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
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
Have you been wondering how to make a bowl of matcha without the ritual of a formal tea ceremony? How to get a smooth, frothy lime-green foam that looks and tastes great? Talking Tea is here to help. In Part 2 of Talkin’ Matcha, tea blogger Tyas Huybrechts explains how to make a fine bowl of matcha in a few easy steps. Read the full show notes
This week Talking Tea talks matcha with Tyas Huybrechts, founder and blogger at Tea Talk, a blog devoted entirely to Japanese green teas. Matcha, a powdered green tea that’s whisked into a frothy brew, is fast becoming the caffeinated drink of choice among many in the West, and Tyas tells us about matcha’s history and cultural background in Japan, how it’s grown and processed, and what to look for in buying quality matcha. Read the full show notes
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
Everything you always wanted to know about pu erh but were afraid to ask…and more.
In Part 2 of “Drunk on Tea”, Shunan Teng of New York City’s Tea Drunk shatters some myths about pu erh tea, contrasts cooked vs. raw pu erh, and talks in-depth about pu erh regions and fermentation. Shunan also chats with us about her ongoing tea classes and events at Tea Drunk. Read the full show notes
This week on Talking Tea we get “drunk” on tea at Tea Drunk, a teahouse in New York City serving traditional Chinese tea. Shunan Teng, who founded and owns Tea Drunk (and knows just about everything there is to know about Chinese tea), talks with us about wild tea, Chan Cha or “monk’s tea”, tea picking seasons, and why tea requires a dedicated palate and a dedicated mind. Read the full show notes
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