Finding the Way of Tea

In The Way of Tea, Okakuro Kakuzo writes of teaism. This is the idea of tea as a way of life, a celebration of beauty and a chance to meditate on weightier things. The ceremony of tea is a time to stop and be enraptured by smells, sounds, tastes and sight. It is a rare occasion when the oldest objects filled with the most imperfections are the most praised, and the taste most strived-for is one that brings us closer to nature and the origins of the leaves. This is the experience that I want to bring to America and it is for teaism that Verdant Tea has been founded.

Verdant Tea is a group devoted to sparking an interest in honest, humble tea as it was meant to be enjoyed thousands of years ago. This blog is one part of that campaign. Here you will find stories about the origins of tea, advice on buying tea, featured stories collected from Chinese tea farmers, and more.

Today I want to introduce one key point: tea should almost NEVER be bitter. I see Americans discovering tea, and embracing it for its health benefits, but disguising the bitter taste with mango, peach, vanilla, cinnamon and more. Real tea, picked in the early morning on the misty mountains of Southern China, is not bitter, and furthermore it CAN be found here in the USA. Green teas can be sweet, grassy, substantive, with a lingering hint of stone, or green bean. Black teas should taste as though there were already milk and honey added, they should open up with the feeling of mulling spice. As a consumer, demand quality.

Through this blog, through videos, through classes, Verdant Tea will work to give you the tools you need to buy tea, and enjoy it in a way that honors the care that the farmers took to pick it and process it. Over time, tea can become a ritual in your daily life, a way to find moments of peace and appreciate the simple things in a world that goes by all too fast. For simple, quick introduction to the landscape of tea, feel free to check out Verdant Tea's first video posted on Youtube.

Happy Tasting!

David