Team Teatulia at the January Fancy Food Fair in SF

Chris, Don, Linda and Elizabeth take a moment to be "Twittered"

The True History of Tea

 "I wonder why the Japanese do not care for bitter things. In the great country of China they drink tea, as a result of which there is no heart trouble and people live long lives. Our country is filled full of sickly-looking, skinny people, and this is simply because we do not drink tea. Whenever one is in poor spirits, one should drink tea. This will put the heart in good order and dispel all illness."

This quote is from Japanese Buddhist monk (1141-1215) Myoan Eisai who  believed Japan could be saved by the teachings of Zen and that if  Japan took to drinking tea they could be restored to health. This quote is situated in the time frame after Eisai returned from studies in China and Japanese tea culture began to flourish. Eisa planted some of the frst tea gardens in Japan that still exist to this day.




from the "True History of Tea" by Victor H. Mair and Erling Hoh

Down the Rabbit Hole with Teatulia

ADVENTURES OF A TEA TRADER WITH TEATULIA

The story beneath my picture is from a visit I made at the end of 2009 to Charleston South Carolina to the only tea garden in the United States on a business trip for Teatulia.   In April I will be going to Bangladesh to visit our garden in Tetulia Bangladesh. As I continue down this "Rabbit Hole", that is the world of tea,  I become ever more amazed and in wonder. Please follow me on this  journey  into the world of tea!

All,

When I was in Charleston I took the opportunity to visit the only tea estate in the United States. It's 127 acres are located close to Charleston on Wadmalaw Island. The history of tea in America is fascinating and I highly recommend reading the article in TeaMuse hyperlinked here. Bigelow bought the plantation in 2003. Bill Hall still has an ownership stake in the plantation. Bill, like his father and grandfather before him, is a tea taster trained in London. He spent over an hour with me, teaching me about tea. We brewed up  some Teatulia white tea and he was very impressed with how pure it was from the view point of there be only buds  in the tea sachet. This visit was definitely a high point on my great southern tour. Hope you enjoy.

Best,


Don