How to Travel with tea

 Every tea drinker wants to ensure they always have their favorite tea with them at all times. Now for someone obsessed with tea, I bet that is most of us, we need more than one type.  While packing for Halifax I packed my tea first and thought of an easy way to make it where ever I am.
     In a box I packed up all the teas I thought I might want. This included a few kinds of matcha, samples from various companies and a tea cake.

    The vessel I picked out was my tumbler from the Camilla Sinensis that I got at the Ottawa Tea Festival while talking to Kevin Gascoyne. The exterior is coated in bamboo with a stainless steel inside. The infuser opens up to hold any type of loose leaf tea and screws closed.

Here are a few other options for brewing:

1- Paper Tea filters
       These are great, even for when introducing others to loose leaf tea. It's close to how a tea bag works but allows you to choose your tea. My favorite kind is by Finnum, the extra long ones are great for all teas and for a teapot.

2-  Travel gaiwan set
        Sadly, mine broke while packing, but they are super handy. They come with a small fair cup to decant your tea into and several cups so that A great site I found  in Toronto is from Tao Tea Leaf.It is great for trips .

3. Double walled travel infuser
     These babies are a fantastic way to bring tea with you, even to work. Libre is a great Canadian company that has a plastic wall on the exterior and glass on the inside. This way it keeps your hand cool while keeping the temperature inside.
     

Take pART 2013: Art Fundraiser and Tea

       Every year I make sure I submit work to Take pART here in Toronto. This fundraiser is organized by The Branksome Hall Alumnae Association. All the raised funds go to student financial aid at Branksome Hall, an IB World School for girls, which is located in the heart of Toronto. 
The past few years my work has been consistently following the themes from my undergrad thesis. This involved themes of the body, gender, women, femininity and identity. This year I decided to show newer themes namely my tea art.
      All of the works are 10" x 10", each piece is a mystery till it is purchased. This is the reason for me posting this so late today. As promised to each of the new owners of these works here is some background information for these pieces. So if you are one of these lucky few, brew your cup of Phoenix Mountain Almond tea that was attached to the back of the work and read on.



" Japan Vs. China"
    This work features chawan (matcha bowl) and yixing pots. The reason why I choose these two types of tea ware is due to how tea spread from China to Japan. The latter then developed their own way to present the whisked tea and China created the first tea pot.
    I adore both cultures and enjoy studying both extensively through tea.




"Song Dynasty Tea Tools"
  These historic tea wares were mentioned in Lu Yu's Tea Classic when I first read it back in 2010. Upon reading it again I looked them up and felt the need to paint them in sumi-e style. Like the work above I like to mix the two cultures together in ways such as this.
 




       Being of Indonesian decent, I feel that I am looking back the past of cultures who influenced the development there. The first work pokes at these ideas I have, mixing the two together to get something singular and unified. I am planning to visit all of these countries before I have grandchildren, I personally have a weird tendency to plan far far in the future like this. I can not wait to see them.

  To the patrons who purchased these works,Thank you for supporting the arts! Please contact me as I would love to meet you. If you have time I would love to meet over tea (or coffee if you prefer, lol) to hear why you purchased my work and how it makes you feel. Thank you with all my heart.

Sommelier Exam Study: Some tips

  Studying for this type of exam is hard work. I work towards the day I would be finished my classes and have to be fully ready for it. Back in 2012 I participated in the "So You Want To Be A Tea Sommelier" event at the Coffee and Tea Show. Here I had my first chance to try to identify 10 teas with only the liquid present. It is not as easy as some may think. When brewing teas in class we always had the leaves to look at, both dry and then wet. This helped narrow down which tea it was and the taste sealed the deal. The part that you have to get around is that all of the teas are steeped with boiling water for 5 minute steep. It was a lot to take in for a first try but I am glad I did it.

The last day of my class we did this exercise with 15 teas and then last week again with 20. Repeating this with many more teas than there will be helps you recognize where you need to focus. 

