Tag: japanese

The World of Taiwanese Oolongs

by Talking Tea, posted in Podcast Episodes

Version 2

This week on Talking Tea we begin exploring the spectrum of Taiwanese oolongs with Shiuwen Tai of Seattle’s Floating Leaves Tea. Shiuwen chats with us via Skype about the history of tea in Taiwan, and how Taiwan’s tea production has been influenced by its relationships with both China and Japan. We discuss some of the factors that go into forming the unique flavor profiles of oolong teas from Taiwan, including aged oolongs, why mouthfeel and texture are important in evaluating tea, and then take a closer look at two oolongs: Alishan, a high mountain Taiwanese oolong (the photo shows an Alishan tea garden), and the famous Tieguanyin.   Read the full show notes

A Relaxed Approach to Tea & “Tea Decadence” at Montreal’s Cha Do Raku

by Talking Tea, posted in Podcast Episodes

TT Chadoraku

Today at Talking Tea we’re in Montreal beginning our exploration of this city’s vibrant tea scene. Our first stop is Cha Do Raku, a new tea house and shop in Montreal’s Plateau district. Cha Do Raku (it means “decadence of tea” in Japanese) and its owner and founder, Shiho Kanamaru, have already made a name for themselves through the highly regarded teas offered through Cha Do Raku’s online store. Today we visit Shiho in her new shop and chat about how she realized her dream of a tea space that embodies the spirit of doraku, a simple, relaxed enjoyment of tea.  Read the full show notes

From the Czech Republic With Oxalis Tea

by Talking Tea, posted in Podcast Episodes

TT Oxalis

On today’s episode we have two guests speaking to us from  Oxalis Tea and Coffee in the Czech Republic. First up is Petr Zelik, owner and founder of Oxalis. Petr chats with us about tea culture in the Czech Republic, and especially about the challenges and successes of building a tea company after the fall of Communism. We also explore Oxalis’ offerings of Korean teas, which are not easy to come by among quality tea offerings in the US.  Read the full show notes

Beauty in Imperfection: A Visit to the Shofuso Tea House

by Talking Tea, posted in Podcast Episodes

Shofuso_Teahouse_5_13

This week on Talking Tea we’re back in Philadelphia at Shofuso, an authentic, and quite amazing, Japanese house and garden with a fully functioning tea house and roji, or tea garden. We’re joined by Derek Finn, Shofuso’s site and program manager, and Morgan Beard of Urasenke Philadelphia,  an organization dedicated to practicing and teaching the Japanese way of tea.   Read the full show notes

The Qi of Tea: Tea’s Healing and Spiritual Qualities

by Talking Tea, posted in Podcast Episodes

Serving Tea

You might think we’re having an identity crisis this week on Talking Tea, since our host and guest on this week’s podcast share the same name. In this week’s show our host and producer Ken Cohen chats with renowned qigong master and author Ken Cohen, who also writes and lectures extensively about the health benefits of tea. 

Ken shares his personal tea journey with us, talks about both the health benefits and the spiritual benefits of tea from the perspectives of Western science and traditional Chinese medicine, discusses how our connection with nature and poetry influences our enjoyment of tea, and explains how the intention, heart and spirit we bring to the preparation and drinking of tea change not only our experience of tea, but also our relationship with the world.   Read the full show notes

Artful Tea

by Talking Tea, posted in Podcast Episodes

TT Artful Tea chawan

This week on Talking Tea we chat with Morgan Beard of Urasenke Philadelphia, an organization dedicated to practicing and teaching the Japanese way of tea.  We recorded our podcast inside the amazing Japanese galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which include a complete tea house and garden as well as centuries-old tea utensils and masterpieces of Japanese art. 

Morgan talks with us about some of the objects in the galleries (including the tea bowl shown here), and about how Japanese traditions of tea and aesthetics come together in the spirituality of the Way of Tea.  Read the full show notes

Beyond The Tea Leaf: A Conversation With Tea Author Linda Hewitt

by Talking Tea, posted in Podcast Episodes

TT tasting cup

For our first episode of Talking Tea, we chat via Skype with Linda Hewitt, author of The Japanese Tea Ceremony And The Shoguns and other works on tea history and customs. Linda shares her reflections on how tea, and the rituals surrounding it, create much-needed space for relationship-building and contemplation.   Read the full show notes