Comments for Teatrekker's Weblog

Comment on Tea Trekker Tea-Shirts by Jason Witt

Jason Witt — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:11:37 +0000

That's funny. Your clothes shrink. You don't get any bigger. Actually, the tea can help with that but you do have to eat less food. --Teaternity

Comment on More New 2009 Tea by Jason Witt

Jason Witt — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:08:48 +0000

I'm partial to a good Bai Hao. But that green tea certainly does look fresh, like a wonderful vegetable in a salad. That I could go for. Tea leaves as salad greens? Why not? --Teaternity

Comment on 2009 Anxi Monkey-Picked Tieguanyin ( Wild-Grown ) by Jason Witt

Jason Witt — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:03:04 +0000

I too am glad there’s no “duplicity” with tea. Of course a lot of major tea bag brands blend their teas to try to create uniformity in flavor from one batch to the next. What a waste of tasting talent! I’m probably going to end up doing nothing but sampling different kinds of raw Puerh from one season to the next. That’s my fate with tea. And it’ll always be new and exciting because there won’t be any repeats. –Teaternity

Comment on About by teatrekker

teatrekker — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:12:50 +0000

Hi Krystal,

Excellent! There is always room for tea steeping improvement. I will be in touch about your idea.

Mary Lou

Comment on About by KPP

KPP — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 03:23:41 +0000

Hi Tea trekkers,

I am a designers currently working on a new product that will be able to steep tea more effectively than conventional tea balls or pinch tea steepers.

Please contact me at http://www.theclosedloop.org. I would like to get some feedback from tea experts.

Keep up your blog! Very interesting.

Krystal Persaud

Comment on He Became She and then Came Tea by teatrekker

teatrekker — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:31:17 +0000

Jason,

You are right: of course these tales about tea bushes and gods (and monkeys ) are fable: China is a country of a great many colorful stories, legends and fables, which enrich the culture and give importance to everyday things. They bolster confidence in the past and offer reassurance to the future. These are not so different from religious parable which one must also read between the lines of. This is not to say that the tea bushes are not unique, they are. Why unique tea bushes grow in one region of China and not others is one of the many reasons why China’s teas are so extraordinary. The sub-varieties of tea bushes that produce Tieguanyin ( there are three dominant varieties for authentic Tieguanyin ) might be indigenous species or bushes that have been propagated from plantings made by a humble farmer some centuries ago. But how much more appealing ( and how much more important ) they become when we are told that they were put there by a goddess.

Comment on He Became She and then Came Tea by Jason Witt

Jason Witt — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:15:55 +0000

Your studies here are quite believable. It makes sense that the god changed to fit people's needs, particularly that women were neglected in worship. But I must say that it's sad that the people didn't change for their God instead. --Spirituality of Tea

Comment on He Became She and then Came Tea by Jason Witt

Jason Witt — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:16:56 +0000

This is another one of those stories about the origin of tea that’s hard to believe literally. The Chinese want to embellish their history with romantic tales but sometimes in the study of tea in the past it’s hard to find the truth. I wouldn’t be surprised if the transformation of this deity was indeed to serve the women who didn’t have their own god. That would explain why they worship the same way to this day. But this is about the only accurate history in the whole matter.

Comment on About by teatrekker

teatrekker — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:38:57 +0000

Elizabeth,

Wow…..the tea songs are great. Quite witty and well done: I love the goofy purple teapot with the quivering lip and roving eyeballs.

I worry about you though, if this is what you two do for kicks ! Just kidding…keep’em coming…..tea needs a ‘lighter’ image.

Comment on About by Elizabeth Hill

Elizabeth Hill — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:12:09 +0000

I appreciated reading about the outdatedness of teaballs, as I never could use one properly anyway. I am a novice to tea and I find your blog interesting. I also liked the article about picking green tea before the rain. I have so much to learn!
My husband and I are avid tea lovers but definite novices. We recently wrote two songs about tea and its health benefits for a scholarship competition and we learned so much. Tea is awesome and there is so much more to it – whichever type you prefer – than I ever realized. If you are interested, here are our two songs and music videos about tea:
From YouTube:
The Teacup Tango: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOmoshHoQU0

The Scale of Tea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4VFblIDgNI

We’d love to hear what you think.