May

20

Other Blogs v.1

May 20, 2008 | 2 Comments

Like so many other things people geek-out on, tea has become a heavily-blogged subject. I enjoy reading other peoples’ takes on tea life and I’ll sporadically list some of them for you to check out.

Our first featured blog is actually brand-new, but I have really enjoyed the first few posts. If you’re at all interested in the Japanese way of tea, Tea Mind is a blog for you. As much about ritual and presence as it is about tea, I look forward to seeing how this blog develops. More to come.

Thanks for checking in.

-James

Jan

23

Thank you.

January 23, 2008 | 1 Comment

Yesterday was the launch of our first newsletter and we have received so many great emails and well-wishes. Thank you very much to all of you. We hope you’ll check in as we’ll be posting regularly.

There’s some nice cozy rain here in San Diego tonight. Time for a cup and an early bedtime. Cheers!

- James

Jan

14

It’s Happening

January 14, 2008 | 1 Comment

Hard to believe we’re in the final stages of launching our website and retail store. This is the realization of a dream that has undergone many rounds of development along the way. Christi and I have discussed doing our own business for many years, and we are really happy to have Paul working with us as a partner. Paul and I met in the 8th grade when we formed a friendship around a shared interest in punk/skate rock music. We’ve remained friends for nearly 24 years.

So, why tea? Each of us got into tea in different ways. For as long as I can remember, I always drank tea. Nothing against coffee, I just never really got into it. I still remember a book I read called The Empty Mirror about a Dutch man’s experience in a Japanese Zen Monastery during the 1950’s. Aside from just loving the story, the author’s accounts of the green tea they drank everyday sent me straight to local Asian markets in search of these teas. It’s funny to think how these places and the teas felt so exotic at the time. Still, I learned about different grades of Sencha, Gyokuro, Kukicha, Matcha, etc. and it all sparked my eventual search for quality teas from Japan and beyond.

Christi first fell in love with chai while living in India, then fruit teas in small Taiwan teashops, and eventually malty, smoky teas that wooed her away from coffee. I actually witnessed her transition from full-on coffee fiend to full-on tea lover leading me to believe anything is indeed possible. Paul longed for a world beyond the Lipton teabag and discovered the sublime flavors of loose leaf tea while living in Washington, DC and San Francisco. He is also a world-class traveler and has spent some serious time in South America drinking maté with gauchos in Bolivia and coca tea with Inca descendants in the Andes.

We like the way tea makes us stop and be fully present in what we’re doing. For some, the phrase “being present” may be considered an overused term most often found in free new-age publications you pick up at the local veg eatery. I’ll risk it. The ritual of sitting down to make tea creates a natural series of rest periods throughout the day. We can reach for any number of teas based on mood, time of day, season, or what music we’re listening to at the time. We can downshift, regroup, and energize all in one sitting. I have to say, there is nothing else like tea.

Thanks for checking in.

- James