September 23, 2013

Grant Writing: writing process thoughts and tea

It is often hard to write about my own work, art I mean. For over three years I have been playing with  in my work. Tea and art have been two parts of a whole for me since reading Kakuzo Okakura's The Book of Tea. He has a whole chapter how one effected the other and in turn effected history itself. The Boston Tea Party in 1846 was due to the rise in taxes on tea, which was effected by the Opium War which was caused by a feud between the Chinese and British. Over Tea, to be specific they were selling Opium for gold, to then buy tea and ...Tea ware.
    What I am getting at is that these two should be together in any way they can. These grants I am writing have provoked a mind block, which got resolved after a few sessions of  tea. While drinking my Feng Huang Shan Gan 2007,I was then stuck with the idea to look up gender equality in tea producing countries. They are almost on par, each one views women as lower than men. This got me thinking that I could work with this.
   My original work from OCAD worked with gender, bodies and identity. As I began to add tea I got further and further away from this. Till recently, my self-portrait is a good identification that I am ready to go back. Although not without some new ideas and skills with tea. 
   I mentioned many times over at Split/Gender (my former art only blog, which was all transferred here) I mentioned making notes on the hues achieved with tea. I started this process and it will be useful for my grant work. The "blue" or "indigo" on my self-portrait was made with berry/hibiscus based infusions. It started out purple and turned this colour. I hope to find a way to preserve this colour in the future but for now I need to work with it. Till next time, Keep Steepin' on!

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September 20, 2013

Your way vs. My way : thoughts on tea practices

...all of my students could testify to how redundantly I repeat that it is incredibly important that we don’t allow our tea wisdom to become “expertise” in the egotistical sense, and that we never allow ourselves to be tea snobs, judging other people’s tea practices. The great Japanese tea master Juko said that criticizing others’ tea just shows that you have a long way to go yet. I don’t think Juko was hypocritically judging those who judge, merely stating that beginners will do this and the more wise you become, the less this is necessary.(Aaron Fisher- Life of Tea Blog)

  I have met many different tea friends  over the past few years, many of which have completed the George Brown Program. The amount of tea, the kettle one uses, quality of tea and "devices". These are things that one should learn over time, I have found that in one gaiwan, I just need to cover the bottom for a rolled Oolong. While for another I need to fill it just that little bit more because of the shape.
   As for kettles, I first used a plastic Betty Crocker I was gifted at the start of my Journey. I have mentioned this off hand to a few people, friends and customers at work, only to receive the same reaction. Many people see plastic as "taboo", but in my case this particular kettle is of sentimental value. This in itself added to my tea. On the other hand I was looking for a kettle made of a different material, partly from peer pressure and partly from the desire to have different elements ( think fire, water etc) in my tea sessions.
    Quality of tea is another thing that one must learn. The first teas that I purchased were from the Chinatown supermarket. I used to have a Toucha Pu-er from back then, it only cost me $2.99CND. This tea has a fuller body than some other pu-er I have tried before the ones I am trying now. Pu-er in general is a learning experience in itself as there is a vast array of types, regions, leaf size etc.
     Devices and tea ware vary from person to person. When I was an employee at Teaopia and Teavana,  I became accustomed to the "Tea Master", made of ...plastic. Customers buy them all the time, I have even used them on occasion when I have no other method to brew. The end result is the about the same.
     In contrast to this device I use gaiwans at home, a much more enjoyable method to brew tea. It took me a long time to get to the point of even purchasing one as the amount it could brew at once was small. Canada and America are used to large mugs, large tea pots that are filled with many many tea bags.  My first cup of tea was from a tea bag as a child in a tea pot that held 10 cups of tea which equaled to only 5-6 with our mugs. While working for both companies I helped them find the teapot that matched how they were comfortable making tea. Which is the way that meant the most to them, usually developed by tradition.
     What I am trying to say is when we learn things in such a setting as a class or school. There is a need to take a step back from what we have learned and allow the leaf to speak for itself. Make some "mistakes" in the amount of tea or temperature of water you use. Relax and see what happens. This is the best way to learn and continue to learn from the leaf.

If tea called for a gold tea room, would you seek out to get one?
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September 18, 2013

Lessons with Tao: Ancient Pu-er

     Since the end of July I have been with Tao Tea Leaf and have learnt a lot since. A few weeks ago, with some friends we began the day tasting an Ancient Tree Pu-er. I have never had the chance to try this type of tea, but I have always wanted to . Others in the online Tea Community have written many pages on this type,but this is a first for me.
       The tea we tried was 2009 Bing Dao , Tao described it as the "Queen or Pu-er" latter in the day. On an empty stomach this tea made me feel warm and I had a light sweat. This feeling was new to me, I wish I knew why the body has such a reaction after drinking it.
   As we continued to brew Tao invited Mike our guest who came in with his wife, to explain "Qi" to me. 
    Qi has been mentioned on many blogs I have read, It is hard to describe. To put it simply its how the tea effects your body, to understand this more I suggest giving this type of pu-er. 
 The teas dry leaves have a sweet biscuit like scent to them that,when steeped, opens up to a stone fruit taste with a hint of menthol (Hui Gan is the name for this). A lingering mouth feel, as the menthol coats your pallet  The body feels warm and the tea makes you sink into your chair further, becoming more centered and aware of its weight. As the body adjusts to the tea, we found it hard to control our body from burping. This is a very natural occurrence, each time it made the body feel like it was fixing something from within.
       
