I have just learned that an on-line friend, @mildewpea has passed away; as a result of an accident. When I was making my first few videos and engaging with the tea community, there was no-one more encouraging than Milly. Milly was Tea Twitter family. Her first ever tweet to me, I remember, was when she […]
New York City has never been big on my wish list of places to go. I’ve always been sure I’d love it if I got there, but I don’t have the imperative like some people have. It’s a bit like Paris; I’m not that interested in going but if it crops up I might find myself there. […]
I’m a week or so away from relaunching my on-line tea sales efforts, and it will be hosted solely here on Tea Trade. I’m also putting together three video commercials that I think will be funny and make a point. One for the US, one for the UK, one for Australia. More on those on Launch Day. I’ve been […]
‘Twas the night before teamas, And all through Tea Trade, Not a blogger was stiring, Not a rant or tirade. Nicole is online, but not blogging of tea, she’s solving some geek stuff, of great complexity. In France there’s Xavier, A bed he’s tucked in, With a book by Maynard Keynes, And a Tie Guan […]
Today, I started with a cup of tea. It was Persian Princess, one of my own blends. Later, I resteeped it, but for a lark, I added a pinch of Rotgut Tea. Rotgut Tea is what is in a canister I keep on my bench top. Every time I find a box of tea covered in Chinese or Hindi text and it’s worth pennies, […]
For all this talk of tea ceremonies and the Tao, or Zen, or Way, or Path of Tea, I usually put it in a pot and add hot water to it. How much more ceremony do you need? Yesterday I baked some buns and biscuits and used the best china, but it was still a […]
Yet another sample chapter from my forthcoming book for your comments, arguments and abuse. Don’t be gentle with me. Earl Grey used to be my favourite tea. It no longer is. That’s a positive and a negative. As I left my teens behind; I started drinking a variety of teas. Shocking as it might seem […]
(As I have been writing my book and not had much time to blog, once again here’s a chapter from it. Please comment as it really helps!) China! The spiritual, and actual, Home of Tea. Since the invention of tea; China has been many things. Ruled from within, ruled from without. A Communist Worker’s Paradise; […]
Chairwoman? It’s enough to make me apoplectic. It seems that this idea of political correctness is everywhere, and so often completely incorrect. It’s like a new, more socially acceptable form of mathematics where Π is equal to 10, because it’s a lovely round number. Too bad if bridges fall down. In the politically correct stakes, it’s often gender politics that masks the politics of ignorance. […]
Those of you who awaited each day’s gripping recounting of my search for decent tea in Thailand last June might well expect similar tales of deprivation and heroism whenever I travel, and as we’ve slipped away to Melbourne for a few days, you may be breathlessly awaiting the sequel to those heady days. An earlier […]