. Some have been truly awful to me. Some companies use silk and milk oolongs interchangeably although milk oolong has a very specific definition. I've had an occasional silk oolong that I like. (Tea forte - a company for whom I do paid work on occasion so take this comment as you will - had a loose leaf silk that I liked and I think it was the first that I found really notable.) But this one from Persimmon Tea I actually crave. Opening the tin almost makes me hungry. Definitely worth a try.

Well, I've definitely enjoyed this little writing session. Now I'm off to hurtle into the rest of the day - getting oldest from school along with his friend, gymnastics class, and trying to figure out how to make dinner when the fridge practically echoes.

Happy Friday!

Supporting Japan

In my previous post I explored some of my feelings in the wake of the tragedies in Japan. Unfortunately, the news isn't improving and the challenges faced seem overwhelming. It is a country that is capable of amazing transformation and resilience, but the mountain of work seems to keep increasing.

Last post I mentioned my desire to be part of a tea community that honored our connection to that country with assistance. To that end, I wanted to let you know about a few recent announcements from the tea world.

* From Obubu Tea - While Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations themselves have come through the tragedy without loss of employees, there are 50 of their customers about which they are very concerned. To support their community of Japanese tea lovers, they have established a donation program where you can buy virtual tea - "Sakura Sencha of Hope" and "Sakura Sencha of Cheer" - and send a message of support. (The messages will be translated by volunteers.) The funds will first support their customers, then other Japanese tea farmers and tea businesses, and then, with remaining funds, the Japanese Red Cross. I will be making a personal donation and another on behalf of Tea Pages. I hope my readers are able to help as well. Click the image to the right or visit this link.

* The blog Tea Happiness compiled a list of tea companies that are making contributions. You can find that list here. It includes American Tea Room (10% online sales), Yogic Chai, Vitalife Matcha, Just Add Honey, and the O Dor Tea House.

* East Pacific Tea is contributing 25% of sales of Japanese tea to the Red Cross.

* Yogic Chai will donate 30% of sales through the end of March.

* Pearl Fine Teas announced they were contributing 20% of sales of Japanese green teas to the Red Cross and searchdogfoundation.com They have now announced that they are increasing that commitment to 40% and will continue contributions through April 30, 2011. (The blog says May 11, so I'm not sure of the true end date. I will try to confirm.) Sales over $25 earn a $5 shipping credit.

* Tea Classics will contribute 20% of all online sales through the end of March.

* Samovar has committed 10% of all Japanese green tea sales as well.

* Tea Geek will contribute 20% of the sales of its Fukamushi Sencha to the Red Cross Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.

* Tea Spot of Boulder, CO is donating 25% of sales of Japanese tea and teapots to Doctors without Borders.

* Davids Tea of Canada will be donating the proceeds of this week's (week of March 20) Japanese sencha and gyokuro sales to the Japanese relief effort.

* In Pursuit of Tea will contribute 10% of all sales of Japanese tea and teaware to the Red Cross fund for Japan. Through March 31, shipping on these items is free with the code TSUNAMI.

* Adagio has announced that they will donate 15% of Japanese tea sales. For each Japanese told they are placing a "paper crane" online. They hope to "collect" 1000 paper cranes.

* The Taste of Tea will donate 100% of the profits of sales of their Sakura Karigane tea. Funds will be donated to Second Harvest Japan, a 10-year-old non-profit that provides food aid and other support. A matching donation of up to $10,000 has been offered by one of their supporters as well.

For other non-tea specific charities, USAID (US Agency for International Development) recommends this site from InterAction which lists disaster relief agencies working in Japan.

I also wanted to draw attention to another post I just read.  Zen Tara Tea has a really important piece about the need to think about long term support, about not forgetting about the needs of the people once the crisis drops from the 6 p.m. news.

And for something COMPLETELY different, you can read this piece by the co-founder of Tea Trade and Leafbox questioning the ethics of making donations based on sales. Definitely food for thought.

Thinking of Japan

With so much going on in the world these days it sometimes feels overwhelming. I've been following the events in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Libya -- thinking not only of the political repercussions, but also about the individuals. I continue to be stunned by the magnitude of the changes and the momentum that has carried event after event after event. And then yesterday happened.

On Thursday I was stunned to hear people beginning to call the events in Libya a Civil War. I expected to wake up Friday morning, turn on the radio, and hear about the latest events. Instead, Friday, March 11, I was still in bed and I picked up my iPod Touch and checked my Twitter account. It was there that I saw a post - 8.9 earthquake in Japan. My heart caught in my throat. 8.9. It is a stunning number. I quickly began scanning other tweets and the news and saw a flurry of words like "earthquake," "tsunami," "whirlpool," "missing commuter train." I wanted to cry as I saw the pictures and began to process what they really meant.

This was one of those moments that confirms what I have long believed -- that my passion for tea has made my world much, much smaller. I have spent years learning about Japanese tea, its growing regions, and its traditions. I have attended a Japanese tea ceremony and while in London last year, I met a Japanese woman who was starting her own tea farm. This story was no longer just one of a tragedy in a far away place. This was a devastating moment that felt personal. My heart broke for the families desperate to reach their loved ones. I thought about those friends I've made and wondered how they were and if they were safe. I spent the day sending out emails and compulsively checking news stories and my Twitter feed. I read about a town where 9,400 people are unaccounted for. I saw that the main island of Honshu has actually moved 8 feet east. The quake moved the earth on its axis four inches. And then this morning I awoke to the news of the explosion and fear of meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power facility.

There is another part to the story -- one of resilience and planning. It is always harder to tell the story of what didn't happen. The foresight of the Japanese policy makers to develop stringent architectural and engineering standards certainly prevented the collapse of countless buildings. Advance emergency and evacuation plans created systems that made these mass evacuations possible, possibly saving hundreds or even thousands of lives. These things should not be overlooked as lessons from these tragedies.

But these are tragedies and they continue. Aftershocks will continue to strike fear and it will be many days before we fully understand the magnitude of the losses and what it will take to begin the recovery.

As people who love tea, we have an obligation. We cannot simply use these nations to obtain the product we love. Tea is bigger than that.  I think we also have an obligation to support these nations when emergency strikes.  Just as we came together after the Sri Lankan tsunami several years ago, I hope that we as a tea community can find special ways to show our support for the tea farmers of Japan.

For those who wish to help, donations can be made to established organizations like Save the Children, Mercy Corps, and the Red Cross. I will certainly let you know if a tea industry-specific charities come to my attention.

And to my readers in Japan, know that we are thinking of you. Please let us know if there are ways we can help.

A few funny things

I'll be putting up a more traditional post later, but I had to share.


* A gift for someone who already has everything:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/04/weirder-and-weirder-royal-swag-now-it%E2%80%99s-william-and-kate-tea-bags/

* A public service announcement - Note this recall of IKEA tea makers:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/03/us-recalls-ikea-coffee-idUSTRE7227CH20110303

* For our friends in the UK - A chance to win tea at the Langham
http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/03/win-day-3-royal-wedding-afternoon-tea-at-the-langham/

* Honest Tea has been officially swallowed up by Coke
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030106057.html

And finally, just an update. Remember way back when when I had heard a rumor about SpecialTeas and Teavana? Well, the rumors were true and SpecialTeas is no more. Many customers have been pretty distressed by the news and by the sudden disappearance of SpecialTeas. If you were on a SpecialTeas mailing list you are probably now receiving Teavana mailings in your email. Sad to see them go and it appears that Teavana does not stock many of the teas they once had. Were any of you SpecialTeas customers? Who are you throwing your business to now?

More from me this weekend, but there's a little to get you started. :)