Feb

21

Tea Storage Options

February 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment

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As you tea people already know, properly storing your teas makes all the difference when it comes to maintaining the quality and freshness of the teas (especially whites, greens, and lighter oolongs). This is the main reason we use high-barrier, resealable bags when we pack your teas. People often bring these bags back to re-use, which we are always so happy about.

For those organizers who like to have things contained in a nice, neat fashion we have two types of storage canisters in the shop. Once you begin using canisters it’s hard to go back. This way you can empty the contents of your bags into the canisters and save the bags in a neat, nearly unused stack for bringing back to the shop. We give you a discount for this; it’s good for us, good for you, and also good for the planet.

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This Beehouse canister is a high-quality ceramic container with a completely airtight seal. Classic design and quality craftsmanship make this a very popular tea storage solution. The ceramic is completely odor-neutral and does not impart any flavor into the tea. Capacity varies depending on a tea’s leaf size. $19

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Our double-lidded metal canisters just arrived. Well-built and inexpensive, these have quickly become a popular storage option. We will also be getting a few of the larger size version in the next week. $8

Feel free to call or stop in with any questions. Also, we are currently featuring our African black teas at 10% off. Come by anytime for a taste of these or any other of our 60+ teas.

We hope all is well with you. Apologies for the length of time between blog posts; times are busy (happy about that), and we’ve been working to finalize and launch our site. Soon!

As always, thanks so much for checking in. We appreciate it.

- James

Feb

9

Thank you, Beatrice.

February 9, 2009 | 1 Comment

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We had such a great time at the event on Sunday. The crowd exceeded our expectations at about 25 people and pushed the limits of our little shop. Thank you to everyone who came out to make the event such a success. Beatrice was kind, generous with her time, and simply accommodating in every way. It’s nice when you meet someone whose work you respect so much and they turn out to be a wonderful person to boot. Attendees chose between cups of Keemun, a fine Kenyan (yes, there are some of those), a classic Earl Grey, or a Rooibos Chai. The scones were delicious and paired perfectly with the teas.

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The tone of the event was a casual Q&A format, which allowed for a more tailored discussion. For future events we plan to have more seating to create a salon type of gathering. This has us excited to bring in more speakers in the near future. In the meantime, we are planning our tea education courses and will be announcing them shortly.

Cold and rainy here in San Diego. Great time to cozy up with a nice cup.

Thanks for checking in.

- James

Feb

4

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This Sunday, February 8th at 11 am. FREE
Complimentary tea and fresh scones provided.

Halcyon Tea
3009 Beech Street, 92102
619 450 4224

If you’ve read some of our past blog posts, you’ll know how much we love the book Liquid Jade. There are several good books on the history and culture of tea through the ages, but this one is our favorite. Beatrice will be at the shop for an informal tea talk and book signing. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to explore all things tea with this renowned expert.

Check out this publisher’s overview:
Traveling from East to West over thousands of years, tea has played a variety of roles on the world scene — in medicine, politics, the arts, culture, and religion. Behind this most serene of beverages, idolized by poets and revered in spiritual practices, lie stories of treachery, violence, smuggling, drug trade, international espionage, slavery, and revolution. Liquid Jade’s rich narrative history explores tea in all its social and cultural aspects. Entertaining yet informative and extensively researched, Liquid Jade tells the story of western greed and eastern bliss. China first used tea as a remedy. Taoists celebrated tea as the elixir of immortality. Buddhist Japan developed a whole body of practices around tea as a spiritual path. Then came the traumatic encounter of the refined Eastern cultures with the first Western merchants, the trade wars, the emergence of the ubiquitous English East India Company. Scottish spies crisscrossed China to steal the secrets of tea production. An army of smugglers made fortunes with tea deliveries in the dead of night. In the name of “free trade” the English imported opium to China in exchange for tea. The exploding tea industry in the eighteenth century reinforced the practice of slavery in the sugar plantations. And one of the reasons why tea became popular in the first place is that it helped sober up the English, who were virtually drowning in alcohol. During the nineteenth century, the massive consumption of tea in England also led to the development of the large tea plantation system in colonial India — a story of success for British Empire tea and of untold misery for generations of tea workers.

Liquid Jade also depicts tea’s beauty and delights, not only with myths about the beginnings of tea or the lovers’ legend in the familiar blue-and-white porcelain willow pattern, but also with a rich and varied selection of works of art and historical photographs, which form a rare and comprehensive visual tea record. The book includes engaging and lesser-known topics, including the exclusion of women from seventeenth-century tea houses or the importance of water for tea, and answers such questions as: “What does a tea taster do?” “How much caffeine is there in tea?” “What is fair trade tea?” and “What is the difference between black, red, yellow, green, or white tea?”

Connecting past and present and spanning five thousand years, Beatrice Hohenegger’s captivating and multilayered account of tea will enhance the experience of a steaming “cuppa” for tea lovers the world over.

Review:

“In this lively, exhaustive survey of the history and politics of tea, Hohenegger travels from ancient Asia to 15th century Europe to present day concerns about fair trade practices and organic farming. Focusing mainly on the drink’s most enthusiastic supporters, the Chinese and the British, Hohenegger uses tea to tell no less than the ‘the story of the traumatic encounter and clash of cultures between East and West.’ Trailing tea over continents and centuries as it grows in popularity and becomes a power unto itself-in the form of the East India Tea Company-Hohenegger covers an interesting mix of topics, including Zen Buddhism, the Opium Wars, the first and only ‘tea spy,’ and, of course, the rise and fall of the British Empire, each of which were integral in the beverage’s journey from storied ‘elixir of immortality’ to simple commodity. The book’s third part, a series of brief discussions on topics more typically the purview of purists, such as water quality, the role of the tea tester and the ongoing debate between the opposing MIF (Milk In First) and TIF (Tea In First) camps, is surprisingly engaging. Told with authority and affection, this narrative history is a stimulating treat.” Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

How can you pass that up! We hope to see you there.

Thanks for checking in!

- James