Friday last week I had organized a tasting with those who had also finished the program. The turn out was small but we got great pointers from Tao.

  We did three sets of teas. The first was white and green. Second was Oolong and Pu-er. And last was blacks.

 
 In this manner we were able to focus on the slight differences between them.

For example: Japanese green teas have a bit of a bite to them with a distinct vegetalness while Chinese green teas still maintain their sweetness. Another note to taste for is smokiness as some styles of Chinese teas are pan fried by hand. 

For Our oolongs and Pu-er, we looked for the difference between a green and dark Ooong. Then tried to find the pu-er by colour alone, and checked it by taste and smell on the back of our spoon. 

Black teas were interesting, I personally mixed up Golden Yunnan and Golden Assam. When I asked Tao how to tell the difference he mentioned about the astringency of an Assam                                  and roundness of the Yunnan.

 Using this last study method helped me feel more at ease for the up coming exam.  I hope these points help anyone else who is going as I like to share information I learn. So if this helps you please share it with other students. This way we all benefit from these experiences.

 The Tea Association of Canada exam guide can be found here for download.

 Suggested books to read:  

• The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide 
• The True History of Tea
• The Book of Tea
• The Tea Classic

   So good luck! I hope this helped out out a little. I would love to know how it goes for everyone. Please e-mail me or comment below!

                  Happy Steeping!

   

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. 
--------------------------------------------------------
  Have you tried Ancient Tree Pu-er before?  I would love to hear about your experience with them. 

What are you going to be? A Tea Sommelier!...Why?

    Back in October 2011 It had been about a year since I had finished at OCAD U and a year at Teaopia. All of my family over Thanksgiving dinner asked me what I wanted to do now that I had a years experience in the "real world".
      There are so many movies on people my age trying to find out what they want to do. So, instead of finding something else I stuck with tea. That same fall I had joined The Tea Guild of Canada and felt I had a found a long-lost family. Ian from Majesteas urged me to join the board, and I am still with them today. At Teaopia I continued to meet great people at the store in the financial district here in Toronto. Two regulars even joined the Tea Guild the following year.
        February 2012, My co-worker joined The Tea Guild , she turned to me latter that month and proposed we take classes together. Not just any classes, but The Tea Sommelier Program. I had been advised to take them for over a year before but did not know how to go about it.  So I learned how to and began to strengthen my knowledge of tea.After the first class she found she had to move her focus on work and I kept on going with the classes. I even started taking Japanese Tea Ceremony classes during that year.  I let my family know my new focus was to become certified and keep working with tea. At the time it was with Teavana, where I learned how to manage and teach the great staff we had at our stores.
      Fast forwarding to now, I have finished my certification. I am still hearing these questions from family and friends.

What does it mean to "be a Tea Sommelier"?

             In response to this I created the video below to help  you out. Feel free to comment or e-mail me any questions you may have (ps. My website is now up, you can find my e-mail in the contact section at http://www.katherinebellman.com ). I absolutely love questions so at anytime you want a question answered, send it my way, Thank you all.

Shout out to Ian at Majesteas, Tao at Tao Tea Leaf, Carol Savage and the rest of the Tea Guild. I would not be who I am today without you. Thank you so much for supporting me and I hope we can continue to support each other in the future.

Toronto Tea Festival!

   My good friend Tao of Tao Tea Leaf, has been eagerly pursuing the creation of Toronto's own Tea Festival.  After a lot of research its happening~
  All the information is at the website (click the logo above). It will  be February 2nd 2013 at the Toronto Reference Library's Appel Salon (2nd floor). The day will consists of speakers, demos and of course all of the exhibitors. Shop for all your favourite teawares, teas, and related products - this is the perfect opportunity to shop for your Valentine (hint hint).
       Together with help of the team that consists of sponsors and members of the Tea Guild of Canada, this is sure to be an event you DON'T want to miss.  Best part is that if you sign up before the new year you save $5 off your ticket! Great Christmas gift to give to your love ones who also love tea. Get one for your self you know you deserve it, see you all there!

