My tea-learning journey has begun, so I'll take this opportunity to tell you all about what this will entail!
Thanks to the organization GripTape, I now have $500 to complete my learning challenge by 10 April, so I'll begin by getting all the supplies needed to delve deep into the world of professional tea-drinking! The necessary supplies include:
-Some of the most acclaimed books on tea history, culture, and connoisseurship
-An electric kettle with variable heat options
-The various accoutrement for performing the Gong Fu Cha Chinese tea ceremony
-Lots and lots of high-grade tea!
Once I've acquired the necessary supplies, I'll begin the journey itself, which I've broken up into a helpful nine-week guide. Each week will focus on a different element or type of tea and will have a title. Following is the summary of each week in my plan:
Week One: CommuniTEA
The first week of my challenge involves setting up this blog, beginning to keep my tea journal, and ordering all the books/supplies I listed earlier. This week is all about laying the groundwork for the project I hope will bring together many of my friends and family through tea, thus the title "communiTEA".
Week Two: HisTEAry
This week is all about beginning the reading I will do to better understand the history and culture of tea. There are thousands of years of recorded history in which tea has a central role, and I intend to learn as much as I can about all of it! Further, this week is devoted to beginning my foray into the nature of tea ceremonies all over the world; from India, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka to Britain, the United States, Kenya, and Brazil, people in every region of the Earth have a different way of appreciating the joys of tea, and I'm very excited to experience as many of these styles as possible!
Week Three: Cloud
The third week of my adventure is all about white teas (hence the imagery-heavy title). White teas are an often-forgotten type of tea, yet they hold some of the most delicate and contemplative grace of all. I intend to spend this week reading about, sampling, and recording my thoughts on a varied group of prestigious international white teas.
Week Four: Cliff
The meeting of green rolling hills and white sea spray led me to choose the evocative title of "cliff" for the fourth week of my tea discovery, as I will be continuing my exploration of white teas, but will also begin integrating the fascinating world of green teas. The fusion coming out of this week will hopefully propel me forward towards all the great wonders to come as my challenge progresses!
Week Five: Forest
Green teas hold simply too important a place in the tea community to give them just one week's exploration, so I've opted to devote the entirety of my fifth tea week to the reading and sampling of green tea in addition to the fusion fourth week. This is bound to be an exciting week due simply to the breadth of green teas available for consumption; I'm particularly excited to try Japanese Sencha tea!
Weeks Six + Seven: Stone I & II
A tea with as much variation and presence as Oolongs reminds me of the ever-shifting image of stone. Sometimes bold and commanding while other times subtle and unassuming, oolong tea is as versatile as the earth itself, so an entire two weeks have been set aside for the sole purpose of drinking this most celebrated of teas!
Week Eight: Soil
Black tea is the most common tea in the West, however it is too often seen as boring and unoriginal. I will set out to put these tired stereotypes to the test on the eighth week of my journey, learning about the vital history of this tea type, contemplating what its role in everyday tea-drinking should be, and, of course, sampling copious amounts of black tea.
Week Nine: Fire
The final week of my challenge will be another fusion week, this time between black teas and the intimidating category of puerhs. Pu-erh is a type of aged tea, and is rumored to often contain strong, fiery flavors. This rare and elusive tea will be an excellent way to end my current stage of tea-drinking!
Towards the end of my plan, I'll host a lavish tea party for as many guests as I can safely manage where I'll demonstrate what I've learned to my friends and family by preparing a number of teas for tasting and pairing them with a variety of snacks. This will hopefully be the climax of my exploration, and I'm looking forward to sharing my newfound knowledge immensely!
I hope this explanation was useful in clarifying some of the specifics of my tea challenge, and I invite all readers to keep an eye out for a post about my new tea journal coming soon!