       Latter in the afternoon We sat down again to try Ban Zang 2011, which I was told was the "King of Pu-er".
Smelling the wet leaves has a menthol smell, it feels like it opens the sinuses. It has a very young taste. The taste is similar to a good cigar and the smell takes us to a secluded creek. As the body adjusts to the tea, we found it hard to control our body from burping. It has a strong Cha Qi , Tao tells me which causes this.This is a very natural occurrence, each time it made the body feel like it was fixing something from within.
           There are two villages in the area this is made, new and old. The old village is located apart from the new, where this tea originates. The area experiences a thick fogginess for  about a third of the year, due to its high altitude. There are thousands of old trees that vary in age, from over 100 years old to over 800 years old. 
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  Have you tried Ancient Tree Pu-er before?  I would love to hear about your experience with them. 

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September 11, 2013

Must Read Tea Blogs: Part 1

  Since I started this blog I have found many people whom I continue to learn from even now. They have shared tea, teaware, notes, and findings. The list kept on growing over time and I hope this lists inspires you as it has me.

Tea Masters- By Stephane
 
His blog has a heavy focus on cha-xi formed tastings. Almost all his teas he tastes for his posts are in season or aged. Living in Taiwan he has access to a great tea source directly. This blog is very informative on how to enjoy tea for beginners and seasoned tea drinkers. I used his blog to get used to gaiwans. I suggest his "Tea Masters Classroom" for all sorts of goodies.




Tales of Japanese Tea by Kohei
My PhotoJapanese tea was the first tea I tried in loose leaf form. Upon finding Kohei's blog I found a need to learn more. He practices Japanese Tea Ceremony and became a Certified Japanese Tea Advisor. He lives in Japan and visits various shops throughout the country with his adorable wife. Kohei runs a humble tea shop online called everyone's tea, there is a great selection of tea ware.
   Kohei pushed me to learn Japanese Tea Ceremony and to start Tea Sommelier classes at George Brown College.





Mandarin's Tea by Tim Hsu
The Mandarin's Tea RoomWhile starting out my tea journey I found Tims blog while drooling over tea ware. I was captivated by his post detailing the tools of tea. At that point I was fascinated by all the types there was to be used, now thankfully I know more about them all. I deeply enjoyed his piece in Tea Magazine this year on cigar and tea pairing.




A few final words on part one of the series. I have only just came out of my shell and began to express my thanks for posts and follow  who I can on twitter. Normally I am very quiet on the web but I felt I needed to come out of my comfort zone and talk to them. So far I have enjoyed it and I hope all of us can meet over tea some day. Soon perhaps.






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September 1, 2013

Three years and still going

It has been over three years now that I have been posting to this blog. I still feel like it was yesterday that I got hired by Teaopia to begin this Journey with tea. A lot has happened since then"

  • Joining the Tea Guild and the board
  • Japanese Lessons
  • Japanese Tea Ceremony Lessons
  • Teavana acquiring Teaopia
  • Starbucks buying Teavana
  • Toronto Tea Festival
  • Completing my certification as a Tea Sommelier
  • Starting my Career as a Tea Consultant
"Tea and Tales" Event by The Tea Guild of Canada.
 Image credit to Rita
    You may have noticed the last point. Part way through July I made the decision to peruse my path as a Tea Consultant. I have had this in my mind since I began my Tea Sommelier courses. The dream that I can help out all my tea friends with their shops at once.  When I was approached by Tiffany Picard a few years ago to help her write a piece on Tea Culture in Canada, I was inspired by her. She helps other tea lovers out through her services.    Over the years since I started this blog, I wanted to help every friend I met. I do not want to compete with them, I want to build up our relationship through this type of help. 
     When I left Teavana, I was welcomed by Tao at Tao Tea Leaf. It has been over a month now and I feel that I am part of the team. With Tao's help I am learning how to be a Tea Consultant. This includes copy writing, social media, public relations, etc.  I feel I will learn much more in the months to come and am very excited that I have this opportunity. 
     I am very thankful of all my friends who have pushed me all these years.On my own I feel I would not have achieved what I have without them. Also having this blog has helped too. I feel I have made friends through all of you. Some of you I have met in person, others are far. I feel that we have overcome this distance and have enjoyed each others company through this wonderful piece of our lives, tea.

Thank you all of my dear friends, may we always enjoy a cup together.
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