              Here are the speakers that we have so far!

Michelle Pierce Hamilton is a Nutritionist, Certified Tea Sommelier, and Healing Arts Practitioner/Teacher. These combined philosophies and disciplines are the spirit behind “beTeas”, Michelle’s unique online tea store where exceptional teas and tea experiences now come alive in London, Ontario.

Michelle also teaches the Canadian Tea Sommelier Certification program now offered at Fanshawe College in conjunction with the Tea Association of Canada. A long-time industry professional in project management, Michelle also continues to work part-time as a Project Management Consultant and Educator for London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).

Passionate about tea and health, Michelle believes tea is the world’s healthiest beverage and that it provides doorway to healthier diet and lifestyle.

Gillian Niblett – As founder of “Tea At The White House”, a successful tea room and tea shop in Waterdown, Ontario and current owner of “Niblett and Wiggins – Purveyors of High Tea” in Oakville, Ontario, Gillian Niblett has an extensive background in the world of tea

Gillian is a qualified Tea Specialist, certified by the Specialty Tea Institute of the USA, and an accomplished speaker often called upon to share her expertise about tea at corporate events and educational seminars.

Gillian is looking forward to attending the Toronto Tea Festival where she will share her knowledge of tea gleaned through her education, her business experience, and her travels to the tea gardens of India and China.

Tao Wu – A Certified Canadian Tea Sommelier, is the creator and founder of the Toronto Tea Festival.Tao Wu is a second-generation tea exporter.Raised in the Wu Yi Shan area of Fujian, China, a region known for its oolong and black teas, Tao uses his background and experience to continue the rich history of Chinese tea culture.

Founded in 2009 by Tao Wu, Tao Tea Leaf (934 Yonge St.) is an award-winning, full-service tea store located in Toronto’s fashionable Yorkville area. Best known for it’s extensive loose Chinese tea selection, Tao Tea Leaf also offers a variety of loose teas from Japan, India, South America and Africa, as well as an extensive line of USDA-certified organic loose teas. Tao Tea Leaf hosts regular tea workshops for beginners and experienced tea drinkers, conduct traditional Chinese style tea ceremonies and offer an Annual Tea Tour to China.

Bill Kamula – Tea Sommelier professor, Created the tea appreciation certificate at George Brown College, Tea Guild Co-Chair/George Brown College Tea Sommelier program instructor.

   **Speaker information directly sourced from Festival website November 28th, 2012.**

Spring Teas at Tao Tea Leaf

With thirteen teas in all it took a little over 2 hours to go through them all.  Tao steeped most of the teas using a Professional Tea Tasting sets. Each set consists of a cup with a lid and a small bowl. This set works similarly to a gaiwan when a fair cup is used with it.  In competitions and for tea merchants this is the set that is used to pick the teas which win or get purchased.

Tao brewed the teas for us using these sets in a certain manner. If you have been part of a Chinese tea ceremony before, you will recall a part where the leaves are added to a warmed vessel and shaken. This releases the aroma of the tea. Tao used the Tasting set in this manner during our tasting. It increased the intensity of the teas aroma for us to determine which teas to purchase in the end.

            After this step Tao then added more water to steep the leaves. After sufficient time the cup set was turned into the bowl to catch the brew. Once all the tea had left the cup some leaves were placed on top of the overturned lid to display the leaves. We then used a Chinese soup spoon to spoon the tea into our cups.  This worked especially well for the lighter teas such as the Silver Needles.

            At this very moment of finishing up this post I am enjoying a cup of Jun Shan Yin Zhen, a yellow tea.  Yellow tea production is just about one step further from white tea, because of this additional time most places do not produce yellow tea. As well the way to create such tea is not being passed down from lack of interest from current generations.

 To explain the extra step required to make this tea, white tea is let to ferment covered which changes the colour of the tea to a “yellow” hue. Te resulting tea when steeped has a bit of a “fermented taste” which comes across as a little spicy as well.  For those of you who want a lighter tea but has a bit more body then certainly try this tea out before this tea disappears.

            Tao has two big tastings a year, spring and for the Anniversary of his shop. Look out for the Anniversary tasting outing in December! Support your local tea shops in your area by checking out this year’s spring teas.

            Here is the list of teas we sampled: Silver needle Top grade, Silver needle old bush,  Jun Shan Yin Zhen, Anji Bai Cha, Bi Luo Chun, Long Jing, Phoenix Dan Cong- Honey Orchid, Tie Guan Yin, Jin Ping, Purple Puerh, and Shui jing gui.  

How tea effects art for me - 2 Year Anniversary for Tea Journey!

For my TWO year anniversary post I decided to put together a little montage to visually show my growth with Tea since I began consuming tea regularly. To do this I used my own art work as they both grew together over these years. Please enjoy~

First step towards my ink style.  ukiyo-e  with screen printing  ( Abe no Seimei 2008)
Drinking tea regularly and learning new styles around this time. Stopped drinking coffee due to a seizure around Thanksgiving

One of the few first works I have done in ink  at OCAD U  ( Dream or reality 2009)
Regularly looking for new teas in Toronto and regular customer for Davids Tea.

Began to learn other methods of painting with sumi-e ink.
Bought Matcha for the first time and used a fork. Soon after
purchased a chasen to prepare it right. (Fetus Fear 2009)

Purchased first Yixing from Tao Tea leaf. Bought first porcelain gong fu set and a glass gaiwan. Began to understand more about Oolongs and a little about Puerh. Finally moving FAR away from Japanese sencha and genmaicha! Utilized old watercolour skills with Sumi-e, encouraged by thesis professors to  be bolder and less controlling with future work.( Hold 2010, Thesis at OCAD U

Utilized tea in a work for the first time. Visited Majestes regularly for quality teas. And learned of
the Tea Guild of Canada. Joined Summer 2011!

Attained another Yixing from Majesteas. Working for Teaopia for
over a year! Attained more yixings from work. Began tea antique collection
and began to read The Way of Tea. My second tea book after a tea handbook!
Began to work slowly towards the direction I was told to go by professors. Been graduated for over a year.
Started to take Japanese lessons!
(Lace 2011)

Became a Public Relations rep for The Tea Guild of Canada.  Now has too many teas, extensive knowledge
byond what I need for work. Helps out with "World in Your Tea Cup" Event! Great fun.
Now has too much tea ware (no such thing!) and too much tea (blasphemy!).
Began to experiment more with "tea" as tone. (Hair 2011)

Brings tea where ever I go practically! Creating many entries on tea to Tea Journey!
Reviewed Do Matcha! Made more tea friends at the Guild, two I knew from work. Encouraged a co-worker to join Guild!
Began Tea Sommelier classes, been taking Chanoyu classes when able (I love to learn!). Working on promotional materials for the Guild!
Me working in the back in a Sumi-e workshop at the JCCC in March  2012

Tried some amazing teas at Majesteas and Tao Tea Leaf for Spring!
Learning more about processing of teas in the process outside of class. Been
 supporting The Global Tea Hut since February! Enjoying the large selection of spring teas
 and refined taste of my pickings~ My chop for new work, It says " Guren" Crimson Lotus.
I will have it by next week! I picked these characters as my hair is red and the lotus symbolizes
 growth for me. Growing out of the mud and into the world as a flower.

Been with Teaopia for 2 years (June 10th 2012) and have had Tea Journey for
just as long. Now I work for Teavana, and hope to grow some more as a  茶 人 (Tea person), Artist and as an individual in
general.  I truely hope to meet more wonderful tea people and have long lasting
 friendships (Tiffany, Grace, Kingkoh,
Brooke  etc <3 Love you all!) I will be meeting with the Guild
board this summer to plan out fall meetings. I can not wait to get things rolling~
  I am on my second tea class
and I am having one more before I start my super summer. After that third class I am
 about half way done the program.
Certification exam to follow there after and my N5 exam for Japanese Proficiency as well!
"Sheng Nong" in progress for 2012!

  

Surprise at my door!

Thursday, I went outside to get some fresh air after watching a lot of Chinese dramas, I set up The Sorcerer and the White of Snake(白蛇传说) to load and went out the door. Upon opening it I found a box at my door which the customs label stated there was a tea cup inside. At first I thought I had forgotten about an e-bay or Yuuki-cha purchase I had made perhaps over my vacation. 
    Once I finally opened the box I came to realize this was the package from KingKoh who also sent me incense.
    This tea cup is a beautiful chawan. I am still in shock that I have this piece of art. Strangely enough I had just purchased a cast iron pot to use for chanoyu practice this very same day. Since opening it I have been starring at the bowl, picking it up and feeling the unique textures it has. 

     Koh left me a note inside of it, " I put this tea bowl in that I made as a suprise. It has a white Shino glaze with a white oak ash on the outside that turned green. The inside has crawled and stayed white. I also infuse my bowls with reiki energy. I hope you enjoy it."

 On a smaller green note says" Shinorei", which I believe is this bowls name. I am curious as to which kanji is used to write it's name. On another note, I am glad that this came when it did. I have been working on an assignment for Tea classes which I am to create a Problem-free-contemporary tea service. I choose Chanoyu to use as a basis, which I am slowly studying. The tea bowl, I am sure, will inspire such assignment. This gift made my week much better after having an Asthma attack on the way to work Tuesday, I am fine now though as I am taking various medications. I am off to grab a few things so I may work on an art piece this afternoon (after going to Tao Tea Leaf~). 
   I can not thank my friend King Koh enough for this amazeing surprise!

Majesteas- Website up and running!

Majesteas website- Robert and Ian are both part of The Tea Guild of Canada 

          After a lot of hard work from my good friends at Majesteas, it is finally up and running. Great timing too since Robert Gignac is off to China with Tao of Tao Tea Leaf latter this week. He has even started off the blog with an entry detailing information about various teas he will get to try.  I wish him well on his trip and a safe return with teas to try.
     

Tao Tea Leaf- Bai Hao Oolong

 
     When I first heard about Bai Hao I slowly began my search for it. The past it had with Queen Elizabeth and it's naming of "The Champagne of Tea" was welcoming. It was my second visit to Tao that I purchased this lovely tea. I had remembered how it tasted when it was brewed for me the first time and I longed to have it on hand.
         At home I first brewed it with a gaiwan or a small infuser basket. Eventually I acquired a Yixing pot for it that replicates womanly beauty.   The leaves are lightly rolled long ways, a few open ones can be seen. Warm earthy hues make up the tea.

           When it was brewed it had a consistent taste no matter the brewing. It was warm and sweet. It also created a salivating sensation. fuji apples, slight white peach is what I can pick up from it. Is is it the English name
or does this actually taste like warm alcohol free wine?
     I quite adore this tea. I have had some before going out many times and it is very relaxing

Go on and try it~

Tao Tea Leaf- Spring 2011 Tea Tasteing

Everyone listening and watching Tao prepare the next tea.

 It has been a fair while since June. The tea tasting at Tao's had left me with a large list of teas to get when I could. The tasting landed on the one year aniversary of being with Teaopia and keeping this blog.

Tea Sampling order:
1. White tea:  White Peony
                      Silver Needle
2. Green Tea:  Anji Bai Cha
                       Long Jing
                      Bi Lou Chun
3. Yellow Tea: Jun Shan Yin Shen
4.Oolong Tea: Phoenix Dan Cong (Almond)
5.Black Tea: Golden Needle
6.Pu-er: 2007 White Moon Loose (Sheng)
            Jing Mai (Sheng)

                                                                                    

    The teas I have from this year only consist of Tie Kuwan Yin and the very delightful White Peony. I do have craveings for the smooth lightness of Anji Bai Cha and the warmth of Phoenix Dan Cong (Almond). Haveing tried Phoenix Dan Cong (Honey) it is a nice little change.
     But since the news of the rankings Tao received for some of his teas has made me eager to try this years Da Hong Pao as it received 3rd place in the North American Tea Competition. The rest of his rankings are:

• Dragonwell (Shi Feng)-First Place
• Keemun - First Place
• Imperial Puer (shou) - Second Place
• Golden Needle - Second Place
• Da Hong Pao - Third Place
• Silver Needle - Third Place

The previous year three of his teas were ranked, Keemun Kong Fu, Golden needle and Da Hong Pao.  Their rankings were in sequential order first, second and third place. As I write up this post I am even drinking Tao's White Peony 2011 out of some fine china at my parents place (still need to leave my own tea equipment here). I encourage anyone that visits the Toronto Rosedale area to see Tao. I am eagerly sipping this white tea wondering what the next years batch will be like. ~

My Co-Worker thoroughly enjoying the afternoon with me

Toronto Tea Reviews

     After alot of contimplateing on the direction of this blog, I feel that I need to do regular tea reviews. These will feature Toronto teas mostly, the odd ones will be from Bowmanville.  Once a week I will post a review, from either the shop or from my own desk (while I study Japanese).   I hope to focus on smaller tea shops just because I love them all so much.
   For the first while I may do more than just one review a week, my tea cupboard is full (over 30 varieties). I am hoping to work out a structure for the reviews today at work. I am very eager to start as I have teas from all over the city. Here is a list of shops I have tea from at this very moment:

• Tao Tea Leaf
• Majesteas
• The Tea Emporium
• Pippins (one tea at the moment)
• Maison De Thé (Montreal)
• Lauriam Tea House (One tea, most reviews will be inside the shop)
• Serenity House Tea Society (Georgia, USA- only one tea)
• Nourishtea (Canadian tea company- one tea)
• Tsaa (one tea, some reviews will be from inside the shop)
• Tea Dynasty     
• Davids Tea
• Teaopia (My work)           

     I hope these reviews get new people into all the shops or spark a new love for tea. I started drinking loose leaf after watching too much anime and some health issues which required me to be more aware of my stress levels. Now over 3 years latter, my health is much better and tea has taken over a large portion of my life. In the New Year, 2012 The Year Of the Dragon, I hope to be enrolled in the Tea Sommelier program. I have put this off for too long and next year will be a good year to start this process. Getting to the end my take some time but I am eager to meet new tea friends. 

         On top of all this news, I have joined the Tea Guild of Canada officially. The first meeting is this month and after checking the member list I am glad that I will see many familiar faces.  

    On a quick side note I am hoping to come up with a list of questions I get from customers and have some research posts. This may take some time for me to accumulate a few to look into but this project will be quite interesting. I am not going to leave any question out, simple or as complex as they get. As well my Japanese classes are going very well (began April 5th), I am beginning to find ways to include Japanese into my art (check out Split/Gender). Not just my regular stuff but my tea art as well, stay tuned as these works WILL find their way on to this blog!       

The Way of Tea- First 38 pages

Reading this book word to word, page to page, paragraph to paragrah. Each peice of it speaks of Lao Tzu, Lu Yu and Tao. The language flows smoothly with no breaks of gaps. It was hard to put it down once I started, almost missed my transfer from the Bloor line to Younge.
Gazeing at it now while siping Pheonix Dan Cong from Tao Tea Leaf (Toronto) makes me want to forget about things I have on my list to do tonight and just read. Forget about everything till I have finished reading every juicy word. I am going to stop now to finish a few things before going back to it, sleep and then back again for the commute to work in the morning.